From Japanese origami to Nordic winters, the movement of flocking birds to messages in binary code, treehouses to terracotta – the shortlisted school designs in this year’s World Architecture Festival award have been inspired by a range of influences.

Three Deakin University academics ­– Dr Linda Hobbs, Associate Professor Coral Campbell and Associate Professor Colleen Vale – recently visited ACER to share their research on out-of-field teaching. In today’s School Improvement podcast, we share some highlights from their presentation.

A new Mitchell Institute policy roundtable report says young people are ill-prepared for the future of work and suggests that cognitive, social and emotional skills should contribute to ATAR.

For two months now fake news has been the news. So, how can educators help students to develop the skills they need to evaluate information? One tool is the CRAP test.

Academics believe virtual reality could open up exciting possibilities in the area of careers education, offering authentic learning experiences to prepare students for work and tertiary study.

Recent research suggests that school connectedness is every bit as important for students on the autism spectrum as for other students.

A new ACER report looks at the extent to which secondary school teachers in Australia are teaching subjects they haven't specialised in during their studies. It includes data on the proportion of Years 7-10 teachers teaching out-of-field in 20 subject areas.

Just over one-quarter of Year 7-10 teachers in Australian schools are teaching out of field, with those at the start of their careers more likely to be teaching a subject they haven’t specialised in.

‘The ability to spell is without doubt a literacy skill that does span the entire curriculum.’ Peter Westwood discusses a cross-curricular approach to spelling.

Following a two-year study, researchers have built a profile of the educational support needs of students on the autism spectrum.