Problem solving

Each year, the International Mathematical Modeling Challenge gives students an opportunity to team up on a complex task that connects their mathematical learning with a real-world situation. Teacher spoke to members of an Australian team judged among the best globally, about how they approached this year’s challenge.

A new national report explores latest achievement data for students’ science literacy, and offers insights into what’s happening in Australian classrooms to help develop their knowledge, understanding and inquiry skills.

In today’s reader submission, Anam Javed – Master Teacher in Residence for Technologies at the Victorian Academy of Teacher and Leadership – provides an overview of design thinking, including 2 illustrative examples, and shares some misconceptions of the approach.

A new research paper, Creative self-beliefs among children and adolescents, published in the Australian Journal of Education, seeks to understand more about young people’s confidence in their creative abilities, as well as their beliefs about whether these abilities are fixed or malleable.

‘Schools everywhere face ongoing challenges in better preparing young people for their future and ensuring that every student learns successfully and meets high expectations.’ Professor Geoff Masters AO argues addressing these challenges will require fundamental reform of the framework within which schools operate.

There are 7 General Capabilities (GCs) in the Australian Curriculum – so, how are teachers implementing them in the classroom? A new research study offers some insights. We find out more from Chief Investigator Dr Don Carter.

When you think about the last time you travelled on an airplane, did you wonder whether there could be a more efficient way of getting passengers on and off the aircraft? It is this question that was considered by participants in the 2022 International Mathematical Modeling Challenge (IM²C).

Helping students to develop their skills in the general capabilities is essential for preparing them to succeed in a modern society. At St Hilda’s Anglican School for Girls in Perth, Western Australia, primary school students are given these opportunities through the school’s STEAM program.

‘[The Sacúdete strategy] shows to others what the future of school could look like when we put learners at the centre and make the "extracurricular" the curriculum. That is the lesson that other countries can learn from.’ In his new Teacher column, Andreas Schleicher shares details of a successful program in Colombia that sees educators work as mentors and coaches.

Twenty Things to Do with a Computer Forward 50, edited by Dr Gary Stager, celebrates the vision of Cynthia Solomon and Seymour Papert in their seminal 1971 paper. In this exclusive extract, Martin Levins shares ‘Some Modern Things to Do with a Computer’, with examples from Australian schools.