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Implementing an Effective Multi-tiered System of Support to Teach Spelling

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Implementing an Effective Multi-tiered System of Support to Teach Spelling

Target audience

School educators teaching in Foundation to Year 6 and in the early secondary school years

Presenter

Dr Tessa Daffern

Adjunct Associate Professor in the SOLAR Lab at the School of Education, La Trobe University, and Co-director at Literacy Education Solutions.

Description

Spelling is an essential transcription skill for writing, as well as a visible word-level language skill that supports reading and vocabulary learning. It is also a complex word-formation process. While the importance of explicit instruction in spelling has become widely accepted, Tessa discusses why educators should consider a nuanced approach to explicit spelling instruction so that all students can thrive in their learning. Spelling instruction should enable all students to build and deepen their vocabulary; it should be targeted and seek to establish durable, multi-faceted representations of written words that can be accessed and used with automaticity when reading and writing. This presentation introduces educators to an evidence-based, multi-tiered approach to teaching spelling, ensuring that all students have the best opportunity to improve their spelling. Tessa describes how her research provides empirical evidence of Triple Word Form Theory and its related assessment and instructional resources for nuanced, multi-tiered spelling instruction. The importance of a consistent whole-school approach and robust pedagogical content knowledge are also highlighted.

Dr Tessa Daffern

Tessa Daffern is an Adjunct Associate Professor in the SOLAR Lab at the School of Education at La Trobe University, and Co-director at Literacy Education Solutions. Tessa has contributed to education in various capacities for over 20 years: as a classroom teacher, teaching and learning specialist, academic, and literacy education advisor. Her research and consultancy work are driven by her passion for empowering teachers to implement evidence-based literacy teaching. Tessa’s award-winning research and resources for assessing and teaching spelling have been disseminated in national and international peer reviewed and professional journals, book publications and at national and international conferences. Her main areas of research are in writing and spelling, with a focus on developing evidence-based teaching and assessment resources. Prior to academia, Tessa received a Recognition of Excellence Award for her teaching and leadership and was certified as a Highly Accomplished Teacher in 2012. Tessa recently served as the academic advisor and writer for the NESA English Syllabus, and she regularly delivers professional learning to teachers in schools across Australia.

Email: tessa@daff.net.au

Website: https://www.tessadaffern.com/

A SAMPLE OF RELATED PUBLICATIONS & RESOURCES BY TESSA DAFFERN

Instructional print resources for school-based educators

Daffern, T. (2023). Spelling out words: Personal spelling and vocabulary reference book (workbook for students in Year 3 above). Literacy Education Solutions. ISBN: 978-0-6483430-4-2

Daffern, T. (2022). The little compendium of Standard English spelling. Literacy Education Solutions Pty Limited. ISBN: 978-0-6483430-2-8 (2nd edition is now available for preorder on request)

Daffern, T. (2023). The components of spelling: Early Years (CoSTEY). Instruction and assessment for the linguistic inquirer, 2nd Edition Manual. Literacy Education Solutions Pty Limited. ISBN: 978-0-6483430-5-9

Daffern, T. (2021). The components of spelling: 3-6. Instruction and assessment for the linguistic inquirer, 2nd Edition Manual. Literacy Education Solutions Pty Limited. ISBN: 978-0-6483430-3-5

Online assessment and instructional resources for school-based educators

Selected book chapters

Daffern, T. (2024). Teaching writing conventions. In E. Rata (Ed.), Research Handbook on Curriculum and Education (Vol. Part II Knowledge structures and the curriculum, pp. 228-244): Edward Elgar.

Daffern, T. (2018) Spelling assessment, learning, and instruction in VET. In: McGrath S., Mulder M., Papier J., Suart R. (eds) Handbook of Vocational Education and Training: Developments in the Changing World of Work (pp. 1429–1444). Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-49789-1_90-1.

Selected journal articles

Daffern, T., Hogg., K., Callaway, N., Wild, H., & Kelly, S. (2024). Supporting schools to implement an evidence-based and effective approach to teaching spelling. Learning Difficulties Australia, 56(3), 31-38.

Daffern, T. (2022). Empowering teachers with an evidence-based spelling pedagogy. Practical Literacy: The Early and Primary Years, 27(2), 14-18.

Daffern, T., & Fleet, R. (2021). Investigating the efficacy of using error analysis data to inform explicit teaching of spelling. Australian Journal of Learning Difficulties. 26(1), 67-88. DOI:10.1080/19404158.2021.1881574

Daffern, T., & Sassu, A. (2020). Building morphological foundations. Practical Literacy: The Early and Primary Years, 25(3), 35-37

Daffern, T., & Mackenzie, N. M. (2020). A case study on the challenges of learning and teaching English spelling: Insights from eight Australian students and their teachers. Literacy, 54(3), 99-110. doi: 10.1111/lit.12215

Daffern, T., & Ramful, A. (2020). Measurement of spelling ability: Construction and validation of a phonological, orthographic and morphological pseudo-word instrument. Reading and Writing: An Interdisciplinary Journal, 33, 571- 603. DOI: 10.1007/s11145-019-09976-1

Daffern, T. & Critten, S. (2019). Student and teacher perspectives on spelling. Australian Journal of Language and Literacy, 42(1), 40-57

Daffern, T. (2017). Linguistic skills involved in learning to spell: An Australian study. Language and Education, 31(1), 307-329. DOI: 10.1080/09500782.2017.1296855

Daffern, T., Mackenzie, N. M, & Hemmings, B. (2017). Predictors of writing success: How important are spelling, grammar and punctuation? The Australian Journal of Education, 61(1), 75-87. DOI: 10.1177/0004944116685319

Daffern, T. (2016). What happens when a teacher uses metalanguage to teach spelling? The Reading Teacher, 70(4), 423-434 DOI: 10.1002/trtr.1528

Daffern, T., Mackenzie, N., & Hemmings, B. (2015). The development of a spelling assessment tool informed by Triple Word Form Theory.  Australian Journal of Language and Literacy, 38(2), 72-82.

Multimedia: visit Tessa Daffern’s YouTube channel

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Teacher perspectives on the new phonics & explicit teaching policies in Victoria