Dialogue Seminar: Teaching reading

This event will be delivered in a hybrid format. Livestream and in-person registration options are available. Interstate ETA colleagues can email Katerina for registration (events@vate.org.au).

Are English teachers giving adequate attention to the diverse readers in their classrooms?

We are again debating the teaching of reading.

While it can be argued that the debates primarily impact early years teachers and learners, it is fair to say that competing conceptions of reading and readers are changing teaching practices in secondary English too.

In this Dialogue Seminar, we use the notion of ‘re/locating the personal’ to foreground the personal experiences and professional knowledge of teachers, and to reflect on the place of complex notions of personal meaning-making and on pedagogies that aim to enhance the reading of diverse students. As English teachers focus on the teaching of generic strategies in ways that are increasingly teacher-centred and explicit, are we able to also support students to see themselves in texts, to build motivation and pleasure in reading, and to grapple with layered meanings that are at once ambiguous and nuanced? Are English teachers giving adequate attention to the diverse readers in our classrooms? And, where do we locate ourselves as teachers of reading and does ‘location’ matter?

Facilitated by Dr Amanda McGraw, this Dialogue Seminar will begin with an engaging panel discussion with Australian and international researchers whose expertise is related to the teaching of reading. There will be an opportunity for teachers to discuss their contextual circumstances in small groups. The seminar will conclude by identifying the practical implications for teaching reading in English.

The discussion at this seminar will centre around the research into reading that will be circulated in the Research Snapshot. This is an opportunity for English teachers to deepen their understandings of theoretical standpoints, and to also critically examine classroom reading approaches as they are experienced by students and teachers of English.

Facilitator:
Dr Amanda McGraw, Federation University
Dr Amanda McGraw is a narrative researcher fascinated by the complicated stories teachers (and pre-service teachers) tell about their work and those that young people share about their experiences at school. Amanda uses a range of methods to tap into life stories including extended conversation, and visual and shared analysis of artefacts. Her research interests include a focus on teaching reading and writing in English, dispositions in teaching, school/university partnerships, and teacher professional learning. She has expertise in developing communities of practice involving practising teachers who use practitioner inquiry to learn deeply about teaching and learning processes.

Research Panellist:
Prof Larissa McLean Davies, The University of Melbourne
Professor Larissa McLean Davies is Deputy Dean and Professor of Teacher Education in the Faculty of Education at The University of Melbourne. A leading Australian academic, her research spans the fields of teacher education and professional learning, literacy and English education and literary studies. Her scholarship is concerned with issues of justice, anti-colonial and feminist practices and sustainability as this is manifest in teacher knowledge and curriculum enactment. Larissa leads large teams that work closely with State and Territory Education Departments on these issues, to improve educational experiences for diverse learners. Larissa’s long commitment to Australian writers and writing in education has resulted in invitations to speak at the Melbourne Writer’s Festival, a partnership with the Stella Prize, and the opportunity to Chair the Australian Literary Studies Gold Medal in 2023. 

Cancellation Policy

Cancellations must be emailed to events@vate.org.au. Cancellations received by 12pm five working days prior to the event date will be charged a 15% cancellation fee. Cancellations received after this will receive NO REFUND. Registrations can, however, be transferred to another staff member. Please email events@vate.org.au the details. If you do not attend and have not notified VATE according to the above policy, you will receive no refund.  Please note: If this event is cancelled due to COVID government or venue restrictions, you will receive a full refund.

Catering and special diets (in-person events only)

Coeliac, vegan and other special diets (medical related) can be requested. Please email your special diet request to events@vate.org.au at least seven working days prior to the event. Please note: Approximately 50% of the catering will be vegetarian. You do not need to request this.