I am very thankful for the opportunity to look deep into the Pilbara region, and further to the rural education system in WA. Before I took this unit, I did not have any idea about what it was like to live and work in a remote area in Australia. Without any substantive knowledge about Pilbara, I entered into this research, merely because a friend was appointed as a LOTE (Chinese) teacher in Paraburdoo Primary School and I believed that it would make it easier for this task.
This study has eventually significantly boosted my understanding to what it could be to teach in a rural school, at least in Pilbara region.
Pilbara is very remote, according to its physical distance from Perth. However, the life in many towns in the region is modern and quite convenient. I haven’t got a chance to pay an actual visit to the region; however, from a number of well-recorded and edited videos about Pilbara on the Youtube and the up-to-date information on the websites of the communities, local government and schools (especially the school newsletters), it can be seen very clear how the community and schools are doing.
From this task I have learned at least a few things.
Firstly, the schools in my research area have strong relationship with the community, especially with the mining industry. In this case, the fortified links amongst the industry, the economy and education have been one of the greatest features of the region.
Secondly, with the robust support from the community, the schools are well-equipped with all sorts of advanced facilities for modernised education. Although they are so far away from the major cities, their resources do not seem short.
Thirdly, a variety of quality programs and services are available for students in primary and high schools in accordance with their needs, such as the PPP (Pilbara Pathways Partnership) and Aboriginal Tutorial Assistance Scheme in Tom Price Senior High School, a string of special programs in the primary schools, and a series of co-curricular programs in Newman Senior High School.
Last but not least, professional personnel are available to provide individual support and assistance to students. Taking Tom Price SHS as an instance, there are chaplain, school psychologist, school nurse, Aboriginal and Islander Education Officer (AIEO), inclusive Learning Coordinator, Getting it Right in Literacy (GiR-L) teacher, and Indigenous Tutorial Assistance Scheme( ITAS) coordinator working together to ensure the best education outcome. This is fabulous for a school in rural area.
During the process of creating the simulation, I have learned a lot from the research. However, there were still a couple of challenges in this task. With no experience in using Wikispaces, I often found it unstable and could not function well as I expected. Time seemed even tighter when some pages had to be done repetitively. I was not able to meet the deadline set originally for this task due to being committed in other assignment as well as unrealistic time management strategies – for a certain period of time I spent too much time on secondary jobs such as graphic design and page editing for the site, and kept pondering on some details of the information I collected. Fortunately my partner Stacey is very understanding so as to grant me leave to ask for an extension of time for submission. I experienced a few “first time” in this task – first time to use the particular web-space, first time to make a simulation, first time to engage in teamwork in my study at UWA, and first time to study on somewhere I never thought I would have any overlap with but finally changed my mind after the study… I hope these “first times” can constitute enough excuse for my lagging behind.
A big thank you should go to my partner Stacey for her patience and assistance. Thanks also go to Ms Chunhua Liu, the LOTE teacher of Paraburdoo Primary School, for her information and kindness to help. And of course, thank you Elaine for giving me the chance to dig deep into the stunningly iron-rich Pilbara.
Stacey's Reflection
Grace's Reflection
I am very thankful for the opportunity to look deep into the Pilbara region, and further to the rural education system in WA. Before I took this unit, I did not have any idea about what it was like to live and work in a remote area in Australia. Without any substantive knowledge about Pilbara, I entered into this research, merely because a friend was appointed as a LOTE (Chinese) teacher in Paraburdoo Primary School and I believed that it would make it easier for this task.
This study has eventually significantly boosted my understanding to what it could be to teach in a rural school, at least in Pilbara region.
Pilbara is very remote, according to its physical distance from Perth. However, the life in many towns in the region is modern and quite convenient. I haven’t got a chance to pay an actual visit to the region; however, from a number of well-recorded and edited videos about Pilbara on the Youtube and the up-to-date information on the websites of the communities, local government and schools (especially the school newsletters), it can be seen very clear how the community and schools are doing.
From this task I have learned at least a few things.
Firstly, the schools in my research area have strong relationship with the community, especially with the mining industry. In this case, the fortified links amongst the industry, the economy and education have been one of the greatest features of the region.
Secondly, with the robust support from the community, the schools are well-equipped with all sorts of advanced facilities for modernised education. Although they are so far away from the major cities, their resources do not seem short.
Thirdly, a variety of quality programs and services are available for students in primary and high schools in accordance with their needs, such as the PPP (Pilbara Pathways Partnership) and Aboriginal Tutorial Assistance Scheme in Tom Price Senior High School, a string of special programs in the primary schools, and a series of co-curricular programs in Newman Senior High School.
Last but not least, professional personnel are available to provide individual support and assistance to students. Taking Tom Price SHS as an instance, there are chaplain, school psychologist, school nurse, Aboriginal and Islander Education Officer (AIEO), inclusive Learning Coordinator, Getting it Right in Literacy (GiR-L) teacher, and Indigenous Tutorial Assistance Scheme( ITAS) coordinator working together to ensure the best education outcome. This is fabulous for a school in rural area.
During the process of creating the simulation, I have learned a lot from the research. However, there were still a couple of challenges in this task. With no experience in using Wikispaces, I often found it unstable and could not function well as I expected. Time seemed even tighter when some pages had to be done repetitively. I was not able to meet the deadline set originally for this task due to being committed in other assignment as well as unrealistic time management strategies – for a certain period of time I spent too much time on secondary jobs such as graphic design and page editing for the site, and kept pondering on some details of the information I collected. Fortunately my partner Stacey is very understanding so as to grant me leave to ask for an extension of time for submission. I experienced a few “first time” in this task – first time to use the particular web-space, first time to make a simulation, first time to engage in teamwork in my study at UWA, and first time to study on somewhere I never thought I would have any overlap with but finally changed my mind after the study… I hope these “first times” can constitute enough excuse for my lagging behind.
A big thank you should go to my partner Stacey for her patience and assistance. Thanks also go to Ms Chunhua Liu, the LOTE teacher of Paraburdoo Primary School, for her information and kindness to help. And of course, thank you Elaine for giving me the chance to dig deep into the stunningly iron-rich Pilbara.
Grace Yu
Student ID: 21212638