15PA01_LTCon_Program_Booklet_FA_LR

The National Learning
and Teaching Conference
Improving student outcomes
Sea World, Gold Coast
5–7 November 2015
PROGRAM

Welcome to the Pearson National
Learning and Teaching Conference
✺
Pearson Australia is delighted to welcome you to our
second annual National Learning and Teaching Conference.
This year the conference has been designed to focus on
something that we are committed to - improving student
outcomes.
We have taken a holistic approach to improving
student outcomes by considering this through our four
conference streams:
• Leadership • Teaching and Learning
• Student Wellbeing • Literacy and Numeracy
Through the lens of the four streams, the conference
will enable delegates to learn, connect and share with
professionals in a dynamic and engaging learning
environment. No matter which stream you attend, you
will leave with a deeper knowledge and understanding
of the strategies that can be implemented at your school,
and how we can all work together to have a measurable
impact on the learner.
Pearson values education and believes that together we
can make a difference. At this conference you will hear
from international and local education experts about what
they are doing to improve learning outcomes for students
and you will have multiple opportunities to share your
experiences with other educators. We hope that this
conference fans the flame within you as educators to make
a difference that matters to our young people; a difference
of which you can be proud.
I hope you enjoy the Pearson National Learning and
Teaching Conference and we look forward to continuing
to always learn with you, this year and for many years
to come.
David Barnett
Managing Director
Pearson Australia
You will leave with a
deeper knowledge
and understanding
of the strategies that
can be implemented
at your school.

Contents
Keynote Sessions
✺ 04
Panel Discussion
✺ 05
Shark Bay Experience
✺ 05
Program
✺ 06
Presenter Biographies
✺ 12
Quick Reference
✺ 16
Sea World, Gold Coast
5–7 November 2015

Keynote Sessions
4
www.pearsonacademy.com.au www.twitter.com/Pearson_Schools #LTCon
Search for PearsonAustraliaPrimary or PearsonAustraliaSecondary www.pinterest.com/pearsonau
✺ Alan November
Alan November is an international leader in education technology who began his career as an oceanography
teacher and dorm counsellor at an island reform school for boys in Boston Harbor. He has been director of
an alternative high school, computer coordinator, technology consultant and university lecturer. Alan continues
to help schools, governments and industry leaders improve the quality of education through technology.
Connect with Alan November
• @globalearner • www.facebook.com/NLearning • novemberlearning.com
✺ Dr Alma Harris
Dr Alma Harris is internationally known for her work on school improvement, focusing particularly on
improving schools in challenging circumstances. She is an expert on the theme of distributed leadership and
her research work focuses primarily on leading organisational change and development. She has written
extensively about leadership in schools including Distributed Leadership in Schools: Developing the Leaders
of Tomorrow and Distributed Leadership Matters: Perspectives, Practicalities and Potential.
Connect online
• Dr Alma Harris on Twitter: @AlmaHarris1 • Dr Alma Harris’ website: www.almaharris.co.uk
✺ Dr Michael Carr-Gregg
Dr Michael Carr-Gregg is one of Australia’s highest profile psychologists, specialising in the area of parenting
adolescents and adolescent mental health. He has authored eight books, and regularly contributes columns to
popular national publications. He is the resident parenting expert on Channel 7’s Sunrise and Radio 3AW.
Connect with Michael Carr-Gregg
• On Twitter: @MCG58 • On YouTube: www.youtube.com/user/amritsa1
• At his blog: www.carrgregg.blogspot.com.au • On his website: www.michaelcarr-gregg.com.au
| DAY 1 | Thursday 5 November
| DAY 2 | Friday 6 November
| DAY 3 | Saturday 7 November
Our keynote sessions are thought provoking and inspirational. Encouraging you to challenge
current paradigms in education. The keynotes are available to all registrants depending on
the days they have chosen to attend.

5
The Shark Bay experience is offered to all conference delegates
and is complimentary. The exclusive participant group will be
collected from the Resort Lobby at 7.45am and taken into the
Shark Bay exhibit for 45 minutes, prior to the park opening to
the public. A marine educator will also be available in the exhibit
to talk to delegates and answer any questions they may have.
Although the Shark Bay Experience is complimentary for all
registered delegates, an RSVP is required to confirm attendance.
SHARK BAY EXPERIENCE
Saturday 7 November 7.45am–8.30am
©2015andTMSeaWorldPropertyTrust
Join some of the Learning and Teaching Conference’s national and international education expert for a robust and provocative discussion
that answers: What do you think is the most important thing educators can do now to improve the learning outcomes of our youngest
students for the world and workforce of 2040? The panel will respond to questions from conference delegates and the discussion will
be moderated by David Barnett, Managing Director of Pearson Australia.
PANELLISTS MODERATOR
DISCUSSION PANEL
Thursday 5 November 3.50pm–5.00pm
Sea World Conference Centre 1
Alan
November
Dr Alma
Harris
Dr Michelle
Jones
Brett
Lee
Jill
Bromenschenkel
David
Barnett

