Talking Teaching

Guest: Professor Jason Lodge, The University of Queensland
Are we helping students think more deeply, or are we allowing technology to do the thinking for them?
With Education Minister Jason Clare calling for a digital detox in Australian schools, questions about screen time, artificial intelligence and the role of technology in learning have never felt more urgent.
In this timely episode of Talking Teaching, Dr Sophie Specjal sits down with Professor Jason Lodge from The University of Queensland for a fascinating and refreshingly thoughtful conversation about AI, digital distraction and what it really means to learn.
We have more technology at our fingertips than ever before, but are we learning more? What happens to curiosity, attention and deep thinking when answers are only a click or a prompt away? And how do we ensure that, in our enthusiasm to embrace AI, we don't lose sight of the very human experiences that make learning meaningful?
Drawing on his research into the science of learning and educational technology, Jason challenges us to think beyond the headlines, the hype and the fear. Together, Sophie and Jason explore what AI can offer education, where we need to be more cautious and why understanding how people actually learn matters more than ever.
This isn't simply a conversation about whether technology belongs in classrooms. It's about the kind of learning we value, the role of teachers and the choices we make for the next generation.
Whether you're a teacher, school leader, researcher, parent or simply curious about the future of education, this is a conversation worth joining.
Talking Teaching is brought to you by the Faculty of Education at the University of Melbourne.
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Who is the teacher or mentor who made a difference to your life? And what does it really take to make a difference to someone else's?
As we approach World Teachers’ Day 2026 on October the 30th, Talking Teaching celebrates the remarkable influence of teachers and the relationships that shape our profession.
Host Dr Sophie Specjal is joined by Dr Amanda Samson, Lecturer at the University of Melbourne's Faculty of Education, and Hayley Dureau, Assistant Principal at Mentone Girls’ Secondary College and doctoral researcher at the University of Melbourne.
Together, they explore the power of mentoring, from the small moments of encouragement that stay with us for a lifetime to the responsibility of nurturing the next generation of teachers.
But mentoring is about more than generosity and good intentions. Who gets to decide what makes a great teacher? How might unconscious bias influence who feels welcomed, supported and encouraged to succeed? And what happens when mentors move beyond offering guidance to actively creating opportunities for others?
Drawing on research, professional experience and personal stories, Sophie, Amanda and Hayley explore:
The mentors who shape us: Why the people who believe in us can influence our lives and careers long after the moment has passed.

Unconscious gatekeeping: How our assumptions about what makes a 'good teacher' can unintentionally limit opportunities and diversity.

Mentoring, coaching and sponsorship: The importance of knowing when to guide, challenge, encourage and open doors.

The power of small moments: Why listening, noticing and making time for someone can be transformative.

Preparing future teachers: How schools and universities can work together to support teacher candidates, early career teachers and future leaders.

Mentoring in practice: What mentors, mentees and school leaders can do to build stronger, more intentional and reciprocal relationships.

This conversation is both a celebration of teachers and an invitation to reflect on our collective responsibility for the future of education.
One question to take away: Who made a difference to you, and have you ever told them?
This World Teachers’ Day, reach out to a teacher, mentor or colleague who helped shape your journey. A simple thank you might mean more than you realise.
Explore the research and resources
Talking Teaching | University of Melbourne, Faculty of Education
https://education.unimelb.edu.au/talking-teaching
Becoming a Mentor Teacher | Faculty of Education
https://education.unimelb.edu.au/community/mteach-partnership-schoolsandcentres/become-a-mentor-teacher
Strong Beginnings | Preparing future teachers
https://education.unimelb.edu.au/news-and-events/news/2026/strong-beginnings-grant-to-strengthen-teacher-readiness-and-classroom-practice
UniConnected | Connecting students, schools and opportunities
https://education.unimelb.edu.au/community/uniconnected
Talking Teaching brings together research, policy and practice through conversations with leading educators, researchers and thinkers shaping the future of education.
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#TalkingTeaching #WorldTeachersDay2026 #Mentoring #TeacherEducation #EducationResearch #TeacherLeadership #ProfessionalLearning #UniversityOfMelbourne
Now heard in over 141 countries across the globe!

