Professional learning

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.

How we can improve the continuity of learning from birth to 12 years? That is the question that will be explored at Research Conference 2023, held in Sydney on 3 and 4 September. In this Q&A, we speak with Conference Convener and ACER Senior Research Fellow Dr Claire Scoular, about the conference theme.

School Assembly is the podcast that explores what it takes to build a new school from the ground up. In Series 1 we’re following Principal Dr Ray Boyd and Associate Principal Rachael Lehr at Dayton Primary School in Western Australia. In Episode 9 we talk about how educational research is the foundation for everything at the school – from classroom teaching to leadership.

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.

In the first of 3 articles about a new Australian project researching Problem Based Learning in schools, Associate Professor Kathy Smith and Dr Jennifer Mansfield discuss the role of teachers as co-researchers and share educator insights on 4 key aspects of the experience.

‘There is a need for schools to have consistent and clear approaches to behaviour that set and maintain behaviour expectations ...’ Katherine Dix, Tom Cain, Karina Stocker and Susannah Schoeffel discuss 6 key recommendations from a new guidance report, and share some common challenges and implementation tips for how to overcome them.

In this reader submission, Dr Nicholas Jackson shares the findings and implications from his recent PhD thesis which involved students training teachers how to use specialist 3D design software and providing guidance and advice on effective ways of teaching of learning with this software.

The Future-focused mentoring initiative has been working with schools in Queensland and New South Wales. In our latest reader submission, Dr Ellen Larsen, Associate Professor Hoa Nguyen and Dr Elizabeth Curtis share details of the pilot project and its early findings.

If you’ve moved between schools or made the transition from graduate to the staffroom, it’s likely you’ve benefited from a school-based induction program. But, what about those who may miss out because they are employed for short periods? That’s the focus of a new Australian research study.

The newly released Education at a Glance 2022: OECD Indicators reports on the state of education in OECD and partner countries. In this infographic, we take a look at professional development requirements for pre-primary, primary, upper-secondary and lower secondary teachers.