Articles

From inside the classroom to the school’s outdoor spaces, there’s plenty to consider when it comes to learning spaces. In this edition of Researching education: 5 further readings, we share 5 resources on the topic of learning spaces.

Teacher editor Jo Earp sits down with Mali Jorm, Madison Dearnaley and Tracy Kelly to talk about managing school library and reading spaces, including building a student-driven collection, creating fresh and welcoming spaces, and strategies to encourage reading for pleasure. They also share their personal and student book recommendations. 

Twelve recently completed schools have been recognised as finalists for this year’s World Architecture Festival. In this photo story, we share which school was named winner, and more about the design of each finalist from across the globe. 

‘I wanted to make a meaningful change in how our kids see themselves as mathematicians.’ Mathematics teacher Holly Wedd has been making a significant difference to the way students at her school succeed in maths by boosting their confidence and reducing mathematics anxiety. 

Education has the potential to foster curiosity and empower future scientists through engaging hands-on learning, proven to positively impact students and teachers. In this Q&A, Bo Stjerne Thomsen, Head of Education Impact at LEGO Education explores the vision, development, and potential of LEGO® Education Science.

Vocational education and training (VET) in Schools help students gain qualifications and plan for future careers. New data show student participation numbers for VET in Schools has reached its highest level in 2024 since collection began in 2006. Find out more in this infographic. 

It is important that teachers feel confident to respectfully and effectively address religion and beliefs in diverse classrooms. In today's podcast, Professor Peter Sherlock discusses why it’s important for schools to engage with religion and belief systems, how to engage students in meaningful conversations about religion in a respectful way, and resources available to help teachers build their confidence in this space. 

Last term, we shared the 2025 winners of the Australian STEM Video Game Challenge. Teacher aide David Jeffery was the mentor for one of the winning student teams. In today’s Q&A, he tells us about the benefits of the challenge for student learning, and shares advice for other schools wanting to have a crack in 2026.

Dr Dirk Hastedt, Executive Director of IEA, explores the value and impact of international large-scale assessments – from providing system-level data to countries and researchers, to insights that educators can use to make evidence-informed decisions about their own classroom practice.

Each cycle of the global Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) includes a teacher questionnaire. One questionnaire topic – encouraging mathematical thinking – can help foster critical thinking, enhance problem-solving skills and allow students to see the relevance and connectedness of mathematics in their lives.