This book highlights classroom-based research in an Australian context by exploring evidence-based learning and teaching practices. Marrying theory and practice, it draws examples from early childhood, primary and secondary settings to provide a thorough overview of the key issues surrounding current learning and teaching practices.

Dr Melissa Barnes is a Lecturer in the Faculty of Education, Monash University, Australia. While her teaching career began in the United States, it is her teaching experiences in Germany, Vietnam, Australia and Brunei that have collectively shaped her understanding of language, literacy, assessment and teacher education in diverse educational contexts.

Dr Maria Gindidis is a Lecturer in the Faculty of Education, Monash University, Australia. Her teaching career began in Australian high schools. Her work as State coordinator of Bilingual Schools and leadership roles in the Department of Education influenced her current research in education leadership within culturally diverse and marginalised contexts.

Professor Sivanes Phillipson is Professor of Education and Associate Dean International at the Faculty of Health, Arts and Design, Swinburne University of Technology, Australia. She is also the Routledge Series Editor for Evolving Families. Her research interest and experience focus on family studies in particular parental involvement and expectations of culturally and linguistically diverse and disadvantaged young children and their educational outcomes.

1. Australian classrooms: Linking theory and practice Melissa Barnes, Sivanes Phillipson, and Maria Gindidis

Section I: Understanding Learning Learners

2. Creating a learning environment that encourages mathematical thinking Jill Cheeseman

3. "Why do we have to do addition? I already know addition": A cultural-historical perspective of collaborative learning, teaching and assessment in early years mathematics Megan Adams

4. Encouraging language development through an online community: Lessons learnt from an action research project Melissa Barnes

5. Neuroscepticism: Investigating teachers' experiences using a Whole Brain Teaching method Maria Gindidis

6. Literacy in and for the 21st century: Considering the pedagogical place of social media within 21st-century Australia literacy classrooms through the lens of childhood Damien Lyons

7. Listening to the voices of young children in educational settings Deborah Moore

8. Student experiences of career counselling process in secondary subject choices in Australia: A case for parent-school partnership Sarika Kewalramani, Sivanes Phillipson and Nish Belford

Section II: Encouraging Learning through Pedagogy

9. Hundreds of messages on a leaf: Inspiration from Reggio Emilia Julie Rimes, David Gilkes, and Lou Thorpe

10. Assessing student-generated representations to explore theory-practice connections Peter Sellings

11. Assessment to develop students' strategies and competence as learners Anna Fletcher

12. Groups in action: A closer look at how students respond to group work Kitty Janssen, Justen O'Connor, and Sivanes Phillipson

13. The Australian curriculum, creativity and narrative accounts of the classroom Narelle Wood

14. Digital technology and learning Amber McLeod

Section III: Navigating Structures and Tools

15. Education for Sustainability (EfS): A priority or an "add on?" Melissa Barnes, Deborah Moore and Sylvia Almeida

16. The changing landscape of early childhood curriculum: Empowering pre-service educators to engage in curriculum reform Lauren Armstrong, Corine Rivalland and Hilary Monk

17. Rights-based Indigenous education in Australia: Evidence-based policy to pedagogy Peter Joseph Anderson and Zane Ma Rhea

18. Collaboration in the classroom Jane McCormack and Michelle Smith-Tamaray

19. Action research: A reflective tool for teaching Louise Jenkins and Renee Crawford

20. Personal practical knowledge: Artists/researchers/teachers reflecting on their engagement in an art practice and professional work Nish Belford

21. Conclusion: Evidence-based learning and teaching: Unlocking successful pedagogy Melissa Barnes, Sivanes Phillipson and Maria Gindidis