Rebekah has been working with our friends at Ochre, creating high-quality lessons for Australian teachers. As an alumnus of both the Masterclass Series and the Instructional Lead Fellowship, we wanted to hear all about her recent contributions to education in Australia.

What made you decide to join the Ochre community and create lessons for teachers all over Australia?

I believe strongly in the importance of equity in education and am passionate about all students having access to quality education. This was why I decided to join the Ochre community and create lessons for teachers all over Australia. As an early teacher, I really struggled with the pressure of designing lessons and would often spend most of my planning time trying to source quality resources. The concept of Ochre, providing a bank of high-quality curriculum aligned resources available for free, appealed to me and I was keen to be involved in the process.

I initially had some hesitation to be involved, the time commitment was large (especially during holidays), technologies were new to me and having to film each lesson was confronting. However, I quickly realised that these were hurdles easily managed with the support of the team at Ochre. The feeling of achievement as each lesson and video was completed was greater than any challenges faced.  I am so grateful to have had the opportunity to work with Ochre Education.

What skills, strategies and/or knowledge did the Teach Well Masterclass Series give you to support your lesson creation for Ochre?

The Teach Well Masterclass offered great support and preparation for lesson creation at Ochre. The Masterclass equipped me with skills in lesson design, and knowledge about the science of learning especially cognitive load theory and how to incorporate my knowledge of how students learn into the lesson design.

You have recently attended our Instructional Lead Fellowship workshops, what is something you are excited about bringing back to your school?

Teach Well’s Instructional Lead Fellowship has been greatly beneficial to my learning. I’m excited to bring back knowledge of the impact coaching cycle and incorporating this into our school coaching cycle. I would absolutely recommend the instructional lead fellowship for anyone in a coaching or leadership position at their school.

– Rebekah Winning, Primary Teacher & English Coach