VicTESOL Symposium 2017

Event Running Order

Time	Activity	Session details
8:30 – 9:00am	Registration
9:00 – 9:15am	Welcome
9:15 – 10:15am	Keynote	Associate Professor Jane Wilkinson Building bridges between schools and everyday learning spaces for refugee students
10:20 – 10:50am	Parallel Sessions 1	Leadership Abhishek Awasthi (Teacher’s Lounge)	Research Robyn Spandonide & Ellie Akbari (E5 Studio)	Digital Technologies Jade Sleeman (Dewey Common Room)	Research/Digital Technology Dr Ekaterina Tour, Dr Maria Gindidis, Jess McCulloch & Janine Breadmore (Lecture Theatre)
10:50 – 11:20am	Morning Tea
11:25 – 11:55am	Parallel Sessions 2	Leadership Margaret Nutbean (E5 Studio)	Pedagogy Dr Alan Williams (Lecture Theatre)	Pedagogy Rebecca Harris (Dewey Common Room)	Pedagogy Margaret Corrigan & Liz Keenan (Teacher’s Lounge)
12:00 – 12:30pm	Parallel Sessions 3	Leadership Mairead Hannan (E5 Studio)	Pedagogy Dr Alan Williams (Lecture Theatre)	Pedagogy Rebecca Harris (Dewey Common Room)
12:30 – 1:45pm	Lunch
1:50 – 2:20pm	Parallel Sessions 4	Leadership Rosemary Abboud (Lecture Theatre)		Digital Technologies Voula MacKenzie & Nathan Chong (Teacher’s Lounge)	Research Haoran Zheng (E5 Studio)
2:25 – 3:25pm	Keynote	Dr Jenny Barnett Teacher standards and the EAL Elaborations
3:30 – 4:00pm	Afternoon tea & networking

Keynote Speakers

Associate Professor
Jane Wilkinson

9:15 – 10:15am

Biography

Jane Wilkinson is Associate Professor in Educational Leadership at Monash University, an adjunct lecturer at the Research Institute for Professional Practice and Learning in Education (RIPPLE) at Charles Sturt University and Master of Leadership Course Leader. Jane is Assistant Editor of the Journal of Educational Leadership, convenor of the Australian Association of Education (AARE) Educational Leadership Special Interest Group and a member of the Australian Council of Educational Leaders’ Victorian executive.

Jane has been a deputy principal of a large rural secondary school in Victoria, an English curriculum consultant and began her career as a secondary English, ESL and French teacher.

Jane’s research interests are in the areas of educational leadership for social justice, with a particular focus on issues of gender and ethnicity; and theorising educational leadership as practice, drawing on sociologist Pierre Bourdieu’s work and the philosopher Ted Schatzki. Jane has published widely in the areas of women and leadership, refugee students and theorising leadership as practice.

Her most recent books include: Professional development: Education for All as praxis (Wilkinson, Bristol, Ponte, 2016); and Changing practices, changing education (Kemmis, Wilkinson et al., 2014). The latter book is based on an Australian Research Council Discovery grant examining the interconnections between leading, professional development, teaching and student learning in exemplary primary schools in two Australian states.

Keynote Abstract

Building bridges between schools and everyday learning spaces for refugee students: A praxis-oriented approach to professional learning

Teachers and schools play a crucial role in the integration of students of refugee education by rejecting deficit models of students and their families: through a belief that they can make a difference and in the quality of their pedagogies. However, to achieve this end, they require professional development which fosters the necessary conditions conducive to transformations in their teaching at the cultural-discursive level (e.g., developing greater understandings about TESOL students’ language and cultural beliefs); at the material-economic level (e.g., strategies to support teachers in catering for TESOL students’ specific needs such as language and literacy training); and at the social-political level (e.g., working sensitively and reflexively with all students in terms of fostering integration).

In this keynote, I explore the challenges, constraints and possibilities for educators attempting to create inclusive multicultural practices, drawing on ongoing research I have been conducting with colleagues and young people of refugee background in regional NSW and urban Melbourne. Drawing on the voices of students as they converse in the more formal setting of schools and everyday learning spaces such as youth groups and sport, I examine students’ perceptions of the in- and out-of-classroom practices which have contributed to (in)forming and shaping their linguistic and cultural identities. I argue for the need to go beyond ‘just good teaching’ and ‘ESL professional development for all teachers’ (worthy aims though they are) to what colleagues and I have termed a praxis-oriented approach to teachers’ professional learning.