Program
6
Leadership
Student Wellbeing
Ocean Room
7.30am ARRIVAL AND REGISTRATION
8.45am WELCOME AND INTRODUCTION
9.00am KEYNOTE PRESENTATION BY ALAN NOVEMBER • Sea World Conference Centre Room 1
10.00am MORNING TEA
10.30am Creating online leaders
Brett Lee
F–12
A former police detective describes the inappropriate
behaviour he was exposed to while working undercover
posing as a child or teenager online. The ever-present dangers
of online socialising are made real in a unique and undeniable
way, and simple strategies and tools that reduce these risks are
presented.
Positive online behaviour and experiences can confirm and
create qualities such as self-esteem, respect for self and others
and empowerment. This session will provide a heightened
awareness and understanding of the unique effects online
interaction can have on our youth and deliver practical tools
that can be implemented by professionals, parents and carers
to reduce online risk and create powerful online leaders.
Building strengths in our students
Therese Joyce
F–12
Recognising and understanding one’s strengths builds self-awareness and can
also improve relationships and increase student engagement.
Help students to learn about themselves, provide them with meaning and
direction and discover practical ways they can contribute to their school and
lives. This workshop will present and explain the VIA character strengths
survey and tools; demonstrate the positive outcomes from helping students
to recognise and use their strengths; and include hands-on interactive activ-
ities to explore ways to introduce and work with strengths in the classroom
and the playground. Participants will also learn ways to strengths-spot in
others.
11.50am Building parent relationships through social media
Heath Henwood
F–12
Research shows that effective involvement in students’
learning improves their learning outcomes. The challenge for
schools is how to engage busy parents. This session aims to
equip school leaders with strategies and practical applications
for developing a social media profile, to engage parents in the
school community.
Building the cyber safety net
Brett Lee
F–12
Creating a structured online world for young children is no longer optional,
it’s essential. This session highlights the lifelong benefits that children, families
and communities receive when boundaries and responsibilities are present
in the online environment. Be empowered in knowing that parents, carers
and educators are the key to moulding sound online choices made by our
children. In conjunction with parents, educators can build a cyber safety net
for a safe and productive online experience. Participants will discover that
this is achievable through the use of simple tools, strategies and engagement
which can be shared with parents and carers for the early creation of a safe
technological environment for young children.
1.05pm LUNCH • Shoreline Restaurant
2.05pm Educational technologies (Leading innovation in
teaching during the rise of the machines)
Dr Jason Lodge
F–12, Post-Secondary
Leading innovation in educational technology is a complex
endeavour. There is continuing discussion about the role of
the teacher as educational technologies such as intelligent
tutoring systems become more prevalent and sophisticated.
In this session we will examine the ways in which innovation
in teaching occurs and how best to foster innovation while
allowing teachers to continue to teach based on their own
strengths and experience. This experience is a vital element
for learning that cannot currently (or in the foreseeable
future) be simulated by a machine. This session will then
focus on creating conditions where the advantages of both
computers and teachers are maximised in virtual and real life
classroom environments.
Enhancing student wellbeing and resilience
Dr Christine Grima-Farrell
F–12
Resilience is the ability to bounce back after encountering hardship, adversity
or challenges in life. Children and young people who can think and behave in
a resilient manner are less likely to engage in harmful alternatives to coping,
such as substance abuse, self-harm and anti-social behaviour. Teachers
and school leaders can help children and young people to bounce back
from times of adversity through a curriculum-based approach to teaching
resilience and wellbeing. This session promotes a positive psychology model
that strives to build resilience to encourage greater emotional wellbeing
in children, ultimately enhancing their ability to engage in meaningful social
interactions and learning experiences.
3.20pm AFTERNOON TEA
3.50pm PANEL with Alan November, Dr Alma Harris, Dr Michelle Jones, Brett Lee and Jill Bromenschenkel, moderated by David Barnett.
5.00pm CONFERENCE CLOSE

