Tina Daniel-Zitzlaff

Tina Daniel-Zitzlaff is a doctoral candidate in education at Deakin University. She is an alumnus of Trinity College, Oxford, Dominican University of California and the University of Melbourne. She has taught language and literacy in a wide range of settings. and is a former primary teacher. She is particularly interested in how children with learning difficulties access reading. Tina is a member of the international DDOLL network (Developmental Disorders of Language and Literacy), Language Difficulties Australia and has specialist training in reading acquisition, comprehension and second language learning.

Teachers on the Threshold: What prevents teachers from changing the way they teach early reading?

Teachers in English-speaking countries around the world are fundamentally divided on how early reading is effectively taught. While the research on how children learn to read is well-established (Dehaene 2009; Hoover & Gough 1990; Seidenberg 2017), no clear path has been identified for the transformation of teacher practice. This presentation reports preliminary findings from my doctoral research investigating the barriers to teaching reading in a P-8 school experiencing high levels of disadvantage and suggests pre-conditions to support transformative change.