Dominique Russell

Recent data show that improving students’ critical thinking and problem‑solving skills is the most desired professional learning topic for both year 4 and year 8 teachers in Australia. In today’s expert Q&A we speak to Renee Ladner, Education Consultant at the Mathematical Association of Victoria about the PD needs of maths teachers.

What do you love about being a teacher? Our annual reader survey includes an invitation for you to share what you love about your role in education. In this infographic, we share some of the latest responses received from classroom teachers.

To support the development of middle leaders, and to recognise the importance of their role in schools, AITSL has developed middle leadership standards. In this Q&A, AITSL CEO Tim Bullard explains why the standards were developed and how they can be used.

Each year Mission Australia’s Youth Survey asks teenagers about their views and experiences – providing a snapshot of the challenges they face and hopes for the future. For the first time, respondents included younger students (14-year-olds) and new questions on their feelings about school. This infographic shares some of the findings.

The 2026 recipient of the Global Teacher Prize has been announced – Rouble Nagi from India took out the top prize. One Australian teacher was a top 10 finalist this year – Colleen O’Rourke from the Hills Cristian Community School in Adelaide, South Australia. Teacher caught up with her shortly after she was named a finalist to find out about the work she’s been recognised for. 

In today’s episode Dominique Russell speaks with the 2 recipients of the 2025 Prime Minister’s Prizes for Excellence in Science Teaching – Paula Taylor from the ACT and Matt Dodds from NSW. They share the lesson activities that are a hit in their science classrooms, the teachers that had an impact on them, and how they’re sharing their knowledge with other educators. 

Do your students count on their fingers for mathematics tasks? Do you encourage them to count on their fingers, or do you focus on supporting them to make calculations mentally? New research from Switzerland suggests finger counting has a positive impact on student outcomes, but only when it’s used at a specific age. 

In our latest reader survey, we asked you what you want support on in 2026. You gave us plenty of suggestions, and they will inform our content planning this year. This infographic presents the most popular topic requests we received – the bigger the font, the more popular the request!

Findings from an Australian Council for Educational Research (ACER) survey commissioned by Alberts and The Tony Foundation of over 700 primary school teachers across 95 schools in New South Wales highlight the different ways music education is being offered. Teachers were asked: ‘In what form(s) is music education provided at your school?’. Find out more in today’s infographic.

Welcome to the 2026 school year and fresh content from Teacher. As is tradition, we’re kicking off our 2026 content with an article to help you with your lesson planning. Read more to get across key events for the year to inspire some of your curriculum planning.