Whether you agree with him or not, Mark Latham is always passionate about getting things done, and his latest agenda has been improving NSW's education system, particularly performance-based teacher pay and lifting student achievement across the board. Listen to a ...
More »Opinion
Should teachers be paid according to performance? Vox pop
https://youtu.be/Xb118Drn_Mk The debate over whether high-performing teachers should be paid more is an evergreen yet vexed issue. Indeed, politician Mark Latham recently floated the idea in NSW parliament. "Why aren't the best teachers, [who are] adding value in the classroom, given ...
More »The LANTITE: Holding our degrees hostage – opinion
Imagine you are at least halfway through your degree (93 per cent for me) and your university decides to spring on you that you now have to complete another hurdle before you are allowed to graduate. Not work. Graduate. Well ...
More »Teachers can do it all but they need our support: opinion
I am a school teacher and am therefore more highly attuned than others when people talk about suggestions for how education should look. I've noticed that when issues of social welfare are being discussed, such as Instagram use, mental health ...
More »Why Victoria should change its school term structure: opinion
Winter has started. Cold, short days add to the challenge of a long second term for teachers, students and families in Victoria. First term is now a distant memory but anyone associated with schools in Victoria would be saying to ...
More »NAPLAN labelled “bizarre” and “least valid” test
An education expert based in the US has given a scathing review of NAPLAN, labelling it "absurd", "bizarre" and the worst of a dozen tests he has studied in depth. Les Perelmen, a retired professor from MIT University, reviewed the ...
More »See You ATAR: Time for universities to rethink their acceptance criteria
It’s time to look beyond the Australian Tertiary Admission Rank. Australian universities have had it so good for so long. They expect and have become accustomed to secondary schools doing the university selection testing using the ATAR. At the completion ...
More »Sound advice: Classroom acoustics linked to student success
How poor classroom acoustics are linked to lower skill levels in students. If you feel you’re struggling to maintain discipline and cooperation, and your students’ motivation and engagement levels are lacking, it may have something to do with the way ...
More »The internet of school things
How technology will connect educators and students, and usher in a new age of smart schools. Schools are becoming increasingly technology rich. Many provide connected devices for students or have programs that enable students to bring their own devices (BYOD). ...
More »Measuring success: How can we help our teachers help themselves?
The Teaching Teams trial promises teacher education students and their supervisors a new approach to self-reflection and assessment. With the current push for new teachers who are ‘classroom ready’, it’s no wonder our teacher education students, teachers and schools are ...
More »