NextEd Conference 2024: What’s next in great teaching and learning
by Dan Dempsey, Program Director (Professional Learning), Future Anything
For his latest blog, Dan has chatted to colleagues in the Future Anything team to unpack their highlights from the NextEd conference, held on the Gold Coast in June.
Back for a second edition in 2024 following great success in 2023, the two-day NextEd Conference – What’s Next in Great Teaching & Learning? featured a host of high-profile speakers and hands-on workshops.
As a partnership between Lutheran Education Queensland, Trinity Lutheran College and Future Anything, educators from across a diverse range of schools, systems and settings engaged in poignant and thought-provoking keynotes and dynamic conversations, as well as sixteen workshop options exploring what’s next in great teaching and learning. Workshop themes included AI, high impact teaching strategies, inquiry and project-based learning, metacognition, intergenerational practice, leadership capability building, and more.
The Future Anything team were excited to attend the conference and engage in this outstanding professional learning. As you can see below, there were many magic moments. I’ll start by sharing my own highlights!
From the very outset, stepping into the outstanding facilities of Trinity Lutheran College and knowing the brilliant program on offer for two days, it was clear that The NextEd Conference was going to provide quality, innovative and thought-provoking professional learning. The organisation committee had clearly met the brief! Additionally, though, and just as importantly, a huge acknowledgment also needs to go to the outstanding catering team of staff and students at Trinity…there was no chance anyone was going hungry!
Clear highlights for me were undoubtably the powerful, emotional and articulate stories of keynotes Brenda Matthews and Dr Dinesh Palipana OAM.
Brenda’s story highlighted the profound emotional pain caused by being forcibly separated from her family as a child.
Her message emphasised the enduring struggle to reconnect with her Indigenous heritage and the long-term effects of such historical injustices.
Through her narrative, Brenda showed her resilience and the importance of healing and reclaiming identity.
Dinesh articulated an emotional story marked by childhood adversity and considerable hardships throughout his life, underpinned by an unwavering love and appreciation for his mother. Despite facing significant challenges, including a car accident that left him quadriplegic, he pursued his dream of becoming a doctor. His journey highlights the transformative power of education and his inspiring determination to succeed and help others.
I also particularly enjoyed the honest, insightful, and thought-provoking Q&A panels. Donna Pendergast outlined the importance of developing agency and collective efficacy and Leslie Loble AM provided a focus into the important questions and considerations for using AI and ‘Edtech’ tools with students. Day Two’s panel (Dr Lyn Bishop OAM, David Bliss, Dr Paul Browning OAM and Chrissie Coogan) brought us an incredible wealth of experience leading innovative and high performing schools with powerful and motivating discussion about the direction of education. What inspiring leaders!
Engaging breakout sessions provided participants an opportunity to engage with their choice of relevant learning and experiences. A special thanks to all speakers, presenters, sponsors, and staff involved in the organisation and facilitation of the event! I certainly can’t wait for next year.
Oh…and I have a huge list of reading and audiobooks to keep me going for at least 12 months! Recommendations from speakers included:
- Books by Simon Sinek; Patrick Lencioni; Kouzes and Posner; Bob Rosen
- The Chimp Paradox (Dr Steven Peters)
- Anxious Generation (Johnathan Haidt)
- The Alchemist (Paulo Coelho)
- Ryan Holiday (Series)
Marian Wright (Program Director – Activate)
I was lucky enough to attend day 1 of the NextEd conference and there are so many ideas and moments that are still bouncing around in my mind.
Brenda Matthew’s keynote and story on her journey to find spaces of belonging in her life was incredibly moving and inspiring. Leslie Loble AM and Donna Pendergast AM challenged us to consider our own self-efficacy and the ‘why’ around using AI for meaningful learning.
I very much enjoyed the session led by educator Nicole Amey from Kepnock State High School. For the many of us who want to lead a change in our school that impacts our students for the better, learning from someone who has ‘been there, done that’ is invaluable. Well, Nicole has indeed been there and done that. Drawing from her years of experience as a teacher and leader, Nicole’s session delved into an ecosystem framework that she developed to tease apart the many different complexities that come together to create true systems change.
While sharing examples and insights from her own journey, Nicole invited teachers to create a roadmap for change in their own community – a great practical resource to take away from this session.
A personal highlight for me was sitting in a room with other educators who were on a journey to create change in their own schools. Leading change in your school can be isolating so it was heartening to witness the generosity of a room full of educators who willingly shared their challenges and their learnings with each other for the ultimate benefit of student and parent community.
Jarred Turner (Program Manager)
I love professional development that includes practical strategies for teachers that can be used in the classroom immediately. The NextEd Conference provided professional learning, by teachers for teachers!
Here at Future Anything, we are big advocates for Project Based Learning, so I had a great time participating in Juliet Aboagye-Hill’s breakout session. As the Director of Learning at Bethany Lutheran Primary School, she provided us with an excellent set of digital resources that can enhance project-based learning.
- SeeSaw is an application that loops teachers, students, and parents together. Students can take photos or videos of their project as it develops, and parents can see their child’s work and leave comments and encouragement.
- Scratch is an accessible coding software where students can bring their imagination to life through code.
- Minecraft Education is a super successful tool for students to digitally express their thinking and creativity.
