From inside the classroom to the school’s outdoor spaces, there’s plenty to consider when it comes to learning spaces. In this edition of Researching education: 5 further readings, we share 5 resources on the topic of learning spaces.

‘The feedback from students reflects a growing desire for partnership. They aren’t just asking for permission to use AI, they’re asking for guidance, collaboration, and trust.’ Georgia Wignall shares new insights from a Queensland school research partnership on why students are leaning on AI tools and how they want teachers to support them.

Teacher editor Jo Earp sits down with Mali Jorm, Madison Dearnaley and Tracy Kelly to talk about managing school library and reading spaces, including building a student-driven collection, creating fresh and welcoming spaces, and strategies to encourage reading for pleasure. They also share their personal and student book recommendations. 

Education has the potential to foster curiosity and empower future scientists through engaging hands-on learning, proven to positively impact students and teachers. In this Q&A, Bo Stjerne Thomsen, Head of Education Impact at LEGO Education explores the vision, development, and potential of LEGO® Education Science.

It is important that teachers feel confident to respectfully and effectively address religion and beliefs in diverse classrooms. In today's podcast, Professor Peter Sherlock discusses why it’s important for schools to engage with religion and belief systems, how to engage students in meaningful conversations about religion in a respectful way, and resources available to help teachers build their confidence in this space. 

Last term, we shared the 2025 winners of the Australian STEM Video Game Challenge. Teacher aide David Jeffery was the mentor for one of the winning student teams. In today’s Q&A, he tells us about the benefits of the challenge for student learning, and shares advice for other schools wanting to have a crack in 2026.

St Mary's Catholic Primary School in Williamstown, Victoria, has a 10-year plan to improve its playground and outdoor spaces. In today’s article, principal Anthony Hockey shares what the school has done to improve the playgrounds so far, what is to come next, and the noticeable impact these changes have already had on student engagement and behaviour. 

Teacher editor Jo Earp finds out how the Aspect Learning Improvement Collaborative is using a mainstream learning framework developed by Dr Lyn Sharratt, adapted to suit an autism-specific education setting. We’ll hear from Lyn, Aspect Education's Deputy National Director Karilyn Gumley and principals Kaye Perry, Joanne Tisdell, and Michelle Zikmundovsky.

In this exclusive extract from her new book, Connecting Whole-School Literacy: Building Capacity from Leadership to Classroom Practice, author Hayley Harrison explores the vocabulary, reading skills and writing demands of students in a secondary school context, how teachers should consider their complexity, and why it is important to set high expectations for student writing.

As a school leader, organising your school timetable might be a task you’re beginning to turn your mind to as we look ahead to the 2026 school year. In this article, we speak to 2 principals trialling major changes to their school calendar – one by moving to an 8-term model, and the other by introducing a 4-day learning week.