Dip Teach NRCAE, BA UNE, MEd(Pass with Merit), PhD Syd

Dr Richard Taffe has had an extensive career in education over the past 30 years including teaching in schools and university, administration in government departments of education and youth services, and leadership in teacher education programs.

Richard is currently Sub-Dean Pathways and Partnerships with the Faculty of Science.

Main Teaching areas:

• Introductory studies in Primary Education (Initial Professional Experience) for undergraduate and postgraduate courses
• Child Development and Learning
• Literacy skills development (younger and older learners – including transition literacy for university entrants)
• Graduate Preparation subjects
• Honours supervision and support

RESEARCH FUNDING

• 2006: Scholarship in Teaching $9400 (with Jennifer Munday).

• 2004: $11 000 for Wodonga Stronger Families Project with Dr L Hard.

• 2004: Recipient of CSU Small grant ($900) for Learning to Learn Project with Jennifer Munday.

• 2000: Recipient of the CSU Special Studies Grant for first semester 2000 (value: full salary plus $6469).

• 1999: CSU Small grant ($2500) for the study entitled, ‘The role of self-efficacy perceptions in the social interactions of young children’.

RESEARCH & CONSULTANCY

• 2011: Pathways to University project. Chief investigator of a two year longitudinal study of students in the CSU Pathways (Equity and Access) program
• 2008-9: Member of the research team investigating assessment and learning at Charles Sturt University (Prof Bob Perry and Prof Sue Dockett, Team leaders)
• 2007: member of the research consultancy team working with Prof. Sue Dockett and Assoc Prof. Bob Perry investigating transition to school in South Australia.
• 2006: “Storytime” Team leader with Murray School of Education team employed to investigate literacy development amongst young children in the birth to 5 years in the Wodonga City area.
• 2004: Wodonga Stronger Families Project (Wodonga City Council) [$11,000 consultancy fee].
• 2003 to 2006: Member, Catholic Education Wodonga (CEW) Administrative body oversighting the development of Catholic Education in the Wodonga Parish.
• 2002-3: Supervisor for literacy support team at St Monica's Primary School, Wodonga, Victoria.
• 2003 to present: Chairman, School Board, St Monica’s Primary School, Wodonga, Victoria.
• 2001-2002: Member of the School Council of St Monica’s Primary School, Wodonga, Victoria.
• 1999: Consultant to Belvior Special School. Assessment of literacy development of five boys and providing advice for the establishment of individual literacy programs for each student.
• 1999: Consultant to St John’s Lutheran School, Jindera. The provision of consultancy for the identification and treatment of children in the junior school presenting with social maladjustment.
• 1997-1999: Member of the Albury Public School Council, Albury, NSW.
• 1995-2000: Project developer and manager for the Literacy Skills Support Project. A one-on-one training project matching children with literacy needs with a pre-service teacher studying early literacy. Now in its fifth year, the project has provided support to over 100 local primary children with special needs in literacy. It is recognised as a unique program which not only provides early intervention in literacy to young learners, but also develops the conceptual understandings and practice of early childhood students in the area of literacy instruction.

PEER REVIEW

• Issues in Educational Research (Editorial Board 2005)
• International Journal of Learning (Associate Editor 2004-2005)
• Alberta Journal of Educational Research (Reviewer 2006-2007)
• Education in Rural Australia (Reviewer 2006)
• Asia-Pacific Journal of Teacher Education (Reviewer 2007)

 SUBMISSIONS

• Submission to the Senate Employment, Workplace Relations and Education Committee, Report on the education of students with disabilities, Dec. 2002, Parliament House, Canberra.

COMMITTEE MEMBERSHIP

• Academic Programs Committee (2009-2010)
• Faculty of Education Courses Committee (1996-2000; 2005-2010)
• Faculty of Science Courses Committee (2009 – 2010)
• Murray School of Education School Board (2008-2011)
• Murray School of Education Assessment Committee (2005- present)

ADMINISTRATIVE LEADERSHIP

• Foundation Chair of the University’s Course Directors Executive
• Foundation Coordinator of the University Pathways program
• Course Coordinator, multiple courses across the University
• Head of Review of the Bachelor of Education (EC) program in 2003.
• Head of Review of the Bachelor of Education (EC) program in 2006/7.
• Course Coordinator, Bachelor of Education (Early Childhood & Primary)
• Member of the Review team for the Master of Education course 2005.
• Member of the Review team for the Master of Education course 2008.
• Member of the advisory group to the Sub-Dean Teaching and Learning.
• Lead, managed, and finalised the accreditation of the BEd (EC) and the BEd (EC&Prim) with relevant accreditation authorities in NSW and Victoria at each review since 2001.

ACADEMIC LEADERSHIP

• Current Head of Review of the BEd (EC&P) [new program to be introduced in 2014]
• 2010: Chair of the Course and Subject Evaluation Working Group
• 2009/2010: Flexible Learning Institute Fellow
• Registered Charles Sturt University Research Supervisor (List A)

Currently hold position of CSU Teacher Leader for my ‘sustained high quality contributions’ to the development of University Teaching and Learning at Charles Sturt University.

