Top marks for winning educator

Based at the Townsville (Pimlico) campus, Ronelle has devoted the better part of her working life to the practice of teaching others. Her career as a health educator has seen her work across Australia, from Townsville to Sydney and small communities in Arnhem Land.

"I love teaching and I like making a difference in my student's lives," Ronelle said.

"As an educator, I have the opportunity to encourage and motivate students to reach their goals - not only the certificate at the end but all the successes along the way."

"It's incredibly rewarding to watch my students grow in confidence as they work through their lab skills, or overcome a fear of presenting in front of others, or feel comfortable at TAFE Queensland after facing unpleasant learning experiences elsewhere."

Ronelle's students come from all walks of life. She is aware of how daunting classrooms can be and does everything she can to create motivated and independent learners.

"I have such a diverse range of students – many with lower levels of literacy and numeracy – so it’s really important to establish the learning environment as a safe space where students feel equal and encouraged to participate."

"I ensure that students know they can put an idea out there and there is no sense of judgement, no spotlighting, and I always make sure I bring their answers around to fit in with the conversation if they’re not quite on the right track."

For Ronelle, every environment and every group requires individual teaching styles and methods.

"If my students don’t understand a concept, that’s on me, it means I haven’t put it in a way that makes sense for them."

"By incorporating visual, audio and kinaesthetic elements in my teaching, I find there is a much higher rate of retention," Ronelle continued.

"If there is some confusion, I adapt my teaching methods for that concept and this could be by providing a case study or simply changing the dialogue."

Ronelle is passionate about encouraging more high school leavers to consider a career in health and aged care. Part of her teaching schedule is dedicated to delivering a Certificate III in Health Services Assistance (HLT33115) to school-based students.

"It is part of a broader push to present assistant in nursing and aged care work as an option to students before they enter the workforce."

"It is also an effective way to introduce young people to an area of the community they would otherwise have limited access to."

"The program strengthens ties between the youth community and aged care, and sets young people up with real options for employment post-graduation."

Additionally, Ronelle said the initiative aims to provide a pipeline of knowledgeable and passionate health and aged care workers.

"TAFE Queensland has an excellent reputation for producing top-tier students in this field, but the prevalence of staff who are not adequately trained or qualified is a major long-term issue for the health and aged care industry."

"I truly believe, as educators, we have a duty to our communities to ensure the workers we are sending to these facilities and hospitals continue to be of the highest quality."

Ronelle makes no apologies for training her students "hard" with high expectations.

"Before I even send a school student out on work placement, I ensure they do a full week of intensive lab work so they are ready and have covered the essential scenarios."

"It is the same for our adult learners. I aim to replicate everything they can expect to find on the job so that they are confident to perform their duties and there are no big surprises."

Providing vital, frontline training during the pandemic has been some of the most rewarding delivery of Ronelle's career. She was instrumental in the health and aged care industry’s response to COVID-19 by delivering state-wide Infection Control Skill Set training to hundreds of workers, such as registered nurses, infection prevention control specialists and cleaners.

"In one instance, it came to light that kitchen staff who deliver meals were not aware that a yellow flower on the door, for example, represented infection."

"Similarly, nursing staff learnt that colour-coded mops were used by the cleaning department for different areas of the facility," Ronelle continued.

"Staff came away with a greater appreciation of the importance of working as a team within their disciplines and learnt from each other through the lens of different professional contexts."

Ronelle enjoys creating valuable, engaging and unique hands-on learning experiences. In fact, she uses booby-traps in her classroom to demonstrate to her students how easy it can be for infection to spread.

"Glitter Bug replicates invisible germs and is a great resource for handwashing demonstrations, but it is a tool many staff are already familiar with, so I throw in an element of surprise," Ronelle said.

"I use Glitter Bug in powdered form on things like the sign-on table and fidget toys."

"Then I take the students into a dark room with a UV light to demonstrate how quickly the germs travelled all over their bodies."

"Their noses, cheeks and other body parts glow under the UV light, providing them with a visual representation of why it's so important to stop the spread of infection."

Ronelle's exceptional dedication as an educator earned her the best teacher in the state title at the 2022 Queensland Training Awards.

"Winning really made me feel recognised as doing something special for my students and going that extra mile which I really try to do every day."

"I am actually a quiet achiever, so it was very special to be acknowledged at such a prestigious event among so many people who are doing brilliant things in the teaching and learning field."

"The award was great recognition of all my hard work and it made me think more deeply about my teaching practice."

Upon reflection, it's easy for Ronelle to pinpoint her favourite things about teaching.

"There are many things I love about teaching including the people, the shared learning and the challenges thrown my way."

"I love the light bulb moments my students get when something makes sense to them, and I like supporting those who simply needed someone to believe in them and push them."