7
Program
Teaching & Learning
Literacy & Numeracy
9.00am KEYNOTE PRESENTATION BY ALAN NOVEMBER • Sea World Conference Centre Room 1
10.00am MORNING TEA
10.30am Reducing the research to practice binary to
enhance inclusive classrooms
Dr Christine Grima-Farrell
F–12
The inability to bridge the gap between research and practice
has an adverse effect on the progress of inclusion in schools
and the ability of school leaders and teachers to respond to
the needs of all students. This presentation describes the
research work that builds on prior knowledge and identifies
additional factors that can assist in the successful translation
of research to practice (RTP) for school leaders and staff. It
presents a comparison of six scaled and extinct RTP cases
across primary and secondary school settings to identify how
RTP factors can be either enablers or inhibitors to research
positively implementing practice.
Digital tools and language learning
Jill Bromenschenkel
F–12
How can student driven exploration, critical thinking and digital
communication via iPad apps and web tools impact language development?
In this session, participants will explore apps and digital tools for each stage
of language acquisition, as well as real academic interaction, rehearsal,
expression, and collaboration that fosters language growth. Participants will
also experience support apps that EAL (English as an Additional Language)
students can access to drive their own language learning and create products
for academic communication.
11.50am Memory and attention: insights and applications
Jared Horvath
F–12
This interactive talk will cover two major concepts integral
to classroom learning: memory and attention. Looking at
these networks from neuroscientific, psychological, and
educational angles, this session explores the behavioural
and neurophysiologic correlates of the different attentional
networks, how they function, and how they interact. To
apply these principles to the classroom, participants will
use interactive activities and discussion to develop practical
strategies to utilise and assess student attention and enhance
student memory.
Where there is no difficulty there is no problem
Dr Sharyn Livy & Dr Tracey Muir
Primary
Good problems are challenging, have different methods of solution and often
elicit a range of appropriate responses. This session will explore a selection of
problems that extend and stimulate primary school students’ mathematical
thinking, understanding and problem solving skills. Examples from research
will illustrate how tasks can be used to engage and motivate both reluctant
and capable students. Participants will extend their understanding of what
constitutes a challenging problem and consider how to adapt tasks so that
they cater for students with a range of interests and abilities.
2.05pm Processes for improving school wide engagement
Stephen Pinel
F–12
This presentation looks at the Schlechty model of engagement
that can be used to identify and classify the level of engagement
that students are displaying in a class. Linking the model to
practice, there will be a discussion of systemic processes that
can be used school wide to improve the engagement of all
students. Finally, there will be an investigation of recent
research into methods for measuring student engagement
in a class.
Becoming a writer
Cheryl Lacey
F–12
Teachers facilitating positive writing experiences for their students must
draw from their own experiences as authors. Page-turning fiction, passionate
pleas of persuasion and seemingly simple sentences all require different
strategies that need a lot of practice. This session begins and ends the same
as its middle – hands on, intensive, stimulating and driven by a passion for
turning our thoughts into works of art and our art into powerful teaching
moments. Participants will walk away with an appreciation of what it takes
to be a writer and a collection of ready to use opportunities for powerful
classroom engagement.
3.50pm PANEL with Alan November, Dr Alma Harris, Dr Michelle Jones, Brett Lee and Jill Bromenschenkel, moderated by David Barnett.

Program
8
Leadership
Student Wellbeing
Ocean Room
9.00am KEYNOTE PRESENTATION BY DR ALMA HARRIS • Sea World Conference Centre Room 1
10.00am MORNING TEA
10.30am Sustainable school improvement
Dr James White
F–12
This session provides simple strategies for school teams to
reflect on the key factors that influence teaching and learning
and describes strategies that are proven to bring about long
term improvement in student outcomes. The dynamics of
successful schools provides a blueprint for school improvement;
and particpants will review anecdotal evidence from a number
of schools who have significantly improved student outcomes
through a strategic focus on teaching and learning.
The primary purpose of schooling? The science and
neuroscience of wellbeing education
Greg Donoghue
F–12
Is the purpose of education to help students achieve academic scores, attain
entry to university or get a high paying job? Or is it to teach them the skills,
attributes, mental habits and practices that will equip them for whatever
future lies ahead? Psychological, educational and neuroscientific evidence show
that good quality education can provide both traditional outcomes and robust
wellbeing outcomes, including a reduction in criminal victimisation, higher
wellbeing scores, positive relationships, reduced violence and improved health.
11.50am Developing leaders – a cluster based collaborative
development program
Graeme Luck, Callum MacKenzie, & Krystina Simpson
F–12
The leadership teams at Broadmeadows and Broadmeadows
Valley Primary Schools needed to build teacher capacity of
emerging leaders, so they established the Developing Leaders
program to build the leadership capacity of seven teachers
from the two schools each year. This presentation provides
details of the how and why of the program, with personal
reflections and advice from two of the 2014 participants.
Online rights and responsibilities – not so virtual
Brett Lee
F–12
Creating a sound digital reputation includes knowing and understanding the
online world as it relates to responsibilities, laws and rights. This session covers
the legal requirements and considerations of both young people and adults
in an online environment. Teenage behaviour such as sexting, cyberbullying,
illegal downloading, predatory behaviour and hacking will be covered.
2.05pm Inextricable links: high leverage strategies for
connecting leadership with school improvement
Chris Dolan
F–12
How can the work of leaders best be connected to school
improvement? The model presented draws on current theory
and research to substantiate connections, identify ‘high
leverage’ strategies and help critique current priorities and
assumptions.
In collaboration, participants will build their understanding of
the model, test its practical application and develop additional
strategies based on their role and context.
Extraordinary-teaching the whole child
Heath Henwood
F–12
Over the past decade there has been a heavy emphasis on teaching to the
test. This short-sighted approach does little to develop creativity or balance
in a student. This session reflects on a different approach that focuses
on teaching creativity and the whole child, and develops self-esteem in a
student. Told in a story format with sketches that illustrate and entertain, this
session reflects on a journey that starts with teaching to the test, and ends
with teaching the whole child for a lifetime of learning.
3.50pm How quality communication will improve your
school
Rob Asser
F–12
Quality communication can improve a school’s daily
operations and enhance community perception. In this
session participants will be provided with a checklist for
essential school communication and learn the skills required
to dramatically change the way in which school members
communicate.
How to cultivate student wellbeing
Therese Joyce
F–12
In addition to aiming for academic success, many schools now see their role
as providing a more holistic approach to student success and wellbeing. With
a rise in psychological disorders and depression amongst young people,
positive education presents evidence-based interventions and systematic
approaches to cultivate hope, gratitude and mindfulness, and to develop
strengths and skills for emotional intelligence and resilience. This session will
look at five evidence-based ways to increase wellbeing, and how the strategy
of goal setting can lead to improved outcomes.

