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Advancing Literacy Conference and Workshop 2025

For Primary and Secondary Teachers

Details

Date

29 March 2025

Time
8:30 am - 4:00 pm
Location

ACU Ballarat Campus

The researchers and teachers of The Australian Centre for the Advancement of Literacy at ACU would like to invite you and your staff to an exceptional literacy event at the ACU Ballarat campus on Saturday, 29 March 2025.

The Advancing Literacy Conference and Workshop will feature concurrent presentations and workshops for primary and secondary teachers from all disciplines, as well as intervention specialists to introduce the latest research-based, explicit instructional strategies with immediate impact on teaching and learning. Literacy leaders and school leaders are encouraged to attend to gain further insights into the decision-making processes that will impact students' literacy achievement.

For the first time in Australia, Dr. Wes Hoover (Austin, Texas) will present on his lifetime of research on the Simple View of Reading and the Cognitive Foundations of Reading Acquisition to assist all teachers to understand the skills required for students to read and comprehend text.

Teachers and intervention specialists from Prep to Year 12 will then choose from concurrent workshop sessions for a full day of professional development.

The day will finish with a keynote presentation by Prof. Genevieve McArthur on the current science of literacy and mental health and the implications for teachers and schools.

Staff Group Discount

Please note that a special offer is now available to send 5 members of your staff to the Advancing Literacy Conference for the discounted cost of $650 ($130per person instead of $160pp). Only 150 tickets are available and I encourage you to act quickly to secure seats for your staff.

See you at the event!

Presentation/Workshop Schedule for Ballarat Conference 29 March 2025

Time Session Presenter Title of Presentation Focus
Time

9:00am

Session

Keynote presentation

Presenter

Dr. Wesley Hoover

Title of Presentation

Part A: The Simple View of Reading

Part B: The Cognitive Foundations of Reading Acquisition

Focus

Components of skilled reading; recognising & improving deficits

Time

10:30am

Session

Morning Tea

Time

11:00am

Session

Primary Teachers

& intervention specialists

Presenter

Prof. Saskia Kohnen

& Dr. Erin Banales

Title of Presentation

Creating meaningful, yet efficient assessment schedules to drive effective instruction. Includes rationales for why and how to administer specific tests

and how to score and interpret results.

Focus

Assessment

Time Session

Secondary Teachers

& intervention specialists

Presenter

Prof. Rauno Parrila

Title of Presentation

How do we know if students have the reading and language skills that they need to access the curriculum in high school?

Focus

Assessment

Time

12:30pm

Session

Lunch

Time

1:30pm

Session

Teachers of Years P-2

& intervention specialists

Presenter

Prof. Saskia Kohnen

& Dr. Erin Banales

Title of Presentation

Developing effective lesson plans for systematic, explicit phonics instruction. Easily adaptable lesson plan designs for primary classrooms, including progression and revision steps and rationales for their use.

Focus

Instruction

Time Session

Teachers of Years 3 -12

& intervention specialists

Presenter

Prof. Anne Castles &

Jessica Colleu Terradas

Title of Presentation

Insights into the structure of words: Implications

for reading, spelling and vocabulary in Years 3-6 and high school.

Focus

Instruction

Time

3:00pm

Session

Keynote presentation

Presenter

Prof. Genevieve McArthur

Title of Presentation

The current science of literacy and mental health:

Implications for teachers and schools

Focus

Reading self-concept, anxiety, disengagement.

Time

4:00pm

Session

Close

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