Student Profile

Melissa Jennings

Bachelor of Education (Primary Education)

I began my degree at Edith Cowan and wasn’t happy with the course and the options. My sister was at Curtin studying Fine Arts so I decided to transfer. I began my first year of study at Curtin in 2001.

I felt that Curtin really prepared me for my teaching career. The course was a great mix of research, theory and practice. It dealt with issues that only now I am working for the Education Department do I realise that were very current; for example, the Action Research Unit in fourth year. I am currently part of an action research team at my school looking at Aboriginal Education.

The highlights of my degree were the people I met, the friends I made, the contacts I formed, the lecturers, the social side, the one off experiences all made my time at Curtin memorable. I actually went to Narrogin for my third year prac which was so much fun. Especially for a city girl like myself, it was a real eye-opener!

Fourth year was definitely the best. Working in your ATP, completing your own research as well as finally forming and justifying your own opinions.

My career path since I graduated has been as follows:

Jan 2005 – Placed at Merriwa Primary by Education Department in a year 6/7
Feb 05 – Lost position due to a permanently displaced teacher
March 05 – Got another job at Merriwa for the rest of the year 0.6 Year 7 and 0.4 TAGS co-ordinator for the school.
2006 – Offered position at Merriwa. 0.6 Year 3 teacher and 0.4 Jnr Music teacher. (That was fun!)
Mid 2006- Nominated for Outstanding Graduate by Deputy Principal Vicki Titmanis. I made it to the top 3 finalists of which I was the Primary finalist.
October 2006- Went through the Merit selection process and received job offers but decided to stay at Merriwa.
2007- Year 4/5 a Merriwa Primary (…and having a great time)
Also, this year I am training in level 1 Barry Bennett which is fantastic.

The staff at Curtin are fabulous. Inspirational. Excellent teachers and mentors. I still keep in contact with a few who have made a special impression such as Glenda Raison.

I would absolutely recommend this degree to others. After attending both Edith Cowan and Curtin, I would and do recommend Curtin for teaching students. I found ECU to be a lot of theory without application but, as I have said before, Curtin lets YOU research the theory and helps you apply it to everyday classroom activities.

you. You have a room full of students which consider many things new and exciting and they constantly remind you of the joy of uncovering the workings of the world.