Dr Jenny Barnett

2:25 – 3:25pm

Biography

Jenny Barnett was for many years a senior lecturer in TESOL at the School of Education, University of South Australia. She has now retired, and works with the School in a voluntary capacity mainly to support postgraduate students in their research projects.

Jenny Barnett’s own research and consultancy work has focused primarily on the learning and teaching of students for whom English is an additional language or dialect (EALD) – both their learning of English and their learning across the curriculum. This in turn led to close involvement from 2004 with the Australian Council of TESOL Associations (ACTA) in developing professional standards for teachers working with learners of EALD.

With the advent of the Australian Professional Standards for Teachers in 2013, ACTA asked Jenny Barnett to convene a working group to design an EALD Elaboration of those Standards. The group produced a document intended not only to help teachers’ professional learning but to highlight the needs and strengths of EALD learners. This work and a study of the key factors in learning English as an additional language are her primary TESOL interests at this time.

Keynote Abstract

Making use of professional standards in EALD

The Australian Professional Standards for Teachers (APST) document provides a useful framework for teachers and teaching teams to identify professional learning priorities. However a generic framework cannot identify the key features of specialist content nor respond to the needs of particular cohorts of learners. That is why we now have an Elaboration of the APST specifically designed for teachers working with EALD learners.

This document makes it easy for teachers to shape professional learning pathways responsive to their own teaching context. At the same time it facilitates reporting against the APST, which is now a mandated requirement in schools. Importantly, the document also supports us to justify and advocate for EALD provisions.

Whilst designed for teachers working in schools, with some contextual interpretation and additions, the document can also provide guidance for teachers in intensive English settings, whether for school age or adult learners. Dr Jenny Barnett was the convenor of the group writing the EALD Elaborations and during her keynote will bring this document to life through application in different situations and through responding to questions.

The document is available online, click here to view. While the generic APST document is also available, click here to view.

Parallel Sessions 1: Speakers

Research: Robyn Spandonide & Ellie Akbari

Robyn Spandonide & Ellie Akbari (Loddon Campaspe Multicultural Services)

Mums and Bubs Learn English

After community consultation with the local Afghan community, not-for-profit organisation LCMS saw an unmet need in terms of access and equity in regional Victoria, particularly for women. An 18 month pilot program, Mums and Bubs Learn English, was launched and has now evolved to become the most popular of all courses offered within the organisation.

Intercultural community engagement directed towards newly arrived mothers is at the centre of the program and the team overseeing the program provide an active personalised support based on empowering life skills and practical language acquisition capacity within a family friendly setting.

This session will share insights, findings and recommendations from the pilot program and beyond.

Research/Digital Technologies: Dr Ekaterina Tour, Dr Maria Gindidis, Jess McCulloch & Janine Breadmore

Dr Ekaterina Tour, Dr Maria Gindidis, Jess McCulloch & Janine Breadmore

Improving refugee students’ access to digital literacies: integrating transmedia storytelling in an EAL (Year 7) classroom

The need to improve students’ digital literacies to ensure Australia is equipped to participate in the digital economy is well acknowledged in the Curriculum and research literature. Digital literacies are especially important for EAL students because they need to learn how to use technology in a new linguistic and socio-cultural context. More than ever this group of learners urgently needs teachers’ support to learn how to engage with digital media critically, safely and creatively. However, many schools and EAL practitioners lack suitable resources and, importantly, pedagogical tools to teach digital literacies.

This presentation draws on an action research project which piloted transmedia storytelling as an innovative pedagogical approach to teach Year 7 refugee students digital literacies. The presentation discusses how the research team and a teacher collaborated to plan, create and implement a transmedia storytelling unit ‘The Compendium of Close Shaves’ with a specific focus on email literacy. It evaluates the approach and provides a flexible and adaptable example of the learning unit created in this project. The presentation concludes by reflecting on teacher-researcher collaboration and implications for research and practice.

