Indonesia

A new research-based series encourages early years educators to take advantage of everyday teaching and learning opportunities to improve young children’s scientific understanding, and shares four step-by-step activities for the classroom or learning at home.

‘For some, this transition will be filled with as much anxiety as the first day of school or the school year.’ In this reader submission, Dr Carl Leonard and Dr Gail Brown provide tips and suggestions for teachers and leaders to help manage the transition for all students, and particularly those with additional needs.

At Pakuranga College in Auckland, New Zealand, gathering data and using evidence-based resources is the basis of their professional development. Here, Deputy Principal Larraine Barton shares how a Teacher magazine podcast informed part of the beginner teacher program at the school.

While COVID-19 is grinding much of society to a halt, schooling has entered uncharted territory. During this time, it is important that teachers look after themselves. Our latest reader submission shares several evidence-backed strategies that can help support teachers’ wellbeing.

‘In this home-supported learning environment parents are being called upon to play a broader role in their children’s education. The role of the parent is not to replace the teacher in learning from home …’ Dr Tanya Vaughan and Susannah Schoeffel share evidence on how teachers can work with parents to support students in a rapidly changing education landscape.

‘As the COVID-19 situation unfolds, schools are closing to protect their students and the broader public – but this doesn’t mean a stop to learning for students or teachers.’ Dr Anne-Marie Chase and Professor Pauline Taylor-Guy share three phases of research-based decisions education systems and schools should be making now in relation to technology-enabled learning.

In these uncertain times, how do teachers support students to make sense of the coronavirus pandemic and give them the tools to navigate the challenges we may be faced with? In today’s article, Professor Peter O’Connor from the University of Auckland suggests arts-based approaches to building resilience in students in times of disaster.

What makes a teacher great? In our latest reader submission, David de Carvalho, CEO of the Australian Curriculum, Assessment and Reporting Authority (ACARA), explores some of the characteristics that great teachers have in common.

The Alfa Omega School in Indonesia is an example of architects working alongside the local community to come up with a functional facility that’s also easy on the eye, and the environment.

Each year, around one million students sit the University Entrance Test in Indonesia. Delivering an online test to so many students isn’t without its challenges. In this article, we take a closer look at how the test is run.