Long reads

Staff at St Rita’s College in Brisbane have worked with researchers to implement an academic reading skills intervention for Year 7s. The ‘Lost in Transition’ project merges evidence from the literature with research in the context of the school to meet student needs.

Attracting and retaining effective teachers to build and maintain a strong team can be difficult for principals and systems. Here, we find out how the Catholic Education Diocese of Cairns has been working to tackle teacher supply and demand issues in Far North Queensland.

The architecture and landscape design of the Mary Rice Early Learning Centre in Brisbane provides opportunities for children to experiment, discover, create and explore. In today’s article we speak to an educator and the architects who worked on the project to hear more about how the design of the centre facilitates learning and play.

The fourth topic in a series revisiting the ‘big five’ challenges in Australian education asks what progress has been made towards ensuring all children get off to the best start in life. Ahead of their webinar this week, expert panellists Dr Dan Cloney, Myra Geddes and Mary-Ruth Mendel give Teacher readers an overview of what they’ll be discussing.

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?

A review by researchers at the Telethon Kids Institute into different approaches over the last decade to improving student wellbeing has highlighted six key learnings to help drive decision-making in schools. Find out more about the recommendations and other findings from the review in today’s article.

Creating and implementing a school Reconciliation Action Plan is a way to formalise your commitment to building and sustaining strong relationships with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples, embedding respect, and providing opportunities to improve outcomes for students and the wider community.

‘Grades do not assist parents to see and monitor their children’s growth in an area of learning across the years of school.’ In his new Teacher column, Professor Geoff Masters AO explores why there is such a mismatch between parents’ beliefs in their child’s learning, and how ready the child is for the year’s curriculum.

Self-regulation is a critical factor for success in learning and life. In today’s article, Dr Karen Peel shares details about the Capabilities for Life & Learning Model – a tool she developed that informs teachers’ lesson design and enhances students’ self-awareness about learning.

In their new book In Teachers We Trust: The Finnish Way to World-Class Schools, Pasi Sahlberg and Timothy D Walker suggest seven key principles for building a culture of trust in schools. This exclusive extract discussing the ‘three levels of trust’ is taken from a chapter on cultivating responsible learners.