In this episode of School Improvement, we’re taking you to a school in rural New South Wales where students in Years 5 to 9 are reading 12 books each year. Head of Middle School and English teacher Alex Wharton joins us to share how this has been achieved.

With ACER’s Research Conference 2021 fast approaching, at Teacher magazine, we’ve been catching up with some of the keynote speakers that are on the line-up for the five-day online conference. In today’s episode we’re going to get you up to speed on these exciting stories at Teacher, and also some more of our highlights.

A new Australian study exploring reading enjoyment, reading frequency and student achievement has challenged the gender stereotype that boys prefer non-fiction, underscoring the importance of all students being given access to a wide range of genres and text types from an early age.

Ahead of ACER’s Research Conference next month, we sat down with Professor Rich Lehrer from Vanderbilt University to discuss his research that explores science and mathematics education for elementary school students in the US. He also gives listeners a taste of what he’ll be sharing at the conference and why he decided to name his keynote address ‘Accountable Assessment’.

After a pandemic pause in 2020, the ACER Research Conference is back. In today’s Q&A, conference organiser and ACER Senior Research Fellow Dr Claire Scoular tells us more about this year’s theme, and the focus on providing practical solutions for attendees.

In his latest Teacher column, OECD Director for Education and Skills Andreas Schleicher shares preliminary findings from the organisation’s Special Survey on how systems have responded to the pandemic – from school closures and remote learning, to teacher vaccination and gradual returns to in-class instruction.

‘A teacher can be effective, efficient, inclusive, and strategic. Still, unless they are professionally kind along with these things, the learners suffer.’ In today’s reader submission, Professor Nan Bahr argues kindness is an essential general trait for all people, but it is also applied expertise for the teacher and should be a professional standard.

Russell Vale Public School recently commissioned a local artist to revamp buildings in the school grounds. Here, Principal Paul Cuthbertson shares why the school decided to commission the work, and why it was important to depict local wildlife.

Most Australians will experience loneliness at some point in their lives. Dr Michelle Lim from Swinburne University shares her research into the prevalence of loneliness in society, the impact it has on our health, and the importance of building and maintaining meaningful relationships.

In their new book In Teachers We Trust: The Finnish Way to World-Class Schools, Pasi Sahlberg and Timothy D Walker suggest seven key principles for building a culture of trust in schools. This exclusive extract discussing the ‘three levels of trust’ is taken from a chapter on cultivating responsible learners.