NINE Canberra teachers have graduated from the University of Illinois with their Masters of Education degrees.

The Lanyon High School teachers met for two years for weekly online, 90-minute sessions with their lecturer and the other American teachers participating in the course.

The teachers had experience ranging from three to 17 years.
Rachael Radvanyi, who has been teaching at Lanyon High for 16 years, says it had been a while since she had studied.

“It was challenging, but professionally it has been very rewarding,” she says.

“It was great to have the other teachers for support and motivation, and not just in the ACT. There was a great deal of co-operating with the students in the US as well.”

Lanyon High uses the Learning by Design framework, which is developed by the University of Illinois.

They were trialling the new online course and Lanyon High teachers were invited to be a part of it.

Ms Radvanyi was one of four Lanyon teachers who were able to travel to Illinois to attend the graduation ceremony.

“When we went to the US for the graduation ceremony, it was good to meet the people I’d been talking to every week,” she says.
Principal of Lanyon High School, Mr Bill Thompson, says he is delighted with the accomplishment of his teachers.

“Having nine teachers complete a masters of education together is a very positive thing for our school. We are already seeing the results of this as teachers are using the new technologies in their classrooms to make learning more interesting and relevant for our students.”

The teachers say the international on-line learning process has opened their eyes to different approaches to education and learning, and what this means for their students.

“It is amazing that we built links with teachers on the other side of the world,” said teacher Ed Cuthbertson.

The ACT Education and Training Directorate provides professional development scholarships, which support teachers to expand and further develop their skills.