Growing our own (GOO) Program

The Growing our Own program is a joint venture between Catholic Education NT and Charles Darwin University.  

The program aims to boost the number of Indigenous teachers working in the Territory’s remote communities, The program involves offering CDU’s Bachelor of Teaching and Learning to teaching assistants who are working in Catholic community schools in five remote communities in the NT. Students are guided and supported by a CDU lecturer who visits the school weekly to work with students.

The program is delivered over a three year period and involves on-site delivery by CDU staff, and mentoring by a designated classroom teacher, who in turn is supported in his/her cultural learning by the Indigenous student teacher. This two-way approach to learning allows the whole community to benefit from the expertise both the mentor teacher and preservice teacher bring to the classroom.

A CDU staff member works on-site with Preservice teachers on a one-to-one or small group basis depending on the community. Most teaching and learning, including reading, research, and assignment preparation occurs during this time. Teaching and learning tasks are largely customised and contextualised to ensure they are relevant to each candidate’s teaching context.  A key feature of the program is the close integration of theory and workplace learning and practice within a problem-based two-way learning framework.

Indigenous Preservice teachers participate in relevant, formal supervised practicum placements in their workplaces and, wherever possible, in other schools. They are supported by targeted mentoring that informs and reflects the content and theory of each unit.

In 2018, Marcus Williams (GOO student) finished his course on 20 August 2018 and graduated in a ceremony in Darwin  on 20 October 2018. We congratulate him on his achievement.