Executive Function & ADHD: Practical Strategies

Writing is a complex and cognitively demanding skill, yet it is often one of the most challenging areas to teach and assess effectively. This conference brings together leading research and classroom practice to explore what truly makes a difference in writing instruction. Grounded in evidence, sessions will examine high-impact approaches including explicit instruction, structured writing frameworks, and the role of Self-Regulated Strategy Development (SRSD) in supporting students to plan, organise, and regulate their writing. Participants will gain practical, classroom-ready strategies to improve student outcomes across year levels, with a focus on supporting struggling writers and ensuring all learners can develop as confident, capable communicators. **This webinar will be recorded and available for 30 days after the event** Dates: Wednesday 17th June 10 am - 3 pm AEST (30 min lunch break provided) Thursday 18th June 10 am - 1 pm AEST Cost: LDA Member: $250 LDA Student Member - $200 Non-Member - $300 Course Program Day 1: Wednesday 17th June, 2026 Session 1: 10 am -11:30 am High Impact Writing Instruction: The SRSD Approach Effective writing instruction requires more than teaching text structures—it involves explicitly supporting students to plan, organise, and regulate their thinking throughout the writing process. This session explores how Self-Regulated Strategy Development (SRSD) provides a structured, evidence-based approach to improving writing outcomes for all students across Grades 1–12. Self-Regulated Strategy Development (SRSD) is a genre-level framework for teaching writing with the highest effect size of any writing approach researched to date. With over 200 research studies worldwide, and based on the research of Dr Karen Harris, the SRSD framework has enabled teachers to transform the writing trajectory of students all over the world. Consisting of six stages of instruction in a gradual release of responsibility model, the cornerstone of SRSD lies with the self-regulatory strategies that students are taught to mastery. The impact of this is a reduction in cognitive load, increased motivation and self-efficacy, and a significant increase in students becoming skilled independent writers. Designed for educators and school leaders, this session will provide practical insights into implementing high-impact writing instruction that is both systematic and responsive to diverse learner needs. Session 2: 11:30 am - 1 pm Information coming soon Session 3: 1:30 pm - 3 pm Developing Structured Literacy Units that Integrate Word-, Sentence-, and Text-Level Instruction (Jacinta Conway) This session explores how to design Structured Literacy units that integrate word-, sentence-, and text-level instruction to improve writing outcomes in the middle years. It focuses on the role of explicit, systematic teaching in connecting spelling, vocabulary, and syntax to support sentence construction and overall text development. Participants will gain a clear, practical framework for moving beyond isolated skill instruction to a cohesive approach that builds both content knowledge and literacy skills. The session will demonstrate how structured routines, sentence-level teaching, and retrieval practice can be embedded within units of work to develop accuracy, fluency, and control in writing. This approach supports all learners, particularly those who require more explicit and integrated instruction to succeed. Day 2: Thursday 18th June, 2026 Session 1: 10 am - 11:30 am Let’s Write: Using Think Alouds to Elevate Writing Instruction in the Classroom (Barbara Friedlander) Writing is a critical life skill, and students need explicit tools to become confident, independent writers. Self-Regulated Strategy Development (SRSD) is an evidence-based approach that supports students through planning, drafting, and revising while building metacognitive awareness and self-regulation. In this session, we will focus on the powerful modeling and think-aloud stage of SRSD, where teachers make the invisible thinking of writers visible—helping students understand not just what to write, but how to think as writers. Let’s elevate writing instruction together! Session 2: 11:30 am to 1 pm Understanding and assessing handwriting fluency to support literacy (Karen Ray) In this presentation, Karen will explore the link between early handwriting skills and literacy development, including impacts on writing. This session introduces an evidence-based model for handwriting fluency acquisition, video analysis of handwriting fluency using the Letter Form Assessment Version 2, and research findings on how handwriting intervention impacts on literacy for beginning writers. Participants will be equipped with a framework for understanding handwriting acquisition and approaches to effective assessment and intervention. About the Speakers Dr Karen R. Harris Dr. Karen Harris has been an educator for over 50 years, first teaching 4th grade in a coal mining community in West Virginia and then adolescents in special education. She earned her doctoral degree at Auburn University in 1981. Since the 1980's she has developed and refined a model of instruction, Self-Regulated Strategy Development (SRSD), now researched in the