Dr Alyson Simpson
|
BA(UNSW), GradDipEd(Sydney), GradDipLibSc(UTS), GradDipChilLit(UTS), MEd(Sydney), PhD(UWS), MEd(HigherEducation)(Sydney) Director, BEd (Primary Education) program. Senior Lecturer, English and Literacy Education, Undergraduate and Graduate-entry programs |
Email: Phone: +61 2 9351 6344 Fax: +61 2 9351 2606 Building.Room: A35.429 |
Research interests
Educational systems: administration, management and leadership
- Preschool and primary education
Research on teaching and learning
- English and literacy
- Learning & teaching in higher education
Keywords
children's literature, eLearning, visual literacy, blended learning, discourse analysis, pedagogy
Professional biography
Alyson has a passion for children’s literature. With a background as a teacher librarian she now works with graduate-entry trainee teachers at the University of Sydney as senior lecturer in English literacy education.
In all areas of her teaching, Alyson links educational theory with practice. She has developed partnerships with schools to examine the connection between English, language development and the authentic use of infomationa and communication technology in the classroom.
Alyson's classroom-based research employs discourse analysis to investigate the issues involved in the nature and development of language, critical literacy, working with children’s literature in online environments, and pedagogic change.
Awards
Excellence in Teaching Award 2005, Faculty of Education and Social Work, University of Sydney
Professional and community roles
Vice President of Publications, Primary English Teaching Association
Current research students
| Project title | Degree | Research student |
|---|---|---|
| Picture books in the middle and senior years of school: Looking at the practice in the literacy classroom, contextual against the ongoing debate on literacy, meaning making and the nature of the curriculum. | PhD | Jacquei Hicks |
| Graphic novels as texts: Teachers'experiences in secondary English classrooms | EdD | Dianne Laycock |
| The immigrants’ child amid the literacy practices of the home and school: Four case studies | PhD | Susan Markose |
| Navigating the academic discourses of pre-service teaching education. | EdD | Gerald McRae |
| Times of change in literature and literacy: A content analysis of children's and adults' choices for Picturebook of the Year Awards. | PhD | Rachel Nolde |
Selected publications
Books
- Simpson, A. (2008). Reading Under the Covers. Helping Children to Choose Books. Sydney: Primary English Teachers Association (PETA).
- Simpson, A. (2007). Future directions in literacy: International conversations conference 2007. Sydney: University of Sydney Press.
Book chapters
- Simpson, A. (2006). Teaching primary school children how to 'read' images. In R Ewing (Ed.), Beyond the Reading Wars. Towards a balanced approach to helping children learn to read (pp. 125–139), Sydney: Primary English Teachers Association (PETA).
Journal articles
- Love, K, Simpson, A. (2005). Online discussion in schools: Towards a pedagogical framework. International Journal of Educational Research, 43(2005), 446–463.
Conference papers
- Simpson, A. (2006). Discourses of War vs. Discourses of Childhood: A Critical Discourse Analysis of Meaning, Structure and Identity in Multimodal Narrative Texts. In T. Lê & M. Short Proceedings of the International Conference on Critical Discourse Analysis: Theory into Research (pp. 643–650). Launceston, Australia, 15-18 November 2005.
- Simpson, A. (2006). Student voices, teachers' vibes and a researcher's view: book raps as a model of e-literacy. In Jennifer Rennie Voices, vibes and vision: Hearing the Voices, Feeling the Vibes and Capturing the Visions: Proceedings of the AATE/ALEA National Conference 2006. Darwin, 8-11 July 2006.
- Simpson, A. (2005). Four Roles of the viewer: Developing an understanding of visual literacy. In J. Young .