LDA Seminar

Effective Reading Instruction for All: National and International Perspectives

Wednesday 23 September 2009, 9:00am to 5:00pm
Camberwell Centre, 340 Camberwell Road, Camberwell, Melbourne

See below for program, abstracts of papers and speaker information.

To download the registration form, click here

Program

9:00 – 9:15am    
Opening and Welcome by Professor Max Coltheart, President of LDA

9:15 – 10:00am   
Sir Jim Rose, C.B.E., F.R.S.A.
Policy and practice in the teaching of reading in primary schools in England

10:00 – 10:45am  
Professor Barry McGaw, AO, PhD
The place of reading in the Australian National Curriculum

10:45 – 11:15am   
Morning Tea

11:15 – 12:00pm  
Dr Kerry Hempenstall
Confluence: Commonalities across literacy reports from USA, Great Britain, and Australia

12:00 – 12:45pm    
John Fleming
Effective Reading Instruction Case Studies – Bellfield Primary School and Haileybury College

12:45 – 2:00pm    
Lunch

2:00 – 3:30pm       
Panel Discussion with Speakers and other invited Discussants, to be chaired by Professor Max Coltheart

3:30 – 3:50pm      
Afternoon Tea

3:50 – 4:45pm      
Panel Discussion with Speakers and other invited Discussants, to be chaired by Professor Max Coltheart (continued)

4:45 – 5:00pm   
Concluding Comments
Professor Max Coltheart, President of LDA
 

Abstracts of Papers

Sir Jim Rose, C.B.E., F.R.S.A.
Policy and practice in the teaching of reading in primary schools in England

Since its introduction as one of several major educational reforms in 1987, the National Curriculum in England has been subject to a number of reviews. These reviews have come about not so much in response to pro-actively managing a dynamic process of curriculum renewal as reacting to pressure from schools and others who genuinely believe that the National Curriculum was over-demanding and too prescriptive from its inception, and has continued to be so. There is convincing evidence to show that the primary school curriculum has suffered most in these respects.

Despite claims of overload and over-prescription, the review of the primary curriculum found almost universal support for the continuation of a National Curriculum. Respondents to the review welcomed a common curricular entitlement for all pupils with clear expectations of standards of attainment and the continuity of learning that it provides. Many recalled, the time when far too much of the primary curriculum suffered from low expectations, lacked challenge and was considerably more uneven in breadth, balance and quality than was the case after the introduction of the National Curriculum. What the primary curriculum should contain and how it should change to foster children’s different but developing abilities in the primary years are questions of central importance to the review that will be explored.

In most English speaking nations, the teaching of beginner readers has often been the subject of heated debate with the place and purpose of ‘phonic work’ at its core. England is no exception in this respect. The review (2006) recommendations led to statutory changes to the primary curriculum to accommodate a systematic approach to phonic work based on the principles of synthetic phonics. Importantly, the review also called for this approach to be embedded in a language rich primary curriculum which gives high priority to developing children’s oral language. The impact of this review will be explored. 


Professor Barry McGaw, AO, PhD
The place of reading in the Australian National Curriculum

The national curriculum will involve, in the first phase to be completed by the end of 2010, English, mathematics, the sciences and history. There will also be defined continua in literacy and numeracy which can then serve as the frameworks for national assessments in literacy and numeracy (NAPLAN). While English is seen as the primary learning area in which literacy skills are to be developed, it will also be addressed in the other learning areas. The presentation will examine the current evidence on Australian students’ performance in reading and describe the way in which the national curriculum will address reading.

Dr Kerry Hempenstall
Confluence: Commonalities across literacy reports from USA, Great Britain, and Australia

The past decade has seen the publication of major literacy reports from three western nations with close ties. Common features of these reports include a desire to evoke change in literacy instruction in the respective nations, with the intention of improving literacy outcomes for all students. The reports make either recommendations or mandates for specific changes, and the rationale relies upon the results of empirical research into literacy development and instruction. Basing educational decisions upon research findings has not been the norm in these countries, and resistance to change remains a stumbling block to the achievement of the reports' goals. A study of the three reports reveals a number of similarities in the recommendations, a result that might be considered unsurprising since all three have a strong empirical basis. However, that the interpretation of the empirical research findings is similar across all three adds weight to the recommendations of the individual reports. The similarities and shades of difference will be described in this presentation.


John Fleming
Effective Reading Instruction Case Studies – Bellfield Primary School and Haileybury College

This presentation will highlight the effective reading strategies implemented at two very different schools: Bellfield Primary School, a Government school that serves a very disadvantaged urban community, and Haileybury College, a high fee-paying Independent school in outer suburban Melbourne.  A similar educational program was established at both schools by the presenter John Fleming, highlighting the fact that effective, research based reading instructional techniques work well in all school environments.  John has developed a framework that was utilized at both schools. This framework comprises Four Pillars, Six Givens and Three Imperatives for establishing effective classroom programs. Effective reading instruction programs cover explicitly the key areas of phonemic awareness, phonics, fluency, vocabulary and comprehension. These skills are taught using the I do, we do, you do methodology. John will also refer to the research that supports his approach and the student data that reflects the success of the program.  Other important ingredients of an effective teaching learning environment will also be covered such as professional development, peer coaching, peer mentoring, effective use of data and quality control.

 

Our Speakers

Sir Jim Rose C.B.E., F.R.S.A.

