Keynote Speakers
The Organising Committee was delighted to have the involvement of the following extra ordinary keynote speakers to join them at the conference.
Jean Blaydes Madigan (USA)
Jean Blaydes Madigan is an Elementary School Physical Educator with 30 years teaching experience, recognized for her excellence in teaching. She was awarded Elementary Physical Education Teacher of the year for Texas in 1992 and in 1993 for the National Association for Sport and Physical Education (Southern Districts). In 1997she received the Texas Association of Health Physical Education Recreation and Dance (TAHPERD) Honor Award.
Jean will present contemporary information linking brain based learning theory with movement and how this can be applied to teaching practice to promote quality learning. She will illustrate how movement can be incorporated into learning experiences as a key ingredient to engage and facilitate learning. She is a dynamic presenter who has facilitated workshops on this topic throughout the United States and Internationally.
Jean is the author of articles linking Brain Research and Movement to Learning and she has worked with organisations including TAHPERD, American Heart Association, the Texas Association for Supervisors & Curriculum Developers, Parenting Magazine, Teaching Elementary Physical Education, and Kimbo Educational.
In 2005 Jean was awarded Advocate of the Year from PE4LIFE in recognition of her development of an Action Based Learning (ABL) Program as a model elementary PE program. She has produced videos on ‘How to Make Learning a Moving Experience’ and ‘Teaching the Teen Brain’ and resources titled ‘Thinking on Your Feet: A Year’s Worth of Lesson Plans, Action Based Learning™ Lab Manual’, and the ‘Body Brain Adventure LAB Manual’.
Jean is currently involved in curriculum writing in a number of special projects including the Eric Jensen CD Library, Cooper Institute for Aerobic Research's Voyager after school program, and the Richardson and Humble Independent Schools Districts PE Curricula. 
Dr. Tim Hopper (Canada)
Dr. Tim Hopper is an associate professor and faculty member in the School of Exercise Science, Physical and Health Education, Faculty of Education, University of Victoria in British Columbia. Tim has taught at all levels of the school curriculum both in Canada and the UK. He regularly presents at National and International events and has established a reputation as an engaging speaker and an enthusiastic workshop presenter able to connect and translate theory with practice.
His scholarly role at the University focuses on PE teacher education, in particular, conceptual approaches to teaching and learning such as Teaching Games for Understanding, complex learning theory and Movement Education.
Working with his colleague Dr Kathy Sanford he has recently completed a three-year research project based on the development of a teacher education program-wide electronic portfolio process. Drawing on complexity theory the study examined the influence of e-Portfolios on pre-service teachers’ learning and program renewal.
Dr Hopper is currently collaborating with Dr Joy Butler to examine how inventing games, a process where students adapt the structures of games to make them fair, flowing, fun and for everyone, can be used in PE. This project will investigate how an inventing games unit can develop students’ abilities to collaboratively create worthwhile games that nurture situated ethics and engaged game play.
Tim uses his expertise in IT to collaborate with his pre-service teachers developing an expanding website of units of instruction(http://web.uvic.ca./~thopper), and video footage of his classes can be accessed on the pre-service teachers video journals website.
Dr. Frances Cleland (USA)
Dr. Fran Cleland is a professor in the Department of Kinesiology at West Chester University where she has been teaching for seventeen years. She is the Assistant Chair of the Health and Physical Education Teacher Certification Program. Fran also taught at the University of New Hampshire and East Stroudsburg University. Prior to teaching at the college level, Fran taught K-12 health and physical education in schools in Indiana, Virginia and Oregon.
Dr. Cleland’s research has focused on implementing critical thinking in K-12 physical education and in 2003 she co-authored an elementary textbook with her mentor, Dr. David Gallahue, Developmental Physical Education for All Children, currently used in schools and university teacher education programs.
Dr. Cleland has received numerous state, district and national awards, the most recent being the 2005 American Alliance of Health, Physical Education, Recreation and Dance (AAHPERD) Honor Award. Fran is a Past-President of the National Association for Sport and Physical Education (NASPE), and served on NASPE's former Council of Physical Education for Children.
Professor Donna Cross (Australia)
Professor Donna Cross has an international profile in school health promotion intervention research. She is Professor of Child and Adolescent Health and the Scientific Director of the Child Health Promotion Research Centre (CHPRC) at Edith Cowan University (WA). The public health outcomes of her research have positively influenced the health promotion practice of teachers, schools and parents throughout WA.
Dr Cross’s research team is currently conducting 12 cross-sectional and longitudinal school-based health promotion research projects involving children, adolescents, their parents and educators in the areas of bullying, cyber bullying, aggression and violence, school connectedness, drug use, obesity prevention and smoking cessation.
Since 2000, under the direction of Professor Cross, the CHPRC has conducted several large-scale research projects in the area of school bullying, including the Friendly Schools (FS) and Friendly Schools Friendly Families (FSFF) projects, and the Supportive Schools Project (SSP). Recently, the CHPRC completed the Australian Covert Bullying Prevalence Study, commissioned by the Department of Education, Employment and Workplace Relations, and the Cyber Friendly Schools Project (2008-2009, Public Education Endowment Trust).
Her current and future research at the Centre includes a world-first empirical trial to reduce cyber-bullying in adolescents (2010-2012, Healthway); the development of parent education resource materials to reduce cyber bullying (2008-2010, Telstra Foundation); and a project focused on building school capacity to reduce social aggression among students (2010-2014, Healthway).
Professor Emeritus Alan Reid (Australia)
Alan Reid is Professor Emeritus of Education at the University of South Australia and will be the 21st Fritz Duras Memorial speaker.
His research and publications focus on the broad themes of education policy, curriculum, the history and politics of public education, social justice and education, teachers’ work, and citizenship education. He has authored, co-authored or edited 15 books and monographs and well over 100 journal articles. He is currently the national President-elect of the Australian College of Educators.
Alan has been influential in education policy development at the state and national levels. In 2004/5 he was appointed by the South Australian Minister of Education to be a member of a three person panel to review the South Australian Certificate of Education (SACE); and he was engaged by the South Australian Department of Education and Children’s Services (DECS) to lead the development of a system-wide culture of research and inquiry.
In 2009, Alan was awarded the annual Gold Medal of the Australian Council of Educational Leaders (ACEL) for an educator whose 'contribution to the study and practice of educational leadership is assessed as most outstanding at the national level'. In the same year he was also awarded the Alby Jones Medal for excellence in educational leadership.
In 2005, the Australian College of Educators awarded him the inaugural MacKillop Medal in recognition of his distinguished services to education. In 2004, he was named by the Bulletin as one of Australia's 'Ten Most Influential Educators'.
