A Sunshine Coast teacher has cracked the code to imparting digital knowledge by tapping into students’ creativity.
Award-winning Siena Catholic College Sippy Downs educator Paul Dionysius added to his accolades by winning a Queensland College of Teachers TEACHX Award in the Innovation in Teaching category this week.
The Brisbane Catholic Education school’s Curriculum Leader – Technologies believes the secret to getting students interested in Digital Solutions and future information technology careers was “starting with creation, not code”.
“We don’t want to teach students to code, we want to teach them to solve problems,” Mr Dionysius said.
“Once they’ve come up with an idea they’re proud of, the natural next question becomes, how do I turn this into an app?”
Mr Dionysius was also the winner of the NGS Super Award for Excellence in Learning and Teaching in Secondary School at the Brisbane Catholic Education Excellence Awards for 2024 and delivered a keynote speech at the Western Australia Education Summit in Perth in August.
His honours highlight a passion in addressing barriers for students by making digital technologies more accessible and engaging, breaking down the complexity of coding into creative and relatable projects that inspire students to explore and solve “real world” problems.
At the West Australian keynote he demonstrated to educators how they could reboot how students and teachers approached coding and technology, sparking a fresh, student-centred approach to digital learning.
“Feedback from educators usually starts with, where do I begin?” he said.
Mr Dionysius said his methods weren’t just about passing exams, they were about building resilience and creating a generation of innovators ready to debug whatever challenges the future threw at them.
“The programme is unique in that it makes Digital Solutions appealing to students by starting with the fun stuff and working back to the code.
“It’s a refreshing reboot to how technology education is traditionally taught.”
Siena Catholic College Principal Sharon Collins said the TEACHX Award was a testament to Mr Dionysius’s innovative approach.
“With tech giants and educators alike tuning into his methods, it’s clear that he is helping to write the next big chapter in tech education,” Ms Collins said.
