Becoming a Culturally Responsive Practitioner
Calling all pre-service teachers in AustraliaCommencing: 23rd March 2026
About this Course
About this Course:
‘Becoming a Culturally Responsive Practitioner’ is a professional learning experience which will enhance participants’ cultural knowledge confidence and capacity and apply this knowledge by interrogating lesson planning, placement experience, and creating lessons which support our culturally diverse populations.
Together we will reflect on what we are already doing including our experience on placement, pedagogies and practices to understand what works and how we can make changes to improve future teaching and learning. We will do this by bringing in an existing lesson plan to the sessions and building our capacity to be more culturally responsive. Participants who will be on placement during the course will have the opportunity to teach their culturally responsive lesson plan and be supported through online check-ins and self-paced reflection. After placement we will collaboratively unpack what happened and why – and where the gaps are in our knowledge to increase our confidence to create learning and teaching resources for our culturally responsive pedagogical toolkit. The final session will look at future directions for our participants and the sustaining of a community of learners going forward.
Who is this course for:
- Pre-service teachers who want to foster culturally responsive knowledge and skills to reflect, design, and teach using culturally responsive pedagogies.
Why do this course:
- Aligned learning with the Berry Street model.
- Build knowledge and collect resources for the completion of the DTPA.
- Develop and design culturally responsive lesson plans.
- Professional learning supported by experts in the field of culturally responsive teaching and learning.
Dates:
- Session 1: 20 July 2026, 3.30pm – 5pm via Zoom
- Session 2: 3 August 2026, 3.30pm – 5pm via Zoom
- Session 3: 24 August 2026, 3.30pm – 5pm via Zoom
- Session 4: 7 September 2026, 3.30 – 5 pm via Zoom
Aligned with AITSL standards:
- 1.3: Students with diverse linguistic, cultural, religious and socioeconomic backgrounds: Contextualise pedagogies and practices to understand what works and how we can make changes to improve future culturally responsive teaching and learning.
- 3.3: Using teaching strategies: Select and use relevant teaching strategies to develop knowledge, skills, problem solving and critical and creative thinking.
- 3.5: Use effective classroom communication: Use effective verbal and non-verbal communication strategies to support student understanding, participation, engagement and achievement.
- 6.1: Identify and plan professional learning needs: Undertake professional programs designed to address identified student learning needs.
- 6.4: Apply professional learning and improve student learning: Undertake professional learning programs designed to address identified student learning needs.
Resources to review:
https://aiatsis.gov.au/education/core/culturally-responsive-teaching
Course Presenters:
Dr Brandi Fox
Dr Brandi Fox (she/her) is an educational researcher and educator living and working on unceded Wurundjeri Country and is an experienced teaching and research academic focusing on social justice and education.
As a researcher Dr Fox has worked in multiple higher education institutions on collaborative projects focused on cultural diversity, racism and anti-racism, inclusion and social justice in all levels of education. Currently she is researching in the teacher educator space and undertaking qualitative research projects focusing on educators and students in higher education. Combined with years of facilitating professional learning with early careers teachers, experienced teachers and principals, Dr Fox is able to offer a unique insight into both the teaching profession, and the higher education space. She is a member of multiple research groups at Deakin including the Centre for Research for Educational Impact (Social Justice and Diversity in Education), Centre for Regenerating Futures and The Innovating Teacher Education Research Group.
As of 2026 she is the Coordinator for the Education Major in the Bachelor of Arts and Bachelor of Science. She currently teaches units in the Education Major and in the Bachelor of Health and Physical Education. She strives for her units to be student-centred and emphasises the importance of highlighting diverse and intersectional perspectives and knowledges to learn from and with different communities in and beyond academia.
Dr Cameron van der Smee
Cameron is a lecturer of Health and Physical Education in the School of
Education (Faculty of Arts and Education). Cameron has worked in education for
over ten years. Cameron completed his undergraduate degree in Physical
Education in 2009 and then worked for five years as a classroom/PE teacher in
the United States. He transitioned to graduate research by completing a
Master’s degree in 2015. He finished his PhD in 2020 and continues to use his
research to inform his teaching practice, and vice-versa. Cameron has been
teaching at the tertiary level since 2016. He worked as an academic and
program coordinator (across several initial teacher education programs) at
Federation University for four years before joining Deakin in 2023.
Cameron’s main area of research is health and physical education. His PhD
research focused on embodiment and examined how children develop their
relationship with physical culture in early primary education. Recently, he
has been drawn to examining HPE pedagogy and curriculum, and exploring the
transition into physical education teacher education. He continues to explore
embodiment in primary PE and is interested in engaging with student voice to
address the learning needs and interests of all children.
Dr Dylan Scanlon
Dr. Dylan Scanlon is a Lecturer in Health and Physical Education at Deakin University’s School of Education. His research interests encompass a range of areas within education, including:
- Initial teacher education
- Innovative teaching and learning practices in teacher education
- Physical education teacher education
- Social justice
- Policy
- Curriculum and assessment
- Self-study methodologies
Before joining Deakin University, Dr. Dylan Scanlon completed his PhD and taught in teacher education at the University of Limerick, Ireland. He then moved to Dublin City University, Ireland, to complete a postdoctoral fellowship in assessment in higher education (title: ‘Transforming Experiences of Students Through Assessment’). Dr. Scanlon joined Deakin in 2022 as a teacher educator/lecturer in Health and Physical Education in the School of Education.
Dr Harsha Chandir
Dr Harsha Chandir’s research expertise lies at the intersection of intercultural understanding and teachers’ situated practices. Her research program is centred on teacher workforce sustainability, professional learning, equity and wellbeing in diverse educational contexts. Across funded projects, collaborative research initiatives and applied partnerships, her work examines how teachers are prepared, supported and retained within complex and globalised schooling environments. Over time, her trajectory has progressed from international curriculum and intercultural capability research toward systemic investigations of teacher development, literacy reform, workforce diversity and institutional wellbeing.
Relevant projects that contribute her expertise to this program’s management include:
- An Environmental Scan and Literature Review of Assessment in Intercultural Capability, funded by the Victorian Curriculum and Assessment Authority.
- The Graduate Teacher Conferences funded by the Department of Education and Training Victoria
- The Graduate Teacher Professional Learning Program (2023 and 2025) funded by Beyond the Bell
- A literature review for Improving the outcomes for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Students funded by Catholic Education Tasmania.