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DrMaria Nicholas

Senior Lecturer in Education (Language And Literacy Education)

Faculty of Arts and Education/School of Education/Research for Educational Impact

Orcid identifier0000-0001-5979-4288 (opens in a new tab)⁠
  • Senior Lecturer in Education (Language And Literacy Education)
    Faculty of Arts and Education/School of Education/Research for Educational Impact
  • +61 3 522 71472 (Work)
  • Geelong Waurn Ponds Campus, 75 Pigdons Road, Waurn Ponds, Victoria 3216

PROFESSIONAL ACTIVITIES

  • AFFILIATION
    FEATURED
    Featured
    Associate Investigator: Australian Research Council - Centre of Excellence for the Digital Child: https://www.digitalchild.org.au/
  • AFFILIATION
    FEATURED
    Featured
    Member of the Strategic Research Centre in Education: Research for Educational Impact (REDI)
  • AWARDS AND HONOURS
    FEATURED
    Featured
    2023 Deakin University Vice-Chancellors Award for Outstanding Contribution to Research and Innovation: Early Career Researcher Award
  • PROFESSIONAL ACTIVITY
    FEATURED
    Featured
    Micro-Credential Program: Empowering Educators with in-depth Literacy and Numeracy Skills through Artificial Intelligence (AI)
    16 Oct 2025 - 16 Dec 2025
    Including five full-day workshops with mentor teachers and teacher educators in Jakarta, Indonesia, 20th Oct - 24th Oct, 2025. Opening Ceremony held in Jakarta, 19th Oct, 2025. Project lead: Prof. Wanty Widjaja. Team: Prof. Damian Blake, Assoc. Prof. Matthew Thomas, Dr Maria Nicholas and Dr Ceridwen Owen.
  • PROFESSIONAL ACTIVITY
    FEATURED
    Featured
    Cited in a Department of Education Victoria resource for supporting high-ability students (opens in a new tab)⁠
    6 Oct 2025
    Maria and colleagues' (Nicholas, Skourdoumbis & Bradbury, 2024) scoping review in Gifted Child Quarterly, on the topic of differentiation for high ability learners: “Meeting the Needs and Potentials of High-Ability, High-Performing, and Gifted Students via Differentiation” has been cited in a Department of Education Victoria resource for supporting high-ability students. The review helped shape the evidence base behind guidance on adjusting learning for extension, challenge, and enrichment—now featured in a practical resource for educators: Supporting High-Ability Students – Department of Education.
    MORELEARN MORE (opens in a new tab)
  • PROFESSIONAL ACTIVITY
    FEATURED
    Featured
    Panel member for the Department of Education’s, Victorian Education Excellence Awards
    1 Jul 2025 - 24 Oct 2025
    Recognising and rewarding Outstanding Provision for High-Ability Students in the Primary and Secondary categories.
  • PROFESSIONAL ACTIVITY
    FEATURED
    Featured
    Gifted Child Quarterly Author Talks with Dr Maria Nicholas (opens in a new tab)⁠
    19 Apr 2024
    MORELEARN MORE (opens in a new tab)
  • CAREER HIGHLIGHT
    FEATURED
    Featured
    Top 5 authors (Deakin) for The Conversation - March 2024
    1 Mar 2024 - 31 Mar 2024
    Most read authors from Deakin University in the month of March 2024
  • COMMITTEE MEMBERSHIP
    Co-Chair of the Human Ethics Advisory Group (HEAG), Faculty of Arts and Education
    1 Nov 2023 - 14 Feb 2025
  • COMMITTEE MEMBERSHIP
    Deputy Chair of the Human Ethics Advisory Group (HEAG), Faculty of Arts and Education
    1 May 2022 - 31 Oct 2023
  • MEDIA APPEARANCE
    "New app turns learning ABCs into child's play" - Media Release: http://www.deakin.edu.au/about-deakin/media-releases/articles/new-app-turns-learning-abcs-into-childs-play
  • MEDIA APPEARANCE
    "Kids find appy way to learn with Deakin Uni app in use at Melbourne primary school", Herald Sun, 26 Feb 2016: http://www.heraldsun.com.au/news/victoria/kids-find-appy-way-to-learn-with-deakin-uni-app-in-use-at-melbourne-primary-school/news-story/3ac2bf861f3d2db380fa3cc227c221e2
  • AWARDS AND HONOURS
    2022 Research Innovator Award, Faculty of Arts and Education, Deakin University.
  • AWARDS AND HONOURS
    2021 Faculty Teaching and Learning Award, Faculty of Arts and Education, Deakin University. For innovative use of 360-degree video of classroom practice in an undergraduate Initial Teacher Education literacy unit. Recipients: Maria Nicholas, Aubrey Comben, Christian Bass & Stephen Newnham
  • AWARDS AND HONOURS
    2017 Vice-Chancellor's Prizes and Awards for Outstanding Contributions: Deakin University Award for Teaching Excellence. For providing highly supportive Cloud learning through strategic partnerships and premium digital resources, effectively preparing students for placement. Recipients: Maria Nicholas, Denise Simons, Rebecca Claire, Lisa Bell, Rosemarie Garner, Stephen Newnham & Glenn Mcnolty
  • AWARDS AND HONOURS
    2016 Faculty Award for Teaching Excellence, Faculty of Arts and Education, Deakin University
  • AWARDS AND HONOURS
    2013 Faculty Teaching Excellence Award for Early Career Teaching, Faculty of Arts and Education, Deakin University
  • PROFESSIONAL ACTIVITY
    2022 Keynote speaker for Melbourne Archdiocese Catholic Schools' (MACS) "Pathways to Improved Literacy" program of professional learning ; and delivery of two webinar presentations for the program: "Theories of Reading" and "The Gradual Release of Responsibility (GRR) model: Teaching approaches for Reading and Writing".
  • PROFESSIONAL ACTIVITY
    Winch, G. & Holliday, M., with Nicholas, M. (2020). Chapter 10: Learning to Read: The Child before School. In Winch et al. (Eds.), Literacy: Reading, Writing and Children's Literature (6th ed.) (pp. 153170). Docklands, Australia: Oxford University Press.
  • PROFESSIONAL ACTIVITY
    "Teaching Approaches and the Gradual Release of Responsibility Framework" - Instructional video: Nicholas, M., 2018, <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=974dcaZdjLs>