Dr Ekaterina Tour is a lecturer in the Faculty of Education at Monash University. Her current research projects investigate how people use digital technologies and new literacies for everyday life, work and studies in different language contexts. Ekaterina’s work is available here.

Dr Maria Gindidis is a lecturer in Teacher Education teaching in cross-disciplinary units across undergraduate and postgraduate courses in Teaching and Learning and an accredited school reviewer. Maria’s research is in Bilingual Education, brain compatible classrooms and second languages, EAL teaching and policy.

Jess McCulloch is a Chinese language teacher and Head of Languages at Mount Clear College. She has been recognised for her work in bringing transmedia storytelling to education in a number of projects.

Janine Breadmore has been teaching for over 30 years. She has taught in mainstream schools; the adult sector; new arrivals programs; and in teacher education. She is currently teaching at Blackburn English Language school, where she is the ICT coordinator.

Leadership: Abhishek Awasthi

Abhishek Awasthi (Kangan Institute Bendigo)

Session Outline

Abhishek Awasthi will present on an industry-first partnership between a TAFE institution, Bendigo Kangan Institute (BKI), and Cricket Victoria/Cricket Australia (CV/CA). Over 2016-17, this partnership delivered an innovative, dynamic and flexible program with mutual benefits to both CV/CA and BKI as well as the individual participants and the wider community. Awasthi will also discuss how this partnership empowered, encouraged and engaged participants (from 12 different countries) from a range of ages, locations, socioeconomic statuses, ethnicities, field of studies and life‐experiences to come together, interact and learn beyond the boundaries of an institution.

Biography

Abhishek Awasthi MAICD is the Manager of Bendigo Kangan Institute, trading as Bendigo TAFE and Kangan Institute, and the Executive Director of eiConsulting, delivering cross-cultural engagement and education. Abhishek Awasthi MAICD is the Manager of Bendigo Kangan Institute, trading as Bendigo TAFE and Kangan Institute, and the Executive Director of eiConsulting, delivering cross-cultural engagement and education.

Abhishek Awasthi’s experience extends to the manufacturing industry, scientific research, and leadership and management in the not-for-profit, education, international relations and the business sector. He has a Bachelor of Technology and Master of Science degree. He also has a Graduate Certificate in Higher Education Curriculum, Teaching and Learning from La Trobe University.

Awasthi strongly believes in the importance of education, life-experiences, cultural diversity and community engagement for the conscious and inclusive development of any individual, and consequently their community. His talent for creating collaborative and consultative partnerships, which positively influence and enhance community engagement, has been duly acknowledged by prestigious awards and recognitions for his vocational and business excellence, such as:

2013 Employee of the Year Award at Powercor Australia Bendigo Business Excellence Awards
2014 Regional Victoria Leadership and Innovation Award at the Regional Achievement and Community Awards Australia
2014 International Award for Excellence by a New Entrant in Tertiary Education Management at the Association of Tertiary Education Management Best Practice Awards
2015 Ambassador Award at the Victoria’s Multicultural Awards for Excellence by the State Government of Victoria

Digital Technologies: Jade Sleeman

Jade Sleeman (La Trobe University)

Educational use of digital technologies: What puts the ‘social’ in the use of social media for learning?

Jade Sleeman works with international students, teaching academic English programs and pre-service teacher education at La Trobe University. Currently Jade is finishing a PhD on international students’ uses of social media employed for educational purposes and the implications for making social connections during their academic experience.

In this session, Jade will discuss her recent research with international students on uses of social media for learning. This research suggests that although the use of social media can be used in ways that facilitate communication for social learning, it can also impede it. From the research findings, Jade will propose how teachers can make best use of these tools to promote social learning interactions.

Parallel Sessions 2 & 3: Speakers

Pedagogy: Rebecca Harris

Rebecca Harris (Carlton Primary School)

Trauma Informed Practice in Schools

The session will look at the research into the impact of childhood stress and trauma on learning and behaviour, and will then explore practical ways that classrooms, and schools, can employ trauma informed practice to support students’ wellbeing and ultimately, their learning.

