The book featured in this edition of Teacher’s Bookshelf is a practical guide that explores the mechanisms behind masterly Mathematics teaching in China. In this extract for Teacher readers, the authors share how 3 teachers are using modelling to clearly define the goals and standards for students’ independent and group work.

Good communication is vital for achieving success in both your academic and personal life. PGL Adventure Camps offer a wide variety of adventurous activities, specifically designed to get students working collaboratively and communicating effectively. 

Welcome back to a brand-new year of Teacher. As usual, we’re kicking things off with our round up of the key themes and dates for 2025 – that should provide some extra inspiration and resources for your lesson planning over the next 12 months.

A free new competition from the Australian Council for Educational Research (ACER) recognises high student achievement in Literacy and Numeracy. Here, we celebrate the inaugural award winners and talk to educators about the value of challenging their high-achieving students.

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.

As an educator, you’ll recognise the importance of providing time for young children to play and to learn through play. However, findings from a 4-year study conducted in Ukraine suggest that playful learning can be a protective factor for children, helping foster literacy and social-emotional skills in times of crisis.

Jacaranda’s resource development team has been working to deliver an effective way for schools to branch into GenAI, all while keeping inside the established bounds of the curriculum. This exciting project has produced JacTutor – a new tool set to provide students and teachers with a safe, interactive, and responsive tutor integrated directly into their classroom resource.

A new national report explores latest achievement data for students’ science literacy, and offers insights into what’s happening in Australian classrooms to help develop their knowledge, understanding and inquiry skills

Secondary schools occupy a special place in the learning journey for students, sandwiched between primary and post-school options. In episode 9 of School Assembly, we chat to Jo Camozzato about what that means, in terms of linking it all together.

In today’s reader submission, Anam Javed – Master Teacher in Residence for Technologies at the Victorian Academy of Teacher and Leadership – provides an overview of design thinking, including 2 illustrative examples, and shares some misconceptions of the approach.