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2018 Free Education Program
The 2018 Free Education Program has now concluded. The 2019 program will be announced closer to the event.
Take advantage of the comprehensive FREE Education Program held inside the Show. Presented by educational experts, 2018 sessions were offered within four main themes; Professional Teaching Strategies, Technology, Techniques for Learning and Wellbeing. The 2019 Free Education Program will be announced closer to the event. All sessions in 2019 will be eligible for PD hours.
Session 1
Friday 31 August
9:15am - 10:15am
CLASSROOM BEHAVIOUR MANAGEMENT: WHAT EVERY TEACHER WOULD LIKE TO KNOW BUT WAS AFRAID TO ASK
Speaker: Dr David Zyngier
Senior Lecturer in the areas of Curriculum and Pedagogy, Faculty of Education, Monash University
Associate Professor at Southern Cross University
Read more about David here
Session Overview
This session will interactively explore how to create a highly engaged classroom. Bring along your smart devices, a smartphone is all you need and be prepared to have your expectations challenged.
Session 2
Friday 31 August
11am - 11:45am
MANAGE YOURSELF PROFESSIONALLY ONLINE
Speaker: Adam Surmacz
Australian Education Union
Read more about Adam here
Session Overview
We live in a digital world. With this there has been an increase in legal and employment issues educators can face relating to their online conduct. Join Adam for an engaging session which will cover common issues faced by teachers and practical ways you can balance your social personal social media use with your professional responsibilities.
Session 3
Friday 31 August
1pm - 1:45pm
DISCOVER HOW TO SUPPORT GIFTED LEARNERS IN YOUR CLASSROOM AND HELP THEM EXCEL
Speaker: Penny Willoughby
Australian teacher, Tutor and Educational Consultant
Read more about Penny here
Session Overview
As teachers we are faced with the daily challenge of catering for a large range of needs in our classrooms. But what happens to gifted students who are not reaching their potential? How do we stimulate, guide and inspire them? Furthermore, what should be our response if they develop disruptive, oppositional or passive behaviours in the classroom?
In this seminar Penny will clarify who are our gifted learners and why we need a different approach to help them excel. She will outline a range of techniques to get gifted learners out of their comfort zones and re-engaged in learning. This session will provide you with a greater understanding of gifted students’ educational needs and practical ideas to implement immediately.
Session 4
Friday 31 August
2:30pm - 4:30pm
TOP TIPS FOR BETTER CLASSROOM BEHAVIOUR - A PRACTICAL STRATEGY FOCUS
Speaker: Jo Lange
Behaviour Specialist
Read more about Jo here
Session Overview
As a behaviour specialist for over 20 years now, Jo Lange gathers together the most effective behaviour management strategies that enhance a positive and productive classroom. This program examines the “WHY’ of student behaviour and the importance of recognising the motivations of student behaviour to proactively address it. Major principles will be set out for what teachers can do to develop a positive classroom environment with a focus on the power of encouragement, rapport and relationship. It explores the importance of body language & tone, and utilising the language of positive discipline, to prevent and reduce common classroom behaviours such as negative attention-seeking and power struggles.
Session 1
Friday 31 August
9:15am - 10am
TECHNOLOGY AND LITERACY DEVELOPMENT - WHY SOME LEARNERS FALL THROUGH THE GAPS AND HOW WE CAN USE TECHNOLOGY TO PREVENT IT HAPPENING
Speaker: Ros Lugg
Educational Specialist in Learning Support
Qualified Dyslexia Tutor and Assessor
Read more about Ros here
Session Overview
Discover how literacy develops in children with emphasis on the processing and perceptual skills needed at each stage. It will also cover recent neurological research into literacy acquisition. Analysis of this process will explain why some learners fall through the gaps and how an individualized approach can prevent this happening.
Session 2
Friday 31 August
11am - 11:45am
PROACTIVE TEACHING STRATEGIES TO LIVE, WORK & PLAY SAFELY ONLINE
Speakers: Trent Ray
Teacher, Microsoft Learning Consultant, Co- Founder of the Cyber Safety Project
Sam Macaulay
Primary School Teacher, Co-Founder of the Cyber Safety Project
Read more about Trent here and Sam here
Session Overview
The Cyber Safety Project is committed to a whole community, proactive approach aimed at building skills and capacity of teachers, students and parents/guardians in digital safety and wellbeing for young people. This session explores the changing landscape of the most popular social networking platforms and provides easy to implement lesson ideas that will arm teachers and students with protective measures for safe online use within the classroom.
Session 3
Friday 31 August
1pm - 1:45pm
LEARNING ANALYTICS - HOW TO MAKE STUDENTS ICT USAGE TRANSPARENT
Speaker: Dr Michael Cejnar, CEO FIC Technology
Read more about Michael here
Session Overview
Australia has the world's highest use of classroom 1:1 laptops, but the nature and effectiveness of usability is not well understood. Laptop use in classrooms can make student work opaque to teachers, but on the other hand, the laptop can equally be used to effectively and in real time evaluate and display student's engagement, learning process and skills set. Such understanding of student engagement and distractibility patterns, may be a powerful tool for educators to be able to switch distracted students back to engagement, by providing them with activities and resources adapted to meet their learning styles. Discover how classroom learning analytics is shaping the future of measuring, managing and reporting students' learning and ICT skills.
Session 4
Friday 31 August
3pm - 3:45pm
Benefits of a STE@M program for your school - how it can stimulate, educate & inspire
Speaker: Christopher Ephgrave
Education and Business Manager, EE Group
Read more about Christopher here
Session Overview
There can be some ‘fear of the unknown’ and confusion about how to develop a STE@M program for your school. In this seminar, Chris will open your thinking and provide clarity on how to develop a STE@M program. Five areas of STE@M will be addressed; How to get staff involved; The decision of what to purchase and for what levels; Parents and the school community; Partnership with business and Building a school cluster. Discover how you can include STE@M in different areas of your curriculum.
