Catherine’s enthusiasm and drive to make a positive difference in the lives of students is a direct result of the broad range of learning experiences she has taken part in, as well as the different teaching modalities and philosophies of education she has studied and applied within her own teaching.
Catherine is a passionate and enthusiastic individual.
She graduated as a Primary School Teacher in 2015. Following University, she gained broad experience across Melbourne teaching casually, full time and part time within the Victorian Curriculum Education System.
She has had insight into over forty different schools, having the opportunity to experience various school cultures. She stated that in order to capture the true essence of learning she “wanted to see which common themes ran throughout schools and where students engaged and disengaged” (Woollard, 2019).
Through her teaching observations combined with the insights gained throughout her Post Graduate studies in ‘The Extra Lesson’ it made clear to her how if children are not developmentally ready to learn, they found school much more difficult. Catherine said “My largest passion in life is the love of learning. I hold education in a high regard and acknowledge this life-long journey that impacts our ability to lead purpose-filled lives. I have observed situations where formal education can be overwhelming when we are not ready for it. This is what drew me to the true power of our senses.
Throughout the award winning ‘EDUCO’ model of global education course I attended in the Bahamas, I learnt how the brain works and how we truly experience life. I learnt how ‘play’ is the only single activity that engages all of our senses and I made the link between life and learning; they are the same thing. How we truly experience life is how we truly experience meaningful and purposeful learning. How do we do this? The answer is through the engagement of our senses.
We need to educate a child’s whole being to really engage them. Because we are ‘beings’ with souls, we must be nourished throughout the learning journey and education must be holistic. If we have experienced, discovered and learnt about life through the window of our senses ever since we were babies, why don’t we continue this right through our formal education and beyond in order to achieve the best education there is?” (Woollard, 2020).
‘Aligned to Learn’ is a movement and learning intervention program based on the specific ‘Extra Lesson’ practice (a holistic developmental approach). The assessment, diagnosis and developmental approach works through movement and an integration of the senses to develop the child’s faculty to learn and to experience life positively. This practise is suitable for years 7+ continuing right up until adulthood. We are always learning and experiencing life.