Daffern, Tessa L. PhD

Overview

Tessa's research and consultancy is driven by her passion for English language education and for empowering teachers and undergraduate teacher education students to develop contemporary understandings that can inform their teaching of language and literacy. Tessa’s research in this field draws on both cognitive and sociocultural theories of learning. Her research is also informed by her ongoing work with classroom teachers, education advisors and policy makers as well as teacher education students. Tessa’s PhD adopted a mixed methods design to examine the teaching and learning of spelling and writing in Australian school contexts with almost 1400 students across 17 schools. In 2017, Tessa was the recipient of the Australian Literacy Educators’ Association Doctoral Thesis Award. Tessa has disseminated her research through national and international journals and conferences. Journals include the Australian Journal of Language and Literacy, The Reading Teacher, Language and Education, Australian Journal of Education, Literacy Learning: The Middle Years, and Practical Literacy: The Early and Primary Years.

Dr Tessa Daffern is available for literacy education consultancy projects or professional learning workshops and seminars. Please contact her to discuss tailored professional learning opportunities.
www.tessadaffern.com.au

The Components of Spelling Manual, developed as a result of Tessa’s PhD, has become a valuable resource used by thousands of educators and children across Australia.

Currently, Tessa’s research and consultancy projects include:

Examining spelling development in the early years
Building the capacity of teachers to improve student spelling outcomes
Exploring the teaching and learning of writing in the middle years
Developing the Components of Spelling Test: Early Years (CoSTEY)
Developing Oxford Spelling Series (K to 6)
Academic partner with NSW Department of Education Professional Learning Pathway

Top Publications

Year	Title
2019	Student and teacher perspectives on spelling Published in Australian Journal of Language and Literacy

Available as Research Supervisor

Selected Publications

Journal Article

Year	Title
2021	Investigating the efficacy of using error analysis data to inform explicit teaching of spelling Published In Australian Journal of Learning Difficulties
2020	Measurement of spelling ability: construction and validation of a phonological, orthographic and morphological pseudo-word instrument for students in Grades 3–6 Published In Reading and Writing
2020	Teaching spelling in context can also be explicit and systematic Published In Practical Literacy: The Early and Primary Years
2019	A case study on the challenges of learning and teaching English spelling: Insights from eight Australian students and their teachers Published In Literacy
2019	Student and teacher perspectives on spelling Published In Australian Journal of Language and Literacy
2018	Innovative linguistic inquiries in the primary classroom Published In Practical Literacy: The Early and Primary Years
2017	Linguistic skills involved in learning to spell: An Australian study Published In Language and Education
2017	Predictors of writing success: How important are spelling, grammar and punctuation? Published In Australian Journal of Education
2017	Testing spelling: How does a dictation method measure up to a proofreading and editing format? Published In Australian Journal of Language and Literacy
2016	What Happens When a Teacher Uses Metalanguage to Teach Spelling? Published In The Reading Teacher: a journal of the International Reading Association
2015	Building strong writers: Creating a balance between the authorial and secretarial elements of writing Published In Literacy Learning: The Middle Years
2015	Helping students become linguistic inquirers: A focus on spelling Published In Literacy Learning: The Middle Years
2015	The development of a spelling assessment tool informed by Triple Word Form Theory Published In Australian Journal of Language and Literacy

Book

Year	Title
2018	The components of spelling: Instruction and assessment for the linguistic inquirer Publisher Canberra, Australia

Chapter

Year	Title
2020	Assessing writing: Teacher-led approaches Published In Teaching writing: Effective approaches for the middle years Publisher Sydney
2020	Introduction to teaching writing in the middle years Published In Teaching writing: Effective approaches for the middle years Publisher Sydney
2020	Supporting meaning-making through spelling Published In Teaching writing: Effective approaches for the middle years Publisher Sydney
2020	Supporting meaning-making through vocabulary Published In Teaching writing: Effective approaches for the middle years Publisher Sydney
2020	Teaching writing across disciplines: The upper primary school years Published In Teaching writing: Effective approaches for the middle years Publisher Sydney
2020	Theoretical perspectives and strategies for teaching and learning writing Published In Teaching writing: Effective approaches for the middle years Publisher Sydney
2020	What is involved in the learning and teaching of writing? Published In Teaching writing: Effective approaches for the middle years Publisher Sydney
2019	Spelling Assessment, Learning, and Instruction in VET Published In Handbook of Vocational Education and Training Publisher Springer International Publishing
2018	Developing Editorial skills: Spelling Published In Understanding and Supporting Young Writers From Birth to 8 Publisher London, United Kingdom
2018	Spelling Assessment, Learning, and Instruction in VET Published In Handbook of Vocational Education and Training: Developments in the Changing World of Work Publisher Cham, Switzerland
2017	Developing editorial skills Published In Understanding and Supporting Young Writers from Birth to 8 Publisher Routledge

