Enjoy marvellous musicianship of local Tasmanian Catholic Education students as you drink in peaceful vistas of the Derwent River.

Join us for sparkling conversation, drinks and nibbles as we officially launch our Teaching Matters: Science of Learning National Summit.

Transforming Reading Instruction in Tasmanian Schools: A public health and social justice imperative

In this presentation, Professor Snow will apply a public health lens to literacy success and the imperative for all schools to be teaching reading in ways that optimise the life chances of all students, regardless of their socio-economic circumstances, disability, or English-learner status. Response to Intervention will be outlined as the appropriate model for public health thinking and the importance of avoiding pseudoscientific approaches will be emphasised.

We know what works. So why aren’t we doing it?

We are working in education at a very exciting time. Decades of empirical data about effective teaching practice have been brought together with cognitive science research about how the human brain learns new knowledge and skills – and it reveals a powerful story. Teaching that aligns with the brain’s processes has been proven to be the most effective in fostering student learning. We know now, with more confidence than ever before, what works. Yet these teaching practices are not yet being used in all Australian schools. This keynote will identify three key challenges to implementation of more effective teaching practices and present emerging evidence, from AERO and other sources, about how they might be overcome.

A model for learning: Why teachers need one and what it should include.

The session will explore some of the key issues that arise for teachers related to children’s learning process, each of which can be explained with a simplified model. We will look at the key elements of that model, drawing on ideas from cognitive science, and then examine the implications for everyday teaching. The big challenge then is to implement techniques that support every individual child to focus their attention, think, to build secure schema for the concepts in hand and to consolidate through practice.

Trick or Treat? What ‘Tricky’ Words Show us About the Whole System

Getting a room full of diverse learners to apply the alphabetic code to words and start reading and writing is daunting enough without also having to deal with scary ‘irregular’ words! Do I heart them? Do I ‘map’ them in Elkonin boxes? Do I just set them for memorisation homework as whole words and wish the parents luck? Do I just avoid them for as long as possible and hope they somehow magically crop up in the minds of my students? Well, that’s a ‘trick’ approach. How about seeing them as a treat? Every irregular word tells a story. Don’t believe me? Let’s take ten fine examples (harvested over years of asking teachers, ‘What word is hard to spell/teach/remember?’) and tell their stories, whilst revealing the whole story. Leave this session with a bag of tricks to help you make every word-study session a treat.

Improving your School by Harnessing the Science of Learning

In Dr Nathaniel Swain’s upcoming book, he is joined by co-authors with expertise in the sciences of learning and reading, mathematics, school leadership and implementation, and featuring stories of success from schools around Australia. Join Dr Swain for this session on pivotal takeaways from the successful implementation of the science of learning, and how you can empower teachers to transform their work and their students’ outcomes.

Glenn Fahey, Jordana Hunter, Lorraine Hammond, Ross Fox and Gerard Gaskin (Jenny Donovan to chair).

Golden Minds: A Celebration of Cognitive Brilliance

This theme revolves around the brilliance of the human mind, exploring the mysteries of cognitive science and the art of learning. The colour gold symbolizes the precious nature of knowledge and the extraordinary capabilities of the brain. We encourage guests to dress in elegant attire, with a touch of gold.

Join us for some relaxed breakfast conversation with Science of Learning experts Jan Hasbrouck, Dr Lorraine Hammond, Lyn Stone, Jennifer Buckingham, Jenny Donovan, Toni Hatten-Roberts, Michael Roberts, Glenn Fahey, Jordana Hunter, Dr Nathaniel Swain, Brendan Lee and Rebecca Birch.

Reading Fluency: Essential for Comprehension (and Motivation!)

Fluency is essential for skillful and motivated reading but is often misunderstood. Fluent reading is NOT fast reading! Let’s revisit this topic with an emphasis on the purpose of fluent reading: Comprehension…and motivation! A functional definition of fluency will be provided along with a framework for fluency instruction across the grades.

What does fluency look like in the classroom: a ‘how to’ guide.

In this session, Associate Professor Lorraine Hammond will put commonly asked questions about the practicality of teaching and assessing fluency to Jan Hasbrouck.

Teaching for productive learning in mathematics

Brendan Lee will provide an overview of why teachers should be aiming to teach for productive learning in mathematics, rather than productive struggle. He will go through the research and provide practical strategies for teachers to use in the classroom.

How teaching of maths fluency can arrest decline

Australia needs to embrace the proper teaching of maths fluency, combined with timed assessments and external monitoring, to arrest the declining number of students continuing mathematics into the senior years. Educator Toni Hatten-Roberts, author of the recently published paper, The Need For Speed: Why Fluency Counts for Maths Learning, mounts the case for the embrace of maths fluency – the learning of maths facts, such as multiplication tables, to the point of automaticity – to increase confidence, understanding and achievement.

The links between Science of Learning and Wellbeing

Academic stress and student wellbeing issues are known to be on the rise. We know that the Science of Learning is key to improve student learning outcomes, but did you know that it is also key to supporting student wellbeing? Classroom practices that provide structure through explicit teaching have been observed to reduce student behaviour issues. But when combined with autonomy-support and opportunities for guided practice and mastery through models like load reduction instruction, they also motivate our students, making them feel more supported and capable. At the secondary level, teaching students about memory, retrieval and other desirable difficulties empowers them to become independent learners. A key source of student academic stress, arising from high stakes testing and pressure to perform, can be alleviated when students have the tools to study effectively. Not only this, but students are also more likely to remember what they have been taught, further reinforcing feelings of capability. In this session, Rebecca Birch talks about how the Science of Learning can impact the classroom and beyond, with practical knowledge and strategies that will help teachers to support their students’ pastoral care through everyday, evidence-backed teaching strategies.

Teaching the teachers: What is changing in ITE?

Persistent and widespread concerns about the quality of initial teacher education in Australia have led to numerous reviews and reports. The most recent report from the Teacher Education Expert Panel made strong recommendations that have been endorsed by education ministers and will be implemented in the next two years. In this presentation, Jennifer will outline the major reforms in ITE, what is happening in the sector and what the impact is likely to be for schools and systems that are implementing evidence-based practices.

Glenn Fahey in conversation with the Science of Learning (SoL) Experts – From theory to practice

Rebecca Birch, Lyn Stone, Dr Nathaniel Swain, Brendan Lee, Jan Hasbrouck and Michael Roberts.

Afternoon Refreshments

As this conference draws to a close, stay and reflect and discuss what arose. Refreshments will be offered as we come to the end, to say your goodbyes, to your colleagues and friends.