Jim Rose was formerly Her Majesty’s Inspector (HMI) and Director of Inspection for the Office for Standards in Education (OFSTED). He retired from OFSTED in July 1999 and has since acted as a consultant to the Department of Education and Skills on nursery and primary education, and teacher training. At the request of the Secretary of State, he chaired the 1999 Independent Scrutiny of the National Assessment Tests for Primary Schools.

He is a member of the Board of the Qualifications and Curriculum Authority and chairs the QCA 3-11 Committee. Jim was also vice-chairman of the 2020 Review Group on personalised learning, which reported independently to the Secretary of State in 2007 under the title of ‘2020 Vision’.   

Before joining HMI, Jim held headships of two large, inner-city primary schools. His senior posts within HMI included Chief Inspector of Primary Education (3 to13), responsibilities for Special Educational Needs (SEN), the education of ethnic minority pupils, and initial teacher training (ITT). He was a member of the 1990 Committee of Enquiry into the Education of Three and Four Year Olds. In 1992 he was invited by the Secretary of State to be a joint author of the ‘Three Wise Men’ report on primary education.

He has advised several overseas governments on school inspection, and has considerable international experience of school educational systems. He has undertaken educational assignments for the World Bank and for the British Council, for example, in Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, Pakistan, the USA and South America, the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, and the Palestinian Ministry of Education.

He was invited by the Secretary of State to lead an Independent Review of the Teaching of Early Reading (2006) and continues to act as a consultant to the DCSF and the Primary National Strategy. In 2008, he was asked by government to lead an Independent Review of the Primary Curriculum and an Independent Review of Dyslexia; the reports of which are due in April 2009.


Professor Barry McGaw, AO, PhD

Professor Barry McGaw is half-time Director of the Melbourne Education Research Institute at the University of Melbourne, where he is Executive Director of the Cisco-Intel-Microsoft Assessment and Teaching of 21st Century Skills project. In the non-university part of his life he is Chair of the National Curriculum Board.

Prior to returning to Australia at the end of 2005, he was Director for Education at the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD). He had earlier been Executive Director of the Australian Council for Educational Research (ACER), Professor of Education at Murdoch University, Head of the Research and Curriculum Branch in the Queensland Department of Education and originally a science teacher in Queensland secondary schools. He holds BSc, DipEd and BEd (Hons) from the University of Queensland and EdM and PhD from the University of Illinois.

Professor McGaw is a Fellow of the Academy of the Social Sciences in Australia, the Australian Psychological Society, the Australian College of Educators and the International Academy of Education. He has been President of the Australian Association for Research in Education, the Australian Psychological Society, the Australian College of Educators and the International Association for Educational Assessment.

He received an Australian Centenary Medal in 2003 and was appointed an Officer in the Order of Australia in 2004. He was the 2005-2006 recipient of University of Illinois Alumni Award for Exceptional Achievement.

 
Dr Kerry Hempenstall

Dr Kerry Hempenstall is an educational psychologist recently retired from the Division of Psychology, RMIT University, where he had been a lecturer and manager of the Educational Psychology division of the RMIT Psychology Clinic. In addition to undergraduate and post-graduate lecturing, he provided clinical training for masters and doctoral students in the assessment and remediation of children’s and adults’ educational problems.

Prior to his commencement with RMIT in 1992, he spent more than 20 years with the Victorian Education Department as a secondary teacher and guidance officer.

Kerry is regularly invited to present at conferences, and he publishes in local education journals (e.g., the Australian Journal of Learning Difficulties). He gained his PhD for a thesis on the role of phonemic awareness in reading development.

In 2004, he received the US Association for Direct Instruction Excellence in Education Award for Research, and worked in several US schools – assisting them to employ evidence-based practices in their teaching. He also wrote the first chapter in the 2004 publication Introduction to Direct Instruction. In 2006, he received the Mona Tobias Award from Learning Difficulties Australia for his services to assisting students with difficulties and disabilities.


John Fleming

John is currently the Head of Campus for Haileybury College at Berwick in Melbourne. John previously taught in the Victorian Government School system for nearly 30 years. He started his teaching career at Greenbrook Primary in Melbourne. He then taught at Princes Hill, Thomastown West, Lalor North and Preston Primary Schools. In 1992 he was appointed as the Assistant Principal to Bellfield Primary School. All these schools were classified as disadvantaged schools serving communities from low socio-economic backgrounds. Bellfield however was one of the most disadvantaged schools in the whole of Australia. John became Principal in 1996. The school had issues with student behaviour, engagement and academic performance. John set out to change the culture of the school. In 1996 Statewide Achievement Data indicated that over 85% of the students at the school were failing dismally in literacy and numeracy. Through a clear vision, determination and passion the school implemented a structured, sequential, data driven curriculum to turn this around. By 2005 Statewide data indicated that the average student at Bellfield was at the top of the State in all areas of literacy and numeracy.

John has been widely recognised for his success in lifting students’ achievement in literacy and maths. In 2006 he was awarded the LDA Bruce Wicking Award for outstanding achievement in education, and in the same year he also won the Federal Ministers for Education Achievement Award for Excellence in Literacy and Numeracy.  He was a member of the National Expert Advisory Group on Literacy and Numeracy in 2007/2008, and is co-author of the book Towards the Moving School, published by ACER.