MsJocelyn Howard

Organising and Programme Committee member of the New Zealand Association for Research in Education (NZARE) Conference, 2007. The annual NZARE conference provides an important platform for the dissemination of current educational research in New Zealand and the Pacific region. I was invited to join the Organising Committee for NZARE 2007 (Education in the Pacific) by the conference co-convenors, and played an active role in all aspects of the conference organisation. In addition, as one of the four Programme Committee members, I helped organise the abstract reviews, and with the other Programme Committee members subsequently evaluated all the reviews to decide which papers were accepted. In 2008, I received written commendation from the NZARE Council for my “strong contribution to the Association’s annual conference”.

Chair of national CLESOL Board overseeing conferences of two New Zealand language teacher organisations (2005-2010). The CLESOL Board is responsible for governance of biennial conferences for the Community Languages Association of New Zealand (CLANZ) and Teachers of English for Speakers of Other Languages, Aotearoa New Zealand (TESOLANZ). The joint conferences have a budget in excess of $250,000, and attract leading international keynote speakers and presenters, and between 400 and 700 delegates. As Chair of the Board, I was responsible for: liaison with the two parent organisations; guidance for incoming regional organising committees; ensuring prudent financial management of the conferences, including budgeting, and auditing; and ensuring the ongoing continuity and development of the conferences.

Co-convenor of the Learning and Teaching Languages Symposium, sponsored by the UC College of Education Teacher Learning and Innovations in Practice Research Hub

Invited speaker at regional conferences and meetings for ESOL specialists (2005-present). As a result of my research into the effective use of multi-media for language teaching, I have been invited to talk about research-informed strategies for teaching English for Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL) in mainstream classrooms and in specialist withdrawal programmes. Formal presentations, such as the examples below, often lead to further requests for guidance by individual schools. Examples: Invited to present at CANTESOL (Canterbury branch of the national Teachers of ESOL Association) Expo in September 2005 on research into commercial ESOL resources used in New Zealand schools (approx 100 delegates); Invited to present at CANTESOL Expo in June 2007 about online resources for teaching ESOL from pre-school to tertiary level (approx 100 delegates); Invited to present at Christchurch Primary ESOL Group meeting in April 2008 about effective language learning tasks and strategies (approx 15 teachers).

Invited to participate with national and international colleagues in colloquium presentation (2006). As a result of my previous conference presentations and published articles on effective language teaching for diverse learners in mainstream classrooms, I was invited to participate in a colloquium on teaching English across the curriculum at the CLESOL Conference in 2006 with Dr Penny Harworth from Massey University, Jae Major from the University of Canterbury, and Dr Debra Ives from the University of Melbourne. This was well received by the 60 (approx) primary and secondary teachers and academics who attended, and resulted in further interest in my work on effective materials for language teaching.

Invited to collaborate with national colleagues for colloquium presentation (2007). As a result of my colloquium address at the Community Languages and ESOL Conference in 2006, I was invited by Dr Ian Bruce to collaborate with him and a team of colleagues from Waikato University (Dr Hemi Whaanga, Dr Winifred Crombie, and Dr Diane Johnson) to prepare for a colloquium on rethinking the English curriculum to present at the Language, Education and Diversity Conference in 2007.

Invited to participate in international colloquium with keynote speaker (2009). Following the acceptance of my co-written article "The Applicability of Principles for Instructed Second Language Learning: A South Korean Perspective” by the Asian EFL Journal in 2008, the journal’s Senior Associate Editor, Dr Roger Nunn, informed me that the research reported in the article supported his own work in this area. I was invited to participate with him in a colloquium at the Asian EFL Journal International Conference in Pusan, South Korea in April 2009, where he was also a plenary speaker. I was unable to attend the conference due to my teaching schedule at that time.

Invited to present at institutional research seminars (2006-2009). I have been invited on two occasions to do one hour presentations on my research for teacher educators at my institution. I was invited by the Research Coordinator at the Christchurch College of Education to be the guest presenter at the School of Primary Teacher Education Research Forum in October 2006. The presentation, titled “Welcoming new Asian New Zealanders: Issues and implications for teacher recruitment”, was on my research into factors that deter minority New Zealanders from pursuing teaching as a career. I was invited to deliver the University of Canterbury College of Education Research Seminar in March 2009. This presentation, titled “Shades of difference: Perspectives on the ethnic composition of New Zealand’s teaching population”, was based on my research into disparities in the ethnic diversity of student and teaching cohorts in New Zealand schools, and focused on the implications for initial teacher education programmes.

Invited speaker at regional conferences and meetings for the Canterbury ESOL Professional Learning Community.