Keynote Speakers
Click on each Keynote Speaker to view their Keynote blurb
-
Dr. Susan Sandretto
Susan Sandretto began her career in education as a primary school teacher. She is currently a professor at the University of Otago College of Education, Dunedin, New Zealand. She teaches…
-
Dr. Aaron Wilson
Aaron is an Associate Professor in literacies education and Head of the School of Curriculum and Pedagogy in the Faculty of Education and Social Work at Waipapa Taumata Rau, the…
Dr. Susan Sandretto
Personal Biography
Susan Sandretto began her career in education as a primary school teacher. She is currently a professor at the University of Otago College of Education, Dunedin, New Zealand. She teaches across the initial teacher education and education studies programmes and supervises at the postgraduate level. Her research interests include critical literacy, mis/disinformation, education policy, practitioner research, and gender issues.
Keynote Blurb
Keynote: Critical literacy: We can’t wait any longer to plant the seeds
The urgent necessity for the skill of critical analysis can be found in the rise of misinformation. Yet until recently the policy mandate to implement critical literacy did not exist. Fortunately, Te Mātiaho (the refreshed curriculum) in conjunction with the Literacy & Communication and Maths Strategy, presents a timely opportunity to explicitly integrate critical literacy across the curriculum. In this keynote, I reflect on 19 years of Aotearoa New Zealand-based research into critical literacy and critical multiliteracies. I provide definitions illustrated with video exemplars of critical literacy in practice to provide the foundation for the follow-up workshop.
Workshop
Reflecting on and growing your critical literacy pedagogies
In this workshop, we will explore critical analysis as a practice in the English learning area and critical literacy as a pedagogy for the Literacy & Communication and Maths Strategy. Simply put, critical literacy involves a critical stance towards texts; the texts constructed by others and the texts we construct ourselves. Following a multiliteracies approach, texts are designed using multiple modes of meaning (audio, gestural, spatial or visual modes, as well as oral language and/or written language). A critical literacy engagement with texts encourages us to critically consider the power of texts and their effects. You will have opportunities to reflect on your current practices and grow new practices to integrate into your literacy programme. This workshop is suitable for all levels.
Dr. Aaron Wilson
Personal Biography
Aaron is an Associate Professor in literacies education and Head of the School of Curriculum and Pedagogy in the Faculty of Education and Social Work at Waipapa Taumata Rau, the University of Auckland. Before joining the University, Aaron was a teacher and Head of English at Aorere College and a literacy facilitator at Team Solutions. Aaron’s research and development work with schools is varied and includes a focus on disciplinary literacy in senior secondary school subject areas, reading comprehension and writing in Years 4 to 8, and literary analysis and creative writing at all levels. Critical literacy and classroom talk are key features of all his work.
Keynote Blurb
Keynote: Developing higher level literacies with multiple multi-modal texts
In this keynote, Aaron will introduce the T-Shaped Literacy model where students explore “big ideas” in units centred around multiple texts?/text sets. He will give practical examples of how the T-Shaped approach has been used in primary schools to support the development of higher level literacies including creative writing, synthesis, literary analysis and critical literacy.
