•  On May, 17, 2023
•  Tutoring Primary

Results of PIRLS 2021 show student achievement in reading is holding steady.

•  On Dec, 10, 2022
•  Tutoring Primary

Enquiry Learning Lacks Research Emeritus Professor John Sweller of UNSW questions the continuing extension of enquiry-based learning in the face of recent research findings about how humans learn. In https://www.cis.org.au/publication/why-inquiry-based-approaches-harm-students-learning/  Primary knowledge is what we humans learn through personal investigation. Secondary knowledge is what is passed down to us from earlier generations and through aeons […]

•  On Jul, 17, 2022
•  Tutoring Primary

The positive effect of parents’ socio-economic standing (SES) is less than it used to be and the negative effect of staff turnover in larger primary schools is now greater.

•  On May, 15, 2019
•  Mary Keating

Are children as young as 5 really suffering maths anxiety and crying on their way to school?

•  On Sep, 21, 2018
•  Mary Keating

I agree with Professor John Hattie when he says that Enquiry sounds terrific and that the logic of Enquiry learning is well argued. The evidence, however, indicates that it is introduced too early.

•  On Aug, 30, 2018
•  Mary Keating

TIMSS Reports Looking over the TIMSS Reports – Maths and Science for 2011 gives us the long range view of student progress. TIMSS stands for Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study. There has been an overall lift in student scores in Australia since 2011. However, the TIMSS Report for 2011 states: “…there are serious […]

•  On Aug, 05, 2018
•  Mary Keating

A further 13% of 4th graders in Australia scored at the Low Benchmark. So 20% are reading at or below the Low Benchmark. Influencing these results is the rate of tiredness and hunger on arrival at school.

•  On Aug, 03, 2018
•  Mary Keating

Good readers can skim and scan for general ideas but they must learn to read carefully for detail.

•  On Jan, 06, 2018
•  Mary Keating

Research tells us that school principals can make the same level of improvement in results on every student in a school as a high quality teacher does on the students he or she teaches.

•  On Nov, 07, 2017
•  Mary Keating

Excessive homework is often at the insistence of parents. But his is about taking control. It is about applying good homework tasks that are based on sound research findings.