areas of writing, mathematics, science, social studies, and more from 1st grade through college. She has authored over 200 books and articles, including the book Powerful Writing Strategies for all Students. With approximately 200 studies of SRSD across more than 12 countries, SRSD instruction has the strongest evidence base of any researched approach to writing instruction. SRSD is deemed evidence-based in the U.S., with moderate to large effects for narrative, persuasive, and informative writing, and is being implemented in numerous schools. SRSD instruction places strong faith in teachers and supports students in developing engagement, persistence, peer collaborations, self-efficacy for writing, motivation, academic language and discourse, self-regulation of the writing process, and differentiation across students. Dr. Harris' current research focuses on integrating skills needed for writing, such as handwriting, spelling, and sentence construction, with close reading to learn and then write across genres and content areas beginning in grades 1 and 2 (with successful ideas from Kindergarten teachers as well). Julie Scali Julie Scali is a nationally recognised literacy consultant, author, and founder of Literacy Impact™, with more than 25 years of experience in evidence-based literacy instruction, school improvement, and Response to Intervention (RTI/MTSS). In 2025, she received the Learning Difficulties Australia (LDA) Award for her outstanding contribution to improving outcomes for students with learning difficulties. Julie has worked across Australia, the United Kingdom, and Northern Ireland as a classroom teacher, Deputy Principal, SENCO, Support Teacher (Learning Difficulties), curriculum leader, and system-level advisor. Through Literacy Impact™, she partners with schools and systems to implement sustainable, research-aligned literacy practices and has led large-scale...

LDA Learning Circle WATCH sessions from our on-demand learning platform DISCUSS practical applications SHARE strategies for classroom and intervention settings **This is an in-person event** Date: Thursday, 25th June, 2026 Time: 10 am - 1 pm Venue: Waterman Chadstone, Level 2, 1341 Dandenong Rd, Chadstone, VIC 3148 New to LDA: In-person collaborative learning sessionsOur Members are telling us they would like more opportunities to network and collaborate with colleagues. These sessions will involve watching a session from our on-demand learning platform together with colleagues so that we can DISCUSS practical applications and SHARE strategies. Participants will also have the opportunity to bring or purchase their lunch and spend a little more time networking at the Waterman cafe.  Course Description A Low Variance Scope and Sequence outlines the “what” and “when” of teaching systematic synthetic phonics. It serves as a precise roadmap for Tier 1 and 2 teaching, ensuring that all students are receiving the same high-quality instruction at the same time. “Low variance” refers to the consistent delivery of content across a cohort; for example, all Year One students will learn the same phoneme-grapheme correspondences on the same day of the same week. A critical component in designing an effective scope and sequence is word selection. The words chosen must act as vehicles for phoneme-grapheme mapping, supporting students in building strong orthographic representations. These words are central to facilitating the self-teaching mechanism, a key driver of reading development. Effective instructional design requires us to consider phonology (how words sound), orthography (how words are spelled), and semantics (what words mean). By integrating these elements, we can select words that highlight the contrasts between different spelling patterns—such as ay, ai, and a-e—and make these distinctions meaningful and memorable for young learners. All phonic instruction must work towards developing instant, automatic and rapid mental graphemic representations of words….in the words of David Kilpatrick, “all words want to be a sight word when they grow up!” We must teach students how to orthographically map words! In this webinar, Jenny will guide participants through the principles of designing a Low Variance Scope and Sequence, with a particular focus on strategic word selection. She will explore how to create optimal entry points into sound-spelling systems and share intervention strategies and assessment approaches to support students with weak orthographic mapping. About Jenny Baker Jenny is the founder of Fremantle Speech Pathology Services, a large private practice in WA. She holds a “Support and Development” role for over 35 Speech Pathologists who are all equipped to assess and treat children with Specific Learning Disorders and Developmental Language Disorders. Jenny has such a wealth of experience and depth of knowledge regarding written language; she iscommitted to employing highly explicit and evidence-based teaching strategies to ensure that workshop participants have their learning goals met. **Note: The recording of this presentation will be played, and time allowed for group discussions* This session will host a maximum of 5 participants to enable group discussions and sharing of ideas, so book your tickets quickly to avoid disappointment. 

