Teaching the teachers

Confucious, Aristotle, Maria Montessori, Matilda’s Miss Honey, John Keating from Dead Poets Society, Bill Nye the Science Guy, the list of great teachers from history and pop culture goes on and on. Perhaps you have had at least one great teacher in your life, too: maybe they read aloud from story books, took the extra time to help you understand a tricky concept, or maybe they were the person who believed in your potential and would change the trajectory of your life.

For Professor Eddie Woo (BEd(Sec) (Hons)’08), a chance encounter did just that. He was in line to enrol in the Faculty of Education, set on becoming a history or English teacher, when a University of Sydney professor struck up a conversation with him.

“He encouraged me to change my teaching area to mathematics,” Eddie recalls, who until then, had struggled with the subject. “For me, becoming a teacher wasn’t about my love for a particular subject, it was about having a personal impact on the lives of young people. I had seen firsthand at school what a lasting and positive difference a great teacher can make. I wanted to do that for someone, and I didn’t care what subject I did it in.”

Neither the professor nor Eddie could have foreseen the impact of that one conversation. Eddie is now fondly known as Mister WooTube – Australia’s most famous maths teacher. He started a YouTube channel in 2012 to help sick and absent students with their studies. As of September 2024, the MisterWooTube channel boasts over 1.85 million subscribers, 170 million views and almost 5000 videos.

Although his online lessons have reached countless students who otherwise would not have come through his classroom, Eddie recognises that “there’s no substitute for immediate contact.” Among his many epithets, accolades and titles, Eddie is also the Professor of Practice (PoP) for Mathematics at the Sydney School of Education and Social Work. As a PoP, Eddie shares his real‑world knowledge with University of Sydney teaching students while continuing his core passion of making maths fun and accessible in his high school classroom.

“I think it’s fantastic that the University wants to ensure its students have access to current industrial experience and expertise,” Eddie enthuses. “It makes so much sense to me, that if we want to train people to enter a profession, you want people who are still actively involved in leading that profession to be part of their initial teacher‑learning experience.”

One of the most important lessons Eddie has imparted to aspiring teachers has been “adopting the mindset of a lifelong learner who can engage in the adaptive decision‑making required to work successfully in a school.” Embracing this ‘lifelong learner’ approach ensures the teacher is continuously acquiring new knowledge, and positions them in the perspective of the student to truly understand how a pupil thinks, operates, and as a result, learns.

Teachers today face unprecedented demands in terms of extra‑curricular hours and responsibilities, which for some leads them to leave the profession. The Australian government created the National Teacher Workforce Action Plan in December 2022, recognising that the workforce shortage was, and remains, a national priority. The plan acknowledged well‑known challenges: stagnant salaries, overpopulated classrooms, tight budgets, and lingering stressors from the pandemic, to name a few.

“All around the world there are chronic teacher shortages,” said Vice‑Chancellor and President of the University of Sydney, Professor Mark Scott AO (BA ’84, DipEd ’84, MA ’93, HonDLitt ’15), explains. “There is no silver bullet for that.”

Professor Scott has been one of the key figures spearheading this issue due to his deep involvement in the sector, both at the University and as Secretary of the NSW Department of Education from 2016 to 2021. Recently, Professor Scott chaired the Teaching Education Expert Panel.

In the panel’s report, he stressed “the importance of teachers cannot be overstated. When we are young, we can explore and master new talents and skills, discover new passions, test our potential and build our independence. These are all things we start to learn at school with our teachers.”

Veteran educators like Eddie echo Professor Scott’s sentiments and suggest the need for a larger cultural shift to develop and retain quality teachers, identifying that “one of the longstanding challenges in education is the divide between theory and practice.”

Thanks to like‑minded donors, the University is helping to bridge this divide and facilitate a smoother transition into the workforce by investing in pedagogy – the teaching of teachers. The PoP program is enabled by donors like Thomas (Tom) Yim (LLB ’73), esteemed alumnus and philanthropist, and Dott. (Dr) Maria Teresa Savio Hooke OAM, a psychoanalyst with a deep interest in mentorship and communities of learning.

Recently, Tom and Maria Teresa have given the PoP initiative a significant boost to establish new positions in STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) and Education Leadership. Professor Scott Sleap is the newly appointed STEM PoP, and like Eddie, he will remain active in the sector and work at the University part‑time to share his expertise with aspiring teachers.

Looking ahead, once the Professor of Education Leadership is appointed, the PoP initiative will be enhanced by the new Global Visiting Scholar Program. This donor‑funded program aims to bring both established and emerging international academics with a focus on pedagogy to the University. These world‑class educators will study, analyse, and adapt international knowledge – such as how different countries are addressing issues like declining student literacy and workforce shortages – to fit the Australian context.

While the teacher shortage is a complex problem, these initiatives go to the heart of what makes a great teacher: sustaining their passion for education. This approach connects them to the best, latest methods across the global education sector. In turn, this can raise standards of learning for Australian students, from the first days of preschool through to their final university exams, and beyond.

As Eddie says: “together, we can build the future of what education looks like at the University and across Australia.”

Written by Elizabeth Jo for the donor publication. Photography by Fiona Wolf.