9
Program
Teaching & Learning
Literacy & Numeracy
9.00am KEYNOTE PRESENTATION BY DR ALMA HARRIS • Sea World Conference Centre Room 1
10.00am MORNING TEA
10.30am Cooperative learning and content area
conversations
Jill Bromenschenkel
F–12
This session explores strategies for increased student voice and
participation in and out of the classroom, including: discussion
protocols, academic vocabulary application, critical thinking
experiences, language access and acquisition strategies, and
collaborative language production.
Improving English through digital literacy
Megan Iemma
F–12
Often students who are disengaged with traditional forms of writing can
be engaged via blogs, articles, videos and other forms of media. Creating
links between digital literacy and English literacy can therefore help raise
performance. This practical workshop and discussion will look at key digital
literacies that are important in both Primary and Secondary classrooms.
Specifically, participants will learn about Web 2.0 tools that can improve
English and assist students who are EAL (English as an Additional Language),
dyslexic, dysgraphic or who have other learning difficulties.
11.50am Quality questioning
Kristy Hamshare
Primary
Based on Professor John Hattie’s Visual Learning,
self-verbalisation and quality questioning skills are seen to
impact student learning outcomes at an effect size of 0.67.
This session will explore ways to develop students’ skills in
self-verbalisation and provide strategies to explicitly teach
quality questioning skills in the Primary classroom.
Whole school approaches to literacy –
is there a better alternative?
Pat Hipwell
Secondary
Schools continue to try and improve literacy at a whole school level, but
approaches are often difficult to implement and problematic to sustain. In
this session, participants will understand why whole school approaches to
literacy have limited success and will leave equipped with a practical and
sustainable alternative approach to the whole school improvement of
literacy.
2.05pm The brain in the classroom
Jared Horvath
F–12
The last decade has seen an increase in neuroscience in the
education sector, however, very little brain work has been
successfully implemented in the classroom.
This session will guide participants through several key scientific
concepts, establishing a set of rules to determine whether
a piece of scientific research is applicable to the classroom.
Participants will examine three specific examples of successful
translation from the lab to the classroom.
The home – school reading connection
Cheryl Lacey
Primary
The joy of reading independently is every parent’s dream for their child
and every child’s expectation of self when beginning school. This session
focuses on educators’ critical partnership with parents to ensure that the
essential roles played by each are understood and respected. This mutual
understanding begins by removing misunderstood educational terminology
and replacing it with a common language accessible to the entire school
community. Put simply, we take a look at what is and isn’t working and put
practical strategies in place for building powerful partnerships with parents.
3.50pm Working memory: its relationship to student
outcomes and how to manage it
Mimma Mason
F–12 & Adults
Working memory is the capacity to hold information in mind
and use it in our thinking. To what extent do working memory
limits affect academic progress? What can learning leaders do
to manage those limits and improve learning outcomes?
This session examines working memory and how it affects
learning, and provides three strategies to deal with students’
working memory limits.
Flipping the classroom - rethinking senior secondary
mathematics instruction
Dr Tracey Muir
Secondary
Once the domain of tertiary education, flipped learning is gaining popularity in
Secondary schools. Research has shown that it has resulted in improvements
in student performance, which should interest teachers and school leaders
who are seeking to use digital resources to improve student outcomes.
This session will inform participants about the flipped classroom approach and
how it can be used to rethink traditional mathematics instruction, particularly
in relation to teaching senior Secondary mathematics.