LDA Learning Circle: WATCH sessions from our on-demand learning platform DISCUSS practical applications SHARE strategies for classroom and intervention settings **This is an in-person event** Date: Thursday, 28th May, 2026 Time: 10 am - 1 pm Venue: Waterman Chadstone, Level 2, 1341 Dandenong Rd, Chadstone, VIC 3148 New to LDA: In-person collaborative learning sessionsOur Members are telling us they would like more opportunities to network and collaborate with colleagues. These sessions will involve watching a session from our on-demand learning platform together with colleagues so that we can DISCUSS practical applications and SHARE strategies. Participants will also have the opportunity to bring or purchase their lunch and spend a little more time networking at the Waterman cafe.  Course Description Setting up and solving word problems is tricky for many students! In this session, we will review effective word-problem strategies. First, we’ll highlight common attack strategies that provide students with a process for approaching word problems. Then, we’ll provide examples of common schemas featured in many word problems. These schemas represent the conceptual foundation of a word problem. When students use an attack strategy combined with schemas, this approach can make word-problem solving more accessible for students. About Professor Sarah Powell Sarah Powell is a Professor in the College of Education at the University of Texas at Austin and Associate Director of the Meadows Center for Preventing Educational Risk. Her research, teaching, and service focus on mathematics, particularly for students who experience mathematics differently. Sarah is also the 2025 recipient of the Eminent Researcher Award of the Australian Journal of Learning Difficulties. **Note: The recording of this presentation will be played, and time allowed for group discussions** This session will host a maximum of 5 participants to enable group discussions and sharing of ideas, so book your tickets quickly to avoid disappointment. 

Dates: Tuesday 12th May Tuesday 19th May Tuesday 26th May Time: 7-8:30 pm AEST **All sessions will be recorded and available for 30 days after the event** The multi-tiered system of supports (MTSS) framework helps guide the use of evidence-based instructional practices to meet students’ learning needs. It supports the identification of achievement gaps, highlighting students who may require targeted intervention to address additional needs. A central element of MTSS is ongoing monitoring of instruction and interventions to ensure they are effective and making a meaningful impact. Tier 1 Support - Evidence-based instructional practices and supports delivered to all students. Tier 2 Support - Interventions provided to small groups in addition to the high-quality instruction received by all students in Tier 1. Tier 3 Support - Interventions are targeted to meet specific individual learning needs and further intensified by increasing the frequency and/or length of each session, duration of the intervention, and/or lowering group size. (AERO- March 2025) This 3-part course focuses on providing effective Tier 3 Intervention, ensuring equity and impact for students with learning difficulties. The course will cover how to use data to drive support and to monitor progress, provide case studies from leading schools in Australia and discuss adjustments for students with learning difficulties. This course provides 4.5 CPD hours. Cost LDA Member: $200 LDA Student Member - $165 Non-Member - $250 Session 1: Precision at Tier 3: Using data to drive intervention (Tuesday 12th May, 7-8:30 pm AEST) Presented by Karina Stocker, Academic Lead: Intervention, Research and Translation in the School of Educational Psychology and Inclusion at Monash University What does effective Tier 3 intervention really look like—and how do we ensure it is driven by data, precision and impact for the students who need it most? This session provides an overview of Tier 3 academic intervention within a Multi-Tiered System of Support (MTSS), grounded in current research and evidence-based practice. It will explore the key features of intensive intervention, with a focus on data-based decision-making to support students with the most significant learning needs. The session will introduce precision teaching and fluency-based instruction as effective approaches for collecting ongoing performance data and informing instructional decisions. Designed as an information-focused webinar, this session will build understanding of the principles and frameworks