Brigidine College, Ward Street, Indooroopilly, Brisbane

BEGINNING TEACHERS’ DAY

Saturday, 10 May, 2014 Brigidine College, Ward Street, Indooroopilly, Brisbane

The Context

Now in its fourth year, the Beginning Teachers’ Day provides high quality professional development specifically tailored to the needs of English teachers in their first five years of practice and those who may be experienced teachers but are new to teaching English. One of the secondary aims of the day is to provide beginning teachers with the opportunity to boost their professional profile through seminar presentations. As such, this year’s program features workshops covering a range of professional and curriculum-related issues, presented by beginning teachers, experienced English teachers and teacher-educators. This professional development opportunity offers new-to-English, beginning and pre-service teachers the chance to extend their professional network, whilst attending workshops that offer practical strategies and ideas relating to the teaching of English.

“It’s a Marathon, not a Sprint” her craft.

Presenter The first year of teaching can be a daunting Erin Geddes (BEd, MEd) is a teacher and the prospect. Whether as a permanent, contract or library and reading coordinator at Forest Lake supply teacher, we’ve all experienced the nerves State High School with a background in reading of standing in front of students for the first time. and improving NAPLAN data. She has presented a We make many mistakes and learn about scary number of workshops on reading at ETAQ’s new levels of fatigue and stress we never knew Beginning Teacher Conference and State possible. Similarly, teaching English for the first Conference and ALEA/AATE’s National time can be equally daunting. We might be an conference and has written for Words’Worth. experienced teacher from another subject given English for the first time. Where do we begin? How do we come to terms with students, subjects and practices that are unfamiliar to us? This keynote explores being a recently graduated teacher, but also being a teacher new to English. Erin shares pitfalls, successes and epiphanies every new and new-to-English teacher experiences in their marathon journey and reflects upon the factors and decisions that helped her remain passionate and committed to

ETAQ Beginning Teachers’ Day Saturday 10 May, 2014 Page 1 Beginning Teachers’ Day Program

Time Activity Presenter

From 8:30am Registration and tea/coffee 8:50am Welcome: Fiona Laing, ETAQ President 9:00am Keynote Address: It’s a Marathon not a Sprint Erin Geddes

9:30am Session 1: Reading: Building Functional, Visual and Critical Julie Arnold Literacies in the English Classroom

10:30 Ice-breaker / Networking Activity

10:40am Morning Tea

11.10am Session 2: 2A Got 99 Problems but Pedagogy Ain’t One Elizabeth Elms and Marian Wright OR Rebecca Hewitt 2B Debating in the Middle Years Curriculum

12:00 am Session 3: 3A Will Power Rachael Christopherson Or

Session 1: 3B Tricks and Tips from a Fourth Year TeacherPresenter Nicole Johns Julie Arnold has taught in Queensland schools for 18 12:45pm LUNCH years, 12 as Head of Department and two as Literacy ‘Building Functional, Visual and Coach across schools and subjects in the Brisbane Critical1:15pm LiteraciesSession in 4 :the Behaviour English Management Seminar metropolitan region. SheBrad currently McLennan leads an inspirational, enormous, amorphous, wonderful Classroom2:15pm Session 5: Using three Level Guides English team and coordinatesMatthew whole Rigby school literacy practices at Corinda State High School, one of the Abstract3:00 - 3:15pm Closing Address state’s top-performers in reading improvement this Students face significant challenges when they move year. She chairs the Professional Development into upper primary and through to Senior. Whether or Committee of ETAQ and is a QSA District Panellist for not they are personally equipped, they must make a English. She has recently enjoyed, with Lynda Wall, profound shift in the focus of their learning - from the opportunity provided by Cambridge University ‘learning to read’ to ‘reading to learn’. Many are not Press to publish a set of student course books for ready for this shift, and this is the conundrum of the English Communication. secondary English teacher.

This workshop aims to share an approach that: harnesses the power of literacy routines; carefully Session 2: selects strategies for engaging in a wide variety of texts; and foregrounds the centrality of critical Session 2A Got 99 Problems but Pedagogy literacy. It assumes that all students are capable of great thinking and powerful learning. It will be a Ain’t 1 practical and thought-provoking session packed with ideas and strategies. Abstract This workshop will highlight the many lessons that the

ETAQ Beginning Teachers’ Day Saturday 10 May, 2014 Page 2 presenters learnt from a very intense first year of persuasive or expository writing may also find this teaching. Aside from sharing horror stories and session of interest. victories, the presenters hope to equip early career teachers with a range of activities and resources that This workshop is especially beneficial for co-curricular encourage creativity and deeper understanding in the coaches who are looking to enhance their coaching English classroom. It is hoped that teachers can walk and adjudicating skills, and it will cover case-prep and away inspired, understood and equipped with a tool strategy for competitive debating, especially for kit of “go to” strategies that they can use to make inexperienced coaches or those working with debaters sense of curriculum and own their pedagogy in Years 5-9.

Presenters Presenter Elizabeth Elms and Marian Wright first met in a Bec Hewitt is in her fifth year of teaching English and classroom at QUT in 2008. Graduating with hopes to Drama at St Patrick's College, Shorncliffe. She is a change the world, Liz and Marian both did their first graduate of QUT and recently completed her Master year of teaching at Brisbane State High School in South of Arts in English through UNE. Despite being the Brisbane. Now slightly more realistic (but still worst debater in the history of her school as a student, enthusiastic!) about their career aspirations, they are proud to say that they survived their graduate year of she is now Community Relations Officer for the teaching with their mental health still intact. They are Queensland Debating Union. She is a passionate excited about instilling confidence and empowerment coach, adjudicator and advocate for the activity in and in young teachers and believe that while there is a lot out of the classroom to learn, there is still a lot to celebrate about the profession.