Program
10
Leadership
Student Wellbeing
Ocean Room
9.00am KEYNOTE PRESENTATION BY DR MICHAEL CARR-GREGG • Sea World Conference Centre Room 1
10.00am MORNING TEA
10.30am Positive relationships and communication
Therese Joyce
F–12
Positive and supporting relationships in the classroom,
playground and staffroom are vital for schools and have
been identified by many academics as one of the most
fundamental needs for wellbeing. In this session, strategies for
communicating constructively and effectively even in stressful
times and during challenging conversations will be presented.
Participants will also learn why our response is so important
in good times.
Participants will also learn ways to help create an atmosphere
that fosters productive relationships at school and encourages
open and calm conversations, using practical techniques to
manage emotions and respond clearly and constructively in
all types of situations.
Empowering students at risk with technology
Megan Iemma
F–12
Students who are at risk - socially, intellectually, emotionally – can engage
and achieve through technology. Hence, providing accessibility via different
mediums is one of the keys to ensuring students engage with the curriculum.
This practical workshop and discussion will look at both local and international
case studies where technology is making a difference to students at risk.
Participants will discuss and work on practical ideas for a range of current
issues in classrooms and run simulations of different scenarios.
11.50am Mentoring=Better
Teachers=Better Student Outcomes
Heath Henwood
F–12
How teachers teach impacts students more than any other
aspect, and mentoring improves teachers’ abilities to improve
student outcomes. This session outlines the effectiveness of
mentoring as a strategy to improve teacher effectiveness and
outlines what works and what doesn’t. In addition to best
practices, the presentation outlines practical strategies for
implementing and running a mentoring program within
your school.
Prevention is better than cure
Kristy Hamshare
Primary
Based on Professor John Hattie’s Visual Learning, an ‘absence of disruptive
students’ has an effect size of 0.86 on student learning outcomes. This
session focuses on the needs of students and how meeting those basic needs
can avoid disruptive behaviour and the need for behaviour management.
1.05pm LUNCH AND CONFERENCE CLOSE • Shoreline Restaurant

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Program
Teaching & Learning
Literacy & Numeracy
9.00am KEYNOTE PRESENTATION BY DR MICHAEL CARR-GREGG • Sea World Conference Centre Room 1
10.00am MORNING TEA
10.30am Educational psychology – Why sometimes it’s
important to be confused
Dr Jason Lodge
F–12, Post-Secondary
Confusion is often seen as a negative aspect of the learning
process, to be avoided at all costs. However, recent research
suggests that confusion and cognitive disequilibrium are an
important part of the process of students coming to new
and more complex understanding. This session explores the
role of confusion in learning with particular focus on how it
leads to students developing deeper insight into problems and
issues. As part of this exploration, we will specifically examine
possibilities for sequencing activities to ensure productive
outcomes from the state of disequilibrium.
Social learning and language acquisition
Jill Bromenschenkel
F–12
Language, learning, and cultural interactions often take place and
thrive in social contexts, both on and offline. How can we help all
students tap into the power of social media and face to face
interactions to gather information, increase language skills, and
participate in their own learning communities? In this session,
participants will explore social learning and social media strategies
for classroom communication, co-creation, self-assessment and
connections to foster language and content area skills. We will also
examine how we can use available social media tools to engage our
school families as integral players in the learning community.
11.50am Designing quality assessment- how to ensure that
students succeed
Pat Hipwell
Secondary
Teachers have been designing assessment for many years and
they have also spent a considerable amount of time chasing
students because of their failure to submit assessment on
the due date. Failure to submit is often attributed to a lack of
interest or motivation on the part of the students. Students
must perceive assessment as do-able and worth doing,
therefore the task must be purposeful, accessible and
scaffolded. During this session, participants will examine what
constitutes a piece of quality assessment and how students
can be best prepared to successfully complete the work.
Developing algebraic thinking in the Primary grades
Dr Sharyn Livy
Primary
Algebra has traditionally been regarded as the domain of the
Secondary school years. It is now recognised that foundational ideas
associated with algebraic thinking should be included in pre-school
and Primary years to improve student outcomes. This workshop
explores the concepts of functional thinking and will assist
classroom teachers and numeracy leaders who wish to extend
their understanding and knowledge for teaching algebra thinking in
the Primary years. The focus of the workshop will be on the use
of mathematical language, good questioning, engaging tasks, use of
concrete materials and digital technologies.
1.05pm LUNCH AND CONFERENCE CLOSE • Shoreline Restaurant

