Short articles

The 2023 winners of the annual Australian STEM Video Game Challenge have just been announced. This year, students in years 4-12 created their own video games inspired by the theme ‘construction and destruction’. In this article, we share the winning entries.

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.

In this edition of Researching education: 5 further readings, we’re sharing 5 pieces of content on the topic of assessment from researchers in Australia and from overseas. You can read research into the state of assessment literacy of teachers across the globe, and a paper on early years educators’ use of phonological awareness assessment practices.

‘We examined the extent to which teacher wellbeing changes over one school term, and the role of teacher-student relationships in how these changes unfold.’ In our latest reader submission, Rebecca J Collie and Andrew J Martin, from the School of Education at UNSW, share findings from their latest study.

‘Addressing the gender imbalance in digital technologies education and careers is an important goal. The research highlighted several areas where educators can contribute.’ Research from ACER for CSIRO has identified several factors that could support greater engagement of young women in digital technologies education. Find out more in this article.

Our latest Teacher’s Bookshelf features Building a World-Class Learning System: Insights from some top-performing school systems, by Professor Geoff Masters. It explores what British Columbia, Estonia, Finland, Hong Kong and South Korea have in common, the strategies they employ, and the decisions they are making to support students now and in the future.

In our latest expert Q&A we talk to Greta Rollo, who leads the Primary Early Childhood and Inclusive Research team at the Australian Council for Educational Research (ACER), and ACER Research Fellow Dr Kellie Picker, about the place of phonics in early reading instruction.

In this edition of Researching education: 5 further readings – the series where we take a look at some further readings available on a particular topic, including open access research papers from various online databases – we’re sharing 5 pieces of content on the topic of citizenship and political voice.

‘My experience as a teacher and researcher in Japan has allowed me to observe and study classrooms in depth. The first thing that caught my attention was the use of chalkboards.’ Dr Shirley Tan shares how the traditional Japanese technique of bansho board writing can enhance teaching and learning in your own classroom.

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.