Danya Webb, with an extensive background in marketing and sales, is the training operations manager for Primary Ethics. Her team delivers all the new teacher training sessions. They also create all the e-learning modules for new teacher/coordinator training, as well as the many short courses and handouts available to volunteers. And they run monthly information webinars and collaborate with Classroom Support colleagues on professional development workshops.
My own journey with Primary Ethics began as a volunteer ethics teacher in 2018 when my younger daughter started kindergarten (her older sister had already been in ethics for a few years). My involvement grew when I took on the additional role of volunteer ethics coordinator at my children’s new school in 2021 to launch their ethics program. We now have a team of 12 ethics teachers at this K-12 school, covering almost all the demand for ethics from K-8. My younger daughter is now in Year 7 and I still teach her Stage 4 ethics class!
The power of the program is personal to me. I’ve seen both my children’s critical thinking and empathetic reasoning skills develop over the years thanks to their involvement in ethics education.
Danya
As training manager, I work with a dedicated team to ensure our volunteer ethics teachers and coordinators are well-prepared for their roles. Our commitment to continuous improvement and a supportive learning environment is at the heart of everything we do.
Our team of 14 trainers deliver regular interactive new teacher training workshops face-to-face in Sydney and Wollongong and online via Zoom. The online option makes our training more accessible to regional volunteers, as well as those who prefer the convenience of training from home or in the evenings.
We train all sorts of people – barristers and psychologists, cleaners and librarians. Regardless of background, everyone is trained in the same way, equipping all with the skills to become capable ethics teachers or coordinators.
We also develop and manage digital learning resources, including:
- E-learning modules for new teacher and new coordinator training.
- Many short courses and handouts available in our Document Library.
- Collaborative professional development.
Learning doesn’t stop after the initial training. We strongly believe that every ethics lesson offers a chance to hone technique. We collaborate closely with the Classroom Support team to offer ongoing professional development, including:
- Engage-Reflect-Connect workshops for ethics teachers
- Coordinator Essentials workshops for ethics coordinators
- Information webinars about ethics for parents and the community.
- Commitment to continuous improvement.
To ensure our program remains current and impactful, we also run an annual program review. This evaluation is vital, helping us modify our approach to address any gaps and drive quality improvement.
Our training methodology has evolved significantly over the years — we are now on Version 11 of our new teacher training manual! This is a testament to our focus on integrating feedback, keeping up with best practice in adult learning methodology and adapting to the needs of our volunteers and students.