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Dr Gary Stager joins Teacher to discuss his 30-year study into laptop use in schools. We discuss the challenges they faced in the early 1990s in the implementation of the program, how students engaged with the technology in the early days, but also what he’s learned about the way computers are used in schools today.

Dr Karen Maras, from the University of New South Wales, has been presenting on the opening day of ACER’s Research Conference 2021. In this Q&A with Teacher she talks about student learning progressions in visual arts, and shares some examples of how their conceptions of art change with age.

The Learning Specialist role in Victorian schools is aimed at building excellence in learning and teaching. At this high school, the Learning Specialist Team looks through a leader and teacher lens to utilise the strengths of staff, and meet individual professional learning needs.

When you think about student agency, do you picture classroom tasks and surroundings? What about ‘free play’ areas, such as the playground or oval? Here, Rachael Jamieson-Newton and Benjamin Newton share details of a review into primary students’ play at St Paul's Grammar in Sydney, New South Wales.

‘Schools are increasingly being asked to support the mental health and wellbeing of our children and this has created an opportunity to reframe the teaching the learning environment.’ Ben Sacco discusses three elements – safety, relational trust, and shared language – that can directly support schools to improve teaching, learning and wellbeing.

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.

‘[Virtual Reality] cannot be an outcome in itself but needs to be a tool that creates meaningful, authentic and integrated learning opportunities when fully embedded with the curriculum.’ Dr Susan O’Donnell and Adrian Rayner share the five pillars of a successful VR program in education.

In education research, an ‘effect size’ has traditionally been used to sell the promise of improved outcomes, for both teachers and students, in the lucrative professional development market. However, critiquing the quality of research is more important than relying on a single measure, writes Dr Drew Miller.

Australian schools and teachers will be better equipped to help young people navigate the online world safely with the launch of a new national online safety education framework from eSafety.