NRDC International Conference Programme

Please find below a provisional programme for the NRDC International Conference 2007. 

Please note:  This programme is provided as a guide only and NRDC reserves the right to change this programme without notification.  The programme will be updated in the run up to the conference.  Please ensure you check this regularly.

For details of the workshop programme please click on the word document at the bottom of the page.

Provisional Programme
Thursday
09:30 - 10:30     Registration and informal networking
10:30 - 10:40     Welcome
10:40 - 11:35     Plenary 1 - Skills for Life in the Workplace 
Alison Wolf - King's College London, Clare Hannah - First Group, UK                        
11:40 - 12:00     Refreshments
12:00 - 13:15     Workshop/briefing session 1

Topics in this session include: The use of a guided reflective writing tool and personal narratives in the classroom; Teacher education as praxis: a case for practitioner research; Adult education through socio economic empowerment: lessons from a UNDP project in Malawi; Literacy, numeracy and ESOL curriculum development from across the world; Effective practice in numeracy; Engaging carers and supporters in the literacies learning process.

13:15 - 14:15     Lunch
14:15 - 15:10     Plenary 2 -The South - 'Brasil Alfabetizado' 
Joao Pedro Azevedo - Brazilian Institute of Applied Economic Research (IPEA) and Vera Masagao Ribeiro - Acao Educativa, Brazil                          
15:15 - 16:30     Workshop/briefing session 2

Topics in this session include: Improving teaching and learning for adult basic skills learners through formative assessment; A Community-Based Approach to Evaluating Program Outcomes: A Canadian perspective; New E-Learning solutions for basic education; Literacy among youth: trends in Brazil; Case studies of meeting the education and professional development needs of adult literacy tutors and managers; Family literacy, language & numeracy.

16:30 - 16:50     Refreshments
16:50 - 17:45     Plenary 3 - Numeracy in the USA & the UK
Kathy Safford - St Peter's College, New Jersey, USA, Malcolm Swan - University of Nottingham
17:45 - 19:30     Poster session
19.30                 Dinner
21.30                 After-dinner speaker - Barry Brooks, Tribal Education, UK

Friday
08:45 - 09:15     Registration (Friday day delegates only)
09:15 - 10:10     Plenary 4 - DfES policy update
Neil Robertson, Head of the Skills for Life Strategy Unit, DfES, UK
10:10 - 10:30     Refreshments
10:35 - 11:50     Workshop/briefing session 3

Topics in this session include: Designing, implementing and using anevaluation: the experience of 'Brasil Alfabetizado'; What is the impact of the Skills for Life infrastructure on learners?; A report on a teacher training project in South Asia; Learning reading and writing in the workplace critical; Progression to Level 2; Voices on the Page & the why, what and how of writing: a student-led approach to developing writing in adult literacy classes.

11:55 - 12:55     Plenary 5 - Motivation/Persistence
Steve Reder and John Comings - NCSALL, CANADA, John Bynner and John Vorhaus - NRDC, UK  
13:00 - 13:50     Lunch
13:55 - 15:10     Workshop session 4

Topics in this session include: Using phonics in adult literacy teaching; Issues of dissemination; Gender differences in literacy of the Icelandic workforce; NRDC Teachers study; Models of embedded teaching and learning; Adult ESOL and immigration in the USA.

15:15 - 16:15     Lessons learnt and next steps