‘When you’re in a bush kinder, there are no gendered materials. Everything that’s there is for anybody to play with.’ Recent findings from a Deakin University study reveal that bush kinders can build children’s early confidence and skill development in STEM, especially for young girls.

New research has shown that while the use of immersive virtual reality (IVR) increases student enjoyment and presence in a task, when used on its own it does not improve procedural or declarative knowledge when compared to the more traditional learning activity of watching a video.

‘There is not a set seating plan. Students choose where to sit according to the task, their learning needs and preferences at any point in time.’ In this reader submission, teachers Heath Henwood and Emily Hales share how they transformed a Year 6 classroom from the traditional rows of desk layout to flexible seating.

With the rapid growth in digital technologies, digital writing skills are becoming more and more relevant for students. A new research project from Deakin University will look at the potential to complement traditional writing tasks in schools with contemporary forms of digital writing.

As an educator, how do you approach talking to your students about climate change? Can you identify key gaps in students’ knowledge? How do you manage issues of eco-anxiety and climate grief? In this article, we outline five further readings which explore climate change education in Australia.

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.

To be fit for purpose well into the future, learning spaces within schools will need to be flexible. Two schools in Victoria, Australia, have recently undergone refurbishments to develop new, flexible facilities, and have both been recognised at the 2022 Learning Environments Australasia Awards.

Early-career teacher at Tasmanian eSchool, Ruby Lyons-Reid, has recently been recognised for her use of digital resources to engage students in learning about First Nations histories and cultures, and in this article, she shares the learning activities she’s found to have the most impact.

Preparing students for experiences beyond school can be difficult to simulate in a classroom environment. Here, we speak with Clarke Road School Principal Rebecca Saunders about how a new mini supermarket at the school is used to support student learning.

‘For those Australian teachers affected by remote delivery of teaching, many found the value and utility of engaging their students through Instructional Video.’ English and History teacher Steven Kolber shares the six common approaches to apply Instructional Video within a classroom or educational setting.