Early childhood is a time for developing “thinking dispositions” that students need for their better future thinking.  But are our teachers at all grade levels being trained to do this?
   Do they have the teaching resources they need? How do teachers develop the thinking dispositions of their students? And how can teachers test that any interventions they try are actually working?
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Wakakirri would like to extend a BIG congratulations and thank you to all the 184 schools who took part in Wakakirri 2022. “It was so great to see schools back on stage after two years of disruptions” said Festival Director Adam Loxley. “We appreciate the effort all the teachers put in this year to navigate the lingering effects of Covid and think they deserve extra praise. They really are special people.”
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New ways to reduce teacher workloads and a multi-million dollar PR campaign are included in the draft plan to address teacher shortages and teachers have been given a seat at the table in framing the plan.
   Education Minister Jason Clare said $25 million would be spent trialling ways to reduce teacher workloads and to maximise the time teachers spent actually teaching. A bead has been drawn on administrative duties.
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Cyber Safety Needs to be Included in Curriculum

More children than ever are using the internet, they’re using it younger than ever before and that means increased exposure to cyber threats.
   What should be taught to them and how and when needs to be clarified and included in the Australian Curriculum according to a new report led by Edith Cowan University (ECU) Associate Professor and Security Research Institute (SRI) Deputy Co-Director Dr Nicola Johnson.
"We need to start early with five-year-olds," she says. Read more

The non-fungible token (NFT) is coming to the education publishing scene giving purchasers and creators the opportunity to share in profits generated from the sale of education games.
   Animoca Brands, which promotes digital property rights for gaming and the open metaverse, and subsidiary TinyTap, a platform for user-generated educational games will soon auction Publisher NFTs.
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Participation rates have been slowly falling since the start of NAPLAN and the decline this year was greater than the long-term rate.
   This decreasing participation rate can impact results analysis and the ability to get a clear picture of literacy and numeracy achievement at the national level.
   Preliminary NAPLAN 2022 results were not released in August as closer analysis of the data was required due to lower than usual participation rates. Read more

Sustainability and inclusion issues including food waste, recycling plastic, and transition to primary school for children with disabilities are front of mind for Australian teachers and winners of the 2022 NGS Super Scholarship Awards will be tackling the issues with funding won through the competition.
   The awards are designed to help education workers contribute to the sector and foster their professional development, with six $5,000 scholarships awarded. Read more