Biography

Rebecca Harris is part of the Wellbeing team at Carlton Primary School, with a focus on supporting families as well as students. She recently completed a Graduate Certificate in Developmental Trauma with the Australian Childhood Foundation, and has great interest in trauma informed practice in schools, and the benefit of this practice to all students. In 2016, Rebecca was part of the University of Melbourne’s Community Fellows Program, working on creating a practice manual for Trauma Informed Practice in education.

Pedagogy: Margaret Corrigan & Liz Keenan

Margaret Corrigan & Liz Keenan (Carringbush Adult Education)

Pronunciation

This session will focus on sharing current research on teaching pronunciation and how Carringbush Adult Education has approached what can be a challenging skill to teach.

Biographies

Margaret Corrigan is Manager of Carringbush Adult Education in Richmond and has worked for many years in a range of educational settings in Australia and Asia-Pacific. She is a current Fellow of the International Specialised Skills Institute and has recently returned from a trip to North America where she investigated models of Professional Development for teachers of adults. She is passionate about working towards achieving the best possible outcomes for learners in the community sector.

Elizabeth Keenan is an EAL teacher and teacher mentor at Carringbush Adult Education. She was awarded an International Specialised Skills Institute Fellowship in 2015 to investigate best practice pronunciation teaching and travelled to the USA as part of her study tour. She teaches a dedicated pronunciation class to beginner-level adult students. Elizabeth is developing effective methods to integrate pronunciation teaching into all areas of the curriculum.

Pedagogy: Dr Alan Williams

Dr Alan Williams (TEAL)

Enhancing EAL learner assessment with TEAL resources

Assessment of EAL learners involves a number of crucial judgments and decisions by teachers, not the least being the norms EAL student performance is compared to. Teachers need to design assessment tasks in order to understand the overall language skills and identify the learning needs of EAL learners. Decisions need to be made about what elements of an EAL student’s language use should have most weight in different tasks, and how the performance of a task can be understood as both a marker of development and a tool to identify the next steps in learning.

Teachers seek to know how their students’ performance of tasks compares to other EAL students as well how their language use compares to mainstream expectations. There are also issues of how the information obtained from assessment is reported. The presentation will explore what is involved in assessment of EAL learners, and provide an overview of the TEAL online EAL assessment resources. Aspects of the TEAL resources will be described and suggestions made about ways in which they can help teachers and schools enhance their practices in assessing EAL students.

Biography

Dr Alan Williams has been member of the TEAL project team at the University of NSW since 2014. He previously worked in TESOL teacher education and research for 24 years at La Trobe University and the Melbourne Graduate School of Education at the University of Melbourne. He worked as a mainstream teacher and then as an EAL teacher in the New Arrivals Program, as well as in secondary schools in Victoria, London in the UK, and Vancouver, in Canada. He has a long history of involvement in EAL curriculum and assessment projects in Victoria and nationally.

Leadership: Margaret Nutbean & Mairead Hannan

Margaret Nutbean

The Fairytale in the EAL Leader’s Journey: Reflections on lessons learned with an analogy to Cinderella

‘Once upon a time…’

As adults, there’s something in most of us that perks up and starts to listen when we hear those words. We all love listening to stories. In this session, an EAL leader, with over 38 years’ experience in a variety of EAL leadership roles advocating for the needs and rights of EAL students, will tell her story. She will reflect on the lessons she has learned and share how much they have in common with some of the underlying messages, values and lessons we can learn through the universal, classic fairy-tale-Cinderella. By identifying with the underlying moral truths and characters in this fairy tale, EAL leaders can come to better understand their own behaviours and those of others. They can recognise their own internal struggles, fears and desires and turn into more self-aware leaders.

Biography

Margaret Nutbean has had extensive teaching and leadership experience working with EAL students and their teachers in the past 39 years. She is passionate about advocating for and supporting EAL students, mentoring teachers and being a continuous learner herself. She is currently working as an independent EAL Consultant alongside classroom teachers/leaders as a mentor and facilitating Professional Learning sessions to support them with EAL/New Arrival/ Refugee students in mainstream classrooms.

Until recently, she spent 18 years in bigger picture leadership roles with the Catholic Education Office. She was the co-ordinator of the EAL/New Arrivals Program with the Catholic Education Commission of Victoria, a position she held for seven years. Previous to that she was a Literacy Education Officer working alongside many Catholic Primary schools in Melbourne who had large cohorts of EAL students. She was also a New Arrivals teacher for Catholic Education Melbourne and an EAL/New Arrivals Coordinator and teacher in a primary school in which EAL was the mainstream.

