Lecturer, Instructional Leadership
Former teacher and avid gardener, Dr Pauline Thompson, shares why she loves teaching in the Master of Instructional Leadership and her advice for beginning teachers.
Q. Tell us about your background
I was an English and Japanese teacher and a school leader for a really long time! I started my career in hard-to-staff schools, which was great because I honed my skills quickly. I worked in a couple of regional schools and, later on, as an advisor for Independent Schools Victoria. My last role before moving into academia was as Assistant Principal at St Bernard’s College in Essendon.
I’m relatively new to academia, it’ll be four years at the end of 2022. I completed my doctorate in teacher professional learning because I’m particularly interested in building teachers’ capacity.
Q. What are you working on at the moment?
My work is all about teacher professional learning. I’m particularly interested in supporting teachers to build ‘dialogic pedagogy’ in their classrooms. Essentially, that means moving away from traditional question-and-response teaching, and instead having a two-way exchange, or a dialogue, with students. It’s about sharing information and solving problems together.
At the moment I am working on significant project focussed on middle leadership and the pathway to principalship for women. I’m also working on a large project with all the Catholic secondary schools in the Diocese of Ballarat. It is about building the capacity of middle school leaders to lead literacy learning.
Q. What do you enjoy about teaching in the Master of Instructional Leadership?
Working in the Master of Instructional Leadership is wonderful because all our students change their leadership or teaching practices as a result of what they learn. They tend to either change positions in their school or move onto another school after graduation. It’s a pleasure to watch and I really enjoy being part of their journey.
Teaching is more evidence-based than it’s ever been, and that really comes through in the Master of Instructional Leadership. It follows an evidence-based practice model and prepares teachers to use evidence in a more formal way to inform their decision-making.
Q. What’s your advice for anyone considering teaching?
Teaching is a great career, it has taken me all over the place! I always suggest beginning teachers have a go at a range of roles and avoid being too set on particular pathway. You might discover you love something you never thought you would.
It’s also a great idea to keep studying and learning. Sometimes you don’t know what you don’t know until you have an opportunity to engage with other people and talk to them. Studying has been the biggest influence on my own career; it means you’re always learning alongside your students.
Q. What do you do in your spare time?
I grew up in a small country town in Victoria (there were only 20 people in my Year 12 class!), and so I enjoy going back there to catch up with friends and family. I also enjoy gardening and reading, and I hope to do more travel now we can go overseas again.Q
Q. Tell us about your background
I was an English and Japanese teacher and a school leader for a really long time! I started my career in hard-to-staff schools, which was great because I honed my skills quickly. I worked in a couple of regional schools and, later on, as an advisor for Independent Schools Victoria. My last role before moving into academia was as Assistant Principal at St Bernard’s College in Essendon.
I’m relatively new to academia, it’ll be four years at the end of 2022. I completed my doctorate in teacher professional learning because I’m particularly interested in building teachers’ capacity.
Q. What are you working on at the moment?
My work is all about teacher professional learning. I’m particularly interested in supporting teachers to build ‘dialogic pedagogy’ in their classrooms. Essentially, that means moving away from traditional question-and-response teaching, and instead having a two-way exchange, or a dialogue, with students. It’s about sharing information and solving problems together.
At the moment I am working on significant project focussed on middle leadership and the pathway to principalship for women. I’m also working on a large project with all the Catholic secondary schools in the Diocese of Ballarat. It is about building the capacity of middle school leaders to lead literacy learning.
Q. What do you enjoy about teaching in the Master of Instructional Leadership?
Working in the Master of Instructional Leadership is wonderful because all our students change their leadership or teaching practices as a result of what they learn. They tend to either change positions in their school or move onto another school after graduation. It’s a pleasure to watch and I really enjoy being part of their journey.
Teaching is more evidence-based than it’s ever been, and that really comes through in the Master of Instructional Leadership. It follows an evidence-based practice model and prepares teachers to use evidence in a more formal way to inform their decision-making.
Q. What’s your advice for anyone considering teaching?
Teaching is a great career, it has taken me all over the place! I always suggest beginning teachers have a go at a range of roles and avoid being too set on particular pathway. You might discover you love something you never thought you would.
It’s also a great idea to keep studying and learning. Sometimes you don’t know what you don’t know until you have an opportunity to engage with other people and talk to them. Studying has been the biggest influence on my own career; it means you’re always learning alongside your students.
Q. What do you do in your spare time?
I grew up in a small country town in Victoria (there were only 20 people in my Year 12 class!), and so I enjoy going back there to catch up with friends and family. I also enjoy gardening and reading, and I hope to do more travel now we can go overseas again.