The tale of the century

Keynote speakers will discuss the teaching of reading and writing from the perspective of the regions where they live and work. The seminar will conclude with a talk by Dominic Wyse (IOE) and Charlotte Hacking (Centre for Literacy in Primary Education) to launch their new book, The Balancing Act: An evidence-based approach to teaching phonics, reading and writing.

A particularly narrow synthetic phonics approach has increasingly come to dominate primary education policy in some regions of the world. Teachers and teacher educators have come under attack from some journalists and others about their teaching methods. It is loudly proclaimed that ‘The Science of Reading’ proves that synthetic phonics is the only way. But is this the true story, and is there a better way to help children learn to read? This seminar will discuss some answers to these questions.

Speakers

• Young-Suk Grace Kim, Professor and the Senior Associate Dean, School of Education, University of California, Irvine, USA.
• Hyejeong Ahn, Senior Lecturer (Languages and Literacies), Faculty of Education, The University of Melbourne, Australia
• Rachel Heydon, Professor of Curriculum Studies and Studies in Applied Linguistics, The University of Western Ontario, Canada
• Rebecca Jesson, Associate Professor, University of Auckland, Australia
• David Reedy, Past President and Executive Committee member, UK Literacy Association
• Dominic Wyse, Professor of Early Childhood and Primary Education, IOE, UCL’s Faculty of Education and Society; Founding Director, Helen Hamlyn Centre for Pedagogy (0 to 11 Years) (HHCP), UK
• Charlotte Hacking, Learning and Programme Director, Centre for Literacy in Primary Education (CLPE), UK

This event will be particularly useful for researchers, policymakers and teachers.

Please note this is a hybrid event and can be joined either in-person or online. The online seminar is free to attend, but the in-person book launch is paid. 

Related links

• The Balancing Act: An Evidence-Based Approach to Teaching Phonics, Reading and Writing
• Helen Hamlyn Centre for Pedagogy (0 – 11 Years)
• Centre for Literacy in Primary Education
• Department of Learning and Leadership