The top 50 finalists for the US$1 million Global Teacher Prize have just been announced, bringing together nominees from 38 countries. They include 2 teachers from Australia – Colleen O'Rourke and Jade Bassett. Find out more in today’s article.

Age restrictions preventing under-16s in Australia from creating or keeping accounts on major social media platforms come into force today. The responsibility rests with platforms like Instagram, TikTok and YouTube to take ‘reasonable steps’ to comply. We look at how teachers can help students and families navigate the change, what the legislation means for schools, and resources out there to support educators.

In a Teacher exclusive, Minister of Education and Research for Estonia Dr Kristina Kallas joins editor Jo Earp for this special podcast to talk about setting teachers and students up for success, the early years foundations for Estonia's impressive PISA performance, and the next big challenge – AI in education.

We’ve called on 2 of our expert colleagues here at the Australian Council for Educational Research (ACER) – Dr Tim Friedman and Bethany Davies – to look at what the latest Australian research says about teaching and learning with artificial intelligence, and what you can do in the classroom to address some of the challenges.

In this expert Q&A Amy Ayres – President of the Science Teachers’ Association of New South Wales – discusses integrating technology into science instruction and improving students’ critical thinking or inquiry skills. These were 2 areas of future PD need highlighted in the latest Australian TIMSS teacher questionnaire findings.

As the implementation of social media legislation for under-16s draws closer, many young people are feeling confused, anxious and unsettled. Here, Danni Rowlands from the Butterfly Foundation discusses what to expect from the incoming changes, the concerns already voiced by young people, how it all connects to body image, and why educators are uniquely positioned to support students through the changes.

‘The feedback from students reflects a growing desire for partnership. They aren’t just asking for permission to use AI, they’re asking for guidance, collaboration, and trust.’ Georgia Wignall shares new insights from a Queensland school research partnership on why students are leaning on AI tools and how they want teachers to support them.

Last term, we shared the 2025 winners of the Australian STEM Video Game Challenge. Teacher aide David Jeffery was the mentor for one of the winning student teams. In today’s Q&A, he tells us about the benefits of the challenge for student learning, and shares advice for other schools wanting to have a crack in 2026.

The winners of the 2025 Prime Minister’s Prizes for Excellence in Science Teaching have just been announced. The national award includes prize money of $250,000 and is presented to one primary and one secondary teacher in Australia. Find out more about the 2025 winners in this article. 

Teacher editor Jo Earp finds out how the Aspect Learning Improvement Collaborative is using a mainstream learning framework developed by Dr Lyn Sharratt, adapted to suit an autism-specific education setting. We’ll hear from Lyn, Aspect Education's Deputy National Director Karilyn Gumley and principals Kaye Perry, Joanne Tisdell, and Michelle Zikmundovsky.