In 2019, a new English Senior Secondary syllabus (QCAA, 2019) was implemented in all schools across Queensland, Australia. This syllabus, incorporating high-stakes external examinations and supporting documents, instigated a shift in the teaching and assessing of senior secondary English that has been both challenging and revitalising for…

Ben-Peretz's (1975) concept of intended curriculum describes a version of curriculum that 'official' curriculum developers create to provide a detailed guide to what teachers are required to teach in schools. While some curricula are intended to guide learning, others give a more definitive regulation of what must be taught. Either way, they are a…

This article showcases the redesign of an introductory undergraduate vertebrate physiology unit at Murdoch University (BMS107) to promote student mastery of six Core Concepts of Physiology (Michael J, Cliff W, McFarland J, Modell H, Wright A, SpringerLink. "The Core Concepts of Physiology: a New Paradigm for Teaching Physiology," 2017).…

Addressing the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) has become of paramount importance for higher education institutions; however, a lack of a transparent, transferrable approach to identifying and quantifying the extent of SDG contributions hinders the ability to benchmark against past performance or other institutions. In this study, a…

Despite global interest in inquiry as a teaching and learning approach for school geography, little is known about teachers' knowledge and beliefs for teaching geography through inquiry. This paper reports on findings from a survey of 44 Victorian secondary teachers' knowledge, beliefs and practice of teaching geography through inquiry. Our…

In this article, two pedagogical approaches intended to foster social inclusion in school-based dance programs are described: inquiry and reverse chronology. The inclusion of inquiry and reverse chronology as featured pedagogies in Queensland, Australia's statewide General Senior Dance Syllabus is discussed, including the combined use of these…

Environmental education across the early years has become increasingly important in Australia since the implementation of the Early Years Learning Framework and the Australian Curriculum. These documents promote a connection to nature for young children as well as environmental responsibility. In Western Australia, large areas of natural…

This article strives to open a window on 'eco-humour', an umbrella term for diverse forms of humour targeting ecological and environmental issues. It encourages readers to consider eco-humour as a valuable, pedagogical toolkit for environmental education and communication. To this aim, eco-humour is, first, put into perspective of humour…

Research indicates an uneasy fit between curriculum frameworks and practice. In this paper, we explore the more subtle practices of context, providing insights into why teachers plan the way they do. Specifically, we examine the Australian early childhood education and care curriculum framework and local practices by analysing teacher planning…

The importance of engaging students with complex societal challenges has led to the adoption of various interdisciplinary teaching and learning practices in both K-12 and higher education. However, interdisciplinary learning is one of the most complex domains of contemporary educational practice, and, despite its significance, remains…

Musical Futures (MF) is an internationally recognised approach to music teaching aimed at developing high levels of student engagement through practical music making. Set up in the UK in 2003 "Musical Futures" is typical of approaches to education aimed at increasing levels of student autonomy through a strong emphasis on student-led…

The study explores insights into the phenomenon of Australian lecturers' lived experiences of teaching standalone critical thinking units within associate degree courses at one university in Victoria, Melbourne, Australia. The study makes an original contribution by focusing upon the experiences of teaching staff in Australian universities in…

Inclusive education in Australia incorporates education to support a wide range of students' physical abilities, social conditions and culture-religious constructs. The case study described here focuses on religious inclusivity in the application of pedagogical strategy within the International Baccalaureate Diploma Programme Visual Arts…

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",…

An Australia-wide consensus was reached on seven core concepts of physiology, one of which was cell-cell communication. Three physiology educators from a "core concepts" Delphi task force "unpacked" this core concept into seven different themes and 60 subthemes. Cell-cell communication, previously unpacked and validated, was…