Background
The Design and Implementation Unit is very excited to share a piece of Aboriginal artwork that has been created by Aboriginal artist, Emma Bamblett with deep consultation with the department. The artwork, titled ‘Learning Journey’, has been developed for all Victorian learning specialists to reflect your professional learning journey as you develop and refine your skills through the following six capability areas:
- leading from the middle
- professional observations for professional learning
- professional conversations
- enriching data and evidence practices
- modelling exemplary teaching practice for professional learning
- coaching and mentoring.
Learning Journey responds to policy aspirations across the department and broader Victorian policies that strive to foster and reflect inclusion, respect, partnerships, and investment in First Nations peoples and ways. Learning Journey is an example of what inclusion looks as reflected in the goals of Wirnalung Ganai. Workplace inclusion is about creating a physical and online space that acknowledges and celebrates Aboriginal ways of knowing, doing, and being.
The professional learning journey is not linear, rather one where learning specialists can acknowledge their strengths and be reflective and curious along their chosen journey. This is reflected in Learning Journey, a First Nations designed artwork that places learning specialists at the heart of their journey and uses kangaroo tracks to guide them to the capability learning areas which they would like to engage, participate, collaborate, and implement in their context. Learning Journey is an image that connects learning specialists through art and story and speaks to their professional identity and professional practice.
You will see the artwork featured in the professional learning courses, both online in Canvas and in webinars, as well as in certificates to acknowledge your participation in professional learning. Every element of the artwork has significance to your journey, so we encourage you to engage with the artist's explanation of the symbolism in the description.
Intent
The artwork is intended to:
- strengthen professional identity through the visual connection of the artwork
- support personal ownership of being a learning specialist and the learning journey to enable the capability areas to have an impact in the school-context
- strengthen learner agency and understand that professional learning is not a linear journey. The artwork intends to promote a way of reflecting agency for learning specialists to develop relevant capability areas and choose their own professional learning journey
- build confidence to share the narrative of the Learning Journey artwork
- build confidence to share the learning specialist's professional identity and learning journey with colleagues and school teams
- initiate professional conversations that enable the capability areas to have an impact in the school context.
Principles of using and sharing the artwork
We encourage you to use and share the artwork and its meaning with your colleagues, and in meetings or gatherings where appropriate. This may include:
- in meetings or gatherings where there are learning specialists present
- when you are facilitating professional learning with your colleagues
- in professional conversations with and about learning specialists
- as a feature in physical and virtual artefacts such as email signatures, banners, lanyards, course collateral and printed resources.
You may notice that the artwork has been modified from the original artwork in some artefacts, however, the integrity and meaning behind the artwork are maintained to ensure that the learning specialists can still form a connection with Learning Journey.
As you share Learning Journey, please keep in mind to respect and promote the artwork as a whole piece, acknowledge the artist Emma Bamblett where you can, share the narrative of the artwork in written or verbal form, and acknowledge the relationship between a specific capability area and its relationship to the kangaroo tracks and the middle. Learning Journey is created for you, as a learning specialist, and we look forward to seeing and hearing how you connect with the artwork and how it has enabled you to strive in your role.
Asset guidelines
The digital artefacts have been created with you, as a learning specialist, in mind. The artefacts are designed to help you optimise your connection with the Learning Journey and to help you connect and share your professional identity. The digital artefacts (e.g. images) are created in a .png image format and when you download a copy of the digital artefact, please ensure that you save it as a .png format. This is the optimised image format because you can resize the image without compromising on the image resolution.
Artwork description
Title: Learning Journey
Artist: Emma Bamblett
Mobs: Wemba Wemba, Gunditjmara, Ngadjonji (Far North QLD) and Taungurung Connections
This painting represents the learning specialist capability areas that are shared to model, support, and guide our teaching staff.
Throughout this painting, there are orange kangaroo tracks which symbolise learning specialists and their journey of professional development through the learning specialist capability areas which are the 6 coloured sections around the outside of this artwork.
In the middle of the painting, the large curved oval shape with the smaller circles represents learning specialist capability areas.
The purple capability area on the left side of the painting represents mentoring and coaching. The figures throughout this section represent the teachers with their mentors or coaches. The circles with the curved line connecting represent a dialogue of feedback and the importance of developing processes and protocols.
The bottom blue section with the green circles connected by straight lines represents the data and evidence practices. These symbols connect continually and are structured to assist teachers to seek, analyse and act on feedback from their practice.
The bottom right orange section represents the leading from the middle capability. The circles with the dots surrounding represent schools, their leadership, and teachers to provide learning opportunities. The circles are differently shaped to highlight different stages of implementation of planning and delivery.
The purple area on the right side of the artwork represents professional conversations. The circles within circles represent conversations around feedback, processes, and strategies. The smaller circles with the dots surrounding represent respectful learning relationships.
The blue section on the top right side of the artwork represents modelling exemplary teaching practice and professional learning. The circles symbolise teaching and learning practice. The curved lines connecting the circles represent reflective practice, feedback, and the importance of improving practice within the learning space.
The orange areas on top of the artwork symbolise professional observations for professional learning. The blue shield-shaped objects are learning practices which are etched onto the shields. These practices play an important role within the learning space in improving professional practice through observations and peer support.
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