Long reads

Fostering a sense of school pride and meeting the individual needs of every student are just two priorities for Melanie Macmillan, Principal of Warwick Farm Public School. In today’s article she shares how she focuses on community partnerships, visible leadership and student engagement to achieve those goals.

‘In this home-supported learning environment parents are being called upon to play a broader role in their children’s education. The role of the parent is not to replace the teacher in learning from home …’ Dr Tanya Vaughan and Susannah Schoeffel share evidence on how teachers can work with parents to support students in a rapidly changing education landscape.

Are today’s students ‘digital natives’? Have digital technologies transformed classroom practice? ACER Research Director Julian Fraillon looks to Australian and international data to explore some of the myths and realities related to digital literacy and how these should be considered in the new paradigm of working from home.

Karl Easton is a Digital Technology relief from face-to-face (RFF) educator at a primary school in Sydney’s northwest. In this article, we hear how he’s integrating virtual reality into lessons with a range of students in order to provide authentic learning activities.

Does adversity lead to resilience or does resilience lead to less adversity? Professor Andrew Martin from the University of New South Wales and Professor Herb Marsh from Australian Catholic University explore this question in their latest study, share the findings and discuss the implications for teachers.

‘As the COVID-19 situation unfolds, schools are closing to protect their students and the broader public – but this doesn’t mean a stop to learning for students or teachers.’ Dr Anne-Marie Chase and Professor Pauline Taylor-Guy share three phases of research-based decisions education systems and schools should be making now in relation to technology-enabled learning.

‘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.

In these uncertain times, how do teachers support students to make sense of the coronavirus pandemic and give them the tools to navigate the challenges we may be faced with? In today’s article, Professor Peter O’Connor from the University of Auckland suggests arts-based approaches to building resilience in students in times of disaster.

Staff at Epsom Primary School implemented a team teaching model when they moved into their new campus in 2018. However, after coming across a Teacher podcast on co-teaching, they began the process of transitioning to co-teaching which has improved staff efficacy.

Having worked with school communities after the devastating Canterbury earthquakes, Professor Carol Mutch offers valuable insights from New Zealand on successful initiatives to support students, teachers and parents after disaster strikes their community.