Reader submission

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.

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.

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.

In our latest submission, researchers from Macquarie University and the University of Wollongong share findings from a study that identified 4 different types of teacher-student relationships, and how these relationships are associated with high school students’ science motivation.

‘The default assumption has been that being a generalist is what primary school teachers prefer, or else they would have become secondary teachers.’ In our latest reader submission, Dr James Russo shares the findings of a study asking generalist early years teachers at schools in 2 Australian states if they’d rather be subject specialists.

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.

Learning Specialist Angela Myler says an understanding of the complexities of twice-exceptional students is paramount to be able to cater to their diverse learning needs, so that both disability and gifts are given the attention they deserve.

What do you do with copies of old textbooks, battered novels and random pages? While recycling for the benefit of the environment is always a go-to option, Dr Jason DeHart offers some creative ideas for what you can do with old book copies and other ephemera that are lying in classrooms and back rooms.

How can a teacher’s workload and autonomy at the start of term impact their levels of emotional exhaustion and intentions to quit the profession by the time they reach the end of the term? Dr Rebecca J Collie and Dr Annemaree Carroll share the findings of their Australian research and the implications for teachers and schools.