Teachers across all settings and subject areas make daily decisions about the resources they use with students to develop learning activities. In today’s article we speak with Dr Rebecca Cairns from Deakin University about her new research paper, Anticipating Controversy: What’s the Problem Represented to Be in Australian Policies for the Selection of Learning Resources? published in the Australian Journal of Education.

‘The result of unresolved concerns could well lead to an unwillingness to use immersive technology with students. Yet, often, the barriers are surmountable.’ Dr Susan O’Donnell and Adrian Rayner, from the VR Learning & Design Hub, look at teacher’s prior concerns and some of the solutions.

Understanding the key concerns of your school staff can help inform professional development and supports provided. A recent survey asked teachers working in preschool to year 12 settings to share how often they worry about COVID-19 and other extreme events, such as natural disasters and critical incidents.

In this edition of Researching education: 5 further readings – the series where we take a look at some further readings available on a particular topic, including open access research papers from various online databases – we’re sharing 5 pieces of content on the topic of citizenship and political voice.

‘My experience as a teacher and researcher in Japan has allowed me to observe and study classrooms in depth. The first thing that caught my attention was the use of chalkboards.’ Dr Shirley Tan shares how the traditional Japanese technique of bansho board writing can enhance teaching and learning in your own classroom.

Partnerships between international schools have traditionally relied on international travel and face-to-face interaction to be maintained. When in-person interaction no longer was an option during the pandemic, schools needed to embrace the opportunities of virtual connection. In this episode, we discuss recent research looking at the unique benefits of digital school partnerships.

School Assembly is the podcast that explores what it takes to build a new school from the ground up. In Series 1 we’re following Principal Dr Ray Boyd and Associate Principal Rachael Lehr at Dayton Primary School in Western Australia. In our series final we reflect on the events of the last 18 months – including achievements, anxieties and imposter syndrome – and look to the future.

What does it mean to be a totally inclusive school? In today’s episode of Teacher Staffroom, we discuss a Teacher’s Bookshelf article that delves into this question, as well as a School Improvement podcast episode which explores the topic of diversity, equity and inclusion in greater detail.

Recruiting career changers into teaching has become a strategy to address teacher shortages in hard-to-staff schools. In today’s article we speak to Dr Babak Dadvand from La Trobe University about his research that aims to provide a more nuanced understanding of how career change teachers navigate challenges in these schools in the early years of switching to the profession.

We’re heading into tax time here in Australia, and that means you’ll be thinking about what to include in your return. This article shares examples of common expenses incurred by teachers and education professionals that you can claim for, and some of the things that aren’t tax deductible.