Now that's a novel approach

Nipissing University
News Release

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Nipissing University’s Centre for Literacy is pleased to announce their Spring conference, 'Novel Approaches to Learning', to be held May 13 – 14.

Designed for teaching and literacy professionals, the conference will address different ways to incorporate novels in contemporary classrooms. It will discuss the use of novels to facilitate whole class thematic inquiries, as resources for guided reading, in literature circles and book clubs.

Bob Barton will provide the keynote address on Friday, May 13, at 7 p.m. Barton became a professional author and storyteller following a successful teaching career. He has been a featured storyteller at festivals across North America, England and Australia, and has published numerous books for children and teachers including The Little Book of Northern Tales: The Bear Says North, and Telling Stories Your Way.

Susan E. Elliott-Johns will provide the Saturday morning keynote address at 9 a.m. Elliott-Johns is an assistant professor in the Schulich School of Education at Nipissing University, where she teaches courses in Language Arts and Literacy Education. Prior to joining the faculty at Nipissing, she had a very successful career in public education as a teacher (K-8), literacy consultant, teacher educator, and elementary school administrator.

Her research focuses on teacher education, language arts instruction for contemporary classrooms, and educational leadership.

Shelley Stagg Peterson will provide the Saturday afternoon keynote address at 12:45 p.m. Stagg Peterson is an associate professor at the Ontario Institute for Studies in Education at the University of Toronto. Her research and teaching interests include elementary and adolescent literacy with a focus on socio-cultural issues in writing and writing assessment, multiliteracies and rural literacies. She is the recipient of the 2010 International Reading Association's Arbuthnot Award for Excellence in Teaching Children's Literature.

Registration for the conference costs $90; or $50 for student teachers.

For more information and to register, please visit the website: http://www.nipissingu.ca/centreforliteracy/conferences.asp

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