New resources
“As we know, teaching Indigenous content in schools is particularly important, not just for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children who need to see their culture respected and valued in the classroom; but equally for all children to learn the true history of this country,” Commissioner Oscar said.
“It is through telling these stories that our families might begin to heal, and that all Australians might begin to understand how our past is so intimately connected to our future,” she said.
“The website features information about the Bringing them Home report and personal stories from members of the Stolen Generations and their families in an engaging and accessible way.”
The new website is at https://bth.humanrights.gov.au/
Improving working memory and attention
Memory Mates is a new program for primary schools that helps children who experience working memory and attention difficulties.
A University of Sydney and NSW Department of Education program to improve primary school children’s attention and memory, the program has produced significant improvements in maths and spelling, according to an evaluation
of a pilot program in 13 classes across six schools.
Students with low working memory can feel overloaded with instructions and information, reducing their ability to cope in class.
The University’s Associate Professor Susan Colmar collaborated with NSW Department of Education Senior Psychologists Nash Davis and Linda Sheldon to develop the Memory Mates program, which trains teachers to support primary school children to adopt and use 10 attention and working memory strategies.
Resources from the Memory Mates program have been made available for free on a website launched at the University of Sydney: www.memorymates.education
Cyberbullying is a deeply embedded problem in society, with one in five young people under the age of 18 reporting that they have experienced online bullying in any one year...
Tackling cyberbullying
Cyberbullying is a deeply embedded problem in society, with one in five young people under the age of 18 reporting that they have experienced online bullying in any one year, but schools cannot solve the problem alone.
Reducing Cyberbullying in Schools focuses on international evidenced based strategies for preventing cyberbullying.
Professor Campbell spent two decades as a teacher, before becoming a registered psychologist and then moving into educational research. Reducing Cyberbullying in Schools: International Evidence-Based Best Practices provides an accessible blend of academic rigour and practical application for mental health professionals, school administrators and educators, giving them a vital tool in stemming the problem of cyberbullying in school settings.
Marilyn Campbell and Sheri Bauman (eds). (2017). Reducing Cyberbullying in Schools: International Evidence-Based Best Practices, Academic Press, eBook ISBN: 9780128114247, Paperback ISBN: 9780128114230
https://www.elsevier.com/books/reducing-cyberbullying-in-schools/campbell/978-0-12-811423-0
iEngage
University of Sydney researchers won a Diabetes NSW & ACT and Diabetes Australia grant to develop iEngage, a child friendly, user centred educational health program that allows students to monitor daily movements and nutrition choices via wearable devices.
iEngage is designed for the 80% of 5–17 year olds who don’t meet the recommended physical activity levels, and consume excessive amounts of food containing added sugar.
In the school context, the program is best suited to students in Years 5 and 6. iEngage is made up of 10 modules, each 50 minutes long. Each module is structured around a variety of fun activities such as quizzes, physical activity and peer learning.
https://sydney.edu.au/research/opportunities/opportunities/2084.
Dealing with child anxiety disorders
Take Action is a child anxiety treatment designed for both individual and group use.
In the hands of an experienced school counsellor or psychologist, this program helps to prevent the development of chronic anxiety in children that can lead to depression and dangerous self harming behaviour.
Take Action, developed in Australia by psychologists for primary school aged children, uses ‘cognitive behavioural therapy’ (CBT) approaches to help anxious children cope better both socially and scholastically and prevent the future development of chronic anxiety and possible clinical depression.
Take Action provides qualified staff with module based instructions and materials in an $85 manual to conduct a range of treatment measures from anxiety management skills training to a complete 10 week CBT group therapy program.
www.takeactionprogram.com
Young and eSafe
Last year, the Office of the eSafety Comisssioner launched the https://esafety.gov.au/youngandesafe/