The theme of the conference was The Art of English. Maria and Michelle presented a workshop on Effective Feedback in Writing. The workshop gave teachers a practical guide to introduce a whole school approach to effective student feedback in writing. The workshop referred to the work of Sheena Cameron and Louise Dempsey as well as the research of John Hattie, which found that feedback had more impact on student results than any other teaching strategy. The workshop explored the practical details of the ‘how and why’ of descriptive, targeted and timely feedback to improve student literacy outcomes in the area of writing.
Maria and Michelle also outlined the professional learning that was most effective within their two schools, to show measurable improvement in both pedagogical practices and student achievement.
The conference was attended by educators from across the country and around the world. Both Maria and Michelle were outstanding presenters alongside a list of internationally and renowned speakers such as Dr Nell Duke (US) and Mem Fox.