Within education, there is the continual search for ‘best practice’, a ubiquitous term  that has been applied to a range of approaches from evidence-based practices through to untested commercial programs that form the basis of a profit-making business model. Within the latter category, some programs are based on misconceptions about

Teacher assistants, also referred to as School Service Offices (SSOs) in South Australia and School Learning Support Officer (SLSO) in NSW, are invaluable in supporting students with disability to access education. The employment of assistants is a response to the Disability Discrimination Act (1992) and the Disability Standards of Education

The use of photos and videos is a well-established approach to data collection for research. Most teachers take photos and videos of their class once they have gained consent from parents and guardians. With little effort, photos and videos of everyday scenes from your classroom can be utilised as a

There are many reasons for the enormous negativity toward teachers in Australia. These include media reports that Australian classrooms are among the most undisciplined in the world, alarming PISA and NAPLAN results as well as divisive debates on how to teach literacy. Amid this negativity, teachers of students with disability

Dylan William, an educational leader in formative assessment, supports teachers to develop their use of assessment in support of learning. His most well-known text, ‘Embedded Formative Assessment’, outlines five critical strategies: Clarifying, understanding, and sharing learning intentionsEngineering effective classroom discussions, tasks and activities that elicit evidence of learningProviding feedback that

Several years ago, I taught a secondary student with an intellectual disability who loved the Wiggles. He carried a Wiggles doll in the playground and borrowed Wiggles books from the library. This special interest was one of the driving forces in this student’s life and clearly made him happy. At