Conference Paper

Year	Title
2018	Perils of learning to spell in English: Insights from eight Australian children and their teachers Published In 42nd Annual IARLD Conference for Research in Learning Disabilities (IARLD): Symposium Spelling in Different Languages: Do We Speak and Write the Same Language?
2018	The art of teaching transcription skills in the early years of school: Spelling and Handwriting Published In AATE/ALEA National Conference
2018	The art of using error analysis to help build spelling skills Published In AATE/ALEA National Conference
2018	The development of a pseudo-word spelling test informed by Triple Word Form Theory Published In European Educational Research Association Conference: ECER 2018: Inclusion and Exclusion, Resources for Educational Research?
2018	When learning to spell is challenging: Insights from eight Australian children and their teachers Published In European Educational Research Association Conference: ECER 2018: Inclusion and Exclusion, Resources for Educational Research?
2015	Does Triple Word Form Theory provide a useful framework from which to assess proficiency in spelling? Published In European Conference on Educational Research (ECER 2015)
2015	Does proficiency in spelling, grammar and punctuation predict success with writing? Published In 16th European Conference for Research on Learning and Instruction: Towards a Reflective Society: Synergies Between Learning, Teaching and Research
2015	Spelling out assessment: An innovative tool Published In 16th European Conference for Research on Learning and Instruction: Towards a Reflective Society: Synergies Between Learning, Teaching and Research
2015	Students’ linguistic transitions in spelling between Grades 3 and 6 Published In European Conference on Educational Research (ECER 2015)

Available as Research Supervisor

Potential Supervision Topics

Teaching and learning to write
Teaching and learning spelling
Teaching and learning multimodal literacies

Reviewer Of

Reading and Writing: An Interdisciplinary Journal (Academic Article) 2018 -
Australian Educational Researcher (Academic Article) 2016 -
Australian Journal of Language and Literacy (Academic Article) 2016 -

Contact Or Provider For Service

Literacy Education Solutions Access Service
Primary English Teaching Association of Australia Access Service

Organizer Of Event

Australian Literacy Educators' Association (ALEA)/Australian Association for the Teaching of English (AATE) National Conference, Canberra 2014 - 2015

Professional Service Activities

Primary English Teaching Association of Australia Consultant and workshop presenter 2014 -

Outreach And Community Service Activities

Australian Literacy Educators Association: ACT Local Council Local Council Member 2012 - 2019

Full Name

Dr TESSA DAFFERN

Orcid Id

http://orcid.org/0000-0003-0934-0418 (confirmed)

Top Publications

Year	Title
2019	Student and teacher perspectives on spelling Published in Australian Journal of Language and Literacy

Selected Publications

Journal Article

Year	Title
2021	Investigating the efficacy of using error analysis data to inform explicit teaching of spelling Published In Australian Journal of Learning Difficulties
2020	Measurement of spelling ability: construction and validation of a phonological, orthographic and morphological pseudo-word instrument for students in Grades 3–6 Published In Reading and Writing
2020	Teaching spelling in context can also be explicit and systematic Published In Practical Literacy: The Early and Primary Years
2019	A case study on the challenges of learning and teaching English spelling: Insights from eight Australian students and their teachers Published In Literacy
2019	Student and teacher perspectives on spelling Published In Australian Journal of Language and Literacy
2018	Innovative linguistic inquiries in the primary classroom Published In Practical Literacy: The Early and Primary Years
2017	Linguistic skills involved in learning to spell: An Australian study Published In Language and Education
2017	Predictors of writing success: How important are spelling, grammar and punctuation? Published In Australian Journal of Education
2017	Testing spelling: How does a dictation method measure up to a proofreading and editing format? Published In Australian Journal of Language and Literacy
2016	What Happens When a Teacher Uses Metalanguage to Teach Spelling? Published In The Reading Teacher: a journal of the International Reading Association
2015	Building strong writers: Creating a balance between the authorial and secretarial elements of writing Published In Literacy Learning: The Middle Years
2015	Helping students become linguistic inquirers: A focus on spelling Published In Literacy Learning: The Middle Years
2015	The development of a spelling assessment tool informed by Triple Word Form Theory Published In Australian Journal of Language and Literacy

Book

Year	Title
2018	The components of spelling: Instruction and assessment for the linguistic inquirer Publisher Canberra, Australia

Chapter

Year	Title
2020	Assessing writing: Teacher-led approaches Published In Teaching writing: Effective approaches for the middle years Publisher Sydney
2020	Introduction to teaching writing in the middle years Published In Teaching writing: Effective approaches for the middle years Publisher Sydney
2020	Supporting meaning-making through spelling Published In Teaching writing: Effective approaches for the middle years Publisher Sydney
2020	Supporting meaning-making through vocabulary Published In Teaching writing: Effective approaches for the middle years Publisher Sydney
2020	Teaching writing across disciplines: The upper primary school years Published In Teaching writing: Effective approaches for the middle years Publisher Sydney
2020	Theoretical perspectives and strategies for teaching and learning writing Published In Teaching writing: Effective approaches for the middle years Publisher Sydney
2020	What is involved in the learning and teaching of writing? Published In Teaching writing: Effective approaches for the middle years Publisher Sydney
2019	Spelling Assessment, Learning, and Instruction in VET Published In Handbook of Vocational Education and Training Publisher Springer International Publishing
2018	Developing Editorial skills: Spelling Published In Understanding and Supporting Young Writers From Birth to 8 Publisher London, United Kingdom
2018	Spelling Assessment, Learning, and Instruction in VET Published In Handbook of Vocational Education and Training: Developments in the Changing World of Work Publisher Cham, Switzerland
2017	Developing editorial skills Published In Understanding and Supporting Young Writers from Birth to 8 Publisher Routledge