12
Presenter Biographies
Rob Asser
Rob Asser has worked extensively as a senior
communications manager in both the public and private
sectors for over 30 years.
For over a decade until 2013, he developed and
managed the NSW School Promotions Strategy,
delivering communications training to well over a
thousand school communities and increasing school
enrolments in areas of influence. Rob and his team
developed unique collegial learning communities across
900 plus schools in NSW. In 2012 he was awarded the
Director-General’s Award for Excellent Service.
Rob continues to work with school, tertiary and private sector groups to improve
all aspects of their communication as well as providing relevant communication
training to management and staff.
✺
Jill
Bromenschenkel
Jill Bromenschenkel is a teaching and learning specialist
with a passion for student engagement, professional
collaboration and serving diverse learners. She has
teaching, administration and instructional coaching
experience in the US and International schools in Asia.
Jill began her career as a classroom teacher and has
been an English Language Learner teacher, K–12 English
Language Learner Coordinator, District Literacy &
Integration Coordinator, Regional Specialist, and Middle
School Principal. She now works closely with schools to
develop systems for student language immersion and
academic access, social media and technology connections, and collaborative
professional learning. She is also a part of Alan November’s November Learning
team and a presenter at local, regional and international conferences. She is
currently pursuing her doctorate degree in Learning Technologies with
Pepperdine University. Jill claims many places around the world as ‘home’, is never
done traveling and connecting, and is happy to be tracked down on twitter as
@jillbromen.
✺
Pearson Academy are proud to host presenters with expertise in a range of areas
related to the conference themes of Leadership, Student Wellbeing, Teaching & Learning
and Literacy & Numeracy.
Chris Dolan
Chris Dolan has a long history in educational leadership
in the South Australian state system. He has occupied
various school leadership positions, including 10 years
as principal in two secondary schools. More recently,
Chris held a Director position in the Northern
Adelaide Region, with oversight of 40 sites across all
levels of schooling. In this role, Chris also developed
and implemented ‘Time to Lead’; a comprehensive
professional development and mentoring program for
aspiring leaders. Chris now works as an educational
leadership consultant and is completing a PhD in the
field of school leadership.
✺
Greg Donoghue
Gregory Donoghue is a researcher and PhD candidate
at the Science of Learning Research Centre, University
of Melbourne Graduate School of Education. Greg is a
former Victoria Police senior detective and child
protection investigator who, for over thirty years,
worked with child victims and adult perpetrators of
serious crimes. Having spent those years working as
‘the ambulance at the base of the cliff’, he is now
focused on developing ‘the safety barrier at the top’ by
researching learning interventions that enhance student
wellbeing and minimise harm from dysfunctional
childhood experiences. His research focuses on the social neuroscience of
learning and how science in general can assist educators in teaching the whole
child, rather than achieving only academic outcomes. When he is not working
Greg also has two teenagers of his own, both of whom are available for long
term billeting – perhaps until they are 28 when their pre-frontal cortices have
fully developed.
✺

13
PRESENTERBIOGRAPHIES
Dr Christine
Grima-Farrell
Dr Christine Grima-Farrell has taught in schools in
various capacities for over 20 years. During this time
she was awarded a NSW Premier’s Teaching award
for Excellence in her work in the area of inclusive
Education. She was also awarded an Australian
Postgraduate Award to complete a PhD in the area
of diversity and inclusion as she strives to raise an
awareness of ways to merge research and practice to
support the diverse needs of staff and students. Chris
has presented both internationally and nationally and
has been well received in Washington at the Council
of Exceptional Children’s conference and at the ISATT conference in Belgium.
Chris has led school based projects on the significant factors that impact the
translation of research to practice in classroom applications and has worked in
implementing whole school reading programs. Chris is currently lecturing and
teaching in the areas of psychology, gifted and talented education, positive
behaviours, inclusion and diversity at Australian Catholic University, Sydney.
✺
Kristy
Hamshare
Kristy Hamshare has many years experience as a
primary school teacher, working with teams of teachers
to maximise student learning. Kristy is committed to
helping students achieve their personal best through
the development of effective relationships and high
quality classroom programs. Kristy won a ‘Teacher of
the Year’ award with a colleague based on their
supportive and enriching work in classrooms. Kristy is a
trained teacher of the International Baccalaureate’s
Primary Years Program and is currently working as a
consultant, sharing her knowledge of inquiry learning
and strategies for effective classroom management.
✺
Heath
Henwood
Heath Henwood is an Educational Leader with a
passion for equipping and enabling people to participate
in life and learning. Serving on educational bodies and
community groups, he is an advocate for parents,
children, adolescents and teachers. He currently teaches
and mentors teachers in Central Queensland and is also
a Leadership Consultant to businesses, assisting them in
their strategic planning and thinking.
Heath publishes articles, speaks at conferences and
seminars and conducts professional development
sessions on a multitude of topics including Pedagogical Practices, Leadership
Development, Strategic Planning, Curriculum and Parenting. He mentors leaders
in schools, community and business. Heath has also represented Australia in Land
Sailing at the 2014 World Championships, finishing in the top 10.
✺
Pat Hipwell
Pat Hipwell works as an independent literacy consultant
for her own company, logonliteracy. She trained as a
high school teacher and taught Geography and Social
Science in England and Australia for many years. Since
starting a consultancy business eleven years ago, Pat has
provided professional development to primary and high
schools that are developing whole school approaches
to literacy teaching and learning. She has particular
interest in designing quality assessment tasks to meet
the literacy demands of school based assessment in
Queensland and National Testing. Her workshops are
extremely practical and teachers leave with ideas to implement in content area
classrooms. Recently, Pat has become interested in practical strategies for
teaching vocabulary and the link between vocabulary development and reading.
She has written a number of books including, How to Write What You Want To Say,
which is a bestseller.
Jared Horvath
Jared Cooney Horvath (MEd) is currently finishing his
PhD in Cognitive Neuroscience and is an expert in the
field of Educational Neuroscience with a focus on
translating neuroscientific principles to enhance
teaching and learning practices within the classroom.
Jared has conducted research and lectured at Harvard
University, Harvard Medical School, the University of
Southern California, and the University of Melbourne
and has taught at schools in the United States and
Australia. Currently, Jared is undertaking research in
collaboration with the Science of Learning Research
Center at the University of Melbourne Graduate School of Education and serves
as co-president of The Education Neuroscience Initiative (a team dedicated to
bringing the latest educationally relevant neuroscientific findings to educators
and students at all levels).
✺
Megan Iemma
Tech Coach and ‘IT girl’, Megan Iemma is a thought
leader in the world of technology and its uses. An
educator and technogeek, Megan combined her
passions for education and technology and founded
Tech Coach HQ working with businesses and schools
to improve processes and embrace the productivity
technology has to offer. Megan’s success is working with
clients to provide customised mobile learning solutions
that are relevant to their world and workplace.
Covering a unique portfolio of mobile training and
education solutions Megan engages her clients and
clears technology confusion.
Megan Iemma was awarded the “Apple Distinguished Educators” (ADE) award
in 2006 in recognition for her passion and commitment to music technology and
mobile learning/tech. She has presented at both state, national and International
conferences on music technology/mobile learning and in 2008 completed her
Cert IV in Training and Assessment so she could concentrate on developing
materials for adult learning. She has also developed her own business ‘mLearn’
focusing on developing professional development activities and resources for
K–12 Educators in Australia and overseas.
✺
Therese Joyce
Therese Joyce is the Associate Director of the Centre
for Positive Psychology at the University of Melbourne,
and has two decades’ experience in education
management in Australia and Canada, including 9 years
as Director of an International School in Toronto. An
enthusiastic, creative and flexible practitioner with a
reflective leadership style, Therese uses principles from
psychology, education and social welfare, along with
extensive experience in multicultural working
environments, to develop leaders and teams. She has
a keen interest in human nature, cultural diversity
and workplace happiness.
Therese consults to schools and organisations around the world and she has
developed and delivered training in 15 countries across Australasia, Asia, Europe
and the Americas. Her areas of expertise include Resilience, Leadership
development and Playfulness.
✺

