What's new'Keeping Indigenous teens in school by reinventing the lessons'An opinion article in The Conversation 18 September 2014 discusses ways to promote the engagement and retention of Indigenous students in the Northern Territory. Australian Government funds Independent Public Schools policiesThe Australian Minister for Education, Christopher Pyne, has recently announced further funding to support Independent Public Schools policies in Queensland, Tasmania and the Northern Territory. Primary principals urge removal of school-level NAPLAN results from My School websiteIn a recent discussion paper, the Australian Primary Principals Association (APPA) has called for school-level NAPLAN results to be removed from the Australian Government's My School website. See response from Robert Randall, ACARA Chief Executive Officer. See also article in The Sydney Morning Herald 11 September 2014. Analysis of My School data finds growing gap socioeconomic gapThe Sun-Herald (Sydney Morning Herald) has described the results of an analysis it commissioned, covering the performances of advantaged, disadvantaged and 'middle-scale' schools, based on NAPLAN results reported on the My School website. The analysis has identified a decline in overall academic performance and a growing gaps between advantaged and disadvantaged students. See article in the Sydney Morning Herald 14 September 2014. Study finds academic benefits from active learningActive learning methods improve student performance in science, engineering, and mathematics, according to an article in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, 10 June 2014. Tips on communication with school colleaguesAn article on the Teaching Channel blog 4 September suggests 'a few simple A-B-Cs' when offering constructive commentary to workplace colleagues. A further article, 3 September 2014, on the SmartBlog on leadership, offers tips for school leaders on 'having tough conversations' with colleagues. Follow Curriculum and Leadership Journal on TwitterFor news updates between editions of the journal, follow Curriculum and Leadership Journal on Twitter. |