The importance and power of children's drawings in the development of their early writing will be highlighted to Victorian early childhood educators this week by a Charles Sturt University (CSU) academic.

Dr Noella Mackenzie, a lecturer in literacy in the School of Education at CSU in Albury-Wodonga, is the invited speaker at the first of four twilight seminars organised for early childhood educators by the Victorian Curriculum and Assessment Authority (VCAA).

The seminar will be held from 5.30pm to 7pm on Wednesday 17 September at the Bastow Institute of Educational Leadership in North Melbourne and will be broadcast to regional centres in Victoria including Mildura, Wangaratta, Sale, Werribee, Sebastopol, Ballarat and Port Fairy.

"The seminar will explore my research, Becoming A Writer, showing how drawing can lead to rich discussions with children about their expression of ideas and thinking," Dr Mackenzie said.

"Children's drawings are important to early writing as a means of making meaning.

"When provided with the models, opportunity, tools and encouragement, children spontaneously start to include writing within their drawings."

In late 2012, Dr Mackenzie launched a 12 minute video and brochure for parents in the Riverina region of NSW on how young school children learn to write.

Dr Mackenzie has also published articles which discuss her research in a number of journals and these are regularly downloaded by interested parties from Australia and overseas.

Since the launch of Becoming A Writer, Dr Mackenzie has been an invited speaker at conferences in Melbourne, Sydney, Rockhampton, Brisbane and Adelaide.

In 2015, Dr Mackenzie will be working with the VCAA on a new research projectinvolving early years educators from preschools and schools from across Victoria.

Dr Mackenzie's research has also been used by the VCAA to support the development of an observation tool to be used for children as they move from pre-school to school in Victoria. Dr Mackenzie is an advisor for the observation tool.

Dr Mackenzie is a member of the University's Research Institute for Professional Practice, Learning and Education (RIPPLE).