CAL:ON Events

Tuesday 12th May 12pm

What happens in the brain when reading is hard, and what that means for teaching

Dr Liory Fern-Pollak - UCL Institute of Education

This talk will explore how reading develops in the brain, why reading difficulties such as dyslexia arise, and what this means for classroom practice. Drawing on cognitive psychology, educational neuroscience, and cross-linguistic research, the talk will examine how phonological, orthographic, semantic, and attentional processes work together during reading and how they can go wrong. Through interactive tasks and real-world examples, the talk connects what we know about reading and dyslexia to familiar classroom experiences, before considering what this means for supporting learners in practical, realistic ways.             

Dr Liory Fern-Pollak is an Associate Professor in Cognitive and Educational Neuroscience at UCL’s Institute of Education. Her work focuses on reading development, reading difficulties including dyslexia, multilingualism, and how insights from cognitive neuroscience can be translated into meaningful educational practice. She is particularly interested in helping dispel neuromyths to support evidence-informed understanding of learning in real classroom contexts.

Monday 25th May & Thursday 28th May - Anglesey Show Ground, Gwalchmai

Come to the Bangor University area for story time with celebrated authors, reading and writing activities, and the chance to chat with the CAL:ON Cymru team to find out about our work supporting literacy teaching across Wales. 

Tuesday 9th June 4pm 

Supporting children and young people's reading enjoyment and engagement

Prof Sarah McGeown - University of Edinburgh    

Supporting children and young people's reading enjoyment and engagement   Concerns about low levels of reading enjoyment, motivation and engagement across the UK have amplified interest in supporting ‘reading for pleasure’. This talk highlights the benefits associated with reading, the evidence behind different practices used in primary and secondary schools to support reading enjoyment, motivation and engagement, and concludes with research-informed principles to embed into primary and secondary schools to inspire and sustain a love of reading.        

Sarah McGeown is Professor of Literacy and Co-Director of the Literacy Lab at the University of Edinburgh. Her research utilises participatory approaches and research-practice partnerships to better understand and enhance children and young people's reading experiences and outcomes. You can learn more about her research here: https://blogs.ed.ac.uk/literacylab/

Friday 12th June - Venue Cymru, Llandudno

We will be at the Bangor University stand where you can find out how CAL:ON Cymru will support teachers in literacy teaching across Wales. There will be team members to answer your questions and demonstrate CAL:ON Cymru resources.