Maths Matters: Best Practice in Numeracy Teaching

Gaps in mathematics achievement are evident early and persist. Following in the footsteps of recent advances in reading science, efforts are now underway to ensure that early years teachers have the knowledge and tools to identify students who are likely to go on to struggle with mathematics. This session will review the most recent research on the knowledge and skills most predictive of mathematics difficulties, how they are best measured, and the implications for schools and teachers.**This webinar will be recorded and available for two weeks after the event**Date: Monday 29th July 2024Time: 7:30 pm - 8:30 pm AEST (Melbourne Time)Cost:LDA Member: $30LDA Student Member - $15Non-Member - $50About Kelly NorrisKelly has worked as a classroom teacher, educational consultant, product developer and lecturer in the areas of mathematics, reading and inclusive education, with a particular focus on students experiencing learning challenges. She currently works for the Centre for Independent Studies leading a project on early screening for mathematics difficulties.

A skilled writer conveys a message that can be accurately interpreted by a reader. Unfortunately, when students write about what they did during their holidays or on the weekend, it is difficult to measure the accuracy of the written attempt as the context may not be known. Similarly, there are many students who, when asked to write, whether in the classroom or clinic, are reluctant to put pen to paper as they struggle to generate ideas. Fortunately, we know that a retell or recount can provide insight into a student’s language skills and when they write it down, it provides additional information about sentence structure, vocabulary and word meaning as well as their ability to sequence ideas into a cohesive text. Using video can be highly engaging, it can be paused and restarted to scaffold the writing task and the reader has a reference point against which they can compare the response to identify areas of strength and weakness. Furthermore, a written recount from an animated video is a task that can be administered with a whole class, providing an effective and efficient way to collect a piece of written text from a whole class during a single lesson. Join Kathryn to explore the classroom and clinic application of using animation clips to support comprehension and writing skills including practical easy to implement strategies to scaffold the success of students requiring additional support.**This webinar will be recorded and available for two weeks after the event**Date: Monday 14th October 2024Time: 7:00 pm - 8: 30 pm AEST (Melbourne Time)Cost:LDA Member: $40LDA Student Member - $30Non-Member - $60About Kathryn ThorburnKathryn is a dual qualified Speech Pathologist and Teacher with a Masters in Special Education. She has 25 years of experience as a Speech Pathologist and runs a small private practice, Language and Learning. Kathryn has 20 years experience in education, she is a NESA accredited teacher and has taught in mainstream classroom & school executive roles in NSW Department of Education, and AISNSW schools across K-12. She has worked as an Education Officer: Developmental Disabilities Role within Catholic education, piloted a Rehabilitation - Education Liaison Role for the Hunter New England Paediatric Brain Injury & Rehabilitation Teams and has more recently been involved in the curriculum reform process with NESA for K-2 & 3-6 English. Kathryn is providing expert mentor support for the Hunter NELI project as part of the AISNSW School-Based Research Project. Kathryn understands first-hand the demands placed on classroom teachers, she strives to make the complex practical and to support school in supporting learners in the most effective, time and resource efficient manner possible. For more info, see www.languageandlearning.com.au/

Place value understanding underpins almost every part of the mathematics curriculum. Counting, estimating, money, addition, subtraction, multiplication, division, converting units, scientific notation and percentage all relate to place value. Research has shown that many students fail to develop a robust understanding of place value in early Primary school, which places them at considerable risk of failing to understand the subsequent big ideas (including multiplicative thinking and partitioning). In this session Dr Ange Rogers will share her research into the development of a valid and reliable whole number place value assessment called the Place Value Assessment Tool (PVAT), and how this assessment can be used to accurately identify gaps in student understanding. The session will unpack several common student misconceptions and provide practical ideas for addressing, and where possible avoiding, the development of these misconceptions. A framework will be presented to support teachers to systematically and comprehensively teach place value. Participants will leave this session with a deeper appreciation for the challenges and importance of place value and be armed with a variety of ideas to assess and target the needs of their students.**This webinar will be recorded and available for two weeks after the event**Date: Monday 28th OctoberTime: 10 am - 12 pm AEDT (Melbourne Time)Cost:LDA Member: $55LDA Student Member - $40Non-Member - $80About Dr Angela RogersDr Ange Rogers is an experienced primary school teacher and Numeracy Leader from Melbourne. Ange is a passionate presenter who regularly facilitates Professional Development for teachers and schools across Australia. In 2014 she completed her PhD in Mathematics Education focusing on the assessment and teaching of whole number place value in Years 3-6. In her PhD she developed the Place Value Assessment Tool (PVAT) and has since created a suite of teaching resources to support this assessment. Ange currently lectures part-time to pre-service teachers at RMIT University in Melbourne and mentors teachers and leaders through her online website the Numeracy Teachers Academy.

Join us for a full-day conference 'Building Resilient Classrooms: Mental Health and Student Engagement' on Thursday 14th November. This conference will cover topics such as literacy and mental health and effective classroom management to ensure student engagement.Date and TimeThursday 14th November 9:30 am to 3 pm AEDT (Melbourne Time)**This webinar will be recorded and available for one month after the event**CostLDA Member: $160LDA Student Member - $125Non-Member - $180PresentationsSupporting mental health in the context of language and literacy difficulties - Prof Mark Boyes & Dr Elizabeth HillChildren who struggle with language and literacy are at elevated risk of mental health difficulties, yet why this is the case is unclear and current psychological therapies are generally not accessible for this population. Prof Mark Boyes and Dr Elizabeth Hill will provide an overview of the research from Curtin University's 'Language and Literacy in Young People' research group (www.lalyp.com). They will present work investigating risk and protective factors associated with mental health in the context of language and literacy difficulties. They will also discuss ongoing projects aiming to develop accessible interventions and build the capacity of mental health professionals to support mental health needs of these children. Along with other members of 'Language and Literacy in Young People', they are keen to explore opportunities for future collaboration.Creating engaged classrooms through effective classroom management - Cate WhitingThe Australian Education Research Organisation (AERO) is developing practical guidance for teachers and school leaders to create safe and supportive learning environments through effective classroom management. Explore the evidence base and how the resources support teachers to refine their practice and support school leaders to lead a whole school approach to classroom management. Plans for further resources to be released next year will also be shared, including guidance on supporting students with additional learning needs.SpeakersProf Mark Boyes & Dr Elizabeth (Lizz) HillProf Mark Boyes is a Professor in the School of Population Health at Curtin University, Co-Lead of the Mental Health Research Domain within the Curtin enAble Institute, and an NHMRC Emerging Leadership Fellow. He co-leads Curtin University's 'Language and Literacy in Young People' research group (www.lalyp.com). Dr Elizabeth (Lizz) Hill is a speech pathologist and teaching/research academic at Curtin University. Lizz completed her PhD in September 2020, for which she explored language skills of adolescents with acquired brain injury and links with social and emotional wellbeing. Currently, Lizz’s research explores the intersection of mental health and language, with a particular focus on accessible mental health services for people with language and literacy difficulties. She is passionate about working in collaboration with people with lived experience of language and communication challenges, and their supporters, to co-develop solutions to support social and emotional wellbeing. Lizz has published 15 peer-reviewed journal articles and is a co-or lead investigator on over $1.8 million in research funding.Cate WhitingCate Whiting is an experienced school leader and has led school improvement by applying evidence-based practices in student engagement and behaviour, pedagogy, literacy and multi-tiered systems of support. Cate is currently the Principal Teaching and Learning Specialist leading the Engaged Classrooms Through Effective Classroom Management project at AERO.