Session 3: Session 2B: Debating in the Middle Years English Curriculum Session 3A Will Power

Abstract Abstract Debating is an activity which many graduate English Teaching Shakespeare! How exciting – and daunting. teachers find themselves coaching or coordinating in There is nothing more frightening and fulfilling than their initial years in the profession. It offers an teaching a Shakespearean text in your first few years outstanding opportunity for pre-service and graduate of your English teaching career. How do you engage teachers to gain experience in assessing and giving your students with an almost ‘foreign’ language, feedback to young learners, and to engage with complicated characters and a myriad of symbols that st parents and broader school communities. However, most Elizabethans would ‘get’ but baffle your 21 the Australasian debate can also be used as a highly- century students? engaging assessment instrument, particularly for Having taught Shakespeare’s poetry and plays for middle years English classes. most of my teaching career at both junior and senior levels, and having recently attended a three day This workshop will outline how to teach a 5-week unit ‘teacher intensive’ workshop with the Bell for Year 8 students, with an end product of a Shakespeare Company, I would like to share a few persuasive spoken/signed task for students in the form strategies that might assist in ‘teaching the Bard’. The of a 3-4 minute oral, presented in teams of three. It workshop will examine a few of Shakespeare’s will also address how to adapt criteria for the task to sonnets, as well as strategies for teaching Macbeth, the three dimensions of debating – matter, manner Romeo and Juliet, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, and method – and arm teachers with strategies for Hamlet and Much Ado about Nothing. We may also differentiation and student engagement in both have time to look at a few of the great speeches from formative and summative activities. However, Henry V. teachers looking to find new techniques for teaching

ETAQ Beginning Teachers’ Day Saturday 10 May, 2014 Page 3 Presenter how it should and shouldn't be implemented. Within Rachael Christopherson currently teaches English at the realities of a crowded curriculum, I will highlight Brisbane Girls Grammar School. She has also taught the obvious issues in current education settings and some specific suggestions on how teachers may English and Art in both co-education and single-sex address these with positive behavioural, academic and schools, in both regional and urban settings. Rachael social outcomes. has presented workshops in local, state and national forums since 2003, and was the recipient of the ETAQ It will be my intention to make the discussion very Peter Botsman Award in 2005. Her teaching is used as practical and whilst my suggestions will have ‘model practice’ in the QUT Education degree course foundation in theory this will not be the emphasis. Cutting edge topics that will be described and commented upon are as follows: Session 3B: Tricks and Tips from a Fourth Year Teacher  Rights Culture;

 Media Hype; Abstract Love your subject? Just not at marking time? Or at  Lack of Respect; parent teacher interviews?  Boundaries; This session will give you some tips and tricks for managing the marking load that will help you mark  Classroom Dynamics; with confidence and reclaim your social life in your first few years of teaching. Similarly, this session will  Parents and also provide you with some creative ideas about how to bridge the gap between school and home, providing  Effective Vs Ineffective Pedagogy. communication early and effectively to avoid difficult I will also briefly outline a Pedagogical Framework I conversations and incidents with parents. During the have collaboratively developed with my colleague session I will provide you with tried and tested ways to Karen Peel that is an excellent auditing tool for structure parent conversations and interviews effective teaching. professionally, providing succinct feedback on literacy goals. Come along for some top tips from one Presenter beginning teacher to another. Brad McLennan continues an education career that has to date spanned 25 years, the last four of which Presenter have been in higher education and specifically Nicole Johns is a teacher in her fourth year at Shalom teaching pre-service teachers how to manage classrooms effectively. My teaching career culminated College Bundaberg. Moving away to regional in a National Teaching Award (2009) recognising an Queensland for her first year of teaching, she had to inspirational approach to optimising student learning make connections with the community and build up in the middle years. I have practical experience in both social networks afresh. While finding the first years of the Primary and Secondary sectors and have taught teaching are all consuming, she quickly had to find a domestically in Australia as well as internationally in way to find a balance between work and life to avoid Canada. My PhD research is investigating the most early burnout effective approach to teaching classroom management to pre-service teachers that results in a heightened sense of efficacy and therefore buffers newly qualified teachers from stress, burnout and leaving the profession prematurely. Session 4: Behaviour Management

Abstract All teachers in contemporary classrooms are Session 5: Using Three Level Guides confronted daily by the challenges of classroom management. It has been and continues to be a hot Abstract political and social debate among everyone in the community, many of whom project strong views on Matthew Rigby will focus on embedding the explicit

ETAQ Beginning Teachers’ Day Saturday 10 May, 2014 Page 4 teaching of inferential reading comprehension skills English in Queensland State and independent schools using three level guides. Inferential reading is a major for 20 years before taking up a part-time lecturing and weakness of many secondary Queensland school tutoring position at the Queensland University of students. Two of the Year 12 QCS Test most Technology for five years. Over the last five years he commonly tested common curriculum elements (CCEs) established an independent literacy consultancy are inferring and deducing. Using San Diego State business delivering Years 11 and 12 QCS Test student University’s Prof Dougal Fisher and Dr Nancy Frey’s and staff professional learning workshops on reading, gradual release of responsibility model (2008) and persuasive writing, explicit instruction and teaching QUT’s Dr Nea-Stewart-Dore’s effective reading in the grammar. He currently works with 40 EQ, Catholic and content areas/learning to learn through reading independent schools in far north, north, north-west, (ERICA/LTLTR) (1983) model, he will guide you how to central and south-east Queensland. He is an write and use three level guides in every unit of work enthusiast for teaching derivation, traditional and you teach functional grammars, reading comprehension and vocabulary building. Presenter Matthew Rigby taught Senior Modern History and

ETAQ Beginning Teachers’ Day Saturday 10 May, 2014 Page 5