If we could reinvent schools, where would we begin?
In Episode 5 of Talking Teaching, The University of Melbourne's Host, Dr Sophie Specjal welcomes Professor Sharon Goldfeld and Professor Jon Quach for a conversation about rethinking schools and the connections between children’s learning, health and wellbeing.
Bringing perspectives from research, education and child health, this conversation invites us to reconsider what schools can be and how we support them to fulfil that promise.
As the phased rollout of Thriving Kids begins, these questions have particular relevance. The episode offers a broader lens on early support, collaboration and the systems surrounding children and families.
Professor Sharon Goldfeld AM is a developmental paediatrician and public health researcher and Director of the Centre for Community Child Health, a department of The Royal Children’s Hospital and a research group of the Murdoch Children’s Research Institute. Her work brings together child development, health, education, equity and the translation of evidence into policy and systems. A central thread in Sharon’s work is the importance of the early years and how children’s experiences before school and during the first years of schooling shape later learning, engagement, health and life trajectories.
Professor Jon Quach is based in the Faculty of Education at the University of Melbourne and is affiliated with Population Health at the Murdoch Children’s Research Institute. His research focuses on evidence-informed systems and interventions that support student mental health, wellbeing, engagement and learning, including the Mental Health in Primary Schools (MHiPS) initiative and work connecting schools with families, services and communities. His work also examines how experiences and supports across childhood, including the early and primary years, can influence longer-term learning and wellbeing.
This episode deliberately continues the 2023 Talking Teaching episode Reinventing Schools: Elevating Student Learning, Wellbeing and Health. The original episode began with educators Erin Brass and Karlie Price describing MHiPS in practice, before Sharon and Jon explored the larger Reinventing Australian Schools provocation: what might schools become if learning, health and wellbeing were understood as interconnected parts of a child’s development rather than separate priorities?
Early years were also central to that discussion. Sharon stressed that what happens before school matters, that the transition into school should not be treated as an artificial divide, and that the first years of schooling are especially important for brain development, learning and engagement. This episode returns explicitly to that continuum, from early childhood into school, and asks what newer evidence tells us about prevention, early support, and changing trajectories before disengagement or difficulty becomes entrenched.
This engaging conversation draws on what has been learned through MHiPS at scale, newer work on student voice, engagement and disengagement, Child and Family Hubs, Getting it Right, school lunches and integrated supports. It also makes one concise connection to the recent conversation Talking Teaching host, Dr Sophie Specjal had with Professor Frank Oberklaid and Associate Professor Matt Harrison about Thriving Kids, prevention, neurodiversity and earlier support.
More information and useful links are available via this ⁠⁠⁠⁠link⁠⁠⁠⁠ on our Faculty of Education , Talking Teaching Web Page, where all listeners can access free resources discussed in this episode and insight into events and research at the Faculty of Education.

We would love to hear your feedback on the series, send your questions, comments or suggestions for future episodes contact host ⁠⁠Dr Sophie Specjal⁠⁠ sspecjal@unimelb.edu.au.

Reach out to Sophie, she would love to hear from you. This podcast is produced by the ⁠Faculty of Education⁠, University of Melbourne.

In this timely episode, host Dr Sophie Specjal is joined by Professor Frank Oberklaid AM and Associate Professor Matt Harrison to examine one of the most significant changes to Australia’s approach to supporting young children and their families.
The staged national rollout of the Australian Government’s Thriving Kids initiative is due to begin on 1 October 2026, with the program expected to reach full scale by January 2028. Professor Oberklaid brings exceptional insight to this conversation as Co-Chair of the Thriving Kids Advisory Group, which produced the national report and recommendations informing the initiative. This work seeks to establish a more consistent national approach to identifying developmental and behavioural concerns in children from birth to eight years of age and to create earlier, more accessible pathways to support.
Frank’s contribution to Thriving Kids reflects decades of leadership at the intersection of clinical practice, research, education and public policy. He was the Foundation Director of the Centre for Community Child Health at The Royal Children’s Hospital Melbourne for more than 25 years and is now Co-Group Leader of Child Health Policy, Equity and Translation at the Murdoch Children’s Research Institute.
The Centre itself sits at a powerful intersection: it is both a department of The Royal Children’s Hospital and a research group within the Murdoch Children’s Research Institute. This connection enables knowledge drawn from children, families and clinical practice to inform research, while research evidence is translated into policy, services and practical supports. Frank’s career has been central to building this bridge, from understanding children’s developmental and behavioural needs to shaping systems that emphasise prevention, early intervention, equity and support within the everyday settings where children live and learn.
Frank also leads the Mental Health in Primary Schools initiative, further demonstrating how his work connects child health research with the practical realities of schools and educators. His involvement gives this discussion particular significance: he brings not only an intimate understanding of the Thriving Kids policy, but decades of experience translating evidence into large-scale change for children and families.
Associate Professor Matt Harrison joins Sophie to explore how this policy relates to neurodiversity and to his own work in this field.
Together, they consider the important questions the initiative raises, its potential implications for children, families, educators and schools, and the possibilities it creates for more inclusive and responsive systems of support.
Frank, Matt and Sophie examine the shift from reactive, diagnosis-led intervention towards prevention, early identification and accessible foundational supports. They discuss neurodiversity, identity and belonging; the risks of defining children primarily through diagnoses or perceived deficits; and the importance of recognising each child’s individual strengths, needs and developmental context.
Grounded in research, policy expertise and practical insight, this episode does not seek to provide simple answers. Instead, it opens an important conversation about the questions, implications and possibilities surrounding Thriving Kids, and what will be required to translate the policy’s ambition into meaningful support for children and families.

