What a ride!

On the 5th May 2026, I was fortunate to run a workshop at the IBSC Australian Regional Conference in Adelaide.

When the schedule was released, I realised that thirty minutes was not going to be enough time to engage in meaningful dialogue about the impact of the sex of the teacher and gender stereotypes in all-boys secondary schools.  What I decided on, was a thrilling rollercoaster ride that presented quotes of teachers lived experiences teaching in all-boys schools and ask participants to comment.

I wanted participants to leave thinking, “Woah! Let’s do that again!”

With little time for participants to process the information, let alone understand the implications of the sex of the teacher and gender-stereotypes in all-boys schools, my plan was insane and not at all pedagogically sound. 

Let me explain why I went ahead with it anyway.

Up until August 2003, TheThunderbolt was a popular rollercoaster at Dreamworld at Coomera on the Gold Coast (Coasterpedia, 2025).  From the moment I was tall enough, I would ride TheThunderbolt.  It rattled and threw you around in your seat.  You always had a sore head afterwards.  But you went on it again anyway. I’ve likened my workshop to a ride on The Thunderbolt.

The Ascent

First, we began the ascent with a question:  On a Post-It note, write a word, words, phrase or draw an image that captures your experiences of teaching in an all-boys school.  I provided two slides of quotes from my research participants to get participants thinking.

When Time Stands Still

If you have ridden any of the old school rollercoasters, you will recall the moment, right at the top of that first clickety clackety ascent, when time stands still.  There is a time of pause; it is as if time stops.  It was at this juncture that I gave participants a series of quotes from my research; quotes that were deliberately selected because of their broad, not-music-specific, commentary.  Participants had pages of female and male teacher quotes, and quotes from adolescent males that they began to read.

That was the moment of quiet when time seemed to stand still.  But like every good rollercoaster ride, I could hear murmurs – some giggles and some sighs.  I also saw focus and concentration, facial expressions that suggested familiarity, acknowledgement, awkwardness, obvious discomfort, disagreement and frustration.   

Whoosh

Then WHOOSH… down and around and upside down we went.     The Thunderbolt had two loops, and I felt a similar energy and turbulence in the room when the rollercoaster eventually moved.

But like all good rollercoasters, they end too soon and you need to line up to do it again. 

Like we check the photos of our facial expressions and decide if we want to pay the $25+ for a copy, I asked participants to put a triangle post-it note under the statement that best described what they took from the workshop.

With the beautiful backdrop of St Peter’s College Chapel, you can see in the photo below, the distribution of post-it note triangles around the following statements:

-       “The findings and discussion affirm my experience.”

-       “The findings have implications for teacher education, professional practice and/or leadership.”

There were no post-it notes around the poster, “The findings and discussion challenged my assumptions and understanding.”

I am reassured that I am on the right track and that people are willing to come along for the ride. I am thankful for participants that willingly left me with quote sheets full of annotations and their thoughts. Now that my website is live, I am analysing the annotations from participants and the post-it note expressions of their lived experiences for my next post on The Floppy Hat.

Thank you again to the International Boys’ Schools Coalition, St Peter’s College and Prince Alfred College, for such a great experience. 

Reference:

Coasterpedia, (2025). Dreamworld. Retrieved 18 May 2026, from https://coasterpedia.net/wiki/Thunderbolt