The point when a child with special educational needs (SEN) is diagnosed is an important moment in their lives. It allows schools to provide them with access to additional resources, such as assistive technology, specialised teaching programs or the services of professionals such as educational psychologists. These resources help to meet children’s academic, emotional or social needs. […] … learn more→

When ChatGPT launched a year ago, headlines flooded the internet about fears of student cheating. A pair of essays in The Atlantic decried “the end of high-school English” and the death of the college essay.“ NPR informed readers that ”everybody is cheating.“ Meanwhile, Teen Vogue ventured that the moral panic ”may be overblown.“ The more measured […] … learn more→

As we approach the end of the school year, many families are thinking about what might be an appropriate gift to thank teachers. Meanwhile, teachers are preparing for an inundation of scented candles, boxes of chocolates and pot plants as they head into a well-deserved summer break. As a former high school teacher, I remember […] … learn more→

For many funding agencies, your readers will usually fit into one of two categories: The reviewer is usually a subject specialist. They are being asked to comment on the substance of your proposed research. The panellist usually has a significant profile in the field. They won’t necessarily have a knowledge of your area. Your proposal, […] … learn more→

It’s frightening to imagine where the world would be right now without mRNA vaccines. The COVID-busting technology revolutionised vaccine development at an internationally critical moment – with massive implications for people’s health, wellbeing and the global economy. Yet imagine we must – because some of the research most crucial to the development of mRNA vaccines almost didn’t […] … learn more→

In Australia we have a long history of taking children outdoors to learn about the natural environment. But thanks to computer games, tablets and busy lifestyles, children aren’t getting as much exposure to nature as they used to. “Bush kinders” are one way to counter this. In a bush kinder, children in preschool years are regularly taken […] … learn more→

One of the hardest aspects of academic writing is working out how to take a suitably authoritative stance. To be read as an expert. To sound like an authority on your topic. It’s all very well for people like me to say Well don’t be too assertive but don’t be too shrinking violet. What does this […] … learn more→

Imagination, that faculty that allows us to create worlds in our minds, is not exclusive to human beings. Recent studies suggest that animals can also harbor forms of imagination and that they have the ability to mentally navigate and subjectively experience virtual worlds that open the doors to new forms of learning in a similar way to humans. The importance […] … learn more→

In 2022, 184 women and girls were killed by violence in Canada. This number has steadily increased in each of the past three years; 148 women and girls were killed in 2019, 172 in 2020 and 177 in 2021. There were 6,423 incidences of anti-2SLGBTQIA+ protests and online hate in Canada in the first three months of 2023 […] … learn more→

The word ‘epistemic’ comes from the Greek for ‘relating to knowledge’. Knowledge is usually thought and spoken of as something neutral, but the way knowledge is used is often far from neutral. Knowledge and its use – or misuse – can contribute to justice or injustice, freedom or subjugation, violence or peace. The concepts of epistemic […] … learn more→