Professional learning

‘Induction and mentoring is about bringing your academic capability to life in the reality of a classroom.’ In today’s podcast, CEO of AITSL Tim Bullard joins Teacher Deputy Editor Rebecca Vukovic to talk all about improving induction for both early career teachers and school leaders. 

In our latest reader submission, Dr Aylie Davidson, Lecturer in Mathematics Education at Deakin University, explains that planning for learning necessitates intellectual and collaborative effort, and outlines what an effective planning meeting for maths looks like in practice.

‘If we equip the next generation with the foundational literacies to understand how AI works, the creative confidence to build with it, and the critical judgement to know when and how it should be used, the possibilities are extraordinary.’ In this Q&A, Andrew Sliwinski, Vice President and Head of Product Experience at LEGO® Education, answers questions about computer science and artificial intelligence instruction in the classroom, and what we can do now to empower student agency in a changing world.

Participating in professional learning can be energising and inspiring, but introducing what you’ve learned into your own practice – and sustaining it over the long term – can be hard. Taking small, simple steps on a regular basis was a key feature of what endured for teachers in a recent Australian research study of music-based approaches to nurture wellbeing.

For the last 4 years, Gus Humphries has been working to develop and implement the Questions for Thinking (Q4T) Program at Caulfield Grammar School. In our latest reader contribution, he shares the key ingredients of the opt-in professional learning program, which allows teachers to investigate and develop an area of their practice with the support of a dedicated ‘partner’.

In School Improvement Episode 66, St Columba Anglican School Principal Allan Guihot and Director of Professional Learning Chris Delaney join Jo Earp to talk about the award-winning Teaching School Hubs program, including how the model works in the day-to-day, and benefits for both the trainees preparing to enter the profession and mentor teachers at the host school.

Recent data show that improving students’ critical thinking and problem‑solving skills is the most desired professional learning topic for both year 4 and year 8 teachers in Australia. In today’s expert Q&A we speak to Renee Ladner, Education Consultant at the Mathematical Association of Victoria about the PD needs of maths teachers.

In today’s article, Professor Jacqueline Ullman from Western Sydney University explores the importance of school-based connection for gender and sexuality diverse students, why teachers’ responses to homo/transphobic attitudes are paramount, and shares details of a new micro-credential she co-designed to support teachers seeking to create gender and sexuality diversity-inclusive school cultures.

To support the development of middle leaders, and to recognise the importance of their role in schools, AITSL has developed middle leadership standards. In this Q&A, AITSL CEO Tim Bullard explains why the standards were developed and how they can be used.

‘When educators understand how stress affects the brain and nervous system, they gain practical ways to support learning, behaviour and wellbeing – for students and themselves.’ From 13-15 March, the Holistic Life Foundation will host its Trauma-Informed Yoga and Mindfulness Certification in Melbourne. The 3-day professional learning experience is designed specifically for teachers, school leaders and system-level decision makers.