UNSW has offered a free public lecture series for parents as part of the UNSW Matraville Education Partnership.
All events are free and open to the public, no matter where your children attend school. All lectures are of interest to parents of both primary and secondary students, unless otherwise noted.
Lectures are usually held on weekday evenings at the UNSW building at Matraville Sports High School (see map).
Check back again soon for information about upcoming events in the series.
Thursday, 1 November
5:30pm - 7:00pm
Looking for strategies to help your child get the most out of their experience at school? Associate Professor Strnadova will offer research-based tips for forging positive relationships with your child’s teachers and other school support staff so that you can all be on the same page.
How do you know your when your child has an excellent teacher? Dr Loughland will discuss what the research tells us about what makes a “good teacher” and how you can support your child’s teacher to improve the experience your child has at school.
Looking for ways to keep your child focused and support them to succeed at school? Professor Martin will discuss the Motivation and Engagement Wheel, with a particular focus on research into girls' motivation and engagement.
Students with disability may be entitled to adjustments (sometimes called ‘accommodations’) for in-school assessment tasks and for NAPLAN, HSC final exams and selective school or OC entrance tests. Depending on the level of impairment occasioned by the disability, such students may qualify for adjustments such as extra time, rest breaks, access to a computer, scribe or reader, and/or separate supervision. This presentation will explain how to apply for these adjustments and will consider why some gifted learners with disability face particularly difficult extra challenges, especially for state tests. How can teachers, parents and allied health professionals support students’ applications and appeals if a testing authority refuses an application on the grounds that the applicant is already gifted, is not actually failing, or is not quite ‘impaired enough’?
Dr Evans will present research on what actually works to help students start learning an instrument, maintain the motivation to stick with it, and grapple with issues such as difficulty and performance anxiety. He will then discuss ways that these concepts can be applied to motivation in other aspects of life and learning.
With an update of the NSW gifted and talented policy this year, and perennial worries about Australian students “falling behind” those in other countries, just what is the current state of gifted education down under? Dr Jung will review research and policy to undertake of a SWOT analysis (an analysis of the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats) on gifted education in Australia.
Though parents and teachers are sometimes positioned as opposing forces, usually both have the same goal - to support children to meet their potential. Dr Hay will discuss ways to advocate for your gifted child at school and within the education system.
Looking for ways to keep your child focused and support them to succeed at school? Professor Martin will discuss the Motivation and Engagement Wheel, with a particular focus on research into boys' motivation and engagement.
Not recognising your child or yourself now that adolescence has hit? Associate Professor Cumming discussed dealing with challenging behaviours and how to support your child through their adolescent years keeping both of you sane.
Do your child's assessments, reports and NAPLAN results make your head spin? Professor Davison discussed how and why schools assess student learning and how you can use the results to support your child's further development.