Long reads

Brisbane’s Brigidine College, Indooroopilly has changed the way it supports pre-service and early career teachers. In the second part of our Q&A with Allison Johansen (Assistant to the Principal, Professional Teaching and Learning) we find out more about the Pre-Service Teacher Fellowship Program and its positive impact.

Get Up! Stand Up! Show Up! is the theme for NAIDOC Week 2022. Here, we take you through some of the NAIDOC Week resources for educators to use in the classroom. We also talk to Nerae Preece from Badger Creek Primary School, and Connor Russell from Newtown State School, about what their schools are doing for NAIDOC Week.

How can schools better engage families in their students’ learning? Dr Rebecca Winthrop, Senior Fellow and Director of the Centre for Universal Education (CUE) at the Brookings Institution, shares the findings from a research initiative she has led at CUE on school engagement with families, along with some practical tips for building school-family engagement.

Over the last 12 months, schools have started to move back to in-person learning after a number of lengthy lockdowns. As teachers and school leaders in Australia begin to prepare their 2021-22 tax returns, check out this Q&A with the ATO on what to keep in mind, and examples of what you can and can’t claim for.

When we think of transitions in education, often what comes to mind are the ‘macro’ transitions from home to early childhood settings, and then into school and beyond. But just as important are the everyday ‘micro’ transitions between spaces, activities and people. Here, we speak with Dr Loraine Fordham about why these transitions are important, and tips for educators to handle them sensitively.

An online Indigenous Science course has been launched to give students in Victoria an opportunity to learn about the knowledge systems of local Indigenous cultures about the land, water, and sky. In this article we speak with the course’s co-teachers to find out more.

At Alawa Primary School in the Northern Territory, a culture has been built where the feedback that is provided in student perception surveys is prioritised by staff, and students know and understand the value of their feedback that is collected twice a year.

With plenty of ‘get rich quick’ hype circulating around social media, and well-marketed trading apps luring people in to investing, it’s important to understand cryptocurrency. In this context, schools and teachers have an important role to play. Here, Dr Carly Sawatzki, Dr Jill Brown and Peter Saffin explore how teachers can understand students’ learning needs in this area.

‘As the world faced a global pandemic, the spotlight shone on our wonderful Auslan interpreters in the media, and more and more schools began to show interest in including Auslan in their curriculum.’ In today’s reader submission, Auslan educator Kerrie Taylor shares how schools can bring Auslan into the classroom in a way that embraces the richness of the language, and respects and honours the Deaf community.

‘One way of making full use of reclaimed classroom spaces, whilst building collaborative and pro-social skills and behaviours, is Socratic Circles.’ English and History teacher Steven Kolber explains how to use this technique in your own classroom, the benefits and outcomes for students, and the role of the educator.