Free Seminar Program

10.15am - 11.00am
Legal Liability-understanding your duty of care
There are over 170 pieces of legislation that apply to teachers in Victoria. Julie will explain how laws such as mandatory reporting, duty of care and negligence apply to you as a teacher. You will look at legal cases and solutions to help you meet your legal obligations to keep you and your students safe.
Julie Quinn, Australian Education Union

11.15am - 12.15pm
What works: How to engage all kids but especially kids from disadvantaged backgrounds.
It is claimed recently that almost 50% of our students are disengaged from school. Is this actually true? What does this mean for our teaching? In this presentation I will report on what I have learnt about student engagement over 30 years of teaching in the most disadvantaged schools and more recent research. I will show teachers how to ensure that what we teach will actually engage our students. Examples of engaging curriculum will be used. This session is suitable for all teachers from K-12
Dr David Zyngier, Monash University

1.15pm - 2.00pm
Engaging lesson starters for the Mathematics classroom
Participants will be exposed to a range of activities that engage students in mathematical thinking suitable for the junior secondary classroom. Participants will receive sample materials that can be used in the classroom immediately or at home as a family activity
Helen Haralambous, Secondary Mathematics Consultant, The Mathematical Association of Victoria

10.45am - 12.45pm
The Positive & Productive Classroom – Dealing with Common Classroom Challenging Behaviour
This presentation gives teachers a comprehensive insight as to why students ‘misbehave’, and to reflect on why many of our current approaches may not be effective. The foundation of the program will be to examine negative attention seeking and power struggles, and explore everyday effective strategies that teachers can use to minimise and reduce these behaviours in the classroom context.
Jo Lange, Behaviour Specialist

1.15pm - 2.00pm
Igniting gifted learners to reach their potential
As teachers, we are familiar with differentiating in order to cater for a large range of needs in our classrooms. One of these needs is that of gifted students who - like all students - may need help, in their case beyond pure acceleration, in order to reach their potential. The question is how to inspire these students who may otherwise under-achieve and exhibit passive or disruptive behaviors in class?
Penny believes that all students deserve the opportunity to reach their potential. In this seminar, Penny will clarify why it's just as critical that we cater well for gifted students and the dilemmas we face when we attempt to do so. She will outline the keys to breaking through and getting them tuned in - and out of their comfort zones.
Penny Willoughby, Thinking Outside The Box

2.15pm - 3.00pm
Learning with Emotions in Mind: filling up a child's learning tank with Confidence, Persistence and Resilience
Teaching children how to self-regulate their emotions when challenged by learning is rarely taught - but sorely needed. Hear about two essential skills - that all children can learn - from the co-author of Australia's latest social, emotional and cognitive wellbeing program.
Helen Davidson, Best Program 4 Kids

3.15pm - 4.00pm
Fidget to Focus - When and why on earth would you give a child a ‘fidget toy’ in the classroom? Practical hints for effective use.
An explanation as to why some kids are able to cope better at school when given access to a fidget tool or other ’sensory tools’ - a little bit of the theory behind why sensory strategies assist some children to self-regulate at school. Some children have difficulties with sensory processing affecting their ability to self-regulate and attend at school and home. Sensory strategies are often suggested to help these children. Sometimes they work and sometimes they don’t. It’s important to identify what’s happening for the child before trying random sensory strategies to increase the chances of getting it right. It’s also important to know how to use these strategies from a practical point of view - when used incorrectly they don’t work and it’s easy to give up on a strategy that may have made a real difference! We want to get it right for our kids.
Penny Melsom and Caryn Mincherton, Skillbuilders

9.15am - 10.00am
20 Hours of Professional Learning - in 45Minutes
In this workshop educators will explore what experiences can be considered as Professional Learning through their relevance to the Australian Professional Standards for Teachers. They will reflect on the impact that new learning can have on their professional practice that in turn leads to improved student learning. Detailed workshop notes will be provided, together with copies of the Australian Professional Standards for Teachers.
Dawn Colcott, Associate, inThync Professional Training

10.15am - 11.00am
Inspiring mathematical thinking with games and picture story books
Teachers will explore a range of games and picture story books that engage students in mathematical thinking in the primary classroom. The session will focus on developing the fluency and reasoning and strategies for differentiation will be explored. This will be a hands on workshop (auditorium style).
Jennifer Bowden and Ellen Corovic, Primary Mathematics Consultants, The Mathematical Association of Victoria

11.15am - 12.00pm
Shifting the Literacy Paradigm - Australian Educators as Agents for Change
Phonics is to reading and spelling, what times tables are to mathematics. It is the foundation on which reading and spelling are built. The use of phonics for reading and writing is a life-long skill. Even the most literate of adults, when faced with an unfamiliar word, will revert to phonics to decode and encode. Mandating the teaching of phonics will make a major difference to literacy results in Australian schools but only if all teachers have adequate understanding of the Alphabetic Principle and phonetic structure of English. Improving teachers' subject knowledge is imperative to improving literacy outcomes and making pedagogical change.
Denyse Ritchie, The THRASS Institute

13.15pm - 14.00pm
The Best Step to Writing Success
What do James Bond, Andy Griffiths and Matt Reilly do that NAP markers love? They all use Sizzling Starts to hook their audience in. Learn the secrets to Sizzling Starts and how they can gain marks in over FIVE of the NAP writing criteria. Plus, actually experience Five Minute Fast Starts, a fun activity that gets kids thinking and writing, fast. You'll walk away with a range of great writing activities to try with your students. More importantly, gain insights into how to teach creativity and inspire a love of writing in your students.
Jen McVeity, Seven Steps to Writing Success

11.15-12.00
Turning Big Data in Big Gains for students
Technology is a great enabler of innovation in education, yet we still need teachers to have knowledge and skills behind its use, plus the capacity to engage and motivate students. There is no question that technology leverages 21st Century learning to a ‘new’ meaning in our classroom programs, but how students are learning still depends on the skills and aptitude of teachers. Our challenge is not only if 21st Century learning is being addressed in the classroom, but also how it is being offered to support quality, authentic learning opportunities for students. In this workshop participants will hear how schools have used data to unlock a universe of information around 21st Century pedagogy, and assisted in the design and delivery of contemporary teaching and learning practices.
Melanie Gillies, RTG

1-15-2.00
CyberSafety in Schools - What Teachers need to Know
The AFP Cyber and Child Safety team take an evidence-based approach incorporating real-life case studies and investigations into cyber safety educational sessions for parents/carers, teachers, and students. The AFP, industry and law enforcement partners deliver free cyber safety education in schools and organisations, which will be covered in this presentation. This Presentation will sensitively cover topics such as social media, gaming, privacy, reputation management, cyber bullying, ‘sexting’, grooming, inappropriate content, and how to get help if something goes wrong.
Clint Bopping, Australian Federal Police

2-15-3.00
Why is Robotics literacy important ? Teaching programming and coding with NAO
Overview - In this session Jonathan Kingsley from The Brainary will present on how various robotic platforms such as the 'NAO' humanoid robot and 'EZ-Robot' can be used engage students in coding and meet curriculum requirements as set out in the new Australian Digital Technologies Curriculum.
Sam Kingsley, The Brainary