But, what about all the things that come before that awesome moment when students represent their learning? What about the teaching of content?
Jen Gibb, Director of Teaching and Learning at Faith Lutheran College in Plainland, delivered a practical session on metacognition. She presented us with a range of strategies to help make learning stick. Jen integrated Double Entry Journals into her workshop – a method for note making, rather than note-taking. It’s a simple (and therefore very appealing) strategy. Students divide a page in two, put a list of the content they have learned on the left, and a response to a question on the right. The question could be anything to help students reflect on their learning.
The question we used in the workshop was, ‘Why use this strategy?’. Common as a reading comprehension strategy, Jen showed us how Double-Entry Journals can be very easily used as a note-making method for content in the classroom as well. My favourite point from Jen was about transparency. As teachers, we are always intentional in what we do – we have a reason for using this strategy or activity, then the other, then the next. But how often are we transparent with students about why we do this?
Jen reminded us that the brain responds to ‘why’, so if we can share our reasoning with students, they are much more likely to join us for the learning journey!
Leighann Ness Wilson (Project Manager)
My highlights of the second day of the Next Ed Conference began early, with a lift on a golf buggy from the carpark with two other conference attendees!
From there the day got even better, with a morning keynote from Dr Dinesh Palipana OAM.
Dinesh captivated the audience with his incredible story and spoke of how the unwavering support of his mother and the power of education have helped him overcome a multitude of adversities.
Workshop highlights included contemplating the implications of AI on education and the role of creativity amongst it all with Dr Paul Browning OAM, followed by Anthony England sharing a helpful framework of AI prompts. He reminded participants about the process of learning not only being more indicative of mastery than the outcome, but also the main source of joy. I made numerous notes of references to embed in my current project of deep diving into the Future Anything capabilities, including works by Jack Martin, Nigel Crook and Pamela Burnard.
Finally, there was the lunchtime panel, ‘Leaving a legacy – Past triumphs, present challenges and what’s next for education’, hosted brilliantly by our own Future Anything CEO and Founder Nicole Dyson, where we were treated to anecdotes, reflections, wisdom and book recommendations from Dr Lyn Bishop OAM, David Bliss, Dr Paul Browning OAM and Chrissie Coogan.
Just this morning while I walked the dog, I began listening to the audiobook of one of Chrissie’s recommendations, ‘The Chimp Paradox’ by Professor Steve Peters. It wasn’t until I was part way down the road that I realised I was eating a banana…. might be a bit of work to do here, I think!
Alyssa Burns (Program Manager)
NextEd conference was a fantastic way to start the week and the highlight for me was Brenda Matthews keynote address about navigating identity and healing. She took us on a journey sharing her experience of being forcibly removed from her family (twice) and her quest for personal identity.
Listening to Brenda’s story, I was deeply moved by her powerful first-hand account as a member of the Stolen Generation.
She spoke about the government policies that forcibly separated Indigenous children from their families, sharing her own deeply personal experiences. Her narrative shed light on the emotional and cultural dislocation endured by so many, offering a raw and authentic perspective on this dark chapter of Australian history.
One of the most memorable parts of her talk was her journey of reuniting with each of her families and the challenges and incredible joys she experienced through it all. She emphasised the importance of fostering understanding, reconciliation, and healing. Her experience of bringing two families together was both heart-wrenching and heart-warming, and it left a lasting impression on me.
Her courage in sharing her story, coupled with her commitment to bridging cultural divides, serves as an inspiring example of resilience and the power of reconciliation. As I reflect on her words, I’m reminded of the ongoing need for empathy, understanding, and unity. I can also highly recommend her film The Last Daughter (available on Netflix) and look forward to diving into her book soon!
Bring on NextEd 2025!
You’ll be able to tell that NextEd 2024: What’s next in Great Teaching and Learning was an incredibly powerful, practical and energising experience for all of us here at Future Anything.
We spend so much of our time designing and delivering great professional development for educators, and it was wonderful for us to take a couple of days to be on the receiving end of such a positive professional learning experience, and to spend time with so many brilliant colleagues from schools across Queensland.
We also loved working with the teams at Lutheran Education Queensland and Trinity Lutheran College to help shape the program – bring on NextEd 2025!
About the author: Dan Dempsey
Dan Dempsey is a highly experienced educator, forging a successful 20-year career in education and school leadership in both Australia and the United Kingdom, notably through a range of Principal and Deputy Principal roles across varied primary school contexts.
With a passion for building the capacity of schools, teams and systems to embed effective and innovative teaching, learning and assessment, Dan has developed significant experience providing professional learning, coaching and mentoring to teachers and leaders. Dan has a deep understanding of curriculum and pedagogy, with experience implementing and leading STEM initiatives, Project-Based Learning, inquiry and design thinking.
At Future Anything, Dan uses his extensive experience to provide targeted and bespoke support to empower schools, as well as facilitate the suite of teacher professional development programs, with the aim of providing educators the knowledge and skills to embed future-focussed learning experiences.
Future Anything’s engaging and practical teacher professional development workshops unpack the ‘what’ and, more importantly, the ‘how’ of an innovative and future-focussed approach to teaching and learning.
Find out more about our teacher professional development programs here.
