Teacher Magazine (ACER)

In today’s episode, we’re speaking with Dr Ilana Finefter-Rosenbluh, a Lecturer in the Faculty of Education at Monash University, who has recently published a paper sharing the findings of a study she conducted with her colleagues looking into the impact of student perception surveys on teachers’ practice. Are student perception surveys something you utilise in your school setting? If they are, how effectively are you using the feedback given to you by your students? Do you feel as though you are well-equipped as a teacher to act on this feedback? If your answer is no, and you’re instead left feeling overwhelmed and unsure how to approach acting on this feedback, you’re definitely not alone. This study found that students tend to see no significant change in teacher practice after completing student perception surveys, and that while teachers value the insights given by student perception surveys, they need more support to be able to act on the feedback in a productive way. In our discussion, Ilana will share some key details of the findings from this study and also share some practical strategies teachers can look to implement how in order to improve their practice in this area. Host: Dominique Russell Guest: Dr Ilana Finefter-Rosenbluh Podcast supporter: Bank First (bankfirst.com.au)

What makes leadership impactful in regional, rural and remote schools? And how can schools start to establish a robust framework for creating positive impact in the long term? In this episode of the Research Files, we're joined by Scott Eacott, Professor of Education in the School of Education, and Deputy Director of the Gonski Institute for Education at the University of New South Wales in Sydney. Throughout his career, Scott has researched how education can be best organised to ensure equitable and inclusive education for all. Today, we’ll be unpacking some of the concepts covered in his recent research on leadership in regional, rural and remote schools. Host: Zoe Kaskamanidis Guest: Professor Scott Eacott Podcast sponsor: TruSens (https://www.trusens.com/en-au/)

As a school leader, recruiting new staff has likely always been a complex issue and pressing problem. Add the disruption and lifestyle changes brought on by COVID-19 to the mix, and you’ve got an even more complicated picture. We’ve been taking a look at this issue this month at Teacher. In today’s episode I’m going to get you up to speed on these stories, and also some more of my highlights. And, like all episodes of Teacher Staffroom, I’ll be posing some questions throughout the podcast, so feel free to pause the audio as you go, gather some colleagues and discuss together how these stories might be relevant to your school context. Host: Dominique Russell Podcast sponsor: Bank First

Our guest for this episode of School Improvement is Judith Weir, Principal of Our Lady of Mercy College (OLMC) Heidelberg. We caught up with her at the start of the school year here in Australia, to talk about leadership, strategic planning, how to balance competing priorities, the impact of COVID on student wellbeing and the importance of professional mentoring. Host: Jo Earp Guest: Judith Weir

As a teacher, how can you best manage when a student in your classroom makes an inappropriate comment in the middle of the lesson, catching you off-guard and disrupting other students too? What about when this behaviour happens in the playground? And, what if the comments that they’re making are offensive? In this episode of Behaviour Management, we unpack these questions in-depth with our two guests – Senior Lecturer and Course Leader for the Master of Applied Behaviour Analysis at Monash University, Erin Leif, and Russell Fox, Lecturer in Behaviour Analysis, also from Monash University. We also delve into how school leaders can best support their staff in this area in this episode. Host: Dominique Russell Guests: Dr Erin Leif and Russell Fox

As we’ve seen demonstrated time and time again over the past two years, school communities have been innovative with their technology use to ensure a continuity of learning for students throughout the disruptions to school. In our first episode of Teacher Staffroom for 2022, we're sharing with you some recent pieces of content from us that demonstrate how technology is supporting schools in Australia and beyond. In today’s episode we're going to get you up to speed on all of these stories, and also some more of our highlights. And, like all episodes of Teacher Staffroom, we’ll be posing some questions throughout the podcast, so feel free to pause the audio as you go, gather some colleagues and discuss together how these stories might be relevant to your school context. Host: Dominique Russell

Each year, two educators in Australia are named winners of the Prime Minister’s Prize for Excellence in Science Teaching – one primary school teacher, and one secondary school teacher. For 2021, the primary school teacher named winner was Megan Hayes from Mudgeeraba Creek State School in Queensland, and Scott Graham from Barker College in Sydney was the recipient for the secondary teacher award. We caught up with both Megan and Scott late last year to find out a little bit more about the work they’re doing in the classroom and in their wider school community. We’re bringing you these conversations in this episode. Host: Dominique Russell Guests: Scott Graham and Megan Hayes

The high school years are an important steppingstone to future study and career opportunities, but it can also be a difficult time for some students. So, how can teachers and leaders support teenagers who are not engaged with their studies or who may be at risk of dropping out of school all together? Our guest on episode 72 of The Research Files is Professor Joseph Ciarrochi from Australian Catholic University’s Institute for Positive Psychology and Education. He’s the lead researcher for projectHOPE – a program that’s notched up success in re-engaging at-risk secondary students with their schooling. Through projectHOPE, students are connected to qualified mentors. Now, the particularly good news is that researchers found that just a 15-minute online mentoring session once a week made a big difference. In this episode we’ll find out more about the research team, how the program works, and the impact on students – including their wellbeing and engagement at school. Host: Jo Earp Guest: Professor Joseph Ciarrochi

In Australia, we’re at the start of another school year. That likely means new students and possibly a new learning space to set up. For those students who are moving up from preschool or primary or for those educators who switched jobs in the summer, it could mean getting to grips with completely different surroundings at a new school. In this special episode, we’ve gathered a panel of experienced teachers and leaders, who will be sharing their priorities, strategies and tips for those first few weeks and for a successful year. There’s some great advice on things like classroom displays, professional learning needs, authentic activities, positive behaviour management, keeping on top of your email inbox and there’s lots more – so, let’s jump in. Host: Jo Earp Guests: Rebecca West, Holly Millican, Nicole Wilson, David Webster, Lisa Seewraj, and Alex Wharton.

Happy New Year from the team at Teacher magazine. In this bonus podcast episode, we’re delighted to share with you a sneak preview into what we have in the pipeline for Teacher podcasts in 2022. Host: Dominique Russell