Opening keynote at international pedagogy and learning conference
Dr Christine Edwards-Groves presented the Opening Keynote for the Third International Conference on Leadership in Pedagogies and Learning for the International Society for Leadership in Pedagogy and Learning (islPAL), which was held on 25 and 26 September in Toowong, Queensland. Christine spoke about ‘Pedagogies for participation: Opening up communicative spaces for productive learning’ as a framework for addressing important educational issues centred on inclusive teaching practices.
Understanding communication diversity in Fiji
Researchers at CSU are examining childhood speech and language diversity in Fiji with the goal to help develop culturally and linguistically sensitive services for Fijians with communication disabilities. The RIPPLE Effect: December 2015
PhD candidate Suzanne Hopf, who is supervised by Professor Sharynne McLeod and Dr Sarah McDonagh, was recently awarded the 2015 Gerhardt Laves Scholarship from the Australian Linguistic Society. The scholarship encourages postgraduate researchers in the field of Indigenous languages by helping cover fieldwork expenses. “Understanding Fiji's unique culture and communication environment is essential to providing best-practice services to support the speech and language development of Fijian children,” Suzanne said.
“Understanding Fiji's unique culture and communication environment is essential to providing best-practice services to support the speech and language development of Fijian children.” “My research will describe Fijian children's multilingual spoken and written language, and determine whether there are differences in language use and proficiency due to children's age, gender, school year and home language. It will describe the community's beliefs, attitudes, and support for children with speech, language and literacy needs.” Suzanne returned to Australia in 2015 after six years living in Fiji. During this time, she observed a complex cultural and linguistic environment, and a lack of speechlanguage pathology services. She became interested in how she could use her expertise to guide the community in the development of sustainable and evidence-based practices for supporting Fijians with communication disabilities. Since beginning her PhD, Suzanne has undertaken fieldwork with 75 children, their caregivers, 22 teachers, and over 100 community members in Fiji. The next phase of fieldwork will see her return to the South Pacific nation in early 2016 to interview key community members about Fijian cultural practices for supporting children's speech, language and literacy development.
“The 2015 Gerhardt Laves Scholarship will help fund this next phase of research to understand and appreciate the unique nature of Fijian communication so that I can support educators and clinicians around the world working with Fijian children,” Suzanne said. First published on CSU News 17/07/15
Software for preschoolers’ speech and pre-literacy skills
Dr Yvonne Wren from the Bristol Speech and Language Therapy Research Unit and University of Bristol visited the NSW Department of Education Rural and Distance Education Unit in November. She demonstrated the Phoneme Factory software designed for teachers and assistants to support children with speech sound difficulties. Phoneme Factory consists of two programs: Phoneme Factory Phonology Screener provides teachers with a tool to individually assess children’s production of speech sounds and to determine if they need additional support (e.g., intervention using the Sound Sorter software, or further assessment and intervention by a speech pathologist). Phoneme Factory Sound Sorter provides games for children to play to support their speech and phonological awareness skills. The software enables teachers to individualise activities to a child’s particular needs. The software was developed in the United Kingdom by Dr Wren and Professor Sue Roulstone. The Sound Sorter has been adapted for the Australian context with support from the Rural and Distance Education Unit. It has been trialled in public and private preschools in NSW over the past three years in the Sound Start Study in association with researchers from CSU (Prof Sharynne McLeod, A/Prof Jane McCormack, Dr Kate Crowe, Sarah Masso) and The University of Sydney (Dr Elise Baker). 10