Conference Program | ITEC24

Conference Program

Sunday	14 July 2024		Location
5pm	Registration Opens		Level 2 Foyer
6pm-7pm	Conference Opening Service		Riverside Theatre
7.30pm	Welcome Reception (invite only)		Liberty Cafe

Monday	15 July 2024		Location
8am	Registration Desk, Exhibition and Baristas open		Level 2 Foyer
8.45am	Welcome to Country Devotion Julia Verdouw		Riverside Theatre
9.45am	Keynote 1 David Smith Everyday Christian Teaching (Part 1) There are moments in teaching that are easy to see as emerging from Christian faith, such as the moments when we pray, consult Scripture, or take a visible stand on some disputed question of truth or ethics. Yet most of our teaching consists of the everyday. We start and end classes, give instructions and assignments, repeat information, announce topics, pause for breath. How does faith shape the texture of the everyday? We will explore together how the mundane moments that make up a teaching day, a teaching week, a teaching semester can be ways of living out our faith.		Riverside Theatre
10.45am	Morning Refreshments		Riverside Theatre Foyer
11.15am	A word from our major sponsor – Linewize Snapshot		Riverside Theatre
11.45am	Keynote 2 Max Jeganathan Salt and Light in the marketplace of ideas We are more interconnected, advanced and technologically sophisticated than ever before. However, the global free-flow of ideas has been accompanied by division, confusion and hostility. How can 21st century Christian institutions and educators navigate the marketplace of ideas in a way that is faithful, thoughtful and insightful, and reflects the truth, beauty and goodness of the Christian message?		Riverside Theatre
12.45pm	Lunch		Riverside Theatre Foyer
1.45pm	Strands Darren Spyksma Christ in the Classroom: Can spelling tests, secondary exams, and “show and tell” actually help shape a student’s walk with Christ? All of life is worship to something. Explore how the daily, weekly, and monthly routines and practices inside a school and classroom can be intentionally faith formational. Hear stories of elementary and secondary educators adjusting their practice to more intentionally invite students into seeing their way of being in the world as a response to Christ’s call on their life. Leave with suggested prompts that educators can use to move their practice forward in this way. River View 4 Roshan Allpress The Gospel and Social Reform: Reframing the Clapham Sect What does it look like to claim that the Gospel leads Christians to engage in reforming the societies and cultures in which we live? What lessons can we learn from how past Christians – in this case, eighteenth and nineteenth century British Evangelicals – did just that across multiple generations? The Clapham Sect – and the wider networks around them – developed new institutional models, invented new vocations, and engaged in intergenerational formation. This session will both explore these stories, and unpack what it means for our own institutional forms, Christian formation and callings. M1&2 Sam Burrows A Theology of Knowledge Amidst a Meaning Crisis Our internet driven age has been described as one in which we are undergoing "algorithmically directed human development." This presents us with a crisis of culture building with the human element of formation increasingly pushed out. What might be a theology of knowledge and how might this direct us to hold on to the aspects of teaching that have to remain relational for meaning to be shared? River View 5 Max Jeganathan Education in an age of uncertainty In a world that is increasingly volatile, complex and unhinged, educators are being called on to speak to the deeper existential questions of identity. Spiritual, psychological and social formation is as present in the classroom as it is at the dinner table. What distinctives can Christian education offer in response? How can the Christian message speak to the cultural and psychological needs of the moment, that young people face today? Riverside Theatre
2.45pm	Afternoon Refreshments		Riverside Theatre Foyer
3.15pm	Electives Sam Burrows A Theological Critical Realism Phil Beck, Keith Cameron Berjalan Bersama: Teachers and leaders Walking Together in Indonesia Danielle Strickland Infinitum Life Paul Matthews AI - Hero or villain? David Loewen Boards and School Leaders – Making it Work for the sake of your school Vanessa Cheng Christian Schools are Different: Changing Hearts and Minds, One Story at a Time Simone Brown & Simon Lainson How to engage and motivate students for whom learning comes 'easy' Alice Mustin A Roadmap for Teacher Growth in Formational Learning Fiona Partridge Why continuing professional learning for Christian educators matters: How the National Institute can make a difference. Ruth Watson A new day in mathematics education Rebecca Hall Strengths-based Leadership Chris Prior Mind the gap! Conversations about worldview and leadership in Christian schooling Nick Jensen Generative AI innovations – AI training simulation avatars and the changing nature of education		Level 2 meeting rooms
4.15pm	Close

