Ms Ruth Zimmermann
Emerita Lecturer
About
Ruth grew up in the seaside suburb of Altona in Victoria and attended Luther College in Melbourne for the final 5 years of her secondary schooling. During her last year at Luther, Ruth was part of a large contingent of students who travelled by bus to South Australia to visit what was then known as Luther Seminary and Lutheran Teachers College. The bus journey began in Queensland and worked its way down the eastern coast to pick up students in the last 2 years of their schooling who were interested in working in the church as a pastor or a teacher. The trip was a great way to see everything first hand but most of all provided the chance to meet and network with other people from interstate. This made it a lot easier for Ruth to make the decision to come to South Australia to do her teacher training.
Ruth completed her Diploma of Teaching at Murray Park Teachers College/Hartley College of Advanced Education, now known as UniSA Magill campus, majoring in Teacher Librarianship. She began her teaching career at Concordia Primary School, Toowoomba, and 4 years later accepted a call to work at Immanuel Primary School, Novar Gardens, South Australia. During this time Ruth met and married a keen fisherman, Ian Zimmermann, known to most as Zimmo.
Ruth’s next position was at Golden Grove Lutheran Primary, South Australia where she taught Year 1, worked as a Teacher-Librarian in the shared Resource Centre and was Deputy Principal for a number of years. During this time Ruth was seconded to work as the Christian Studies Facilitator for the Lutheran Schools Association of SA, NT and WA when LIFE: a curriculum for Christian Studies was first introduced into Australian Lutheran schools. Ruth also worked at the Association of Independent Schools of South Australia (AISSA) as a Literacy Advisor in 2003 and 2004.
Ruth enjoys spending time with her family and friends, gardening, reading and walking.
ALC positions held
- Lecturer in Education, specialising in the area of theology and education
- Associate Dean for Learning and Teaching
- Coffee and Conversation Convenor
Qualifications in detail
- Diploma of Teaching (Primary) (Hartley College of Advanced Education, 1981)
- Graduate Diploma in Education (Literature & Language) (South Australian College of Advanced Education, 1990)
- Graduate Diploma of Theology in Education (Lutheran Teachers College, 1993)
- Postgraduate Certificate in Educational Leadership (Australian Catholic University, 2004)
- Master of Education Studies (Australian Lutheran College, 2005)
Papers and publications
Articles
2017
‘Learning conversations: more than just words.’ Lutheran Theological Journal 51, no. 1: 7–15.
2006
Involvement in the development and writing of ‘Integrated Curriculum: a Collaborative Approach to Curriculum’, by Golden Grove Lutheran Primary School, Wynn Vale; Good Shepherd Lutheran School, Para Vista; and St Paul Lutheran School, Blair Athol, Lutheran Education, Northern suburbs, Adelaide SA.
2000
Involvement in the development and writing of the ‘Assessment and Reporting Policy Document Framework for SA Lutheran schools R–10’.
Presentations
2013
‘Teaching writers in the early years.’ Workshop for AISSA.
‘Teaching readers in the early years.’ Workshop for AISSA.
2012
‘Teaching writers in the early years.’ Workshop for AISSA.
‘Teaching readers in the early years.’ Workshop for AISSA.
Action research project with staff at St Michael’s Lutheran School, Hahndorf SA.
2011
‘Teaching writers in the early years.’ Workshop for AISSA.
‘Teaching readers in the early years.’ Workshop for AISSA.
2010
‘Teaching writers in the early years.’ Workshop for AISSA.
‘Teaching readers in the early years.’ Workshop for AISSA.
‘Developing a whole school approach to literacy.’ Workshop at St Michael’s Lutheran School, Hahndorf SA.
