Principals’ Forum - Riverwood Public School - Anne Davis
Open to all Principals and Assistant/Deputy Principals. Riverwood Public school is a small school located in a low socio-economic community in south-western Sydney. A focus on evidence-based wellbeing and learning practices has underpinned the school’s improvement work. We are committed to Explicit Direct Instruction as a key pedagogical approach and our literacy practices are aligned with the research from the science of reading. The school’s wellbeing framework articulates a twin focus on staff and student wellbeing.
Shane Pearson - Introducing PhOrMeS: A Free Foundation-Year 6 Word Reading & Spelling Curriculum
Standing for Phonology, Orthography, Morphology, Etymology and Semantics, PhOrMeS aims to equip teachers and schools with a ready-to-teach, comprehensive, whole-class curriculum which covers the skills outlined above. In this webinar, you will hear from the lead author, Shane Pearson. You will learn about the components of the PhOrMeS Word Reading & Spelling Curriculum and how they progress from Foundation to Year 6, learn how PhOrMeS uses the SoR and SoL to teach decoding and spelling, and see examples of slides and instructional sequences and much much more.
Follow up Q and A - Creating and sustaining effective learning environments
Catch up on this follow up Q and A for this very popular session! Have you been working hard to establish classroom routines and clear behavioural expectations at the start of this year? Dr. Russ Fox and Dr. Erin Leif are obsessed with all things behaviour and are excited to talk with Think Forward Educators about ways to create and sustain positive and productive learning environments for all students.
Implementing the science of learning when the rest of the school isn't - Brendan Lee
Have ever you had the realisation that the way your school has been going about things is not evidence-informed? Have you also struggled with initiating the changes that are needed for school improvement? This talk is targeted at classroom teachers and middle leaders who are experiencing barriers in the implementation process. In this presentation, Brendan will discuss some of the strategies that teachers can use when approaching school leaders and what you need to understand before moving forward.
Principals’ Forum - Term 2 2022 - Beeliar Primary
The journey to become a school of excellence for Beeliar Primary School started with an in-depth analysis of student data, where all staff engaged in a disciplined dialogue about school and student performance. Whole school programs including Explicit Direct Instruction (EDI), InitiaLit, Critical Reading and Spelling Mastery were introduced to ensure consistency of practice and a systematic development of reading across the school. The results have been outstanding and Beeliar PS achieved green boxes for all literacy areas in our 2021 Year 3 NAPLAN results.
Beyond Phonics...Morphology & Why it Matters - Jasmine Shannon & Kylie Conrad
Jasmine Shannon, and Kylie Conrad are morphology-obsessed. Seeing morphology as such an unsung hero. they constantly research Greek and Latin and how these languages influence the way we spell today. Morphology has huge potential to build comprehension, vocabulary and to drive spelling instruction. However, how this is used is still being thought out in many schools. Morphology is the organisational feature of the entire English spelling system which shares a leading role with phonology and is heavily influenced by etymology. Join us for this exciting presentation, and get ready to become morphology-mad too!
A crash course in pedagogy for surviving and thriving in the English classroom - Rebecca Birch
Rebecca Birch hosts a crash course for early career English teachers on how to create cultures of writing and reading in the classroom. Drawing on evidence-based practice, Rebecca will share key strategies to support teachers in making writing routine, including the direct teaching of writing structures that enhance learning, and the modelling and scaffolding of responses. She will also present on how to support students in reading comprehension, while providing an appropriate level of challenge. Finally, she will present on the structures and resources that can support early career teachers in doing their job, for example effective use of aides, strategic programming and efficient whole class and individualised feedback.
Trauma informed schooling and EDI - An intentional approach to social and academic success - SA Branch
James Kelly and Dave Pascoe presented on the contextual and sustainable approach to Trauma Informed Practice at Elizabeth Vale Primary School. Key elements will be: the importance of intentionality, predictability, consistency and communication in a trauma informed school and some tips that we would give to others on a similar journey. From here, the workshop will provide a snapshot of Explicit Direct Instruction (EDI) as a pedagogy for learning and how it complements the trauma informed approach. It will provide a very clear idea of what EDI is and what EDI is not and some practical uses in a classroom setting.
TFE Principals’ Forum - Churchill Primary
Open to all Principals and Assistant Principals. Come to discuss, share, and learn about the tremendous success at Churchill Primary with Principal, Jacquie Burrows.
