Objective: When students learn or solve problems, attentional resources are depleted; rest breaks may restore cognitive functioning in support of learning. Research framed by attention restoration theory holds that exposure to natural environments may be another means to restore attentional resources. The study investigated the effects of…

In response to increasing teacher interest in how to design and implement effective challenging tasks, James presents the Launch/Explore/Discuss model that builds on the work of leading Australian educators and researchers Peter Sullivan, Doug Clarke, and Charles Lovitt.

Parramatta Marist High School is a school in Western Sydney, New South Wales, that has over 14 years of experience in project-based learning in Stages 4 and 5 (Years 7-10). Over this period, projects have been constantly developed, redeveloped and improved by teachers based on their experience and feedback from their colleagues and their students.…

This book provides prospective and practicing teachers with research insights into the mathematical difficulties of students with learning disabilities and classroom practices that address these difficulties. This linkage between research and practice celebrates teachers as learners of their own students' mathematical thinking, thus contributing…

When learning a new concept, should students engage in problem solving followed by instruction (PS-I) or instruction followed by problem solving (I-PS)? Noting that there is a passionate debate about the design of initial learning, we report evidence from a meta-analysis of 53 studies with 166 comparisons that compared PS-I with I-PS design. Our…

This paper describes three exemplars of practice inspired by emerging evidence that student-staff partnerships have the potential to significantly enhance many areas of higher education. Students and academics at the University of Adelaide have successfully implemented this collaborative approach across a range of learning and teaching contexts.…

This paper explores the complex problem of project sustainability, focusing on the leadership of three primary school mathematics leaders. Using cultural-historical activity theory (CHAT), the leaders' efforts are reported, highlighting their contribution to project sustainability. The CHAT-informed research design supported the generation of…

This practice report describes how escape rooms have been used by one Australian university to successfully engage with high-school students who reside in areas of relative socio-educational disadvantage. We discuss how the escape room approach aligns with Lizzio's "Five Senses of Success" and offer recommendations for further use and…

Among educators there is no clear definition for STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics). This complicates its conception and application in schools. Thus, it is critical when working with students that we develop a common understanding of STEM, or at least understand and value the different perspectives that others may have. This…

Contract cheating presents an existential threat to university assessment integrity and, therefore, to the reputations of universities and their graduates. We report on two workshops, with academic development participants who collaboratively addressed assessment identity verification through problem identification and solution creation. As…

Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) education has been identified as a keystone teaching and learning area for developing students' knowledge and skills on interdisciplinary critical thinking and problem solving (We use the term 'interdisciplinary' because discipline knowledge and methods were integrated from different…

Design thinking can be broadly defined as a set of creative skills to understand and problem-solve ambiguous and complex problems, and a practice that places humans at the heart of the design process. Such collaborative ways of design thinking and design-doing are much needed to address twenty-first century challenges such as climate change.…

The historical development of food education in secondary schools in New South Wales Australia is a compelling yet under-researched area of interest. This review starts by exploring how food curricula have evolved since the 1700s to the present day juxtaposed on socio-economic and political factors. This review is interested in the role secondary…

As part of ongoing design-based research exploring financial literacy teaching and learning, ten tasks termed "financial dilemmas" were trialled by 14 teachers and more than 300 Year 5 and 6 students in 4 government primary schools in urban Darwin. Drawing on data related to two tasks--"Catching the bus" and "Buying…

As part of a 3-year longitudinal study, 136 sixth-grade students completed an engineering-based problem on earthquakes involving integrated STEM learning. Students employed engineering design processes and STEM disciplinary knowledge to plan, sketch, then construct a building designed to withstand earthquake damage, taking into account a number of…