In this special episode, we sit down with distinguished guests Professor Jim Watterston, Dean of the Faculty of Education, and Professor Yong Zhao, Foundation Distinguished Professor at the University of Kansas. Together, they discuss their recent co-authored book, 'Focused: Understanding, Negotiating, and Maximizing Your Influence as a School Lead…

The release of the Universities Accord earlier this year marks a pivotal moment in higher education policy. Its recommendations address crucial aspects of the evolving higher ed landscape, including equity, funding, HECS/HELP, and living costs. These changes could profoundly influence the decisions of first-year students transitioning from school t…

Australian schools are recognising the growing importance of fostering inclusive spaces for neurodiverse students. Teachers play a vital role in creating belonging for these students. But how can we support teachers, to support neurodivergent students in the classroom? We speak to experts Jess Rowlings and Dr Matt Harrison, co-directors of Next Lev…

In a world abundant with content, how can we harness literary education as a form of social change? How can we re-invigorate schools to be spaces to engage with uncomfortable truths and delicate subject matter in a respectful way? In this episode, Faculty of Education Deputy Dean and co-founder of the Literary Education Lab, Professor Larissa Mclea…

In this episode, we are joined by two experts, to discuss the Nation School Reform Agreement, currently up for renegotiation. This joint agreement between the Commonwealth, states and territories is designed to lift student outcomes in Australian schools and plays a pivotal role in school funding and addressing equity in education. Prof. Pasi Sahlb…

In this episode, we learn how to bolster both climate and sustainability literacy, and support climate action in the classroom. Listeners will discover how we can empower students to not only understand the science but also engage in meaningful conversations about our changing planet. We explore how teachers can create safe spaces for students to p…

In this episode, we delve into the future of education in Australia, exploring ideas to reimagine the purpose of schools by shifting the focus from academic achievement to whole-child development, paving the way for healthier, more equitable futures for all students. With insights from experts A/Prof, Jon Quach from the Faculty of Education at the …

In this episode, we delve into the stories of three remarkable Indigenous women significantly impacting the educational landscape across Australia. From overcoming challenges to integrating Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cultures and knowledges into curriculums, our guests share their wisdom and expertise, providing valuable lessons for anyo…

Artificial Intelligence or AI has well and truly arrived. As ChatGPT and DALL-E become mainstream, warnings in the media about this new technology are growing, including its impact on education and assessment. But AI also offers exciting opportunities to enhance learning, think creatively, alleviate workloads and embrace inclusivity. In this episod…

Discover the complex issues around school attendance that can adversely affect students, teachers and parents. The media have referred to it as school ‘refusal’ but student attendance is an old problem in the new post COVID lockdown era. Hear out host, Dr Sophie Specjal speak with clinical psychologist, Associate Professor Glenn Melvin who shares r…

In this episode of Talking Teaching, Professor Jim Watterston, Dean of the Melbourne Graduate School of Education (MGSE), delves into the details of Australia's teacher crisis. How does the situation differ in rural and urban areas? Is teacher education a problem? Why can't we fast-track people from other jobs into teaching? Why are teachers leavin…

In this episode of Talking Teaching, Professor Jim Watterston, Dean of the Melbourne Graduate School of Education (MGSE), explores the Mental Health in Primary Schools project (MHiPS) with Professor Frank Oberklaid OAM and Dr Georgia Dawson. The Murdoch Children's Research Institute's Centre for Community Child Health, as well as partners from the …

A new research project, New Metrics for Success, works with schools across Australia to develop new ways of assessing school students. These new ways assess the general capabilities and skills of students including communication, collaboration, and critical and creative thinking. By assessing these capabilities we broaden our understanding of stude…

In this episode of Talking Teaching, Professor Jim Watterston, Dean of the Melbourne Graduate School of Education, and Professor Johanna Wyn discuss the differences and commonalities between the generations revealed by the longitudinal study Life Patterns. This study, which began in the early 1990s, has tracked and documented the transitions of you…

In this episode of Talking Teaching, Professor Jim Watterston, Dean of the Melbourne Graduate School of Education, and Professor Yong Zhao discuss the education system post-COVID-19 and question whether the role of education should be more than simply preparing students for the workforce. Yong Zhao is Professor of Educational Leadership at the Melb…

In this episode of Talking Teaching, the University of Melbourne's Larissa McLean Davies - an Associate Professor in Languages and Literacy Education - hosts a panel discussion on the importance of reading in our lives, and how to make the teaching of English more inclusive, particularly in terms of decolonising the curriculum.…

Laureate Professor John Hattie reflects on the effect of COVID-19 on the education system examining what we should keep from what he calls the 'great experiment'. Speaking to Talking Teaching on the eve of his retirement from the Melbourne Graduate School of Education, John stresses the need to focus on the existing expertise we have in education a…

On this episode of Talking Teaching Kamilaroi woman, Dr Melitta Hogarth, the Assistant Dean, Indigenous at the Melbourne Graduate School of Education, discusses the challenges facing the education sector in building an inclusive school culture and environment for Indigenous students in Australia. To achieve this, she says, we need to flip the narra…