underpinning high-quality Tier 3 support. Session 2: Targeting and tightening Tier 3 supports at a whole school level (Tuesday 19th May, 7-8:30 pm AEST ) Presented by Sarah Asome, Principal, Bentleigh West Primary School What does high-quality Tier 3 intervention look like when it is embedded effectively across an entire school? In this session, Sarah Asome will draw on the work at Bentleigh West Primary School to showcase how a strong, whole-school approach can ensure that students with the most significant learning needs are not only supported, but set up for success. Bentleigh West has developed a reputation for implementing Tier 3 intervention with clarity, consistency and impact, and Sarah will share the key structures and practices that underpin this success. Sarah will unpack how Tier 3 fits within a Multi-Tiered System of Supports (MTSS), including how students are identified, how interventions are targeted, and how progress is closely monitored to inform responsive teaching. She will also explore the adjustments and supports required to ensure equitable access to learning for all students, highlighting the importance of alignment between classroom instruction, intervention, and school-wide systems. Importantly, this session will move beyond theory. Sarah will provide practical, realistic and actionable strategies that schools can implement to strengthen their Tier 3 provision—whether you are refining existing systems or building them from the ground up. This session is ideal for school leaders, intervention teachers and educators looking to develop a cohesive, evidence-informed approach to supporting students with the greatest learning needs. Session 3: Adjustments for students with learning difficulties (Tuesday 26th May, 7-8:30 pm AEST) Presented by Erin Rollason What meaningful adjustments make the biggest difference for students with learning difficulties—and how can schools implement them effectively? In this practical session, Erin Rollason will guide educators through evidence-informed adjustments that support students to access the curriculum and demonstrate their learning. Erin will unpack a range of classroom, assessment and environmental adjustments that can be implemented across primary and secondary settings. The session will explore how to align adjustments with individual student needs, while maintaining high expectations and ensuring equity. Erin will also address common challenges schools face when implementing adjustments, including consistency across classrooms, balancing support with independence, and embedding adjustments within whole-school systems. With a strong focus on real-world application, Erin will provide clear, actionable strategies that teachers and school leaders can use immediately. Participants will leave with a deeper understanding of how to make reasonable adjustments that are purposeful, practical and impactful for students with learning difficulties. About the Speakers Karina Stocker Karina Stocker is an experienced school leader, researcher, and education consultant specialising in the implementation of Multi-Tiered Systems of Support (MTSS) across literacy, mathematics, and behaviour. Her work focuses on strengthening data-based decision-making, evidence-based instruction, and tiered intervention to support diverse learners. Karina holds a Master’s degree in Behaviour Science from Monash University and is currently completing her PhD, which examines the implementation of MTSS and evidence-based practices in Australian schools. More recently, she has taken on the role of Academic Lead: Intervention, Research and Translation in the School of Educational Psychology and Inclusion at Monash University, where she leads both research and practice initiatives focused on evidence-based academic assessment, targeted intensive intervention, and MTSS implementation. Sarah Asome Sarah Asome is a highly experienced educator and the current Principal at Bentleigh West Primary School. She has also worked in the UK and Singapore. Sarah has been instrumental in leading the change at BWPS, but also been able to support many colleagues, State, Nationwide and in New Zealand to implement evidence-based literacy instruction in their schools. This has led to a significant increase in literacy and numeracy levels, which now places BWPS as a high-performing school. Currently, Sarah is part of the team working on ten Victorian Lesson Plans for Primary English, including text units, spelling, grammar and punctuation. In 2015, Sarah was awarded ‘Outstanding Primary Teacher’ in the...