New publications

Literacy and Learning in the Content Areas (3rd ed) enables readers to get hands-on experience of tools and techniques for integrating literacy into the content area study. Techniques include mapping/webbing, book talks, class websites, and journal writing and reflection. It aims to provide effective ways to integrate children's and young adult literature, primary sources, biographies, essays, poetry, and online content, communities and websites into your classroom. The third edition contains additional material on decoding and fluency; common core standards; Response to Intervention (RTI); and working with literacy coaches. A companion website offers additional activities, resources, teaching tools and a discussion forum. Adapted from distributor's description.

This sixth volume of PISA 2009 results explores students' use of information technologies to learn. For PISA 2009, the framework for reading literacy has been developed to encompass reading electronic texts. This has led to an expansion of the description of text types to take account of the electronic environment, as well as a redefinition of the aspects of reading to embrace, for example, the requirement for integration of information from multiple unrelated texts, as well as other features. The PISA 2009 reading framework and the assessment instrument together provide an operational definition and description of the distinctive structures and types of both text and task that constitute electronic reading, allowing an exploration of factors that contribute to difficulty. PISA 2009 therefore provides an opportunity to investigate electronic reading on a large scale. This book presents some initial findings. From publisher's description, which links to the full report online.

The Aboriginal and Torres Strait Education Action Plan 2010–2014 was developed by the Ministerial Council for Education, Early Childhood Development and Youth Affairs (MCEECDYA) as part of the Council of Australian Governments' (COAG's) reform agenda to improve life outcomes for indigenous Australians. The plan identifies national, systemic and local level action in six priority domains. A number of the actions under the action plan will be undertaken by a group of focus schools. The Plan was developed with the support of stakeholders via a wide-ranging consultation process which received over 100 submissions. Adapted from publisher's description, which links to the full report online.

Sourcing data from the National VET Provider Collection and the Higher Education Statistics Collection, this publication provides a summary of participation in tertiary education and training in Australia. It covers participation in Australian Qualifications Framework certificate qualifications through to doctorates by research, as well as enrolments in a single vocational subject. Information is presented on students and on equivalent full-time students. Adapted from publisher's description, linked to the full report online (requires free registration).

The author shares ideas for teaching grades 6–8, an age group that often presents a challenge for educators. She offers strategies for creating a tween-centric classroom environment, building community in the middle school classroom, encouraging deeper thinking and curiosity among tweens, and understanding and informing tweens about how they learn. Adapted from publisher's description, which links to table of contents and sample chapters online. See also excerpt published as a separate blog post by the author.

The report and accompanying website describe the role libraries and museums play in engaging their communities and contributing to workforce and education goals. Through a self-assessment tool, case studies, and policy analysis, the report establishes the essential role that libraries and museums play in creating an engaged citizenry and competitive workforce. The report highlights the ways in which these institutions support information, communications, and technology literacy; creativity and problem solving; civic literacy; global awareness; and other 21st century skills. The report helps libraries and museums align institutional missions, infrastructure, staff, and programming, to engage communities in learning. The full report is available online.