She has a Post-Graduate Certificate in Multicultural Education, and more recently completed a Masters of Education with a focus on the EAL learner and a Professional Certificate in EAL at Melbourne University. She is a TESMC and a TYCEMC Tutor and has experience as a lecturer in ‘The Professional Certificate in EAL (Year 4-10) at Melbourne University which she advocated for and was instrumental in setting up.

Mairead Hannan

Biography

Mairead Hanna is an educator in the field of TESOL, language and multicultural education. She is currently Associate Head of Campus at St Joseph’s Flexible Learning Centre, where she manages a program for 100
asylum seeker, refugee and EAL learners.

Mairead has lectured in TESOL at the Melbourne Graduate School of Education. She was President of VicTESOL from 2009-2012 where she led the growth and development of the association to provide ongoing professional learning programs and conferences for TESOL professionals.

Mairead worked with a team to establish The Huddle where she devised innovative education and employment programs for bilingual youth to build identity and belonging for young people new to Australia.

Mairead is also a composer and musician. She initiated the musical film One Night the Moon (ABC, 2001), featuring Paul Kelly and directed by Rachel Perkins (http://alturl.com/8kkwn). As founder of north arts, an organisation that harnessed the energies of local artists, she managed a program of artist-led events at the Arts House (1999-2006).

Mairead was awarded a Centennial Medal for Contribution to Australian society 2003, Australian Guild of Screen Composers: Best Soundtrack Album 2002, and in 2001: AFI Best Original Score, New York Independent Film and TV festival Best Musical; Film Critics Circle of Australian Award Best Music. Mairead was Valedictorian at the University of Melbourne in August 2010.

Parallel Sessions 4: Speakers

Research: Haoran Zheng

Haoran Zheng (PhD Candidate, Monash University)

Session Details

Higher Education is becoming increasingly globalised and in Australia, has proactively attracted a large number of international students. The majority of international students are from the ‘big five’ Asian countries (China, India, Republic of Korea, Thailand and Vietnam) with Chinese students forming the largest cohort (36.8%) across a number of degrees and disciplines (DET, 2016). Early Childhood Education (ECE) also witnesses this increasing Chinese student enrolment. However, due to the pedagogical and sociocultural differences in ECE in China and Australia, Chinese pre-service teachers experience significant challenges in adjusting to the Australia ECE culture.

For instance, play-based learning as a pedagogy is significantly employed and encouraged in Australian Early Childhood Education while in China, kindergartens provide full-day services to 3 – 6 year old children and these services are designed to fulfil two purposes: child care and educational preparation. Moreover, apart from cultural and pedagogic differences, Chinese pre-service teachers also experience linguistic challenges during their professional experience in Australian early childhood centres.

I conducted a qualitative case study of a cohort of first year Early Childhood Chinese pre-service teachers. Data emerged from focus groups, in-depth interviews and policy as well as reflective professional experience journal document analysis. The initial findings of this study show that Chinese pre-service teachers experience significant challenges in adjusting to academic studies and pre-service teacher placement experiences in Australia.

This session will discuss how these students feel under-prepared culturally and linguistically due to the demands of the academic context and the Early Childhood placement experience in Australia.

Biography

Haoran Zheng is a PhD student supervised by Dr. Julie Faulkner and Dr. Anne Keary in the Faculty of Education, Monash University. Haoran has been an EAL teacher in China and Australia. Correspondence concerning this presentation should be addressed to Haoran ZHENG, Faculty of Education, Monash University. Email: haoran.zheng@monash.edu.

References
Department of Education and Training. (2016). International student data 2016. Retrieved from: https://internationaleducation.gov.au/research/International-Student-Data/Pages/InternationalStudentData2016.aspx.

