In her presentation, Faye Brownlie looks at how teaching reading and working with text has changed over her nearly 30 year career.  She reviews what makes sense in good teaching, with the premise that teachers are doing the best they know how to do.  From the 1950s to the present, Faye looks at what makes sense in student learning, and asks if educators are sometimes caught in habits that do not actually reflect their beliefs.

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Comprehensive Introduction: Bruce Beairsto

Superintendent of Richmond School District Bruce Beairsto gives a full and sometimes humourous introduction of Faye Brownlie.

Faye sets participants up for a review at the past through the eyes of a teacher, looking at what is believed to be true about teaching and learning.   In her look at the 50s and 60s, Faye notes that support for teachers was very prescriptive, and included workbooks with step by step instructions for teaching reading.

In this section, Faye looks at a number of reading and writing programs that were the focus of their time, and notes that the education system went through a period of tight, outside decision making. Faye reviews several publications that lead to the question of how educators could make classrooms more engaging for students. Most recently, the system has moved to the inclusion of differentiation in the classroom, and the importance of oral communication.

Faye answers key questions from participating conference sites (original broadcast), and in summarizing her presentation, offers a review of what actually makes a difference in student learning.