Big ideas, sometimes referred to as key, core, fundamental or threshold concepts, are widely applicable concepts at the heart of disciplines that are or have been central and influential for their fields. Attention here is particularly directed to meta-concepts common to sister disciplines in the sciences. "Learning thresholds",…

The need to integrate digital literacy into curricula as a fundamental skill set for navigating the complexities of the digital age has increased. This study aims to explore how knowledge and skills of digital literacy present in language arts standards and what elements of digital literacy are emphasized. To achieve this, we used text mining…

CSU Engineering is the new civil engineering school at Charles Sturt University in Australia. Established at an institution that has not previously offered Engineering, CSU Engineering has taken the opportunity to design and implement a radically different model for its degree, drawing upon the frontier trends and themes in engineering education…

Intellectually gifted students have the right to appropriately challenging learning experiences and the right to reach their potential. In Australia, most intellectually gifted students are in mixed-ability classes and teachers are expected to differentiate to meet the specific learning needs of students across the full range of abilities; yet…

Internationalising the curriculum in higher education offers cultural insights and exchanges to live and work in a changing and connected world. The authors are tertiary music educators working in three different countries (Australia, Spain, and the United States of America). Though geographically dispersed yet virtually connected, they delivered…

Students, faculty, and staff in postsecondary institutions around the world are engaging in conversations about decolonization and Indigenization. These conversations are also emerging in the context of work-integrated learning and experiential learning programs. This article presents the key findings of a research project investigating the…

This paper argues for effective sequencing of mathematics content to aid transition from junior (Year 7 to Year 10) to senior mathematics (Year 11 to Year 12) curriculum in Queensland, Australia and provides a tool for sequencing the mathematics content. Planning templates and samples are available to schools; however, it is imperative for…

Undergraduate education is competitive. User experience is important to course design because it can improve user-satisfaction and learning. Action research methodology was used in our practice-oriented case study about the application of human-factors methods to re-design an undergraduate second-year occupational therapy course. A cognitive task…

This Australian university case study explores the transition to emergency, remote teaching (ERT) in an intensive Block Model curriculum during the COVID-19 pandemic. An online survey investigated academics' experiences of factors that helped or hindered their transition. A thematic analysis of the data revealed a symbiotic relationship between…

A knowledge-rich curriculum is a common feature of educationally high-performing countries and an important step towards achieving Australia's education goals. It provides the foundation for excellence and equity in the education system by prioritising and explicitly outlining the essential knowledge and related skills students should be taught…

The origins and focuses of adult education across Western countries are often about meeting adults' needs, and for purposes they have nominated, not those compelled by others. Unlike other sectors (e.g. schools, vocational colleges and universities) that were mainly initiated and sustained by church or state, adult education has long been grounded…

This paper presents an analysis of how resources were designed to support implementation of the new Queensland senior secondary mathematics syllabuses. The analysis draws on the concept of educative curriculum materials that build teachers' subject matter knowledge and pedagogical content knowledge. Such resources are intended to help teachers…

Medical professionals need to be equipped with competencies to provide sustainable healthcare and promote planetary health. The aims of this study were to map the presence of planetary health themes in one Australian medical program, develop and pilot a planetary health blended-learning module drawing on constructivism learning theory, and…

Reading lists have been described as a stalwart of the academic environment. This article explores the role of reading lists as a pedagogical tool and describes how reading lists contribute to an immersive block teaching model at an Australian university. Little has been written about the application of reading lists in block teaching models. This…

This article explores the perceived disconnect between informal and formal musical knowledge, through a focused case study which aligned students' informal knowledge with aspects of the formal curriculum. The upper high school or senior secondary student participants had a background in the creation and performance of popular and contemporary…