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‘Big five’ challenges in school education – what progress have we made?
‘Big five’ challenges in school education – what progress have we made?

Professor Geoff Masters AO shares details of a special ACER five-webinar series, where expert practitioners, researchers and policymakers will revisit the major challenges in school education he wrote of six years ago, and ask what progress has been made on each, and what needs to happen next.

How teachers are working with students to mitigate stress
How teachers are working with students to mitigate stress

Data consistently shows that students are dealing with high levels of stress and other mental health issues, and that many choose to turn to their teachers for support with these struggles. A new report published in the Australian Journal of Education (AJE) looks at how teachers manage student wellbeing concerns and academic stress.

Tutoring with students at the centre
Tutoring with students at the centre

In the final installment of our three-part series on small group tutoring, we discuss what effective small group tutoring looks like in practice, the importance of building relationships with students, and why students need to be at the centre of this work.

Leadership: Making school improvement happen
Leadership: Making school improvement happen

Pamela Macklin and Vic Zbar have just released an updated second edition of Driving School Improvement: Practical strategies and tools. In this Q&A they discuss a common improvement challenge faced by leaders, and share examples of how different schools are meeting this challenge.

Learning from lockdown – a catalyst for teacher agency
Learning from lockdown – a catalyst for teacher agency

The Knox School has worked with Monash University to research what teachers would like to take forward (and leave behind) from the remote learning experience. This three-part reader submission looks at key areas of change, starting with teacher agency.

Collaborating with tutor teachers
Collaborating with tutor teachers

Small group tutoring has emerged as a key strategy to support students who fell behind in 2020 during remote schooling. In today’s article, we explore how to choose a tutor to best suit your students’ learning needs, the professional learning offered to tutors, and why a collaborative relationship between the classroom teacher and tutor teacher is critically important.

Sport participation and numeracy performance of Indigenous students
Sport participation and numeracy performance of Indigenous students

Research indicates that Indigenous children’s participation in organised sport leads to an increase of two to seven months’ learning in numeracy. Here, we look at the findings and the implications of this research for closing the learning gap between Indigenous and non-Indigenous students.

Student transition: building relationships and setting expectations
Student transition: building relationships and setting expectations

After the disruption caused to schooling throughout 2020, students might be feeling a bit different about the return to school this year. Here, we speak to Associate Professor Dr Anne Coffey about how to best support students transition into the new school year, and what to be mindful of.

Creating effective classroom displays – encouraging belonging and ownership
Creating effective classroom displays – encouraging belonging and ownership

There are many ways to approach decorating your classroom with wall displays. Here, we speak to Professor Peter Barrett about what the research says on how to utilise classroom displays to encourage student belonging and ownership.

Internet use, video games and students’ academic achievement
Internet use, video games and students’ academic achievement

Video gaming and non-academic internet use can improve student achievement, but moderation and timing are key, according to a new Australian study by researchers from the University of Southern Queensland and UNSW Sydney.