Presenter profiles

Meet the PETAA experts who can deliver high-quality, evidence-informed professional learning, online or face-to-face, tailored to your school or cluster's context.

___________________________

Michelle Bradley

___________________________

Michelle Bradley is Head of Professional Learning with PETAA. Michelle has been a teacher and leader for over 30 years throughout NSW and Victoria. She has extensive experience teaching across all grades F-6. Michelle is a qualified Teacher Librarian and has a passion for all aspects of children’s literature. She also holds a Master of Special Education and is experienced in teaching children with sensory disabilities and students who are neurodiverse. Michelle has a particular interest in using quality texts across the curriculum and in supporting teachers through curriculum change.

• Using quality texts across the curriculum
• Using diverse children’s literature particularly Aboriginal/Indigenous texts to support cross curriculum priorities
• Writing teaching units using textual concepts
• Adapting teaching units to specific contexts
• Early years of school

___________________________

Karen Rogers

___________________________

Karen Rogers is Literacy Leader and Victorian State Manager at PETAA. Karen believes that listening plays a critical role in the design and delivery of effective professional learning. Drawing on her comprehensive knowledge of Language and Literacy and her experience as a classroom teacher, Karen listens in order to understand the needs and priorities of schools. She designs and delivers professional learning that highlights practical and evidence-based strategies that can be immediately applied in the classroom. Karen’s MEd research focused on the role of student agency in writing and she has a deep understanding of the role that explicit teaching plays in the development of confident and creative writers. Karen enjoys working with schools to understand and articulate their approach to teaching and learning English to ensure consistency and effectiveness of practice. She was an active participant in the panel review of the Victorian Curriculum: English and is ready to support schools as they begin to implement Version 2.

Karen authored PETAA Paper #229: Creating space for agency in the literacy classroom.

Areas of Expertise:

• Teaching grammar in context
• Explicit and authentic teaching of writing
• Approaches to the teaching and learning of primary English
• Using quality texts to teach cross-curriculum
• Australian Curriculum: English v9.0
• Victorian Curriculum: English v2.0
• Student agency 

Teachers say:

"I feel really inspired and can’t wait to assist students after this presentation. Thank you Karen. Everything was valuable information." - Intensive Literacy Teacher, NSW 

___________________________

Lorraine (Lorri) Beveridge

___________________________

Lorri is a retired primary school executive, with her specialisation being subject English. Her PhD research investigated the impact and sustainability of collaborative professional learning.  Lorri’s current roles include casual academic, researcher, education writer and professional learning presenter. She is author of PETAA Paper #231 (2024), Playful Punctuation; PETAA Paper #223 (2021), We're going on a...Quest!; and co-author of PETAA Paper #215 (2019), Let’s write a unit. She co-edited the award-winning PETAA text, The Alphabetic Principle and Beyond: surveying the landscape (2019), and authored The early reading and music partnership (2023).  

Areas of Expertise:

• English curriculum implementation
• Early reading and music integration that improves reading acquisition
• Writing engaging integrated English units incorporating English concepts, based on quality texts.

Teachers say: 

"Our Leaders of Pedagogy have been truly inspired by the online PETAA sessions led by Dr. Lorraine Beveridge on 'Let's Write a Unit - Textual Concepts.' These sessions have proven to be a driving force in our ongoing commitment to curriculum reform...Thanks to the knowledge and strategies gained through these sessions, we are confident our educators are better prepared to nurture a deeper love for literature and enhance the skills of our students. Dr. Lorraine Beveridge's contributions have been instrumental in driving this transformation, and we look forward to the continued success of our curriculum reform initiatives." - Subject Matter Expert: Literacy K-6 and Data, NSW.

“Thank you so much Lorri for a fabulous day, for sharing your passion and knowledge with us! I felt like you created a safe and supportive space for us to be creative and share ideas!”  - P-6 Creative Arts teacher, NSW.

___________________________

Rod Campbell

___________________________

Rod Campbell is a significant leader in literacy education in Australia, and a key player in Queensland education history, with extensive experience in publishing, workshop presentation, and in-school mentoring of classroom teachers and curriculum leaders. He has also contributed to the development of teaching English in kindergartens in China. He is co-writer and editor of twenty-three successful publications on literacy teaching, and on teaching English grammar and knowledge as resources for writing and reading. He is the lead writer of the Australian editions of Literacy for the 21st Century (2012, 2015 and 2019) and co-author of Teaching English Grammar: A Handbook for Australian Teachers. All of his work is grounded in ongoing classroom development and practice. Currently, he is working on a third edition of Teaching English Grammar.