Session 1
Saturday 1 September
9:15am - 10am
THE BEST STEP TO WRITING SUCCESS - DISCOVER NEW TECHNIQUES TO IMPROVE YOUR STUDENTS' THINKING AND WRITING
Speaker: Pina Sernio
Presenter, Seven Steps to Writing Success
Read more about Pina here
Session Overview
What does James Bond, Andy Griffiths and Matt Reilly do that NAP markers love? They all start their writing with a Sizzling Start to hook their readers/viewers. 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 students thinking and writing fast. You'll walk away with a range of written, spoken and multimedia activities to teach writing - all of which take just 5-10 minutes a day. More importantly it is all about being creative, having a common language and inspiring passion back into writing.
Session 2
Saturday 1 September
11am - 11:45am
EXPLICIT PHONOGRAPHIC INSTRUCTION - THE ULTIMATE TOOL FOR LEARNERS WITH DYSLEXIA
Speaker: Denyse Ritchie
Principal at the THRASS Institute
Read more about Denyse here
Session Overview
Teaching letter sounds, initial sounds or SATPIN is the starting point for literacy teaching used by thousands of schools in Australia and is the point at which many learners with Dyslexia are left behind. The unsustainable and contradictory nature of these teaching programs is the reason many learners become confused, struggle and ultimately fail in reading and writing.
This session will compare a phono-graphic approach (speech to print) and a grapho-phonic approach (print to speech) and show how the phonics teaching paradigm must shift in order to work with, not against, Dyslexia learning strengths.
Session 3
Saturday 1 September
1pm - 1:45pm
FOR THE LOVE OF MATHEMATICAL THINKING: CHALLENGING & ENGAGING STUDENTS IN THE CLASSROOM
Speakers: Ellen Corovic and Helen Haralambous
Mathematics Education Consultants, The Mathematical Association of Victoria
Read more about Ellen here and Helen here
Session Overview
During this session, Helen and Ellen will lead participants through a handful of their favourite rich and challenging tasks from a collection of their recommended sources. Discussions around the importance of building connections between mathematical ideas, how to enhance student mathematical thinking and the merits of using meaningful and authentic tasks will be explored. Helen and Ellen will get you engaged in tasks so be prepared to test and justify your thinking! Suitable for teachers of K – 10.
Session 1
Saturday 1 September
9:15am - 10am
STRATEGIES TO DEVELOP BODY CONFIDENT YOUNG PEOPLE
Speaker: Danni Rowlands
National Manager, Prevention Services
The Butterfly Foundation
Read more about Danni here
Session Overview
Body image continues to be reported as a top personal concern for males and females. Body dissatisfaction can and does impact wellbeing and potential. This session provides educators with information and strategies that address the modifiable risk and protective factors, that underpin the development of negative body image. Topics covered include significant influences; media, social media, diet culture, the importance of role modelling and also how to incorporate body esteem education within existing curriculum. Basic early intervention information is also included so educators know what to do, if and when, serious body image issues and eating disorders develop.
Session 2
Saturday 1 September
11am - 11:45am
WHAT MAKES AN EXCEPTIONAL STUDENT WELLBEING PROGRAM?
Facilitated panel discussion - Hear from 3 schools leading the way and learn why they are being recognised nationally
Panellists
Amanda Scott, Director of Student Wellbeing, Geelong Grammar School
Shane Kamsner, Head of Student Development, Carey Baptist Grammar School
Saraid Doherty, Principal, Parkmore Primary School
Read more about Amanda here, Shane here and Saraid here
Session Overview
Hear from 3 finalists in the 2018 Australian Education Awards, ‘Best Student Wellbeing Program’. Representatives from each school will discuss how their school has created an exceptional student wellbeing program, what makes it work and why they are being recognised nationally.
Session 3
Saturday 1 September
2:30pm - 3:15pm
FLOURISHING STAFF, FLOURISHING KIDS
Speaker: Georgina Manning
Director, Wellbeing For Kids
Read more about Georgina here
Session Overview
Starting from the ‘inside out’ and from a lived experience is the most effective way to teach children positive psychology strategies and practices, otherwise these just stay as just knowledge and the delivery can stay on a surface level. Students pick up on a teacher’s personal experience of positive psychology and their value they place on it very quickly. This impacts hugely on the success of any social and emotional strategy in the classroom. When staff integrate positive psychology interventions for themselves, this not only makes a huge difference to staff in schools on their happiness, wellbeing and reduced stress levels, but also impacts significantly on the classroom climate. In this workshop participants will get a taster of some of the positive psychology strategies that can implement easily into their lives and also into the classroom.
Session 4
*2:30pm - 3:15pm
*Please note this session will be held in Seminar Theatre 1
DEALING WITH DISCLOSURES OF SEXUAL HARASSMENT AND ASSAULT IN SCHOOLS
South Eastern Centre Against Sexual Assault and Family Violence (SECASA)
Speaker: Elizabeth Fox, Project Worker, SECASA
Susan McDougall, Sexual Assault Counsellor, SECASA
Session Overview
This seminar will provide attendees with the knowledge to define sexual harassment and sexual assault, recognise indicators of sexual assault and harassmentin their students and staff members, understand how to respond a disclosure of this nature and be aware of referral services and pathways. Participants will also gain an understanding of the culture in which harassment and assault occurs in schools, the impacton victims, and their barriers to disclosing.