In this podcast special, we’re joined by Corey Tutt OAM, founder and CEO of Deadly Science – an organisation that provides science resources to remote schools in Australia, to inspire and celebrate the next generation of Indigenous people in STEM.

For many of Australia’s regional and rural schools, accessing culturally relevant reading material can be a challenge. Here, we speak to Principal Jeff Parker and Early Childhood Leader Monique Marzocchi from Clyde Fenton Primary School in Katherine, Northern Territory, about how the school is working to improve student literacy.

‘For those Australian teachers affected by remote delivery of teaching, many found the value and utility of engaging their students through Instructional Video.’ English and History teacher Steven Kolber shares the six common approaches to apply Instructional Video within a classroom or educational setting.

‘Being accountable for my wellbeing requires scheduling in time for my goals and passions outside of the classroom.’ Here, English teacher Marissa Lombardo shares how attending Italian classes to learn the language has helped her make new friends, connect with her family culture and challenge herself in new ways.

‘As the world faced a global pandemic, the spotlight shone on our wonderful Auslan interpreters in the media, and more and more schools began to show interest in including Auslan in their curriculum.’ In today’s reader submission, Auslan educator Kerrie Taylor shares how schools can bring Auslan into the classroom in a way that embraces the richness of the language, and respects and honours the Deaf community.

‘One way of making full use of reclaimed classroom spaces, whilst building collaborative and pro-social skills and behaviours, is Socratic Circles.’ English and History teacher Steven Kolber explains how to use this technique in your own classroom, the benefits and outcomes for students, and the role of the educator.

How can we support reading aloud in the early years, at school and at home? And how does reading aloud affect our lives in the long term? Today, we’ll be speaking with Professor Emerita Rosemary Johnston AM, who shares some of the research on the benefits and joys of reading aloud and how we can continue to support reading aloud at school and at home.

How effectively are you acting on feedback given to you by students? In this episode of School Improvement, we speak with Dr Ilana Finefter-Rosenbluh about her recent research into the impact of student perception surveys on teachers’ practice, and she shares some strategies teachers and schools can employ in order to improve their practice in this area.

Home support of children’s literacy skills in the early years is a well-known indicator of their reading progress at the start of school. A new study has explored how different reading experiences at home have an impact on children’s continued reading development at school.

Readers often get in touch with Teacher to share how their school is making a difference to student outcomes. New South Wales educator Mary Semaan contacted us recently to talk about how the teaching and leadership team at Al Sadiq College has been working to improve primary students’ writing skills.