‘A teacher can be effective, efficient, inclusive, and strategic. Still, unless they are professionally kind along with these things, the learners suffer.’ In today’s reader submission, Professor Nan Bahr argues kindness is an essential general trait for all people, but it is also applied expertise for the teacher and should be a professional standard.

As a primary school teacher, how confident would you say you are at teaching music? What areas of music do you feel you need the most support in? A pilot professional development program has improved the confidence of general primary school educators in music teaching. In this podcast we speak with the research team to find out more.

The term ‘evidence-based practice’ is widely used in education. Schools are continually presented with strategies, programs and approaches that claim to be ‘research-based’ or ‘evidence-based’. But what is evidence-based practice? And, how do schools determine which of these programs and methods have solid foundations in research?

‘Let’s face it, when cooperative learning, in the form of group or teamwork appears on the classroom agenda, most students utter a groan of discontent.’ Dr Karin Oerlemans discusses the key steps to a successful experience, and how they can be supported by technology.

Reducing the disparities in the schooling experiences of students was one of the issues identified by Teacher columnist Professor Geoff Masters AO in his influential series on the ‘big five’ education challenges facing Australian schools. What does the latest evidence say, and where do we go to from here?

A study has followed primary school teachers through an entire school year to document how they taught mathematics to be inclusive of children with Down syndrome. The findings have been published in the Mathematics Education Research Journal, and in today’s podcast we find out more from the report’s co-author, Associate Professor Rhonda Faragher.

What contributes to a teacher’s decision to leave the profession? And, at the same time, why do others thrive and find success and personal fulfillment at work? Hugh Gundlach is a researcher, pre-service teacher educator and classroom teacher, and he joins us today to discuss his research on teacher attrition and retention.

‘The underachievement of gifted and high-achieving students is, in part, propagated by the dangerous myth that they will succeed regardless.’ In this reader submission, Gifted and Talented Coordinator Michelle Lucas looks at some of the misconceptions.

It’s no surprise that a teacher’s self-efficacy has a huge impact on their classroom teaching. But what aspects of work as a beginner teacher has an influence on how perceived self-efficacy develops? A research report has looked into this and we discuss the findings in this podcast episode.

Andreas Schleicher – Director for Education and Skills at the OECD and long-time Teacher columnist – joins us from Paris for this episode to give his take on all things 2020, talk about the longer term impacts of the school shutdowns and share how different education systems have responded to the pandemic restrictions.