YouTube is being used by an exceptional Cairns teacher to help engage students.

St Monica’s College teacher Rachael Tranter is inspiring students, colleagues and parents with her extraordinary commitment to make lessons engaging, and to help pupils excel and achieve award-winning results on a national stage.

The Science, Chemistry, Biology, English and HPE teacher, who often works through her lunch hours and after school to support students, and is also in charge of several sporting teams, has been named as a finalist for this year’s Queensland College of Teachers (QCT) Excellence in Teaching Award.
​
Last year Ms Tranter helped four St Monica’s College students to win the national Sleek Geeks Science Eureka Prize for secondary students. Winning students have written to the QCT praising Ms Tranter for her coaching and leadership.   

Ms Tranter is also an advocate of flipped learning, which involves video lessons being given as homework, freeing up class time to deepen learning. It also allows students to access the learning anytime, anywhere.

“The videos aren’t polished, but they’re made by me, for my students and that helps me to build positive working relationships with the girls in my classes,” she said.

Ms Tranter said supporting students through science competitions such as the Sleek Geeks prize, gave them the chance to build teamwork, communication and problem-solving skills, while working with a myriad of new people. Success in these competitions has led to her students being interviewed on ABC Radio FNQ and on Triple J, and meeting Australia’s top scientists and innovators. 

“This all builds confidence, and for there to be a level playing field for women in STEM our girls need to have the self-belief that they have what it takes,” she said. “When students have the self-belief to compete, they then have the confidence to talk about what they know and can do.”

“As a Science teacher I strive to evoke curiosity and challenge my students to question and discover the natural phenomena that surround them and also evaluate the ways they can manipulate their own impact on the way things work. Girls are naturally more hesitant than boys and will second guess their abilities. I think that sometimes all they need is the knowledge that someone else believes they can.”

The QCT Excellence in Teaching Awards are the only state government awards which recognise teachers from all schooling sectors, and early childhood education, across all subjects state-wide. Winners will be announced on October 25, on the eve of World Teachers’ Day celebrations in Australia.

Congratulations Ms Tranter on being named a finalist.