Teaching the Arts

David Roy currently lectures in Education and Drama at the University of Newcastle, on Early Childhood, primary and secondary education courses. His research interests focus on representation, performance, physicality and pedagogy. Educated in Scotland at the University of Glasgow and the University of Strathclyde, has extensive experience in Drama and Theatre education as a teacher and department head for 17 years; advisor to government, theatre and media organisations; curriculum developer; director of international education events, workshops and conferences; theatrical and dance performer, designer and director. He has been part of examination teams for the SQA and NSW Board of Studies and the International Baccalaureate. He is the author of seven texts, including being nominated for the 2006 Saltire/TES Scottish Education Publication of the Year, as well as various papers and conference presentations. David is in demand as a consultant with primary and secondary schools on the arts, quality teaching and behaviour management. Bill taught music education for 17 years in primary, secondary and college levels of classroom music, as well as being an instrumental strings specialist. His last school teaching appointment was as Director of Music of a large independent school in Victoria, where he was also an assessor for VCAA. Bill's Doctorate focused on the role for professional performing arts organisations as providers of arts education and his research interests are many and varied. Bill is a qualitative researcher with particular use of case studies. Bill has been the Chairperson for the Australian Society for Music Education (ASME) Tasmanian Chapter (2007-2010) and in 2009 was the Convenor of the ASME XVII National Conference Musical Understanding. In 2007 Bill was awarded a UTAS Teaching Development Grant to investigate the use of music learning centres in primary and early childhood education with reference to the experiences of pupils, classroom teachers and pre-service teachers (available at: http://www.asme.tas.edu.au/learning_centres/index.html) and in 2009 Bill was awarded a further UTAS Teaching Development Grant extending the study of learning centres across the Arts domain (available at: http://www.asme.tas.edu.au/learning_centres_2/index.html). In 2009 Bill also received a UTAS Teaching Merit Certificate and in 2011 was awarded a UTAS Vice Chancellor's Citation for Outstanding Contribution to Student Learning. Bill is also presently studying for a degree in Fine Art. Amy is a practiscing visual artist and senior lecturer in Visual Art and Arts Education in the School of Education at Flinders University. She has extensive experience developing curriculum and teaching visual art from primary school to the tertiary level. She coordinates the arts education program for early childhood, primary and secondary years. Amy's research is predominantly arts practice-based research, usually in the form of painting or printmaking. Amy's doctoral thesis entitled 'Through the Looking Glass; curriculum as autoethnography as self portrait' was a study about art curriculum for primary school teachers. Recent art education publications have also explored the preparation of pre-service teachers to teach art effectively. Amy is currently on the writing team for the arts in the new Australian Curriculum.