Doctor Maree Skillen

Dr Maree Skillen is a lecturer in the School of Education at Western Sydney University.

Maree has a broad background in K-12 education, with expertise in the curriculum and pedagogical areas of science, mathematics and computing. She has held senior management and executive roles in tertiary institutions and secondary schools across NSW, including being appointed as the first female Executive member in 116 years of a prestigious private Boys’ school in Sydney. Maree has worked with the International Baccalaureate Organisation as a Diploma programme examiner for Information Technology in a Global Society (ITGS). In her various roles, Maree has been responsible for staff professional learning and development; teacher accreditation; staff mentoring programs; academic timetabling; the integration of technology into and across subjects; and, the registration processes for non-government schools with NESA (formerly, the NSW Board of Studies).

Prior to joining WSU in her current role, Maree was the UTS Insearch Program Manager, Science. In this role, she was responsible for coordinating and setting up a new Diploma of Science program that incorporated streams in both Physical Sciences and Life Sciences. She also had an integral role in the development and offering of a Diploma of Engineering program for delivery to international students offshore.

Maree completed her Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) in 2007 through the Science and Mathematics Centre (SMEC) at Curtin University of Technology. Her doctoral research focused on the promotion of thinking skills within the secondary classroom using digital media. She has presented her research internationally in China, Finland, Ireland, Italy, Japan, South Africa, Thailand, and most recently in Taiwan. In 2008, she was awarded the New South Wales Premier’s Scholarship for Mathematics which enabled her to complete a study tour in the United Kingdom on the use of technology in Mathematics with a focus on mobile devices.

Other achievements include delivering the Keynote presentation for the 2017 Accenture International Woman’s Day (IWD) event in Sydney; past Editor of the professional journal, Australian Mathematics Teachers (AMT); as well as, leading a series of interactive STEM-based workshops in India to encourage young women to pursue studies in science, and increasing significantly female uptake in science-based subjects at UTS Insearch.

This information has been contributed by Doctor Skillen.