Conference Paper

Year	Title
2018	Perils of learning to spell in English: Insights from eight Australian children and their teachers Published In 42nd Annual IARLD Conference for Research in Learning Disabilities (IARLD): Symposium Spelling in Different Languages: Do We Speak and Write the Same Language?
2018	The art of teaching transcription skills in the early years of school: Spelling and Handwriting Published In AATE/ALEA National Conference
2018	The art of using error analysis to help build spelling skills Published In AATE/ALEA National Conference
2018	The development of a pseudo-word spelling test informed by Triple Word Form Theory Published In European Educational Research Association Conference: ECER 2018: Inclusion and Exclusion, Resources for Educational Research?
2018	When learning to spell is challenging: Insights from eight Australian children and their teachers Published In European Educational Research Association Conference: ECER 2018: Inclusion and Exclusion, Resources for Educational Research?
2015	Does Triple Word Form Theory provide a useful framework from which to assess proficiency in spelling? Published In European Conference on Educational Research (ECER 2015)
2015	Does proficiency in spelling, grammar and punctuation predict success with writing? Published In 16th European Conference for Research on Learning and Instruction: Towards a Reflective Society: Synergies Between Learning, Teaching and Research
2015	Spelling out assessment: An innovative tool Published In 16th European Conference for Research on Learning and Instruction: Towards a Reflective Society: Synergies Between Learning, Teaching and Research
2015	Students’ linguistic transitions in spelling between Grades 3 and 6 Published In European Conference on Educational Research (ECER 2015)

Editor Of

Book
- Teaching writing: Effective approaches for the middle years. Sydney. 2020

Presentations

Invited Talk
- Podcast with NSW Department of Education on spelling, Speaker, https://soundcloud.com/user-770146497/dr-tessa-daffern-teaching-spelling 2019

Other Research Activities

Oxford Spelling ($97,000) Chief Researcher 2020
Inquiries in spelling: Building teacher and student capacity. $10,000 [Australian Literacy Educators’ Association, ACT Local Council Research Grant]. Chief Researcher 2018 - 2019
Predicting children’s digital text comprehension skills. $10,000 [Early Career Academic Researcher Program, University of Canberra]. Chief Researcher 2017 - 2018
Discovery Translation Fund ($65,000), ANU Connect Ventures Chief Researcher 2017
OnPrime 3, CSIRO Award ($3,000) for Educational Research Innovation and Connection to Industry Chief Researcher 2017
Measurement of spelling ability: Validation of the Components of Spelling Test: Non-word Version. $11,000 [ACT Education Directorate schools]. Chief Researcher 2016 - 2017

Potential Supervision Topics

Teaching and learning to write
Teaching and learning spelling
Teaching and learning multimodal literacies

Reviewer Of

Reading and Writing: An Interdisciplinary Journal (Academic Article) 2018 -
Australian Educational Researcher (Academic Article) 2016 -
Australian Journal of Language and Literacy (Academic Article) 2016 -

Contact Or Provider For Service

Literacy Education Solutions Access Service
Primary English Teaching Association of Australia Access Service

Organizer Of Event

Australian Literacy Educators' Association (ALEA)/Australian Association for the Teaching of English (AATE) National Conference, Canberra 2014 - 2015

Professional Service Activities

Primary English Teaching Association of Australia Consultant and workshop presenter 2014 -

Outreach And Community Service Activities

Australian Literacy Educators Association: ACT Local Council Local Council Member 2012 - 2019

Full Name

Dr TESSA DAFFERN

Orcid Id

http://orcid.org/0000-0003-0934-0418 (confirmed)

Overview

Overview

Top Publications

Available as Research Supervisor

Publications

Selected Publications

Journal Article

Book

Chapter

Conference Paper

Editor Of

Book

Presentations

Invited Talk

Funding

Other Research Activities

Supervision

Available as Research Supervisor

Potential Supervision Topics

Service

Reviewer Of

Contact Or Provider For Service

Organizer Of Event

Professional Service Activities

Outreach And Community Service Activities

Contact

Full Name

Identity

Orcid Id

Overview

Top Publications

Publications

Selected Publications

Journal Article

Book

Chapter

Conference Paper

Editor Of

Book

Presentations

Invited Talk

Funding

Other Research Activities

Supervision

Potential Supervision Topics

Service

Reviewer Of

Contact Or Provider For Service

Organizer Of Event

Professional Service Activities

Outreach And Community Service Activities

Contact

Full Name

Identity

Orcid Id

Visualisations