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Contact Host Dr Sophie Specjal and access brilliant resources related to this episode and resources from all other episodes, which are all available for you to listen to on all podcast platforms, on the University of Melbourne's Faculty of Education https://education.unimelb.edu.au/talking-teaching

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Keep Teaching and Keep Talking!

Education carries a promise: that every student has the opportunity to learn, progress, belong and thrive. But what does it take to deliver on that promise, from the decisions made in a classroom to those shaping education across Australia?
In this episode of Talking Teaching, University of Melbourne host Dr Sophie Specjal PhD speaks with Stephen Gniel, CEO of the Australian Curriculum, Assessment and Reporting Authority (ACARA), about a remarkable career and lifelong commitment to education spanning more than three decades, from classroom teacher and school principal to system, state and national leadership.
At the heart of the conversation is a fundamental question: what is education for, and what do we truly want for every student in Australia?
Stephen reflects on the people, experiences and opportunities that have shaped his thinking and leadership, and why, despite the changing scale of his responsibility, he remains deeply connected to his identity as a teacher and to the promise educators make to the children and young people they serve.
The conversation explores the powerful intersection of research, policy and practice, and what it means to translate evidence and educational purpose into curriculum, assessment, reporting and decisions that ultimately affect students, teachers, schools and communities.
It also considers the importance of remaining connected to classrooms as leadership moves further into systems and policy. Behind every curriculum decision, assessment program, policy and data point is a student and the educators working alongside them.
Stephen extends that commitment across the entire education profession by reflecting on the vital role of higher education and initial teacher education in preparing the next generation of teachers, and the importance of strong connections between universities, research, schools, systems and the profession. Preparing teachers well and supporting them to continue learning throughout their careers is fundamental to delivering on our promise to students.
Stephen’s journey highlights the many pathways available within education and the extraordinary reach an educator can have across a lifetime. From initial teacher education and classroom practice to school, system and national leadership, the scale of influence may change, but the purpose can remain constant: creating the conditions in which every child can flourish.
Above all, this episode is both a celebration of Stephen Gniel’s extraordinary lifelong contribution to Australian education and a celebration of the profession itself. From teacher to principal, educational leader means
It is a story of possibility, purpose, service and impact and of a promise to children that has remained constant throughout a lifetime in education.
The episode invites educators, researchers, teacher educators, school and system leaders, policymakers, parents and communities to consider not only what education is today, but what it could be and what each of us must continue to learn, question and improve if we are to fulfil the promise we make to every student.

ACARA website — www.acara.edu.au
Australian Curriculum — www.australiancurriculum.edu.au
National Assessment Program, including NAPLAN — www.nap.edu.au
My School — https://myschool.edu.au
ACARA Data Reporting — www.acara.edu.au/reporting
ACARA Update — https://acaracommunications.acara.edu.au/subscribe
Stephen Gniel on LinkedIn — www.linkedin.com/in/stephen-gniel
ACARA on LinkedIn — http://www.linkedin.com/company/668120

Talking Teaching is a podcast brought to you by the Faculty of Education at the University of Melbourne, bringing together leading educators, researchers, policymakers and practitioners to explore the ideas, evidence and experiences shaping education today and into the future. Discover more from the Faculty of Education and explore previous episodes of Talking Teaching through the University of Melbourne.
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