5 Minutes with … Assoc. Professor Natalie Lander
A/Prof Nat Lander is part of the powerhouse behind IPAN’s pioneering TransformUs program, helping to get more kids moving across every school day. She currently holds an ARC DECRA Fellowship that aims to understand the impact of an innovative initial teacher education program (TransformUs Higher Ed) on pre-service teacher’s confidence and practical skills, and primary school students’ learning, wellbeing and physical activity.
Q. What’s your research focus in a nutshell?
A. My research vision is to strengthen the capacity and capability of initial teacher education programs to develop confident, effective, classroom-ready graduates who provide optimal learning and health behaviour outcomes for the children they teach.
Q. You also head up IPAN’s early-mid career research (EMCR) development group. What’s the best piece of advice you could give to an early career researcher?
A. Three pieces of advice I would give to an ECR:
*Look beyond your research ‘silo’ – draw on ideas, methods and skillsets from different fields and disciplines and challenge yourself to innovate in your own research approach.
*Find your passion – working hard towards something that has meaning offers resilience and persistence in the challenging times, and makes the wins all the more sweet.
*Surround yourself with good people – find people who inspire, challenge, innovate and encourage you. Find people who bring out the best version of you, and you them.
Q. Who or what gets you through challenging times?
A. Personal qualities:
*Resilience: Learn, adapt and bounce back.
*Tenacity: Be persistent especially in the face of pressure, challenge, disappointment.
*Optimism: See the good. This helps maintain motivation and focus during challenging times.
Trail running:
*I love the challenge, adventure, freedom, connection and reward. I also love my running group – better than therapy.
Family:
*I have a partner and two teenage children who immediately provide perspective.
Q. What’s your research ‘big picture’? What would you like to see change?
A. I would like to see learning delivered differently. To disrupt the preconceived notion that children have to sit to learn. Build and develop pre-service teachers’ confidence and competence in dynamic teaching, and empower the future generation of teachers to improve the learning, wellbeing and physical activity outcomes of primary school students.
Q. What is the one rule that guides you through life?
A. GO and DO, inspired by the famous quote from the speech delivered by Theodore Roosevelt (The Man in the Arena). The quote emphasizes the importance of ‘doing’, even if you fail:
It is not the critic who counts, but the (wo)man who is actually in the arena.
Q. You’ve got an unexpected day off. What does your dream day look like?
A. Maldives 🙂
Q. What’s your favourite food OR (physical) activity?
A. Food: Sashimi of kingfish with lime, mint and chilli paired with a crisp white wine.
Physical Activity: Anything outdoors – trail running, mountain bike riding, surfing.
