Bio
Christopher Cheng is a well known Australian children’s author who is passionate about promoting the importance of literacy development. Chris’ creative approach to the world of literature has resulted in 20 published titles, including his picture book One Child (illustrated by Steven Woolman), which won awards both in Australia and in the US. Recent books include the historical novels New Gold Mountain, The Melting Pot and Seams of Gold, and the non-fiction titles 30 Amazing Australian Animals and Locally Wild.
Chris’ experience in education ranges from teaching in NSW schools to working as an education officer at Taronga Zoo. He is also a co-regional advisor for the Australian chapter of the Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators. He is now a full time author and regularly appears at schools, festivals and conferences around Australia and in the USA, conducting writing workshops and enthusing students of all ages about the experience of being a writer. Visit http://www.chrischeng.com/.
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Can you imagine not being able to follow a recipe that has instructions for your favourite cake? Can you imagine not being able to find your best friend's house because you can't read the street signs? Can you imagine stumbling and bumbling and fumbling over the words so much, that the excitement of reading has gone?
National Literacy and Numeracy Week is one way to make us all more aware of the importance of literacy, being able to 'play' with words and to have fun reading!
Bio
Beth Powell is a university lecturer known for her creative and innovative approach to numeracy education. She strongly believes that every student has the right to be able to use maths to help them make sense of their world, and that there are opportunities to develop children’s numeracy skills all around us. Beth is a senior lecturer in the School of Education at Murdoch University in Perth and is acknowledged nationally as a leader in her field.
Beth has taken part in many numeracy projects over the past 30 years. Over this time she has constructively worked with children in classrooms, undergraduate mathematics education students, classroom teachers, curriculum leaders with numeracy responsibilities and policy developers.
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National Literacy and Numeracy Week puts a spotlight on the magnificent work that is being carried out by a wide range of people across Australia to further develop our children’s literacy and numeracy skills. From a numeracy perspective, I feel that it is of utmost importance to acknowledge the great leap forward that has been achieved in developing children’s abilities to be both able, and willing, to use their mathematical knowledge to understand the everyday situations of their world. We should celebrate this achievement and work together to move forward.
Bio
Professor Judith Rivalland is an academic and former classroom teacher with a passion for helping students with literacy difficulties. She has over 40 years of experience in literacy education, ranging from work as a teacher in Western Australia and the Northern Territory to her current position as an emeritus professor at Edith Cowan University. She is a passionate advocate of literacy teaching and learning, and her work has made an impact on literacy education both in Australia and around the world.
Judith has lent her enthusiasm and expertise to a number of national literacy research projects, including In Teachers Hands and 100 Children Go to School, and has played a leading role in developing the Western Australian Department of Education and Training’s First Steps program. She has also given ongoing support to schools involved in the Getting it Right Literacy and Third Wave Literacy projects.
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I grew up on a farm and went to a school with only eight students. As a young girl, reading gave me access to the outside world and provided hours of excitement to keep me busy during an isolated childhood. Books allowed my imagination to envisage the possibilities of life. When I began my teaching career in a secondary school I was shocked to find students who did not wish to read and found reading very difficult. Those early days of teaching led to my passion for supporting those children who miss out on so much by not reading.
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Professor Tom Cooper is a teacher and researcher with a creative take on numeracy teaching. He has worked in mathematics education in colleges and universities for the past 30 years, and is currently a professor of mathematics education at the Queensland University of Technology. Tom has been a NLNW ambassador for the past two years.
Tom divides his time between lecturing student teachers, collaborating with classroom teachers to build better numeracy environments, studying how young children develop algebraic understandings, and working with Indigenous communities on their numeracy objectives. His current passion is helping students see the world through innovative teaching practices, and to make the focus of numeracy teaching something that computers and calculators cannot do – understanding the world!
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I owe so much to the teachers who many years ago taught me numeracy. They opened for me a window on the world that helped me to follow my dreams. Without their encouragement, I would not have had the chances that life has provided me.
I have forgotten much of the particulars of the numeracy I learnt as a student. What I have retained is a way of looking at the world that helps me comprehend and solve problems. Numeracy provides the foundation for our future, but not so much in what it does, but in how it shapes and enriches our perception and our thinking.
Bio
Dr Beryl Exley has spent the past 20 years teaching early and middle school students, but her commitment to literacy in Australia does not stop there. Since taking a lecturing position with the Faculty of Education at the Queensland University of Technology in 2001, she has had 36 articles and research reports published, and has completed an award-winning doctoral thesis examining the professional knowledge bases of teachers working in complex new times. She has also worked extensively with teachers on adopting a socio-critical approach to curriculum, pedagogy and assessment. Beryl has a special interest in critical, visual, dramatic and multimedia literacies as well as teaching, reading, writing and spelling.
Beryl serves on the Australian Literacy Educators’ Association National Council and has been the Queensland State Director since 2006. She is a representative of the Joint Council of Queensland Teacher Associations, the International Development Oceania Committee, and is a judge for the Teaching Australia Awards.
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There's no escape; literacies reform life worlds, life worlds reform literacies.
