The Hodgman Liberal Government is extending the specialist maths and science teacher training initiative in 2016 after a successful debut in 2015.
The Minister for Education and Training Jeremy Rockliff said the Government had seen encouraging results from its investments aimed at lifting educational outcomes and attainment.
“This year, Term 4 marked the starting point for the first maths and science specialists who trained at the University of Tasmania through our $4.2 million Developing our Workforce Strategy.
“There were 13 graduates in maths and nine in science and all have made a positive impact on their schools since returning with new expert skills.
“Evidence shows that having teachers trained in specialist areas is a major step towards improving educational outcomes.
“I have been extremely heartened by reports from principals with specialist teachers on staff who say they are already seeing encouraging results.
“Students are not only improving their results, but more importantly they want to be at school and are enjoying learning.
“As a result, we will be extending the program and continuing to offer it to more teachers from 2016.
“This year was also the first full year that our 25 additional literacy and numeracy teachers have been in place at Tasmanian schools, and they’re reporting encouraging results too.
“This is an $8.4 million investment aimed at ensuring students are getting the extra help they need to gain the literacy and numeracy skills that are so essential to living a fulfilling life."
At Reece High School, a literacy and numeracy specialist has been teaching for the past year, and a specialist maths and science graduate has been teaching since Term 4. Principal Matthew Bennell said he’s seen marked change.
“Highly skilled teachers make all the difference,” Mr Bennell said. “A deeper understanding of maths and science has given our teacher a better ability to make the complex simple for kids.
“We can already see evidence of improvement in our students and our student survey data indicates that students see improvement in teaching too.
“With regards to literacy and numeracy, we continually measure the progress of our students and we have seen some excellent improvements for those students who need it most.
“Importantly, their attitude to learning has also changed and so too has their willingness to be at school.”
Mr Rockliff said Tasmanian principals, teachers, students and parents should be proud of what they have achieved this year.
“I’ve no doubt that 2016 will be another great year for education in Tasmania, as we work towards improving outcomes and attainment.”
More Media Releases from Jeremy Rockliff
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