It’s a special, bumper episode of School Assembly as Teacher Editor Jo Earp chats to Dan McShea about setting the teaching direction, and also checks in on Ray Boyd and Rachael Lehr, who we followed in Series 1, and Series 2 principal Jo Camozatto to find out what’s been happening at their schools.

In this Teacher Awards 2024 winners’ profile, we chat with the executive team at Cessnock High School in NSW. Winners of our Leadership Award for Driving School Improvement, we hear about how they’ve transformed school culture and improved academic achievement.

Researchers from Edith Cowan University have recently highlighted the ongoing importance of explicitly teaching both handwriting and keyboarding skills to students, starting in the primary years. Dr Anabela Malpique joins Teacher editor Jo Earp to discuss findings of the meta-analysis and follow-up study, and tips for helping students become hybrid writers.

We are excited to share that nominations for the 2024 Teacher Awards – aimed at recognising outstanding approaches to teaching and school leadership – open on 3 June. The 8 Award Categories are open to staff working in the K-12 area and recognise achievements of the last 12 months. Read more about the categories here.

In our most recent annual Teacher reader survey, many of you asked for more content and support in the area of explicit instruction. So, in this article, we delve into a new practice guide from the Australian Educational Research Organisation (AERO) on teaching explicitly.

After her double win at the National Excellence in Teaching Awards for her work helping teachers and schools in New Zealand implement structured literacy into their practice, Amie Roberts speaks to Teacher about how this approach empowers all students.

School Assembly is the podcast where we explore what it takes to build a school from the ground up. Bemin Secondary College has just opened, and important work is underway for setting the pathway for teaching and learning, so in our latest episode we talk about instructional models.

The longstanding Prime Minister’s Prizes for Excellence in Science Teaching recognise one primary and one secondary STEM teacher for their outstanding contribution to the field. The 2023 winners were announced late last year and in this episode, we speak with them both about the work they’ve been recognised for.

We know teachers are interested in how they could incorporate the use of generative AI to support them with managing their workload in general. In this edition of Teacher’s Bookshelf, we share an exclusive extract from Leon Furze’s new book Practical AI Strategies: Engaging with Generative AI in Education which focuses on ways to use generative AI to assist with lesson planning.

Our first podcast episode of 2024 focuses on effective leadership communication. We catch up with Jacinda Euler Welsh, Principal of Brisbane Girls Grammar School, to talk about different tools to engage with different members of the school community, the importance of consistency and honesty, and nurturing a 2-way communication process.