In a traumatic year of bushfires and a global pandemic young people in Australia have faced increasing uncertainty and anxiety. How do schools support their students through these times and how can they help them deal with the trauma to ensure that they thrive? On this episode of Talking Teaching Professor Helen Cahill, a leading innovator in schoo…

Teachers, students, parents and entire school communities have been through a tumultuous time having been forced to switch schooling from the classroom to remote learning and back again in the space of a few months. So, what's worked, what didn't and what are schools going to take with them into the future? On this episode of Talking Teaching: two …

A global pandemic and devastating bushfires - these major events are going to affect people's lives and wellbeing for a long time. Their ramifications are forcing people to deal with uncertainty, stress and loss. On this episode of Talking Teaching: Professor Lindsay Oades, Director of the Centre for Positive Psychology at the Melbourne Graduate Sc…

In this final edition of Talking Teaching for this year Maxine McKew talks to David de Carvalho about the national NAPLAN picture and what it is really telling us. The ACARA chief regrets that NAPLAN is too often seen as the sole measure of student achievement and that national testing needs to be augmented by more granular assessment. And we hear …

The Prime Minister says that TAFE is as good as university and wants to encourage young Australians to consider taking up a trade. But how fit for purpose is the sector? After a troubled recent history of dodgy providers and high upfront fees, enrolments are plummeting. Can this be reversed? In this edition of Talking Teaching Professor John Polese…

Emeritus Professor Barry McGaw has spent a lifetime advocating for greater equity in Australia schooling. In this interview with Kerry Elliott he considers recent funding policy failures and regrets the way Australian schooling has become so segmented and stratified. The founding chair of ACARA, Barry McGaw also makes some important distinctions ab…

The sixth International Congress for Positive Psychology was held recently in Melbourne with the University of Melbourne as the main partner. Hundreds of experts from across the globe described their approach to maximising wellbeing, particularly among young people. Talking Teaching was there and interviewed David Kolpak from St Peter's College in …

In this episode Maxine McKew talks with experts Trish Eadie and Deb Brennan about the multiple benefits of quality early learning programmes for young children. In particular they consider the growing national momentum for pre-school for three year old children, a policy already embraced by Victoria. The discussion also analyses the success and con…

What is it the rest of the world is noticing about Australia's teachers? Ranked as one of the world's top ten teachers, Rooty Hill humanities teacher Yasodai Selvakumaran talks to TT about overseas interest in the way we engage students in complex problem solving.Guest speakers: Yasodai Selvakumaran - ranked in the top ten for the Varkey Foundation…

In this episode of Talking Teaching Kerry Elliott talks to David Hornsby about the contentious issue of how we teach reading to young students. Why can't we agree on the fundamentals and insist on comprehensive English language training for teachers? Listen to David Hornsby's common sense approach.By University of Melbourne

In this episode of Talking Teaching writer and university lecturer Tegan Bennett Daylight discusses what she sees as declining standards and poor quality reading skills in some students attending universities. She identifies the dilemma of how to instil a love of reading in children from teachers who are struggling themselves. A provocative must- l…

Talking Teaching's first episode for 2019 features interviews with Larissa McLean Davies and with Penny Jones. From different perspectives they both talk about how educators can boost student interest in reading.Larissa McLean Davies is Associate Dean Teaching and Learning at The Melbourne Graduate School of Education. She is on a mission to boost …

In this episode of Talking Teaching Maxine McKew talks with Professor Glyn Davis who has just completed fourteen years as Vice Chancellor of the University of Melbourne.It was one of Glyn's high school teachers who first sat him down and showed him how to go about pursuing a university education. Glyn's own reflections on the joy of teaching, the c…

In this episode of Talking Teaching Stephen Dinham and John Goh talk to Kerry Elliott about the qualities and skills needed to be an effective instructional leader. Both agree that central to the job is an ability to facilitate teaching and learning.By University of Melbourne

In this month's Talking Teaching, Sophie Murphy interviews Stanford University's Jo Boaler who argues that the latest neuroscience explains what she has always argued - that anyone can do maths. Kerry Elliott talks to Michaela Epstein and Michelle Fry about how on-line maths learning is engaging students and producing impressive results. And finall…

Talking Teaching this week dives into a lively discussion about the value and messages contained in Gonski 2.0 From Growth to Achievement.By University of Melbourne

This month we chat to leaders from across the school sector who meet and exchange ideas at the University of Melbourne Network of Schools (UMNOS). Program founder, Katherine Henderson, explains the link between this kind of collaboration and a lift in overall student achievement.Next up, Dr Geoff Masters, CEO of the Australian Council for Education…

In this episode of Talking Teaching, we chat with the maths teacher behind Woo Tube, the dynamic communicator Eddie Woo. With an audience in the hundreds of thousands that stretches way beyond his home school of Cherrybrook High in Sydney, Eddie has a down-to earth approach to technology, seeing it merely as an amplifier. Central to his high impact…

In this episode of Talking Teaching we focus on the national teaching standards that are validated by the Australian Institute of Teaching and School Leadership (AITSL). In particular, AITSL's chair Prof John Hattie looks at the way Highly Accomplished teachers are using their networks to spread the word about high-impact teaching practice. We also…