National Summit on Teaching Out-of-field (TOOF)

The National Summit on Teaching Out-of-field (TOOF) was attended by academics, school leaders, classroom teachers across various career stages, representatives from curriculum authorities, and representatives from professional associations. The Australian Geography Teachers Association (AGTA) was represented by Trish Douglas (Immediate Past Chair) and Dr Susan Caldis, (Chair).

The report titled Australian National Summit on Teaching Out-of-Field: Synthesis and Recommendations for Policy, Practice and Research is one outcome of the national summit. There are two parts to the report. Part A synthesises contributions to the Summit into key messages, actions and recommendations across five themes. Part B provides summaries of the presentations.

In response to contributions from Trish Douglas and Dr Susan Caldis, the complexities associated with out-of-field teaching in Geography are specifically explored and addressed within Theme 2 School Management and Leadership, Theme 3 Initial Teacher Education, and Theme 5, Teacher Professional Learning. A total of 22 Actions and 46 Recommendations to inform policy, practice and research have been further distilled to five Key Messages, namely definition, measurement, strategy, policy and collaboration.

Report downloads
>> Executive summary
>> Report: Part A
>> Presentation summaries: Part B
>> Actions and recommendations