About the Authors

Matthew Bentham teaches Visual Arts to years 7 – 12. He has been teaching at Barker for 14 years and he is enthusiastic in sharing his passion for art and art history in meaningful ways. Matthew is a member of the College of Teachers, where he coaches colleagues who wish to extend their teaching practice, include developing further engaging teaching and learning strategies. One of his goals is to impart in students a life-long appreciation for Visual Arts as it a subject that enhances critical thinking and which is also an appropriate medium to learn from other culture and belief systems. Dr Greg Cunningham is currently the Director of Teacher Development and Accreditation and the College of Teachers. His PhD investigated the influence of reading on student response to visual texts. He has been a visiting educator in the United States and in the United Kingdom and he has presented papers that consider approaches to teaching and learning, particularly in understanding, pedagogy and teacher professional learning. He has represented the Independent Schools of NSW on the Professional Learning Committee at the NSW Education Standards’ Authority. His interests include English teaching, teacher coaching and professional accreditation. A Fellow of Trinity College of Music London, he has also given organ recitals in London, Sydney and South Africa. Amanda Eastman is an English and History teacher, but she is passionate about a range of KLAs. This interest has led her to various cross-curricula roles. From 2012 – 2014 she was the Assistant to the Director of Studies, overseeing the implementation of the Australian Curriculum. In 2016 she worked in the Learning Support Department, teaching Fundamentals of English and supporting students with specific learning needs. In 2017, she began working as the Assistant to the Director of the Barker Institute. She has also enjoyed participating in the co-curricular life of the School, having coached Softball and Touch football and been acting CCC of Hockey, Assistant CCC of Snowsports and a Boarding Duty Officer. Sally Filtness is a Head of Butters House - Senior for Butters and has been a senior pastoral carer at Barker College since 2002. She has a Master’s degree in Technology Teaching and is a Nationally Accredited Highly Accomplished Teacher. She has been a member of the ISTAA Experienced and Highly Accomplished Teacher Assessment Panel and she has written three textbooks on Design and Technology, Stage 4, 5 and 6. Sally is a member of the College of Teachers and is currently finishing off her Doctorate in Education based on Online Learning Resources in the Design and Technology classroom. When not doing all of the above she enjoys playing with her four year old identical twin girls, Zara and Chloe. Dean Johnston is a Science teacher, specialising in Physics, and recently was appointed as Assistant Coordinator of Science (Stage 4) from 2019. He holds a Bachelor of Science (Physics) and Diploma of Education from Macquarie University. Dean was excited to join the teaching staff in 2017, particularly as he is a former student whose character and intellect was substantially developed by the teaching and guidance he received whilst at Barker. He is passionate about instilling a deeper appreciation of science in young students and is continually seeking ways to challenge the status quo of science education in secondary school. Dr Matthew Hill is currently Developer of Hearts and Minds Research at Barker College. His PhD promoted the importance of students’ developing representational fluency for learning and communication in order to be able to succeed in science education. He has worked in research, teaching and educational leadership at The University of Sydney and the University Western Sydney, publishing in academic journals related to each of these areas before coming to Barker in 2016. While maintaining a specific interest in physics’ education research, his work now focusses on developing student capacity in thinking, discussion, philosophical reasoning and personal development.

Greg Longney is a teacher of History and the Head of Academic Enrichment and Extension. His Masters of Education (Research) focused on how History teachers understand disciplinary knowledge and how they communicate it to their students. In 2017 Greg has been part of the National Emerging Leaders Program and in 2018 he has worked with a team of staff on the Elevate program to investigate high potential learning at Barker College. Greg continues to teach History from 7-12 and still regards the classroom experience as the most rewarding aspect of his role. Matthew Lloyd is Head of Geography and Co-curricular Co-ordinator of Surf Life Saving at Barker College where he is teaching for his 18th year. Prior to his time at Barker, Matthew worked in the timber industry and then the Music industry for a promoter and as a manager of a band. He commenced teaching with the Department of Education in the Met SouthWest in 1987. Since then he has taught at Peninsula Anglican Boys’ School, Peninsula Grammar School and St Luke’s Grammar School. Matthew’s family has always had a strong focus on community activities. Instigator of PGS and St Luke’s Bike For Bibles Sydney to Canberra Rides to raise money for global literacy projects, Matthew has been able to turn his attention to service through Surf Life Saving and the Timor-Leste Project at Barker. Matthew has coached Rugby and Basketball, is a Rugby Referee (despite his knees!) and is a member of The College of Teachers at Barker College. Martin Lubrano – Head of Junior School Ainslie Breckenridge – Director of Primary Curriculum Sarah Dickson – Director of Early Learning Pre-K – Year 2 Martin Conway – Director of Students Years 3 – 6 Dr Brad Merrick is currently Director of Research in Learning and the Barker Institute. His PhD examined the influence of motivation and self-regulation on student understanding and learning. He has co-authored several music textbooks combined with scholarly chapters, articles and papers that explore emerging approaches to teaching and learning, most recently in the ‘Oxford Handbook of Music Education’ and ‘The Routledge Companion to Music, Technology and Education’. He is the immediate Past Chair of the National Executive of the Australian Society for Music Education. His passion is examining new research, pedagogy and emerging practice in education. Andrew Mifsud is an ICT Integrator and music teacher. He is currently researching student perceptions and experiences of secondary school blended learning environments as part of his Doctor of Education studies at The University of Sydney. He has also been involved in a number of action research projects based on social learning sites and he has presented his work at national and international education conferences. Andrew is the NSW Secretary of the Australian Society for Music Education and he is a past recipient of the ASME Music Educating for Life Award for his work promoting professional learning in the music educator community.

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