ACER’s annual Research Conference kicks off in 2 weeks’ time and this year, Dr Diane DeBacker from the University of Kansas will be delivering the Karmel Oration Keynote, titled ‘Making learning visible: Moving from nouns to verbs’. Here, Dr DeBacker gives Teacher readers a glimpse of what she will be speaking about, and outlines the current state of competency-based education internationally.

‘Understanding how students construct information from their prior knowledge … allows classroom educators to determine the extent and type of unlearning needed before introducing new, challenging and truthful information.’ Associate Lecturer Justine Grogan shares some of the findings of her research in Indigenous Education.

In this episode in our Behaviour Management series, Dr Erin Leif and Russell Fox from Monash University join us to answer questions submitted by Teacher readers on trauma-informed practice, strategies for casual relief teachers, and the links between positive behaviour support and academic outcomes.

Attending a professional learning event is a great way to reflect on what’s happening in your own school and improve practice. For leaders at this Brisbane college, it prompted a new approach to supporting and retaining pre-service and early career teachers. Find out more in today’s Q&A.

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.

Students miss school for a whole range of different reasons, such as illness, suspension, or family holidays. Today, we’ll be speaking with Kirsten Hancock, Honorary Research Associate from Telethon Kids Institute in Western Australia about how different types of absences affect student outcomes, and what families and schools can do to tailor their support to students who are missing school.

How have things changed for schools over the last two years of the pandemic, and what are the improvement priorities now for teachers, principals and communities on the ground? Professor Pauline Taylor-Guy joins us for the latest episode in our School Improvement podcast series.

As a teacher, how has work impacted your wellbeing during the pandemic? What wellbeing initiatives are offered at your school, and how can they be improved to better support teachers? In this article, we outline five further readings which explore educator wellbeing in Australia and internationally.

Students have a diverse range of personal and contextual factors that influence their access to and achievement in their education. A new global study calls for a re-evaluation of education systems to promote personalised education.

What makes leadership impactful in regional, rural and remote schools? In this episode of The Research Files, we chat with Scott Eacott, unpacking some of the concepts covered in his recent research on leadership in regional, rural and remote schools.