Alumni

Abbey Tamsen

Marsden State High School, QLD

Yuggera

Early Career Teacher

Abbey Tamsen is a Teaching and Learning Coordinator at Queensland’s largest school, Marsden State High School in Brisbane, with over 3,700 students and 300 staff. In her short career as a teacher, Abbey has helped develop important resources and training programs for teachers to ensure that her school and students consistently achieve.

Abbey has worked on strategies for managing behaviour, implementing technology in the classroom and producing handbooks to support pre-service teachers and their supervisors. Feedback from Marsden’s staff showed that 92% of teachers found these resources assisted their teaching practice to be more effective.

Her impact has not just resulted from resource creation, however. As a Qualified Classroom Profiler, Abbey has trained staff in reflective practice to improve student outcomes and is developing the HALT program at Marsden, collaborating with external stakeholders and other South Brisbane schools. She works with her Head of Department on Beginning Teacher and Early Career Teacher programs, assisting more than 90 teachers in their first years in the profession. Abbey has guided their portfolios, co-presented at retreats and professional development sessions, and organised staff participation in the program.

Abbey has managed and inducted over 600 pre-service teachers in the past year, as well as organised more than 30 professional development opportunities for them on topics such as Behaviour Management Skills, Working with First Nations and Pacifica Students and Tech in the Classroom.

Abbey’s passion and commitment to the profession is strong. She has been a presenter and panel speaker for QUT’s Education Faculty, and her goal is to outreach to teachers in low-socioeconomic schools to provide opportunities to assist their teaching practice as well.