Professional Learning Team

Our team consists of a Project Management team in Adelaide and Project Officers based across Australia. 

Our Project Officers have a diverse mix of skills, experience and qualifications and they are keen to support schools with mathematics education. Their goal is to build teacher confidence and enjoyment of maths, in turn supporting students to love maths too!

Toni Falusi, Project Officer 

Toni Falusi is an experienced K-10 educator who has a passion for empowering teachers and students to be innovative and engaged with their learning. In addition to classroom teaching, her background includes developing and delivering professional learning as an eLearning Coach, Teacher Librarian and Project Officer for the Computer Science Education Research (CSER) MOOC team. Currently, Toni is a sessional lecturer for the Australian Catholic University, leads the STEM Coaching program for the Australian Mathematics Trust, Curious Minds project and is part of the Australian Curriculum: Technologies review/writing team.

Celia Coffa, Project Officer 

Celia has extensive experience as an educator, classroom teacher, ICT coordinator and eLearning Coach. Her enthusiasm for being a ‘networked educator’ and connecting teachers to share and learn from each other led to the introduction of TeachMeets in Victoria. Her role as Project Officer for the Computer Science Education Research team of the University of Adelaide allowed Celia to work with teachers across the state and to develop or and deliver professional learning both in face to face opportunities and on-line environments.  Celia’s wider experience includes the skills and challenges of running a small business. Celia was awarded the 2015 DLTV Educator of the Year Award for her dedication, advocacy and innovation in digital learning and teaching across her school and beyond. Celia has worked in the CSER Team for over 4 years as a project officer and also is a digital content designer for the Maths MOOCs. 

Sue Carter, Project Officer 

Sue has worked in NT Education for more than 30 years starting out as a primary school classroom teacher in Nhulunbuy in 1986. Her experiences include early childhood and primary teaching, PE specialist, Teacher Librarian and ICT specialist completing a Master's degree in Technology in 1997. Sue has worked in the CSER Team for over four years having been a Project Officer in the Digital Technologies area and now a part of the Maths team. Sue has extensive experience in developing cross-curricula resources and working with schools on country across the Northern Territory.

Dr John West, Project Officer 

Dr John West has taught mathematics at primary, secondary and tertiary levels, having worked as a mathematics teacher and Lecturer in Mathematics Education at The University of Western Australia. John’s research has been published in several peer-refereed international journals and he has had the opportunity to teach in Singapore, Hong Kong and Vietnam. In April 2019, John participated in the Australian Association of Mathematics Teachers’ inaugural Singapore Study Tour. John has worked as a mathematics education consultant for schools across Australia (including, most recently, Coober Pedy Area School), and as a numeracy consultant for the Australian Curriculum, Assessment and Reporting Authority (ACARA). John currently serves as the President of the Mathematical Association of Western Australia, and a former Editor of Australian Primary Mathematics Classroom. He has written a number of books for teachers including Problem Solving in Primary Mathematics (2017) and Foundations of Primary Mathematics Education (Allen & Unwin, 2019).

Dr Caty Morris, Project Officer 

Dr Caty Morris works at the Aboriginal & Torres Strait Islander Mathematics Alliance (ATSIMA) as Project Manager with Professor Chris Matthews on initiatives to support all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander learners be successful at mathematics. Caty was the Curriculum Specialist, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Education at ACARA and was involved in curriculum development in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander histories and cultures content and research in educational policy. In 2017, she received a doctorate for her research in responsive mathematics pedagogy with Aboriginal learners. Caty has worked with our team throughout this project bringing her rich experience and knowledge from her role at both ATSIMA and ACARA and expertise in culturally responsive maths pedagogy. 

Rebekah O'Keeffe, Project Officer 

Rebekah O’Keeffe has taught across multiple states in Australia, providing her with an in-depth understanding of the Australian Curriculum. As a secondary Mathematics, Science and Physics teacher, she is passionate about highlighting cross-curriculum learning to add depth and strengthen student’s learning experiences. Rebekah has a strong understanding of the Universal Design for Learning framework and aims to create learning environments to ensure all learners meet their learning goals. 

Dr Rebecca Vivian, Project Lead & Senior Research Fellow

Rebecca holds a Bachelor of Education (Junior Primary & Primary, With Honours) and a PhD in Education in the field of educational technology. In addition to Project Lead, Rebecca is a Senior Research Fellow in the Computer Science Education Research Group (CSER), The University of Adelaide. Her interdisciplinary research spans educational technology, educational psychology, professional learning and STEM education engagement. Since 2014, Rebecca has led the launch of a number of online courses, including courses for postgraduate students and teacher training. She co-led the establishment of a national teacher training program in Digital Technologies (including AI, AR, VR and cyber security) which has reached over 38,000 teachers. Dr Vivian is passionate about engaging more students, particularly underrepresented groups, in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM).

Susie Barber, Project Manager

Susie manages a number of education projects at the University of Adelaide. She collaborates with academic leads, coordinates and communicates with our Project Officers, key stakeholders and schools across Australia. Susie has worked in education policy, program and project delivery at both national and state level. Her interest in inclusive education and sustainable career pathways for all young people has resulted in her working on career and employment related projects as well as skills training and mental health and wellbeing programs. Susie is currently undertaking a Master of Education at the University of Adelaide.

Associate Professor Lewis Mitchell, Head of School of Mathematics

Lewis is Head of School and a Lecturer in Applied Mathematics at the University of Adelaide. He studies how information moves over social networks using mathematical models, coupled with data science techniques. His research interests are in computational social science, human dynamics, online social networks, as well as data assimilation and the mathematics of weather and climate. A/Prof Mitchell is passionate about maths and communicating the real-world value and impact of maths careers and study.

Professor Katrina Falkner, Executive Dean of Faculty of Sciences, Engineering and Technologies (SET)

Katrina has extensive experience in industry consultation, including work with DST Group, NICTA, Google US, Google Australia & New Zealand, the Commonwealth Department of Education and Training, and Telstra Foundation, crossing both the areas of Computer Science Education within her role as Lead of the Computer Science Education Research Group (CSER) and Distributed Systems and Modelling (within DIT). As part of her work within CSER, Katrina has led the development of the CSER MOOCs - open online courses for Australian teachers to help prepare them for the Digital Technologies Curriculum, and leads the national CSER Digital Technologies Education Program, designed to support Australian teachers in teaching Computer Science, with an emphasis on supporting young women, low-SES and Indigenous populations.