Engagement

At EDUtech 2026, the Teacher team caught the Australian STEM Video Game Challenge presentation hosted by Lisa van Beeck, ACER Research Fellow and Project Director for the challenge. In this exclusive video for Teacher readers, we recorded the presentation in full. You’ll hear van Beeck walk delegates through the challenge itself and highlight the suite of teacher resources designed to support it.

Absent students miss more than just lesson content; they miss the opportunities to build the habits and skills to succeed at school and in life. New OECD research shows ‘school attendance problems are no longer a marginal issue; they have become a challenge affecting classrooms in nearly every country’.

‘What I love most is making sure children have the support they need so they can thrive and learn.’ In this article, an assistant principal at a Victorian primary school shares how she balances her busy career in education with another important role – being a foster carer.

For many people, foster care is something they see from a distance. They may think about doing it one day, but assume they are too busy, not qualified, or not in the right stage of life. For one Melbourne teacher, those doubts were familiar too. Yet 5 years later, foster care has become one of the most meaningful parts of her life.

As a grade 1 teacher Haylea loves making learning fun through singing, dancing and creativity. But outside the classroom, she has found another meaningful way to support young people: becoming a foster carer.

Our guest on today’s podcast is Kayla Borg from St Mary’s Primary School in Whittlesea, Victoria. She shares how she went about co‑designing a podcast lesson for her year 5 and 6 students in partnership with the eSmart team at the Alannah & Madeline Foundation, what her students learned from this experience, and why real‑world, student‑led digital learning can have such a powerful ripple effect across the entire school community.

It is important that teachers feel confident to respectfully and effectively address religion and beliefs in diverse classrooms. In today's podcast, Professor Peter Sherlock discusses why it’s important for schools to engage with religion and belief systems, how to engage students in meaningful conversations about religion in a respectful way, and resources available to help teachers build their confidence in this space. 

St Mary's Catholic Primary School in Williamstown, Victoria, has a 10-year plan to improve its playground and outdoor spaces. In today’s article, principal Anthony Hockey shares what the school has done to improve the playgrounds so far, what is to come next, and the noticeable impact these changes have already had on student engagement and behaviour. 

Redlands School’s new 9-week, device-free residential learning program for all year 9s is providing opportunities for integrated learning, relationship building and community mindedness. Head of Secondary School Gemma Van de Peer tells Teacher readers about why and how the program was developed, and the impact it has had on student learning and wellbeing.

In 2026, Musica Viva Australia proudly celebrates 45 years as one of the country’s leading providers of music education. Since 1981, our program has supported teachers and students across Australia by delivering creative, curriculum-aligned experiences that enrich classroom learning through the power of music.