As a student in the 1970s, I got it. Traditional, conventional, mainstream education worked for me. I lapped up the lectures, the monologues, the explaining, the direct instruction. It all made sense, and I thrived. My teachers talked as much ...
More »Why are schools still doing NAPLAN?
Education authorities remain insistent that the National Assessment Program – Literacy and Numeracy (NAPLAN) tests are an effective tool and useful in tracking student learning, three years after a survey found teachers disagree. This is the second year NAPLAN was held ...
More »‘Why are we still doing what we do when all evidence indicates that it does not work?’ A Finnish perspective on our education system – opinion
In the shadows of last year’s teacher strike in New South Wales, a number of people asked me how the Finnish education system would deal with the issues causing dissatisfaction for Australian teachers. It is an excellent question. It is ...
More »ACARA boss argues for improvement rather than change in Australian schooling, but one ‘passionate teacher’ questions this
The Australian Curriculum, Assessment and Reporting Authority (ACARA) CEO David de Carvalho has recently written an article that addresses whether change or improvement is required in our country’s education system. The article, which was adapted from a speech the ACARA ...
More »The Finnish perspective has arrived: PD sessions commence in Australia
He’s the author of Testing 1, 2,3: What Australian education can learn from Finland, and this month teacher, writer and tragic Midnight Oil fan Michael Lawrence joined other educators in Orange, NSW, to take teachers through a one-day session of ...
More »Finnish education is coming to Australia: Podcast
EducationReview · Finnish education is coming to Australia | Michael Lawrence The last time I interviewed Michael Lawrence the experienced music and English teacher had just published his book Testing 3, 2, 1: What Australian Education Can Learn from ...
More »New book explores what we can learn from Finland’s education system
A pithy quote sets the tone early in Michael Lawrence’s latest book about the state of education in Australia and why it’s so important: Testing 3,2,1: What Australian Education can Learn from Finland. Penned by English educationalist Sir Ken Robinson, ...
More »What Australia can learn from Finland’s education system – Michael Lawrence – Podcast
When English and Music teacher Michael Lawrence visited Finnish schools in 2017, many teachers asked him why Australia used a test like NAPLAN to assess students, particularly young ones. For them, education is all about learning, not testing. The ultimate ...
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