14
Cheryl Lacey
Cheryl Lacey is a learning and development consultant
with a diverse and unique professional portfolio that
includes teaching in primary, secondary, early childhood
and tertiary settings as well as positions with corporate,
not for profit and the small business sector. Cheryl
works with schools and businesses in Australia and
internationally, specialising in literacy, pedagogy, strategic
planning and professional learning diagnostics.
Cheryl has been described as an energetic and moti-
vating professional and the person who best facilitates
transformational dialogue. After self-publishing her first book while working
as a primary school teacher, Cheryl has worked with Scholastic Australia and
Scholastic USA, the Curriculum Corporation, Leader Newspapers, Melbourne
Radio and Pearson Education in roles including editor, writer, presenter, producer,
consultant and journalist. Cheryl’s knowledge, experiences and storytelling create
a platform for seeing education through many lenses. Cheryl maintains the belief
that ‘with respectful dialogue and productive partnerships every adult and child
can reach their full potential.’
✺
Brett Lee
Brett Lee worked as a Police Officer for 22 years, 16 of
those as a Detective in the field of Child Exploitation. In
his last five years of service, he was a specialist in the
field of undercover internet child exploitation
investigations. Brett has been personally involved in the
online investigation, arrest and prosecution of
numerous offenders, whose medium for preying on
children is the internet.
Brett created and now runs INESS, (Internet Education
and Safety Services). INESS programs equip children,
teenagers and adults with the skills and knowledge necessary to enable them to
use the internet safely, creating awareness of rights and responsibilities in a digital
world through unique and engaging presentations targeting empowerment,
awareness and self-esteem.
✺
Dr Sharyn Livy
Dr Sharyn Livy’s interests include effective numeracy
teaching and knowledge for teaching primary
mathematics. Her PhD investigated the development
and contributing factors in primary pre-service
teachers’ mathematical content knowledge. Dr Livy is
employed at Monash University where she lectures in
primary mathematics education. She is passionate
about providing pre-service teachers with positive
mathematical experiences that promote understanding
and knowledge for teaching. Dr Livy has also worked as
a mathematical consultant for the Mathematical
Association of Victoria. This role included delivery of professional learning
experiences for primary and secondary mathematics teachers, demonstration
lessons as well as mentoring teachers and numeracy leaders.
✺
Dr Jason Lodge
Dr Jason Lodge is a psychological scientist and research
fellow in the Science of Learning Research Centre in
the Melbourne Graduate School of Education at The
University of Melbourne. Jason’s research concentrates
on the application of the learning sciences to education.
Specifically, he is interested in the cognitive and
emotional factors that influence learning and behaviour
and how research findings from the learning sciences
can be better used to enhance design for learning,
teaching practice and education policy. Jason is also
interested in the ways technology is influencing
learning, particularly in terms of the impact of technology on thinking and
conceptual change.
✺
Graeme Luck
Graeme Luck has taught in secondary schools and
TAFE, supported school reform as a regional
consultant, and developed state-wide policies to
support students in the later years of school. He
supports school teams as they diagnose, plan and
implement strategies for school improvement, focusing
on student outcomes. As a lifelong learner he draws on
his formal qualifications including Masters in Education
Policy and Project Management, and his reflective
practice of projects to inform his analysis, advice and
support. In his current role as a consultant for Adgo, he
undertakes reviews of Vic. State and Catholic schools, the delivery of school
council training, leadership development programs and individual executive
coaching and mentoring of emerging and current leaders.
✺
Callum
MacKenzie
Callum MacKenzie is in his first year as the 5/6 team
leader and P-6 numeracy coordinator at Broadmeadows
Primary School in Victoria. After initially being reluctant
about taking on leadership roles, he is now enthusiastic
and embracing the challenge. Callum is in his seventh
year of teaching, having previously completed an
apprenticeship as a printing machinist.
✺
Mimma Mason
Mimma Mason is the Cogmed Manager for Pearson
in Australia and New Zealand. Her background in
Education and Cognitive Science provides the
foundation for raising awareness of working memory
issues and their relationship to learning.
Cognitive Science is an integrative science bringing
insights from Psychology, Behavioural Neuroscience,
Linguistics, Philosophy and Artificial Intelligence
together to shed light on how humans think and learn.
For the past 10 years Mimma has worked with Clinicians,
Educators, Coaches and Workplace Health professionals to raise awareness of
brain health: how to measure brain health and how to improve everyday functional
wellness and performance.
She has been a regular speaker on the topic of neuroplasticity and the science
of learning and most recently, Mimma has been the host of Pearson’s
Mind-Brain-Education Conference.

