At a primary school in Melbourne, students learn the skills of engineering by building their own solar powered vehicles, a task which culminates in a race to see which vehicle runs the fastest. We speak to the Assistant Principal about how it’s enhancing student learning.

A major change in the Queensland Certificate of Education (QCE) has prompted one senior maths teacher to draw his students into deep thinking about mud crab fishing – and at the same time develop problem-solving and mathematical modelling skills needed for the new curriculum.

What a month we’ve had here at Teacher magazine! From Research Conference, to Science Week, to our very first live event with Dr Lyn Sharratt – there’s so much we’d like to look back on and share with you in today’s podcast.

Rob Proffitt-White shares his experiences working on a large-scale, research informed professional development project and the conditions necessary to scale it up to involve a large number of schools and teachers.

We share highlights from the ‘In Conversation’ session at Research Conference 2019 between ACER CEO Professor Geoff Masters AO and Professor Neil Selwyn on preparing students for life in the 21st Century.

Over 60 primary educators from schools across New South Wales have attended a day of hands-on workshops, interactive discussions, professional panels and practical applications of the NSW Curriculum for Digital Technologies.

Preparing students for life and the workforce includes equipping them with skills such as problem solving, collaboration, critical thinking and creative thinking. But, how do these capabilities develop over time and what do they look like in terms of teaching and assessment?

Emeritus Professor of Educational Psychology at the University of New South Wales, John Sweller, has spent decades researching cognitive load theory, and says there are a large number of instructional procedures teachers can employ to lessen extraneous cognitive load.

In her first article, New South Wales teacher Michelle Lucas shared an approach to drive student agency and improve learning skills. In this final instalment, she discusses how student feedback has helped refine the model, its impact in the classroom, and a whole-school rollout.

Why should cognitive load theory be of interest and importance to K-12 teachers? Emeritus Professor John Sweller has been fundamental to the formulation of cognitive load theory, and in this Q&A he outlines the essential components of cognitive load theory for educators.