What's newNew appointments to AITSL BoardThe Australian Minister for Education, Christopher Pyne, has announced the appointment of John Hattie and John Fleming to the Board of the Australian Institute for Teaching and School Leadership (AITSL). Professor John Hattie become the new Chair and Mr John Fleming the Deputy Chair of the Board. They replace the outgoing Chair Tony Mackay, and outgoing Deputy Chair Professor Bill Louden. New Board appointments for ACARAThe Australian Minister for Education, Christopher Pyne, announced the appointment of six new members to the Board of the Australian Curriculum, Assessment and Reporting Authority (ACARA) on July 15 2014. Further discussion of Direct Instruction teaching modelEmeritus Professor Allan Luke has challenged the value of the Direct Instruction teaching model, in a commentary 7 July 2014, appearing on the blog of the Australian Association for Research in Education. See also article by Emeritus Professor Bill Louden in The Conversation 18 July 2014. Different perspectives on school disciplineKevin Donnelly, a member of the Australian Government's Review of the Australian Curriculum, 'has backed the use of corporal punishment for ill-disciplined children in schools if it is supported by the local school community', according to an article in The Sydney Morning Herald 15 July 2014. See also subsequent article in the Canberra Times 17 July 2014. Evaluating the relevance of handwritingAnthony Cahalan argues for the continued relevance of handwriting skills in an article on The Conversation website 4 July 2014. Encouraging signs for Australian students’ financial literacyAustralian students' performance on financial literacy has been ranked fourth of 18 countries in tests conducted for the OECD's Program for International Student Assessment (PISA). See article on EducationHQ 15 July 2014. Follow Curriculum and Leadership Journal on TwitterFor news updates between editions of the journal, follow Curriculum and Leadership Journal on Twitter. |