In our latest reader submission, teacher Hannah Wiemers and researcher Dr Michelle Avila Vanderburg share details of a pilot program to create a 10-week curriculum unit allowing students to explore the use of drones in agriculture and gain more insight into careers in the industry.

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.

‘…we strive to ensure that all modules open up learning opportunities for all students, regardless of their academic abilities, by building in learning differentiation rather than simply bolting on at a later stage.’ Dr Susan O’Donnell and Adrian Rayner discuss the AR modules designed and developed by the Learning & Design Hub for use by F-6 students.

We know that e-cigarette use among adolescents in Australia has quickly become a pressing issue. So, how can educators empower them to say no to vaping, and work towards the prevention of e-cigarette use among young people? In this episode, we speak to the team behind the Unpacking Vaping in Schools Project about their findings so far.

‘[When] fully embedded and aligned with the Australian Curriculum, AR can be an extraordinary tool for learning, particularly suited to use by primary-aged students.’ Dr Susan O’Donnell and Adrian Rayner give an update on the work of the VR Learning & Design Hub, which has been exploring the benefits of Augmented Reality in the 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.

In this episode of School Improvement, we’re joined by Angeline Aow and Sadie Hollins, 2 of the authors of Becoming a Totally Inclusive School: A Guide for Teachers and School Leaders. We’ll be talking about what we mean by Total Inclusivity, and exploring the Continuum on Becoming a Totally Inclusive School – a 6 stage framework to help schools and educators move from theory to practice.

‘It is essential [teachers] have the training and resources needed to ensure that all students can access quality education.’ In this expert Q&A, we speak with ACER Research Fellow Kashfee Ahmed about a new resource kit on disability-inclusive education.

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 this episode we’re talking about student enrolments.