Held on 14 & 15 August, some of the key sessions at this year’s VET Development Centre’s VET National Teaching & Learning Conference were the research and practical workshops.
Rather than hearing from the ‘experts at the front’ – these workshops provided a great opportunity for educators to learn new skills alongside and from their peers.
In the research workshops delegates heard from:
- Emma Rice kicking things off describing TAFE Queensland’s focus on inclusion and the student voice, including: sustaining commitment through accountability, celebrating diversity as a strength, fostering psychological safety and modelling inclusive leadership.
- Leigh Dwyer from William Angliss Institute shared insights from his International Specialised Skills Institute (ISSI) fellowship research findings on AI in curriculum development including the intersection of “teams”, “tools”, and “design”.
- The NCVER’s Dr Tabatha Griffin gave not one but two research workshops – firstly sharing details of NCVER research on teacher perspectives on what works best for whom. She backed that up with a workshop with her NCVER colleague, Upekha Andrahannadi, on effective student support to enable the learning journey – sharing highlights from another important piece of research from the NCVER.
- Kent Martin, Jeanette Swain and Vicki Saray from Bendigo Kangan Institute shared how they are transforming teaching and learning in health and community qualifications through using a flipped classroom approach, i.e. students complete learning they would normally do in the classroom at home, and then the time they spend in the classroom can be focussed on more interactive learning and problem solving.
- The final research-based workshop was led by Lisa Piller, South Metropolitan TAFE, who shared her research on regenerative textiles which she undertook with her 2025 Australian VET Sustainability Fellowship through the VDC and the ISSI. The research involved 39 stakeholder visits across six countries, allowing her to “reimagine the future of fashion, textiles, and skills training.”
Sam Crowe from TAFE Queensland ran three workshops on harnessing AI for educator empowerment, outlining the significant work she and her colleagues have led to carefully and thoughtfully embed generative AI within TAFE Queensland.
Chisholm Institute’s Michelle Tocci also ran three workshops sharing her expertise on how communication shapes learning and success – and using those insights to “create a journey of excellence.”
The VDC also gives special thanks to Emma Rice who, due to an unforeseen program change, stepped in and provided two important further workshops on the student voice. And finally, VDC News’ ghostwriter was delighted to run an extra session – exploring future opportunity in VET through data driven decision making, considering more short courses and non-accredited training, and engaging students in your marketing plans.
SAVE THE DATE
13-14 August 2026
VET National Teaching & Learning Conference
Melbourne Convention and Exhibition Centre
Thanks to our 2025 VET National Teaching & Learning Conference Sponsors
