Ann-Marie Furney
Director, SCHMIC Consulting
Ann-Marie Furney is an experienced school and systems leader with a passion for expanding opportunities for teachers and students in rural schools. Ann-Marie's recent work has focussed on activating and sustaining teacher collective efficacy. Helping teachers to work together to identify and address problems of learning and thinking. Throughout her career she has maintained a strong focus on pedagogy, innovation and teacher professional learning. Ann-Marie has always been interested in expanding opportunities for teachers and students to collaborate, to create new learning and expand their knowledge and experience. She led the implementation of xsel – a virtual selective high school operating across Western NSW. xsel was the first time synchronous IT delivery systems had been used to support the secondary education of an academically selective cohort of students.
Ann-marie founded SCHMIC Consulting in 2014. SCHMIC provides leadership, change management, strategic planning and teacher professional learning opportunities for schools and community organisations. Working collaboratively with colleague Kate English, Ann-marie co-wrote the Learning Thinking SCOPE a pedagogy of learning focusing on thinking. Incorporating a comprehensive professional learning program, delivered in context over time, Learning Thinking SCOPE is currently being tested by around 700 teachers working across years P-12 in rural, regional and metropolitan settings.
In 2016 Ann-marie was awarded an ACEL NSW Fellowship in recognition of her contribution to teacher professional learning and educational leadership. In 2019 she joined the NSW ACEL Executive.