Bio
Damian Callinan is one of Australia’s most versatile, prolific and popular comedians. Starring on the TV sketch show ‘Skithouse’, Damian has also been a regular on ‘The Wedge’ and Australian Rules football comedy ‘Before the Game’, and will soon star in ‘Comedy Slapdown’ on the Comedy Channel. He has also made appearances on countless programs including ‘Rove Live’ and the Melbourne Comedy Festival Gala.
Damian has also had an extensive career in radio, including co-hosting stints on Triple J and 774ABC Melbourne, regular segments on Mix FM, Fox and Triple M, and his current gig with 774ABC Melbourne Drive Show. His media success has come off the back of his award winning live shows, which he will take on tour in Australia and Edinburgh in 2008.
Damian is no stranger to the classroom, with widespread experience performing for the education sector. His performances mesh his teaching and comic backgrounds and appeal to teachers and students alike. Damian has made a strong contribution to literacy and numeracy in Australia as an ambassador for the Victorian Premier’s Reading Challenge and as an MC for the Victorian NLNW state ceremony.
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Without literacy I wouldn't be able to... umm... you know... what's the word... no sorry it’s gone. OK let's try numeracy. Without numeracy I wouldn't be able to do sudokus. Actually I'm no good at sudokus. Can we start again?
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Professor Jane Watson is a maths and statistics education expert who has been involved in research and pre-service education for more than 25 years. Her contribution to numeracy in Australia has included playing a major role in developing curriculum for teachers and students in Tasmania and Australia wide, in the chance and data strands of maths. She is currently a professor of mathematics education at the University of Tasmania.
Jane is not only a renowned member of the Australian education community, but is recognised as a leader of statistics education research internationally. At present she is involved in two large research projects, in particular StatSmart, which is aimed at improving teacher practice and student outcomes in the field of statistics.
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Literacy and numeracy are the essential tools for effective participation in society. Although this might be more apparent for literacy it is equally true for numeracy, for much of the economic, social and political data that shape our lives are quantitative in character, and can only be understood and used by numerate citizens.
Bio
Steve Thornton has devoted his career to improving maths education, from teaching maths in schools to delivering lectures to aspiring maths teachers at university. He taught maths in South Australia for 20 years before moving to Canberra to take up a position in teacher development at the Australian Mathematics Trust. He is currently a lecturer in mathematics education at the University of Canberra.
Steve works closely with teachers in primary and secondary schools in the ACT, and has presented workshops and keynote addresses at a number of local, national and international conferences. He is a past president and life member of the Australian Association of Mathematics Teachers and a recipient of a B.H Neumann Award for excellence in enriching mathematics education.
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Literacy and numeracy are not just about being able to read, write and calculate. They are the foundation skills for creative and critical thinking, which is what makes Australian society dynamic and democratic. But they are even more than that - great writing or elegant mathematics possesses an inherent beauty that should be appreciated for its own sake. To become powerfully literate and numerate is the civil right of every Australian child.
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Phil Cummings is a popular Australian children’s author who has written over 40 books. He released his first book, Goodness Gracious! in 1989, and published his first novel, Angel, in 1997. A year later in 1998 he was awarded the Carclew Fellowship at the Adelaide Festival of the Arts. Since then his novel Breakaway has been recognised as a Notable Book by the Children’s Book Council of Australia, and his novel Danny Allen Was Here has been short listed in the Adelaide Festival of Arts Awards for Children’s Literature. The sequel, Take It Easy Danny Allen, was released in March this year.
Phil’s picture book Boom Bah! will come alive on the stage this year when the Windmill Performing Arts Company takes it to Adelaide, Brisbane and Canberra. He has also had the honour of having several of his books published overseas including in the US, UK, Canada and New Zealand. Phil is a fulltime writer, and has recently been awarded a grant from the Literature Board of the Australia Council to further his career. Visit http://www.philcummings.com/.
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I grew up as the youngest of eight children in a country town in South Australia. There weren’t many books available to me but the ones I managed to find I loved and read over and over and over again. One of those, which remains a favourite, is The Hobbit by J.R.R Tolkien.
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Charlie King is a TV presenter and sports enthusiast who will this year be a member of the ABC Radio broadcast team for the Beijing Olympics. Based in Darwin, he commentates for a number of local sports including AFL, NRL, cricket and netball. He also presents ‘Territory Sport’ on ABC Television in the Northern Territory and each weekend he presents a local radio sport program. Charlie has been a broadcaster with the ABC since 1994.
Charlie has tried his hand at most sports, and enjoys running, playing golf and umpiring. He is very community minded and has been recognised for his community work by being named the Darwin Citizen of the Year (2005) and also the NT Indigenous Person of the Year (2004).
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It's a great thrill to be an ambassador with National Literacy and Numeracy Week. An opportunity presents here to remind everyone about the importance of developing our children's literacy and numeracy. There are special challenges in front of us in ensuring that all Australians have an opportunity to further develop their skills in these areas. National Literacy and Numeracy Week is going to be a time for learning and joining. Bring it on.