The radical act of reading

Over the past decade, there has been a gradual but discernible shift in schools toward evidence-based teaching methods to improve literacy rates, and a growing understanding that a sound education provides students with a mental trove of facts, concepts and ideas that will set them up for their future life.

These movements in the education world have been taking place as a tidal wave of technology has hit classrooms and homes, which has changed the way we read and write and has consequences for the way we think.

This lecture will make the case for schools to favour the radical act of real reading over artificial intelligence.

Date: Tuesday 25 November 2025

Time: 6pm - 7pm

Venue: Copland Theatre, Level B1, The Spot (Building 110), 198 Berkeley St, Carlton (corner Berkeley and Pelham Streets). Please see map below for directions from our usual Education theatre.

Please only register for a seated ticket if you are sure to be attending in person. A ticket type to receive a copy of the recording is available for those that are unable to attend.

is Executive Director of the Centre for Education Statistics and Evaluation (CESE) in the NSW Department of Education.

Prior to that, she was Director of Strategy and Senior Research Fellow at MultiLit, and Senior Research Fellow at The Centre for Independent Studies.

Jennifer was the founder of the Five from Five project. She is co-editor and co-author of the textbook Effective Instruction in Reading and Spelling (MRU Press, 2023) which is used in teacher education courses in universities in Australia, New Zealand, Ireland Northern Ireland and Scotland, and An investigation of literacy instruction and policy in the United Kingdom and Ireland (Winston Churchill Trust Australia, 2024).

Jennifer is a board member of the Australian Institute for Teaching and School Leadership (AITSL), a Fellow of the Royal Society of New South Wales and an Adjunct Associate Professor at La Trobe University.

The Spot building is a short walk from the usual Kwong Lee Dow building, slight uphill along Barry St. Entry on corner of Berkeley and Pelham Streets.

Lifts or stairs are available from ground floor entrance to Copland Theatre on Level B1.

Transport

Parking:

On-street parking may be available in Barry St, Leicester St and surrounds. Alternatively, public parking can be found at University Square Car Park. The entrances are at 244 Bouverie Street or 206 Berkeley Street. A map can be found here: https://maps.unimelb.edu.au/parkville/building/107

Tram:

The closest tram stop is 9-Pelham St/Elizabeth St (Melbourne City), Melbourne

The event venue is then a short walk along Pelham Street.

View of The Spot building

Inside the Copland Theatre, seats 405.

The University of Melbourne is a global leader in higher education where brilliant minds come together to address important questions and tackle grand challenges.

We equip our students with a future-facing education personalised around their ambitions, enriched by global perspectives and embedded in a collaborative research culture. As active citizens and future leaders, they represent our greatest contribution to the world.

We engage our communities to ensure that education and research is inspired by need and for the benefit of society. In this, we remain true to our purpose and will fulfil our mission as a public-spirited institution dedicated to the principles of fairness, equality and excellence in everything we do.

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