Natalie McMaster started her teaching career in a bilingual school in a remote community in the Northern Territory and continued teaching in various remote communities in early childhood, primary and middle years settings. She moved into the corporate area of education as Education Advisor for Physical Education, undertaking education policy and teacher professional development roles for the Department of Education in the Northern Territory. In 2011, Natalie was on the Australian Curriculum, Assessment and Reporting Authority (ACARA), Health and Physical Education National Panel and began working for ACARA as an advisor on Asia and Australia's engagement with Asia priority in its inclusion in Health and Physical Education. She went on to become a writer for the Australian Curriculum for Health and Physical Education.
Natalie has previously been the National Vice-President of the Australian Council for Health, Physical Education and Recreation (ACHPER), and has also been the President of ACHPER Northern Territory. She has also held the position of Chairperson of the ACHPER Active and Healthy Schools Committee (AHSC), established to assist in advancing ACHPER's engagement with health education communities relevant to Health and Physical Education, Recreation and Sport fields and professional contexts.
Natalie is finalising her PhD research in the Northern Territory on teachers' perspectives on the 'health work' that they do in schools, as part of an Australian Research Grant (ARC) with University of Queensland's School of Human Movement and Nutrition Sciences. Passionate about Health and Physical Education, in 2019 Natalie published a textbook titled Teaching Health and Physical Education in Early Childhood and Primary Years of Schooling.
Another area of interest and research for Natalie is STEM, the integration of technologies into teaching and learning and the Technologies curriculum. In 2022, she edited and authored several chapters in the textbook titled Teaching with Technologies: Digital pedagogies for collaboration and creativity. She designed the USC ieducate initiative to improve preservice teacher knowledge, confidence and skills in integrating technology into teaching programs. Natalie has also designed and manages the MindSET-do project which aims to garner student interest in STEM subjects at school, encourage their future transition into tertiary studies, support positive growth of STEM occupations and to inspire the next generation of STEM leaders. This project is part of a longitudinal study which began with year 4 students in 2022.
Natalie has been awarded several grants including: over $1million in Higher Education, Participation and Pathways Project (HEPPP) funding (2019 – 2023), $524,455 National Career Institute Partnership Grant, $100,000 Department of Industry, Science, Energy and Resources Maker Projects - Community STEM Engagement grant, $58,000 Google Educator Grants (2021 and 2022). Natalie was a finalist in the 2020 WiT awards in the Regional Award category for women living and working in Queensland’s regional location.
Natalie is a lecturer in the Bachelor of Early Childhood Education, Bachelor of Primary Education and Masters programs in HPE and Technology.
Natalie’s recent awards include a USC Vice-Chancellor and President's Award for Excellence in Engagement in 2020 and 2017, and USC Advance Award for Advancing the Student Experience in 2018.
Research areas
- health education
- physical education
- assessment
- curriculum implementation fidelity
- STEM
Teaching areas
- EDU103 Teaching with Technologies
- EDU204 Teaching Technologies: Curriculum and Pedagogy
- EDU216 Teaching Health and Physical Education in the Early Years of Schooling
- EDU317 Teaching Health and Physical Education in the Primary Years of Schooling
- EDU779 Teaching Health and Physical Education in Primary School (Masters)
- EDU780 Teaching Technologies: Curriculum and Pedagogy (Masters)
Natalie McMaster is a current PhD student with the University of Queensland’s School of Human Movement and Nutrition Sciences. Her thesis questions the nature of health work being undertaken by teachers in Northern Territory Government (NTG) schools. This research provides much needed data on NTG teachers’ descriptions of the health work they perform, and the perception of this work from school and community members, in school sites, whose contexts differ greatly from mainstream schools in the rest of Australia. Natalie engages in a culturally sensitive manner with Indigenous participants in the research and seeks to foreground Indigenous ‘voices’. She has been advised by two Indigenous advisors (male and female) on data collection and communication methods (yarning sessions), interpretation of research data, and cultural background on content. Natalie’s research critically reflects on her perspective, position, power and privilege in relation to the data and how it was analysed and reported.