PRESENTERBIOGRAPHIES
15
©2015andTMSeaWorldPropertyTrust
Dr Tracey Muir
Dr Tracey Muir is a Senior Lecturer in Mathematics
Education at the University of Tasmania. Her research
interests include effective teaching for numeracy,
problem solving in mathematics, the use of ICT in
mathematics, and parental involvement in mathematics
education. She is the current VP (Development) of
MERGA (Mathematics Education Research Group of
Australasia). She has presented seminars and
workshops at state, national and international
conferences and is particularly passionate about
working with teachers to enhance their classroom
numeracy practices.
✺
Stephen Pinel
Stephen Pinel is Head of Science at Unity College,
Caloundra. He was previously Head of Science at
Proserpine State High School where he was heavily
involved in eLearning, leading a team of eLearning
Mentors to develop innovative and engaging curricula
school wide. Stephen has taught in both the independent
and state sector in Queensland, as well as abroad in the
UK and at the Rotterdam International Secondary
School.
✺
Krystina
Simpson
Krystina Simpson is part of the leadership team at
Broadmeadows Valley Primary School in Victoria.
Beginning her teaching career in Scotland, her passion
and enthusiasm for challenge and learning brought her
to Australia in 2010. She is dedicated in her leadership
development and has undertaken numerous roles in
her school including Mathematics Specialist, Pre-Service
Teacher Coordinator and Assessment and Reporting
Coordinator.
✺
Dr James White
Dr James White is a respected educational authority on
Leadership and Communications and is currently an
adjunct professor at the University of New England. His
wide-reaching experience in the NSW Department of
Education and Communities, where he worked for
over three decades, has provided a wealth of
knowledge on teaching and learning as well as school
improvement. Jim’s leadership experience includes
Regional Director, Education Director, Secondary
Principal, K-12 Principal and regional consultant.
Currently Jim is involved in research into leadership
for improved teaching and learning focusing on raising student outcomes in both
primary and secondary school systems.
✺

Quick reference
Log on to the wifi wth the password PEARSO
✺
Tweet using the conference hashtag #LTCon
✺
Download the presentations from each day of the conference
Day 1 http://www.pearsonacademy.com.au/LTCon-resources-day1
Password LTCON1
Password LTCON2
Password LTCON3
✺
Members of the Pearson team are available to assist at the help desk in the foyer
✺
CUSTOMER CARE
Free Phone 1800 656 685 Free Fax 1800 642 270 Email schools@pearson.com.au
www.pearsonacademy.com.au www.twitter.com/Pearson_Schools
#LTCon
Search for PearsonAustraliaPrimary
or PearsonAustraliaSecondary www.pinterest.com/pearsonau
15PA01
Pearson Australia
a division of Pearson Australia Group Pty Ltd
ABN 40 004 245 943
PO Box 23360 Melbourne VIC 8012
Creating change in schools
Melbourne, 16–18 November 2016
Register your interest to be eligible for super-early bird rates
www.pearsonacademy.com.au/LTCon2016
2016The National Learning
and Teaching Conference

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