English and Literacies: Learning How to Make Meaning in Primary Classrooms [Mīkstie vāki]

Robyn Ewing AM began her career as a primary teacher and is currently Professor Emerita and Co-Director of the Creativity in Research, Engaging the Arts, Transforming Education, Health and Wellbeing (CREATE) Centre, Sydney School of Education & Social Work, Faculty of Arts & Social Sciences, University of Sydney. Passionate about the role that arts-rich experiences can and should play in our lives and learning, she  particularly enjoys working alongside other educators and artists interested in creative curriculum reform. Robyn has worked in partnership with Sydney Theatre Company since 2009 on 'School Drama', a program aiming to ensure primary teachers have the expertise and confidence to embed drama-rich processes and experiences with quality literature to enhance learners' imaginations and English and literacy learning. A former President of both the Primary English Teaching Association and the Australian Literacy Educators Association, Robyn is a Board member of WestWords and a visiting scholar at Barking Gecko. Siobhan O'Brien Bed Hon MEd has over 20 years of experience in education, training and development. She is currently a Lecturer in the Bachelor of Early childhood and Primary Degree at Swinburne University of Technology in the Department of Education. Siobhan has also worked as a consultant and facilitator with Cambridge Education and Bastow for the Leading Excellence in Classroom Practice course. Siobhan's current research area is focused on parent / child engagement and wellbeing with a ground breaking program titled The Reading WELL [ Wellbeing in Everyday Language and Literature] a home reading program using books to support self-esteem, body image and resilience. Dr Kathy Rushton provides professional learning for teachers and is an experienced TESOL and classroom teacher who has worked in primary and secondary settings; with adults learning English and as a lecturer in the Sydney School of Education and Social Work at the University of Sydney. She is interested in the development of language and literacy especially with disadvantaged culturally and linguistically diverse communities and. Her current research projects include a study of multilingual pre-service teachers and the impact that professional learning has on the development of a creative pedagogical stance which incorporates translanguaging, and supports student identity and wellbeing. Lucy Stewart is an Early Childhood/Primary Educator and consultant with experience across a range of Early Childhood, Primary and Tertiary settings. She has provided professional development and coaching for the Victorian Department of Education and South Australian Department for Education as well as contributed to publications in Victoria and the Northern Territory. Lucy continues to work with and advocate for learners with additional needs as well as supporting practice improvement for educators in Early Childhood settings, specifically in relation to communication, wellbeing, access and inclusion. Lucy is an avid reader, a propagator of plants and a believer in the benefits of dogs and the ocean on wellbeing. Dr Rachel Burke is a Senior Lecturer and applied linguist at the University of Newcastle, Australia. Rachel's research and teaching focus on linguistically and culturally diverse contexts, with emphasis on strengths-based, praxis-driven approaches to education for learners from traditionally underrepresented backgrounds, including people with refugee and asylum seeker experiences. Rachel is privileged to learn from a range of communities and seeks to support collaborative approaches to honouring linguistic diversity. Rachel is a steering committee member of the Refugee Education Special Interest Group (RESIG), a convenor of the Australian Association for Research in Education (AARE) CALD Education Special Interest Group, and a Companion of the UNESCO Chair for Refugee Integration through Languages and the Arts (RILA). Dr Deb Brosseuk is a Lecturer in the Sydney School of Education and Social Work at the University of Sydney. She teaches across the Bachelor of Education Primary program and the Master of Teaching program in English education. Deb's current research interests are focused on exploring pedagogic ways children's literature can be used in the teaching of language and literacy in the early years of formal schooling. She is a proud member of the Australian Literacy Educators' Association and the current co-editor of their practitioner journal Practical Literacy: the Early and Primary Years.