Student engagement

Most schools will have students who experience some level of menstrual pain during their schooling years. So, how well are teachers prepared to deliver menstrual health education, and how can they better support students whose education may be impacted by menstrual pain?

Developing children’s reading skills as they start primary school can often mean meeting children at a range of different levels. In this article, we speak with Dr Lexie Scherer who explains how the reader-response method can help teachers find that special ‘hook’ that can open a child up to the wonders of reading.

‘They’re concerned that adults don’t listen to them … adults also tend to be dismissive of their ideas and insights.’ In this Q&A we speak to Helen Connolly, South Australian Commissioner for Children and Young People, about the Student Voice Postcard initiative.

New research has shown that while the use of immersive virtual reality (IVR) increases student enjoyment and presence in a task, when used on its own it does not improve procedural or declarative knowledge when compared to the more traditional learning activity of watching a video.

‘There is not a set seating plan. Students choose where to sit according to the task, their learning needs and preferences at any point in time.’ In this reader submission, teachers Heath Henwood and Emily Hales share how they transformed a Year 6 classroom from the traditional rows of desk layout to flexible seating.

How can schools better engage families in their students’ learning? Dr Rebecca Winthrop, Senior Fellow and Director of the Centre for Universal Education (CUE) at the Brookings Institution, shares the findings from a research initiative she has led at CUE on school engagement with families, along with some practical tips for building school-family engagement.

In her latest video for Teacher, Mathematics teacher Holly Millican shares the resources for two activities she has implemented in her classroom to engage students when learning about Pythagoras’ theorem.

In this podcast special, we’re joined by Corey Tutt OAM, founder and CEO of Deadly Science – an organisation that provides science resources to remote schools in Australia, to inspire and celebrate the next generation of Indigenous people in STEM.

How can a student’s social-emotional motivation at school impact their behaviour and achievement? In what ways can we support students’ social-emotional development? These are some of the questions explored in Dr Rebecca Collie’s study into the role of prosocial motivation in the classroom.

For many of Australia’s regional and rural schools, accessing culturally relevant reading material can be a challenge. Here, we speak to Principal Jeff Parker and Early Childhood Leader Monique Marzocchi from Clyde Fenton Primary School in Katherine, Northern Territory, about how the school is working to improve student literacy.