Read 2 Learn Project Launch
Read2Learn (r2L) is Brandon Park Primary’s new platform for teaching reading comprehension within a knowledge-rich curriculum. This is an evolution from their work in recent years to teach reading comprehension explicitly and in a way that gets students focussed on in-depth text. Catch the recording fro this free information session to hear about the ambitious project to share our curriculum resources with you, and collaborate with other schools to produce high-quality units that develop knowledge and reading/writing expertise in students.
Environments for learning: Docklands Primary
Basing their work on professional reading around the importance of calm, settled learning environments, our guest presenters will be sharing their experiences and findings about effective classroom setup. Reviewing the kinds of seating plans that lend themselves to different kinds of work in the classroom; they have a heap of practical experiments in their own classrooms to share!
Jac and Leah will also share insights about classroom displays and organising student materials.
Mentor Program PL Session with Dr Simon Breakspear - Teaching Sprints
Interested in mentoring from one of our volunteer educators? Wanting to give back, and mentor a teacher/educator early in their Science of Learning Journey? Catch the recording for this interactive session about our Mentor Program, and place your application ASAP for our 2022 program.
Creating and sustaining effective learning environments using behaviour science - Dr Russ Fox and Dr Erin Leif
Have you been working hard to establish classroom routines and clear behavioural expectations at the start of this year? Are you wondering how to sustain, embed, and then responsively adapt these practices over the course of the year? Diving into behaviour science may assist you with your behaviour change efforts (yours and your students!). Dr. Russ Fox and Dr. Erin Leif are obsessed with all things behaviour and are excited to talk with Think Forward Educators about ways to create and sustain positive and productive learning environments for all students.
Mentor Program Info Session Feb 2022
Interested in mentoring from one of our volunteer educators? Wanting to give back, and mentor a teacher/educator early in their Science of Learning Journey? Catch the recording for this interactive session about our Mentor Program, and place your application ASAP for our 2022 program.
TFE Principals’ Forum - Nov 2021
In Nov 2021, we convened our fifth Think Forward Principals’ Forum, bringing together Principals and APs/DPs to discuss high quality instruction and the Science of Learning. Showcasing the work of Steven Capp and Sarah Asome from Bentleigh West Primary School.
Setting up for Success - Gippsland Branch
At this meeting we heard from two teachers who have been successfully implementing the science of reading and science of learning in their classrooms. They shared their experiences and provide tips for setting up the new year for success. Sarah Johnstone from Guthridge Primary School (Sale) is currently a Literacy Specialist and has previously held leadership and principal positions. Rachael Geerts from St Pauls Anglican Grammar School (Traralgon) has recently been appointed Director of Learning and Teaching and previously was the Learning Specialist at Loch Primary School.
Oral Language in the Classroom across K-12: Kathryn Thorburn - NSW Branch
What role does oral language play in supporting student literacy & learning across the curriculum? Does it matter beyond the first year of school? What impact does oral language skills have on learning to read and reading comprehension?
Kathryn Thorburn is a dual qualified Speech Pathologist and Teacher with a Masters in Special Education. She has 25 years experienced as a Speech Pathologist and runs a small private practice, Language and Learning. Kathryn will provide an in-depth look at oral language in the Classroom across the school years. She understands first hand the demands placed on classroom teachers and strives to make the complex practical to support schools to support learners in the most effective, time and resource efficient manner possible.
Getting Started with a Knowledge-Rich Curriculum - Brad Nguyen
How does a brand new school start developing a knowledge-rich curriculum?
Join Brad Nguyen as he shares lessons learned from Docklands Primary School’s first year in operation.
Challenge Accepted: Practical Actions for Reading Success - Jocelyn Seamer - TAS Branch
In this session, Jocelyn shared her experiences from her work in some of Australia's remotest schools and outline the necessary components for evidence informed literacy practices in the early primary years. Focusing on practical and realistic actions, Jocelyn will invite you to consider the steps we might take to move closer to the evidence and create success and growth for every child, everywhere.
The Great Teaching Toolkit - Prof Rob Coe
Helping teachers to become even more effective is mainly about teacher learning. Crucially, teacher learning is just like every other kind of learning, so clarifying the curriculum - what is worth learning to get better at - is fundamental.
The Great Teaching Toolkit: Evidence Review, published in June 2020, presents the latest and best available evidence about what great teachers do that makes a difference. Teacher learning also depends on feedback - rich, insightful, actionable feedback that helps teachers to focus on the things that matter, to see how well they are doing, what they are improving and what they can most usefully work on. In this talk, Rob will describe what the great Teaching Toolkit is, how it could support your teaching, and how you can get involved.