Areas of expertise:

• Teaching English grammar for reading and writing (across word, sentence and whole text level)
• Literacy education across the primary years

Teachers say: 

"Brilliant knowledge and practical delivery." - K-6 Teacher, NSW

"Excellent day! A wealth of knowledge that supports the new English syllabus very well!" - Year 4 Teacher, NSW 

___________________________

Tessa Daffern

___________________________

Dr Tessa Daffern has contributed to education in many capacities for over 20 years: as a classroom teacher, teaching and learning specialist, literacy coordinator, academic and education consultant. Tessa is currently a Senior Lecturer at the University of Wollongong. Tessa’s PhD examined the teaching and learning of spelling and writing in Australian school contexts and involved almost 1,400 students across 17 schools. Tessa's awards include the Australian Literacy Educators’ Association Doctoral Thesis Award (2017) Recognition of Excellence Award by the Archdiocese of Canberra and Goulburn Catholic Education Office for her contributions and achievements, and she was one of the first Australian educators to become certified as a Highly Accomplished Teacher (2012). Tessa’s published books include The Components of spelling: Instruction and assessment for the linguistic inquirer and Teaching Writing: Effective approaches for the middle years.

Areas of expertise:

• Spelling
• Writing in the middle years

___________________________

Michael Murray

___________________________

Michael Murray has worked for the NSW Department of Education for 35 years, including 11 years as an English Head Teacher and 8 years at the state office level leading English and Literacy in NSW public schools. He contributed to the development of NSW English syllabuses, including the English K-10 Syllabus incorporating Australian Curriculum content, and led the development of professional learning and resources to support the implementation of the new English syllabus. Michael now works freelance as an independent consultant.

Teachers say: 

"Michael was amazing and very informative. Great presenter and gave great insights." - Year 2 Teacher, NSW

"Highly skilled presenter with a wealth of knowledge." - Support Unit, NSW

___________________________

Bronwyn Parkin

___________________________

Bronwyn Parkin has 30 years' experience in supporting language and literacy teachers beginning in Aboriginal Education, remote and metropolitan through the South Australia Accelerated Literacy program focused on disadvantaged schools; through the recent PETAA research grants investigating academic language pedagogy with educationally marginalised students; and as a consultant working in disadvantaged contexts. Dr Parkin has been a member of the Literacy Education Advisory Committee of South Australian Department of Education. She is a former Vice-President of PETAA.

Bronwyn is co-author of PETAA Publications Teaching With Intent, Teaching With Intent 2 (EPAA Award Winner 2020), and Teaching the language of Climate Change Science (EPAA Winner 2021).

Areas of Expertise:

• Linking theory with practice 
• EAL/D
• Scaffolded approach to teaching and learning

Teachers say:

"Bronwyn was incredible and extremely knowledgable. She took time to answer our questions and gave excellent examples." - Year 4 Teacher, NSW 

___________________________

Joanne Rossbridge

___________________________

Joanne is an independent literacy consultant working in both primary and secondary schools and classrooms with teachers across NSW. Much of her experience has involved working with students from non-English speaking backgrounds, and in a range of universities in both under graduate and post graduate teacher training. Joanne is particularly interested in student and teacher talk and how talk about language can assist the development of language and literacy skills.

See details of her PETAA publication (with Kathy Rushton) Put It in Writing: Text, Context, language. See also PETAA Paper 196: The critical conversation about text: Joint construction (also with Kathy Rushton).

Areas of expertise:

• Functional grammar and teaching grammar in context
• The teaching of writing, particularly in relation to text purpose (i.e. imaginative, informative, persuasive)
• Writing instructional practice (i.e. modelled writing, shared writing, joint construction, independent writing)
• The teaching and learning cycle

Teachers say:

"It was an engaging session that gave us practical tools to use in our teaching."  - Year 3 Teacher, NSW

___________________________

Alan Wright

___________________________

Alan Wright

Alan Wright is an education consultant and author with extensive experience working in the United States and Australia. In 2001–2006, Alan worked across primary, middle and high schools, supporting teachers, school districts, regions and school leadership teams in New York, effecting improved learning outcomes for students in literacy. He has presented at conferences in Pittsburgh (NCTE,) I.L.A NYC State Conference, Saratoga and New York City (Teacher Summer Institutes) and Columbia University (Poetry Workshops). His previous background was as classroom teacher, staff developer, regional consultant and School administrator, Assistant Principal and Principal with the Victorian Department of Education. Alan is a Director of Alvic Educational Consultancy (created 2006) providing school-based consultancy support across schools and networks. His website, ‘Living Life Twice’ has actively supported teachers of writing since 2008.

Watch a webinar with Alan that explores the possibilities of writer's notebooks in the classroom.