Fellow teachers to benefit from science head’s award

Gisborne Boys’ High Head of Science Darcy Fawcett has won an educational award that will enable ongoing research and professional development for 40 teachers in Gisborne.

Funding from an award won by a Gisborne Boys’ High School science teacher will enable 40 teachers to take part in ongoing professional development.

GBHS Head of Science Darcy Fawcett is one of five winners of The Education Hub’s inaugural Bright Spots Awards.

The awards recognise teachers and educators who are leading innovative solutions and approaches to address some of the challenges facing New Zealand schools.

Mr Fawcett developed a comprehensive data interpretation tool to determine if teachers’ efforts to improve their practice were effective, and said the win was an exciting next step on a long journey.

“I’m over the moon. I’ve been carrying out educational research as part of my practice for a long time now and it’s great to get funding so I can continue my research and support colleagues in developing their own inquiries.”

The winners receive funding and a two-year professional development programme funded by NEXT Foundation.

Launched four years ago, NEXT will invest $100 million over the next decade in environmental and educational excellence programmes.

NEXT chief executive officer Bill Kermode said they were delighted to support the innovation in teaching practice being developed in New Zealand schools.

“Bright Spots is supporting teachers to create new models, and helping them build their evidence for impact.”

Mr Fawcett said the Bright Spot Awards were crucial for developing teacher practice.

“Most professional development efforts fail to bear fruit because they are piled on top of teachers’ existing workloads.

“The funding from the award will provide for 40 Gisborne teachers to undertake the professional development I’m offering during their working day, rather than in their own time.”

The Education Hub chairwoman Maury Leyland said she was impressed with the calibre of entries.

“This is the first year of these awards and with 52 applications from across the country, and a phenomenal shortlist of ten projects, it has been a challenge and an honour to select the recipients of these five awards.”

Mr Fawcett said he had high hopes for the success of his project.

“Developing evidence-based practice that leads to enhanced student outcomes is the ‘holy grail’ in education and the purpose of the Bright Spots Award is to identify, support and roll out successful initiatives on a larger scale.

“I would definitely like to be involved with that.”

Mr Fawcett and his colleagues at Boys’ High will further develop, evaluate and extend their programme within their school and across their Community of Learning (Kahui Ako) over 2019.