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Hidden gems: exploring STEM across the curriculum. Have you ever thought about STEM in relation to a colony of bees and their hive? How about the operations of aquaponics? Perhaps you recognise STEM in the development of a clay sculpture, the pyramids of ancient Egypt, an automated non-contact timer for hand-washing or in the baking…

T-1000 by Jill Fitzsimons Director of Professional Learning and Partnerships at Marcellin College. When I need a bit of inspiration to keep going as a teacher and leader, I think of Terminator 2: Judgement Day’s antagonist, T-1000, the shapeshifting android assassin. Despite being pumped with bullets from the 12 gauge Winchester shotgun of T-800 (played…

Not merely a response to a crisis; an opportunity to redesign our future. By Nikki Kirkup: Deputy Principal at The Knox School Many times over the last few weeks we have heard reference to the “unprecedented times” in which we have been navigating; we have witnessed entire organisations and industries pivot, seemingly overnight, to adjust…

Standardised Testing… is it worth it? by Jen Buchanan Standardised assessment is a topic that attracts controversy and divides both scholarly and non-scholarly opinion across the globe. 2 Some raise concerns about the integrity of a system that ranks students only leads to grade inflation. Others argue that grading students leads to psychological harm. 3…

I often tell the story of an experience I had whilst living in India. It is early one morning and I’m heading to the markets in Calcutta to go buy some fruit. On my walk I pass a group of young children sitting on the side of the street. They are filthy, barefooted and wearing scraps…

Culture Change by David Runge. Our observations about school transformation is that much of the learning required for a school to evolve is of an adaptive nature, that is it requires mental models, world-views and ways of working to be reimagined alongside other complex changes.  One of the key challenges we see is that many schools…

In recent discussions about shifting the conversation from 21st Century skills towards a deeper understanding of the capacities young people need in a changing world, we found ourselves contemplating imagination, intuition, complexity and practical wisdom. What if schooling was set up to incorporate these elements – or even to allow them to be central to…