Long reads

Many educators are filming themselves teaching in the classroom but there is still some uncertainty around the best way to do so. We speak to an educator who regularly films his lessons to get his top tips.

Over 60 primary educators from schools across New South Wales have attended a day of hands-on workshops, interactive discussions, professional panels and practical applications of the NSW Curriculum for Digital Technologies.

It’s National Science Week and a key aim of the annual celebration is to increase engagement and interest in Science. Here, we take a look at what some of the research says about how students perceive Science.

Preparing students for life and the workforce includes equipping them with skills such as problem solving, collaboration, critical thinking and creative thinking. But, how do these capabilities develop over time and what do they look like in terms of teaching and assessment?

Emeritus Professor of Educational Psychology at the University of New South Wales, John Sweller, has spent decades researching cognitive load theory, and says there are a large number of instructional procedures teachers can employ to lessen extraneous cognitive load.

How can educators make effective use of teaching spaces to help students engage in deeper learning? That’s the focus of a major research study involving thousands of schools. Lead Chief Investigator Wes Imms shares some of the early findings.

In her first article, New South Wales teacher Michelle Lucas shared an approach to drive student agency and improve learning skills. In this final instalment, she discusses how student feedback has helped refine the model, its impact in the classroom, and a whole-school rollout.

Why should cognitive load theory be of interest and importance to K-12 teachers? Emeritus Professor John Sweller has been fundamental to the formulation of cognitive load theory, and in this Q&A he outlines the essential components of cognitive load theory for educators.

At a school with high mobility of staff and students, building a whole-school culture of consensus and commitment is crucial. During her three years as principal at Batchelor Area School in the Northern Territory, Robyn Thorpe strived to achieve just this.

Student perceptions about the attitudes and behaviour of their peers can often be far from the reality. With this in mind, a new pilot project uses a social norms approach to address concerns about teenage use of alcohol, tobacco and cannabis.