Partnerships in education

New research from the United States involving mathematics teacher teams in 4 schools – across a period of 4 years – investigated specific strategies that support a collaborative approach to coaching in schools that are under significant pressure to improve. Find out more in today’s article.

A common goal for all schools is to continually improve practice and lift student outcomes. Precisely how leaders respond to this complex challenge is impacted by many internal and external contextual factors, including student needs and the expertise of the principal, teachers and support staff.

Our guest for today’s School Improvement episode is Ruth Rogers, Principal of Karonga School in New South Wales. Ruth joins us today to talk about her school’s immersive classroom, and how it allows students – all of whom have an intellectual disability – to access a world beyond the classroom and practice skills that they can take with them when they are out in the community.

In today’s article we share an update on the Pathways, Engagement and Transitions study, which explores the post-school pathways of young people experiencing disadvantage and how this information can be used to create better support systems, including in school settings.

In our latest reader submission, teacher Hannah Wiemers and researcher Dr Michelle Avila Vanderburg share details of a pilot program to create a 10-week curriculum unit allowing students to explore the use of drones in agriculture and gain more insight into careers in the industry.

We know that e-cigarette use among adolescents in Australia has quickly become a pressing issue. So, how can educators empower them to say no to vaping, and work towards the prevention of e-cigarette use among young people? In this episode, we speak to the team behind the Unpacking Vaping in Schools Project about their findings so far.

Partnerships between international schools have traditionally relied on international travel and face-to-face interaction to be maintained. When in-person interaction no longer was an option during the pandemic, schools needed to embrace the opportunities of virtual connection. In this episode, we discuss recent research looking at the unique benefits of digital school partnerships.

Building strong relationships and creating a positive learning environment is conducive to improving student outcomes. Humanities teacher Andreas Katsanos shares a step-by-step process he undertook to refine his own classroom practice in these 2 areas.

In the final article of a series about a 3-year Australian research project into Problem Based Learning in school-based STEM education, 2 of the teachers who are co-researchers in the project – Melissa Gatt and Frank Fabri – discuss student agency as a necessary condition for meaningful STEM learning.

In the second of 3 articles about research into Problem Based Learning in schools, teachers involved in the project discuss how it has enabled them to reconsider their classroom practice and the conditions necessary for meaningful STEM learning.