Less than 7 per cent of schools in Australia are “fully able to give kids the best education in maths” at the advanced level, the Australian Mathematical Sciences Institute has estimated. AMSI director Geoff Prince made these comments to Education ...
More »Neuroscientists tiff over effects of screen time on young brains
During the early years of a human’s life, trillions of brain-cell connections, called synapses, are formed, thanks to jolts of stimulation. As Donald Hebb’s theory rhymes, “neurons that fire together, wire together”. Brain stimulation can come from just about anything, ...
More »Birmingham to use TIMSS report to spruik reform
Federal education minister Simon Birmingham plans to use Australia's poor performance in the recent Trends In International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS) to spruik the necessity of the government’s reforms to the states and territories. “When I sit down with my state ...
More »Sydney’s Waverley College spends $23 million on new trades centre
Waverley College, a Sydney independent school, has spent $23 million on a new building aimed at helping its students learn a trade and other vocational skills. In this centre is a BOSE speaker system, multimedia screens, retractable lighting bar and ...
More »Keep phonics test focused on phonics: expert
While the federal government has endorsed a phonics check for Year 1 students, one researcher has warned that the check should not overextend its reach. Dr Jennifer Buckingham, an education researcher from the Centre of Independent Studies, recently completed a report ...
More »Opinion: Education should develop specialists
Becoming great at something should be the goal of education. We make our career and find happiness and satisfaction from a small number of skills. If you decide to have a career as an electrician, you are better off being ...
More »Future teachers will analyse data for use: Microsoft official
Future teachers could be required to have some skills similar to data scientists, as they’ll use such numbers to personalise learning, a Microsoft executive has said. Ray Fleming, Microsoft Australia’s education industry development manager, said there is potential for schools ...
More »Teen tech whiz says career advice should focus on aspirations, not jobs
Taj Pabari is a 17-year-old high school student attending Brisbane’s John Paul College who has absolutely no aspiration to study at university. But he’s also chief executive of his own tech start-up, Fiftysix Creations, and spends his free time with ...
More »Victoria proposes ATAR cut-off of 70 for teaching degrees
The Victorian Government has unveiled a policy that would require aspiring teachers to have an ATAR of at least 70 before enrolling in teaching degrees, from 2019 onwards. The reforms would also make it compulsory for Victorian universities to base ...
More »Sydney students talk tech with Microsoft boss
Technology products are permeating today’s classrooms, and a group of students got to meet one of the brains behind it all. Two classes of students from Sydney Secondary College Leichhardt Campus met with Microsoft chief executive Satya Nadella to showcase ...
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