Jill Abell

APTA_ News in Brief_October 2020 APTA's President, Cheryl Brennan 2020 says it has been a turbulent year for teacher associations across the country as the impact of COVID-19 has continued to be felt. Teacher associations have had to be innovative in coming up with new ways to network as many face-to-face events have not been able to run. APTA has been busy, supporting state joint councils in their operations and advocating for the important role of professional teacher associations in educational decision making at the national level.

Doing the same thing over and over again and expecting a different result: why we need a new approach to education strategy Learning First Sep 8, 2020 This is a thought-provoking article for NEAT Memember Associations. In addition, when the last PISA results were released in December, 2019 Ben Jensen "wrote a blog post on how systems should respond to the results by shifting their strategy to what happens in their classrooms. I argued that they should make a proper diagnosis of the strengths and weaknesses of teaching and learning in specific subjects in order to develop actions for improvement." NEAT [...]

Watch the  Introduction to the Years 9 to 12 Curriculum Framework video on YouTube Contact NEAT to register for the 'drop in' to cross-sectoral feedback discussions via MS Teams' channel - Wednesday 23 September 5.00pm - 7.00pm. NEAT's response will be forwarded to the Project Team at years9to12project@education.tas.gov.au.

Teachers and the wider educational community are key partners in the course development process in the Years 9 to 12 Project. Scoping Ppaers for each course in the first stage will have four formal points of consultation for interested stakeholders between September 2020 and June 2021. There will be consultation on: Course Scope Structural Overview and Key Features (Nov/Dec) Initial Draft Course (March 2021) Final Draft Course (June 2021) Scoping Papers are now available for all courses. SCOPING PAPERS LEAVE FEEDBACK See where each different Learning Area could be headed including which courses are being redeveloped this year, please view the Road Maps page. [...]

New research by the Australian Council for Educational Research (ACER) reveals South Australian schools with a qualified teacher librarian are more likely to have improved student literacy outcomes.  The 2019 census addresses the absence of accurate information about the current nature of school library and information services in Australia by collecting data on areas related to staffing, support, facilities and funding of school libraries, as well as identify how information services are managed when there is no staffed library provision within a school. As part of the study, ACER analysed NAPLAN 2018 data and found students’ reading, writing, spelling, grammar and [...]

The Education Council has published the final report of the Looking to the future: Review of senior secondary pathways into work, further education and training chaired by Professor Peter Shergold AC. It has been endorsed by the Education Ministers. Education Council's Pathways Review website. Final report Tasmanian Government submission

Dear Member Associations, The Australian Professional Teachers Association (APTA) extends an invite to your association to attend an APTA and ACARA led overview of the Australian Curriculum Review - its purposes and processes across the various states. The focus will be on the role of the professional teachers associations. Date: Thursday 23 July, 2020 Time: 6pm - 7pm via Zoom Cost: FREE Presenters        David de Carvalho, ACARA CEO &  Janet Davy, ACARA Director of Curriculum Register here 

The joint council, NEAT [Network of Education Associations of Tas] and specifically, TASITE, [Tasmanian Society for Information Technology in Education] the Tasmanian peak professional association for design and technology teachers, IT professionals and information management personnel in education welcome this strategy and look forward to working with industry and government partners in this new Digital Futures strategy for industry and service transformation. Both TASITE and NEAT members range in disciplines and STEM initiatives across the curriculum, from Early Childhood to the Tertiary area, and across all sectors of  schooling and career pathways. "A more digitally engaged and confident community that is [...]

A great initiative to support teachers working smartly continues past COVID-19 remote teaching. Login to AITSL, inquire, subscribe or curate your own personalised resource list from the AITSL Teacher Resource Hub  

The media release  states that Foundation – Year 10 (F–10) Australian Curriculum review is to be completed by the start of 2022. The aim is refining, updating and ‘decluttering’ to better support teachers with implementation. “Feedback strongly supports the need to balance curriculum stability for schools implementing the Australian Curriculum with the need to ensure the curriculum is kept up to date and fit for purpose,” said David de Carvalho." It also states that the review will involve extensive consultation with the profession and engagement with key stakeholders.  See details at https://www.acara.edu.au/curriculum/curriculum-review/