In order to better respond to the learning needs of students, Emmaus Christian School in Canberra has moved to a new model of classroom integration for Teaching Assistants. Here, Luke Willsmore, Dr Tanya Vaughan and Susannah Schoeffel discuss the new way of working and the research that informed the change process.

‘Feedback is identified as one of the most powerful strategies to progress student learning.’ Today’s article explores the nature and impact of high quality feedback, and shares how one school’s focus on teacher feedback on students’ writing is driving real change and improving outcomes.

Teachers are being invited to participate in a trial of an online mental health training program developed by the Black Dog Institute. It’s hoped the training will help educators identify and respond to changes in students’ mental health. Here, we speak to the Chief Investigator of the project.

The introduction of the Learning Specialist role, as part of the Victorian Government Schools Agreement 2017, has allowed experienced teachers to support colleagues to improve their practice, while still being able to remain in the classroom. In today’s reader submission, Nicole Kelly, a Learning Specialist at Ararat Primary School in Victoria, shares her experience.

Students can play an important part in co-decision making within a school that can impact not only their learning, but that of other learners also. In the Northern Territory, students have been leading change projects in their schools for the past four years.

This week, Teacher has been sharing reader stories on their school’s response to the pandemic. This final instalment is written by Michael Rosenbrock, Assistant Principal at Wodonga Senior Secondary College, on the border of Victoria and New South Wales.

‘While schools will be gradually re-opening in China by mid-April, they’re closing around much of the rest of the world. How well are we prepared? OECD’s TALIS survey offers some insights,’ Andreas Schleicher, the organisation’s Director for Education and Skills, writes in his latest Teacher column.

Improving educational opportunities has a far greater reach than just the benefits for that individual child. ‘This is particularly the case for educating girls and young women,’ Julia Gillard writes in her latest Teacher column.

ACER researchers Dr Amy Berry, Kellie Picker and Rachel Parker discuss some of the characteristics of playful learning at school, share examples of classroom practice, and explain how Australian teachers can contribute to our understanding of learning through play in the classroom.

Melanie Macmillan, Principal of Warwick Farm Public School, shares how her experience in The Principals’ Centre in Australia: Leadership for School Excellence program at the Harvard Graduate School of Education strengthened her professionally as a school leader, but it also helped her to understand how she could better support the needs of families at her school.