Dr Robert Sbaglia says more teachers should be taking risks and encouraging innovation.
Sbaglia, who teaches mathematics, science and chemistry at Crusoe College in suburban Bendigo, has brought TEDx to the region and overhauled curriculums.
After completing a doctorate in medicinal chemistry at the University of Queensland and pursuing a postdoctoral fellowship at the University of Florence in Italy, Sbaglia says he realised that research science wasn't for him. He returned home to Melbourne to complete a Diploma of Education and soon after headed to Bendigo to teach mathematics and science.
"I thought I would be happy enough teaching and heading home at the end of the day. However, I soon found my innovative streak surfaced," he says. "I drifted from school to school, trying to find somewhere that would accommodate my desire to see how far I could push the concept of education away from what I had experienced as a student.
"I spent years in primary and secondary education, and government and independent schools, including a stint as a regional coach for teachers, never really finding my niche until I was lucky enough to land a position at Crusoe College."
Sbaglia says Crusoe College had a very progressive principal, and along with the curriculum leader, he was charged with revamping the mathematics curriculum.
"We threw away the textbook and introduced a course that allowed students to work at any level from grade four to year 10; we used videos, QR codes, blogs and mobile phones; and we challenged students to write children's stories about algebra and invent board games around the index laws," he says.
The next year, despite a cancer diagnosis and round of chemotherapy, Sbaglia was put in charge of an international project called New Pedagogies for Deep Learning, and began working with science staff to revamp the science curriculum.
"Soon we had students learning science through designing their own futuristic creatures, designing their own experiments whilst working online with scientists from around Australia, and learning chemistry through a Survivor-style game," he says.
Sbaglia's passion for innovation in education led him to organise a TEDx series of talks in Bendigo.
"We set about finding potential speakers and to my surprise and delight, a number of big names we approached said yes," he says. "Now we have our assistant principal from Crusoe presenting alongside some of education's most innovative practitioners, and myself and our team of volunteers have an opportunity to connect with others from all over Victoria and beyond who are interested in changing the game."
Sbaglia says teachers interested in innovation should be taking risks. "Find others who share your passion, whether they be in the next office or the next state," he says. "Do your homework to make sure what you do still addresses the curriculum, is backed by research, and you have measurable aspects you can collect data on. In my experience, money, resources, and big names, are all unimportant when compared with the power of a good idea."