• 2007: Invited Author/Presenter for ‘Does This Child Need Help’ training session in Albury.
• 2007: FULT session on assessment practices.
• Invited Speaker on assessment and learning design to Faculty of Commerce Staff development day.
• 2006: FULT session on assessment practices.
• 2006: Invited Author/Presenter for ‘Does This Child Need Help’ training session in Albury.
• 2006: Understanding assessment in university teaching. MSE staff training session.
• 2005: FULT session on Assessment.
• 2004: ‘Rejected children: Causes, effects and treatment in schools. Invited presentation for Kiewa Valley Primary School inservice day, 30 July, 2004

Presenter at the 1997 annual Support Teacher Learning Difficulties training workshop held at the Albury Special Education Centre. Topic: ‘Cognitive-behavioural interventions with young socially maladjusted children.’

MEMBERSHIP OF PROFESSIONAL ASSOCIATIONS

• Australian Association of Special Education
• Early Intervention Australia (Victorian Chapter)
• Australian Teacher Education Association

PUBLICATIONS

• Taffe, R. (2010). Social skills training with aggressive-rejected children: The use of self-as-model technique with young children. Lambert Academic Publishing: Saarbrucken, Germany.
• Taffe, R. (2009). Team-based leadership: How to be strategic and achieve individual and group rewards. Every Child, 15, (3), 26-27.
• Taffe, R. & Munday, J. (2006). Learning about learning through teaching. International Journal of Learning. 12, pp.333-340.
• Taffe, R. (2005) Growing up: 0-6. In Does this child need help? 2^nd Edn. Australian Early Intervention Association: Sydney.
• Taffe, R. & Knipe, S. (2005). Professional experience and undergraduates’ self-efficacy for teaching. ATEA annual conference, 6-9 July, Gold Coast, Queensland.
• Munday, J. & Taffe, R. (2004). An investigation into the way student teachers transfer their own learning strategies to help children learn. International Journal of Learning, 11, 999-1005.
• Munday, J. & Taffe, R. (2004). Learning to learn: Teacher education students’ reflections on being a learner and teaching learners. ATEA annual conference, 5-8 July, Bathurst, NSW.
• King, J. & Taffe, R. (2004) ‘How shall we sign that?’: Interactions between a profoundly deaf tutor and tutee involved in a cross-age paired reading program. Australasian Journal of Special Education, 27, (2), 68-85.
• Taffe, R. (2002). The importance of peer relationships in childhood. Early Edition, 9, (3), 8-10.
• Spennemann, D. H. R. & Taffe, R. (1998). Managing children’s interactions with cultural heritage places. Journal of Park and Recreation Administration, 16, (2), 73-87.
• Jelinek, H. J., Stocker, R. C. & Taffe, R. (1996). Neurolinguistic programming: From neurobiology to computation. Anchor Point, 10,(3), 16-23.
• Hard, L. & Taffe, R. (1995). Problem-based learning: The experience for early childhood students in the BEd (Early Childhood) at Charles Sturt University. In Research and development in problem based learning, Vol. 3 eds. P. Little, M. Ostwald & G. Ryan, PROBLARC, University of Newcastle: Newcastle, NSW. pp. 195-209.
• Taffe, R. & Smith, I. D. (1994). Behavioural and cognitive approaches to social skills training with young children. Australasian Journal of Special Education, 18, 1, pp.26-35.

Unpublished reports, papers and dissertations

• Taffe, R & Hard, L. (December, 2004). Wodonga Stronger Families Project: Report on research findings into the service usage and needs of Wodonga families. Report commissioned by Wodonga City Council.
• Murray Education Unit (June, 2003). Review of the Bachelor of Education (Early Childhood), Albury. Chair, Dr R. Taffe.
• Murray Education Unit (July, 2003) Review of the Bachelor of Education (Early Childhood) Albury for Accreditation with the Victorian Institute of Teachers. Course Coordinator, Dr R. Taffe.
• Taffe, R. (2002) Social skills training with young aggressive-rejected children: The effects of self-as-model technique on behavioural, social cognitive and peer assessment variables. PhD Thesis, University of Sydney.
• Taffe, R. (April, 1999). Report on findings ancillary to the study entitled: ‘The validation of the young children’s social self-efficacy scale. Report to Albury and Thurgoona Public Schools on research conducted in November and December 1998.
• Taffe, R. (April, 1999). Report on the pilot social skills training program at Albury West Public School. Report to the school on research conducted during early 1998.

SCHOLARSHIP AND PROJECTS

2009-2010: Fellowship with the Flexible Learning Institute. Project: ‘Developing blended learning approaches to teaching in the BEd (EC&Primary) at Charles Sturt University’.