Articles

New HSC music program puts Australian composers centre stage HSC music students and teachers are being given access to the thinking and methods of some of Australia's leading composers in a new program developed by education academics at the University of Technology Sydney.

Context, context, context: implementing coaching in schools Prof Christian van Nieuwerburgh (van Nieuwerburgh, 2012, p.17) defines coaching in education as: … a one-to-one conversation that focuses on the enhancement of learning and development through increasing self-awareness and a sense of personal responsibility, where the coach facilitates the self-directed learning of the coachee through questioning,

NAPLAN tests and technical requirements online Teachers, students and parents can become familiar with NAPLAN Online by completing mini-tests available on the NAPLAN public demonstration site, located within the NAP website. Visit the NAP website to find out the minimum technical requirements for completing NAPLAN Online.

ACEL 2018 Conference theme is 'Trust your experience – setting the learning agenda' The venue for next year's Conference is the Melbourne Convention Centre from 3–5 October. The meeting will discuss the process of learning through experience, providing delegates with an opportunity to develop their professional knowledge and apply this knowledge to schools and systems.

Getting to know parents A friend who was employed in a large retail store for almost 20 years told me that the first lesson she learned from her manager when she started was “A lot of customers are sometimes right.”      She said this realisation made her able to deal effectively with the difficult customers, the impatient customers, the angry customers – as well as with the lovely ones.

Junior game designers create a reaction at PAX Gaming industry experts have commended winners of the 2017 Australian STEM Video Game Challenge for their remarkable levels of creativity and technical skill. This year's competition required students as young as 10 to design and build a video game addressing the theme 'reaction'.

Principals lose hiring freedom in WA Independent Public Schools Since 2010, IPS principals have had complete autonomy over staff selection, but under a change of direction ordered by Education Minister Sue Ellery, they will have to consider education department "redeployees" before hiring  teachers, support and admin staff.

MLC girls win in VIC Formula 1 STEM Challenge Three student teams from Melbourne's MLC have placed 1st, 3rd and 4th in the VIC regional competition. F1 in Schools in the world’s largest STEM competition, involving over nine million students who design, build, test and race miniature F1 cars.

Study investigates age when children start to regulate their learning A Uni QLD study led by Phd Student Melissa Brinums is helping parents and teachers understand the capacity of young children to learn independently, by providing insight into children’s understanding of practice. The study investigated the age at which children start to regulate their own learning to achieve their long-term goals.

Islamic School of Canberra loses federal funds Following an internal review by the DET, the Islamic School of Canberra will lose its Commonwealth Funding effective 16 December. The decision, announced by Minister Simon Birmingham on Friday 27 October, upheld the original decision to revoke the authority’s approval under the Australian Education Act 2013.

New suite of STEM experiences at Vic Scienceworks Museums Victoria has announced two new permanent exhibitions and a suite of parallel programs at Scienceworks to prepare the next generation for a world of science, technology, engineering and maths. Beyond Perception: Seeing the Unseen will open in April 2018.

Early childhood investment wasted without quality educators A new paper by Mitchell Institute at Victoria University finds that quality is lagging in key early childhood education and care areas and improving teaching should be a top priority. Highly skilled educators are the most important ingredient but many early childhood educators don’t receive sufficient training or support.