Leadership: Rosemary Abboud

Rosemary Abboud (Dandenong North Primary School)

A Narrative – from teaching EAL students to leading teachers of EAL students

In this session, an experienced teacher with 30 years’ experience will share her journey from classroom teacher to EAL Leading Teacher at one of Victoria’s Signpost schools. Identifying with EAL students is second nature, as she herself was an NESB student. A passion for her craft has led her to be an advocate and voice for all EAL learners. From being a resource for mainstream teachers to mentoring graduates and supporting the wider school community, she will share her experiences and the ups and downs of her journey.

Biography

Rosemary is an experienced EAL teacher; she was a New Arrivals teacher as well ICT specialist at Springvale English Language Centre prior to its amalgamation with Noble Park English Language School. Leadership roles at SELC included Curriculum Coordinator, ICT Coordinator and Resource Coordinator.

She is a passionate advocate of New Arrival Students and their transition from Language School to mainstream classroom. In 2005 she was approached to establish an EAL program for the new arrival students entering the mainstream. Hence the ‘Transition EAL Program’ at Dandenong North Primary School was established. Since then, she has become the EAL Area Leader as well as a Leading Teacher. She has contributed to the system by participating in curriculum development both at local and regional levels as well as providing professional development for EAL and mainstream teachers.

Digital Technologies: Voula MacKenzie & Nathan Chong

Voula MacKenzie & Nathan Chong

Virtual EAL New Arrivals Program

Using video conferencing to support New Arrival EAL students, the Virtual EAL program is delivered through a distance education model at the Victorian School of Languages (VSL). The Virtual EAL New Arrivals program (VNAP) is specifically for newly-arrived EAL learners in remote country schools who cannot access a Language school or Language Centre. This session aims to share recent developments in the program, and an inside look at the components that make up our virtual learning environment.

Biography

Voula MacKenzie is an experienced EAL, Information Technology and Humanities teacher, who has taught in Victorian secondary schools, English Language centres and most recently at the Western English Language School (WELS) in Braybrook. Since 2014, Voula has led the development of the Virtual EAL program, which began as a pilot project and is now an established program with 40 students scattered throughout rural Victoria. Using video conferencing to support New Arrival EAL students, the Virtual EAL program is delivered through a distance education model at the Victorian School of Languages (VSL). The Virtual EAL New Arrivals program (VNAP) is specifically for newly-arrived EAL learners in remote country schools who cannot access a Language school or Language Centre.

Pedagogy: Jacqueline Moore

To return to the VicTESOL Symposium 2017 page, click here.

VicTESOL Symposium 2017

Event Running Order

Time

Activity

Session details

Associate Professor Jane Wilkinson

Dr Jenny Barnett

Keynote Speakers

Associate Professor
Jane Wilkinson

Biography

Keynote Abstract

Dr Jenny Barnett

Biography

Keynote Abstract

Parallel Sessions 1: Speakers

Robyn Spandonide & Ellie Akbari (Loddon Campaspe Multicultural Services)

Dr Ekaterina Tour, Dr Maria Gindidis, Jess McCulloch & Janine Breadmore

Abhishek Awasthi (Kangan Institute Bendigo)

Jade Sleeman (La Trobe University)

Parallel Sessions 2 & 3: Speakers

Rebecca Harris (Carlton Primary School)

Margaret Corrigan & Liz Keenan (Carringbush Adult Education)

Dr Alan Williams (TEAL)

Margaret Nutbean

Mairead Hannan

Parallel Sessions 4: Speakers

Haoran Zheng (PhD Candidate, Monash University)

Rosemary Abboud (Dandenong North Primary School)

Voula MacKenzie & Nathan Chong

Jacqueline Moore (Curriculum Manager, English, VCAA)

Recent Member Resources

VicTESOL Symposium 2017

Event Running Order

Time

Activity

Session details

Associate Professor Jane Wilkinson

Dr Jenny Barnett

Keynote Speakers

Associate ProfessorJane Wilkinson

Biography

Keynote Abstract

Dr Jenny Barnett

Biography

Keynote Abstract

Parallel Sessions 1: Speakers

Robyn Spandonide & Ellie Akbari (Loddon Campaspe Multicultural Services)

Parallel Sessions 2 & 3: Speakers

Rebecca Harris (Carlton Primary School)

Parallel Sessions 4: Speakers

Haoran Zheng (PhD Candidate, Monash University)

Recent Member Resources

Associate Professor
Jane Wilkinson