New publications

This publication, written specifically for teachers in New South Wales, takes a step-by-step approach through each stage of the action research cycle and provides tips and hints for research. Action Research in Education includes 18 tips for teachers to organise and share their research with colleagues, including scaffolds and internet links. It also discusses professional reading and how to plan and log the research. Adapted from the publisher's description.

The report presents a comprehensive assessment by discipline of research quality and research activity within Australia's higher education institutions. ERA provides information on the discipline-specific research activity of each eligible Australian higher education institution, and its contribution in that discipline to the national landscape. Adapted from report. The full report is available online. See also commentary in The Australian 3 February 2011.

The writers in this book – from Australia, the United Kingdom, New Zealand, Hong Kong and the United States – have been selected from across a spectrum of expertise in the field of English in Education. Their essays offer a collection of personal and ideological perspectives on how English will be taught in the future. Adapted from the publisher's description.

This practical handbook helps teachers in Grades 4–6 harness the instructional potential of fiction, poetry, and plays; informational texts; graphic novels; digital storytelling; web-based and multimodal texts; hip-hop; advertisements; maths problems; and many other types of texts. Twenty-four complete lessons promote critical literacy skills such as comprehending, analysing and synthesising information, and using writing to communicate new ideas and pose questions. Snapshots of diverse classrooms are accompanied by clear explanations of the research base for instruction in each genre. Ready-to-use reproducibles are included. Adapted from the publisher's description.

Emphasising prevention, assessment and intervention as well as evaluation, this guide offers techniques for helping today's tech-savvy students make balanced choices about using technology in ways that can advance learning and significantly reduce cyber bullying while improving school climate. It illustrates both the dangers and benefits of technology through real-life scenarios. It includes practical charts that identify cyber bullying warning signs and appropriate responses; abundant reproducibles such as student assessments, incident reports and school evaluations; legal guidelines; and questions ideal for further reflection and group study. Adapted from the publisher's description.

This paper makes a case that improvements in academic performance by school students can yield very large economic gains for OECD countries. It also discusses evidence as to which education policy reforms may be most effective in improving educational outcomes. Adapted from the publisher's description.