Staff utilisation

In order to better respond to the learning needs of students, Emmaus Christian School in Canberra has moved to a new model of classroom integration for Teaching Assistants. Here, Luke Willsmore, Dr Tanya Vaughan and Susannah Schoeffel discuss the new way of working and the research that informed the change process.  

What role could robots have in supporting teachers in their work with students? New research has looked into how they could be brought into the classroom to assist teachers, and findings show they could allow for more one-to-one teaching.

Dr Tanya Vaughan and Susannah Schoeffel from Evidence for Learning draw on the latest Guidance Report, Making best use of Teaching Assistants, to outline some practical suggestions to help teachers and school leaders apply evidence-based practices to their schools and classrooms.

The end of the school year is approaching, and among the countless tasks educators are already busy with in anticipation for the first day of term in 2019 is the whole-school timetable. For secondary schools in particular, coordinating it can be challenging.

What are the most effective ways to improve student learning with a teaching assistant? In today’s article, Associate Director at Evidence for Learning Dr Tanya Vaughan explores this question.

When Greg Ashman took on a job at Ballarat Clarendon College, he was immediately impressed by the school’s focus on research. This inspired to him to pursue a PhD in instructional design and led him to his current role as Head of Research at the school. In today’s Q&A, we find out more about the role.

Western Australia’s Butler College has created a culture of continuous learning and development for all of its staff. This long-term, whole-school approach focusses on improving the skills and capacity of all staff (including non-teaching staff) through various means, including action learning projects and peer-to-peer support and coaching.

Three Deakin University academics ­– Dr Linda Hobbs, Associate Professor Coral Campbell and Associate Professor Colleen Vale – recently visited ACER to share their research on out-of-field teaching. In today’s School Improvement podcast, we share some highlights from their presentation.

A new ACER report looks at the extent to which secondary school teachers in Australia are teaching subjects they haven't specialised in during their studies. It includes data on the proportion of Years 7-10 teachers teaching out-of-field in 20 subject areas.

Just over one-quarter of Year 7-10 teachers in Australian schools are teaching out of field, with those at the start of their careers more likely to be teaching a subject they haven’t specialised in.