Finding an appetite for dynamic learning experiences
When Sydney went into a strict lockdown during the pandemic, many people felt that opportunities became thinner on the ground. For Miss Charlotte Caldwell, fresh off the back of her first semester of an Exercise and Sport Science degree, it was quite the opposite.
The daughter of two teachers, her mother was looking for help in supervising students of essential workers and the experience made her realise she’d like to pursue a career in teaching.
It was the right choice for her, and when she started at Australian Catholic University in Strathfield, she says she loved every minute of it.
“I feel like when you find your niche and you enjoy something, you thrive,” she says.
“I really enjoyed pushing myself to find out more, do more research, extend myself. Because the more I develop myself, the higher quality education I can provide. I’ve really enjoyed that challenging aspect of learning and trying to be the best version of myself possible.”
It was this hunger to know more and to deepen her teaching practice that led her to Trinity’s Internship program to experience something she hadn’t been able to get through previous placements or study.
“It was a really strong appeal having the ability to be in the classroom throughout the year leading up to my final placement. A challenging aspect of my prior placements has been trying to get to know the students in such a short period of time. So it’s been great to be in a class throughout the year, have consistency, really getting to know the learners and understand their needs and their personalities.”
Placed at Trinity’s Preparatory School, Miss Caldwell is on-site on Mondays, a schedule that allows her to attend the weekly staff meetings where she says she always learns from other staff.
“Even though I have one official mentor, I’ve got all these unofficial mentors that have been supporting me along the way which has been fantastic. The staff collegiality and camaraderie is unbeatable.
“They tell you at uni, get your Masters and you’ll stick out and be more employable. Here, you’re in the staff room and everyone’s got their Masters. It’s very high quality staff that I’m working with which is excellent. It’s so great getting to learn from everyone.”
Ms Nadene O’Neill is her “official” mentor, an assignment that Miss Caldwell is immensely grateful for, given Ms O’Neill’s credentials, international teaching experience, and tenure at Trinity.
“It’s good getting other perspectives and also observing her as a teacher. There are so many things that you wouldn’t have thought of doing in that way,” says Ms Caldwell. “She’s very happy to let me give things a go and she is always there to support me.”
Miss Caldwell herself attended an Independent school and both parents work in the Independent system, so she had a framework to understand the way things work in Trinity’s go-go-go schedule, but she says that the experience has helped her to grow her knowledge of the International Baccalaureate program, something she hadn’t learnt about at university.
“Of course, they’ve encouraged us to use cross-disciplinary techniques when planning units of work, but now being in an environment where everything is cross-disciplinary, it’s been great to get to learn that,” she says. “At first I was a bit unsure, because it was so different to what I’ve done in the past, but I really like this way of learning.”
Coming with a ‘I’ll give it a go’ attitude has seen Miss Caldwell thrive in an environment where adaptability is a huge strength, but she says that the Internship Program has helped her to back herself more.
“I have more certainty with how I see myself as a teacher and more confidence walking into a classroom and going, ‘I’ve got this’. I know where I’m going, how to handle different situations, what curriculum I need to implement, and pedagogical strategies to use.”
And, if anything, the experience has only made her hungrier to learn more.
“I’ve been able to partake in professional learning sessions that have been invaluable. I don’t think I would have had opportunities to attend PDs like that without the Internship Program.
“We’ve had so many really interesting staff meetings where they’ve pushed you to think about things differently and extend yourself and that’s been a really awesome aspect that I didn’t know I was going to get.”