Tuesday	16 July 2024		Location
8am	Registration Desk, Exhibition and Baristas open		Level 2 Foyer
8.45am	Devotion Julia Verdouw		Riverside Theatre
9.45am	Keynote 3 Danielle Strickland Disruption as invitation to FAITH What if the primary way of transformation was connected to the measure of discomfort we were willing to embrace? What if Jesus leads us towards uncertainty so we might discover Gods ultimate peace and purpose in the exposure of our fear? What if the revelation we most need is a confrontation of our own capacity to become entrenched in the status quo? These are questions we will explore together as we look to Jesus and strengthen our faith!		Riverside Theatre
10.45am	Morning Refreshments		Riverside Theatre Foyer
11.15am	Snapshot		Riverside Theatre
11.45am	Keynote 4 Lynn Swaner Flourishing Together: Research & Practice in Christian Schools Amid sustained challenges, Christian school educators can find renewed encouragement, hope, and vision in the psalmist’s blessing, “May the Lord cause you to flourish, both you and your children” (Psalm 115:14). Drawing on the book Flourishing Together: A Christian Vision for Students, Educators, and Schools, Dr. Swaner will engage participants in exploring the five domains of educational flourishing: Purpose, Relationships, Learning, Resources, and Well-being. Through research-based insights, reflection, and discussion, educators will be encouraged to create flourishing school ecologies where adults and students can truly flourish—together.		Riverside Theatre
12.45pm	Lunch		Riverside Theatre Foyer
1.45pm	Strands Danielle Strickland True Transformation In an age of cheap information available to everyone, everywhere, how do we experience and discover transformative knowledge? Abundant Life is Jesus’ invitation but how do we experience it and how do we teach others? Let’s explore how facilitating encounter might be the primary means of spiritual revelation and true transformation in this age. River View 5 Lynn Swaner Flourishing Faith: Research & Practice in Christian Schools Building upon the research and practice featured in the book Flourishing Together: A Christian Vision for Students, Educators, and Schools, Dr. Swaner will share new findings related to spiritual formation and biblical worldview development in Christian schools.The new, empirically validated Flourishing Faith Model (FFM) frames student development in terms of the domains of Head, Heart, and Hands, and identifies corresponding Intellectual, Nurturing, and Practical approaches by which schools encourage that development. This comprehensive vision for flourishing faith can guide Christian schools and educators as they seek to develop students who love God with all their heart, soul, mind, and strength (Mark 12:30). River View 4 David Smith Civic Hospitality and Learning to Live Amid Differences Our students live now and will live after graduating in the midst of a range of deep differences: religious, political, cultural, and more. Living well amid these differences calls for more than information about other perspectives; it demands a set of virtues and skills of engagement. Drawing from the Civic Hospitality Project, this session will explore how a Christian commitment to approaching others with hospitality can provide a more grounded alternative to both culture wars and secular conceptions of tolerance while serving as the basis for creative learning design. Theatre
2.45pm	Afternoon Refreshments		Riverside Theatre Foyer
3.15pm	Electives Sam Burrows A Theological Critical Realism Chris Rayner A new day for initial teacher education: Teaching Hubs and formation for future Christian teachers Rachel Herweynen Yolŋu teaching & learning principles for your school (for Aboriginal & Torres Strait Islander Histories and Cultures Cross-curriculum Priority) Bonnie Evans & Jo Miller Green Eggs & Ham – A fusion of wellbeing and learning support Katrina McNab Building a better future through playful learning Paul Matthews AI - Hero or villain? Darren Spyksma Oh Look, Another Shiny New . . .Practices that assist schools in using their mission to make decisions John Collier The Attrition From Christian Faith of Our Graduates While At University: Why does it happen, and what can be done about it? Roshan Allpress Institutions, Change and the Imperatives of the Gospel Peter Bain Economic trends impacting the future of Australian Education Jo Beckingham Rehoboth’s Trellis Staff: Galvanising your support staff for the benefit of your whole school community Hugh Chilton What School Could Be: Lessons on innovation in human formation from designing a school-within-a-school Tim Argall Leading in Christian Schools in the “Now and Not Yet” – seeking glimpses of eternity in the complexity of today		Level 2 meeting rooms
4.15pm	Close

Wednesday	17 July 2024		Location
8am	Registration Desk, Exhibition and Baristas open		Level 2 Foyer
8.45am	Devotion Julia Verdouw		Riverside Theatre
9.45am	Keynote 5 Dave Loewen The Gospel and Christian Education: Following the Lamb in the formation of our schools As we enter a new day in Christian Education, we need to sharpen our vision and practices. In a world of seemingly limitless division and acrimony we need to re-orient ourselves as educators and followers of Christ to a way of being that is centered on a rich understanding of the Gospel. As people of the cross we need a fresh vision that avoids, on the one hand, engaging in triumphalist attempts to take back ‘our’ culture with power and force, and on the other retreating into bubbles of protection that cultivate fear. Let’s explore together how the Gospel calls us to align our lives, our students, and our schools in the way of Jesus!		Riverside Theatre
10.45am	Morning Refreshments		Riverside Theatre Foyer
11.15am	Keynote 6 David Smith Everyday Christian Teaching (Part 2) There are moments in teaching that are easy to see as emerging from Christian faith, such as the moments when we pray, consult Scripture, or take a visible stand on some disputed question of truth or ethics. Yet most of our teaching consists of the everyday. We start and end classes, give instructions and assignments, repeat information, announce topics, pause for breath. How does faith shape the texture of the everyday? We will explore together how the mundane moments that make up a teaching day, a teaching week, a teaching semester can be ways of living out our faith.		Riverside Theatre
11.45am	Conference closing session		Riverside Theatre
12pm	Conference close		Riverside Theatre

Thursday	18 July 2024		Location
9am	National Institute Research Symposium

Subject to change