Teaching Area/Interests

• Language and literacy teaching and learning in the primary school
• Critical literacy approaches
• Effective literacy practices for new learners of English
• Children’s Literature
• Integrated approaches to literacy and Mathematics

Qualifications
M Ed(Hons) Auckland, Dip Teaching (Waikato), Dip Ed (Waikato), TTC

Teaching background
Helen was a classroom teacher for 12 years before becoming a lecturer at Auckland College of Education in 1991. Her classroom experience extended from rural schools in the Waikato and south of Auckland, to a high decile school in East Auckland and finally to an inner city Auckland school for some 7 years before a brief period of tenure on the Mangere and Otara Liaison team and a relieving position in a low decile school in South Auckland.

In her role as a senior lecturer in the School of language, Literacies and Communication Helen coordinates the one year graduate programme in primary teacher education and the Critical Approaches to Literacy course within the national Diploma of TESSOL.

She is a member of a research support team involved in a Ministry of Education initiative which is investigating the effectiveness of practitioner interventions through action research based classroom strategies. This is taking place within a diverse multicultural and bilingual inner city Auckland school.

Helen has long been committed to integrated approaches to teaching and learning and to this end has co authored a literacy based approach to mathematics titled ‘Maths Concepts’ (In press, 2006). This is a three year resource aimed at introducing young learners to the language and concepts of mathematics through story and visual text.

Until recently Helen was a regional lecturer (Waikato) on the Graduate and Post Graduate Diplomas for the Resource teachers of Literacy (RT:Lit).

Helen’s personal and teaching interests and expertise are firmly situated within the areas of second language acquisition and development, children’s literature, personal reading and writing and visual language. She remains committed to ensuring her students leave with the confidence, knowledge and expertise required of teachers in a diverse, dynamic and challenging 21st century world.
 

Publications

• Hucker, J. & Villers, H (2006, in press) ‘Maths Concepts; language and literacy for mathematics in the early years’. Edmonton, Canada: Duval House.
• Villers, H. (2005). Richmond Road School; Leadership for the words and the world. In May. S., Franken, M., & Barnard, R. LED2003: Refereed Conference Proceedings of the 1st International Conference on language education and Diversity. Hamilton: Wilf Malcom Institute of Educational Research, University of Waikato
• Villers, H. (2000) Starting over again: Shared views about effective second language acquisition and literacy learning: University of Auckland: Unpublished masters Thesis.