The EduShift Collective

You may wish to consider supporting Australia’s best minds in education Stephanie McConnell , Lou Deibe and Fiona Young in making this valuable resource available and free to all.
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“The voices of our young have never been so important” this powerful film is taking the world by storm.

Future Council - Official Trailer Watch Future Council at home: https://www.madman.com.au/future-coun...

“How can you tell me to just ignore it?” 🎶
Young people taking real action.
From shy and insecure students to young people prepared to stand in front of world industry leaders and call for change, this is learner agency at its strongest displayed in the recently released documentary.
Recently in Perth, I had the privilege of spending time with Ruby Rodgers, a 16-year-old passionate and effective agent of change, along with her dad accompanying her on guitar. I also heard from Damon Gameau, film director, actor and creator of Future Council, That Sugar Film and more.
Ruby and the young people involved in Future Council are not waiting politely on the sidelines. They are stepping forward, asking better questions, challenging the adults in the room, and taking on real-world issues with courage, clarity and purpose.
This is what we mean when we talk about contemporary learning. Not just preparing young people for the future, but trusting them to help shape it.
If you want to see learner agency in action, have a look at Future Council:
https://theregenerators.org/future-council/ LEA Conf 2026 - Perth
PS: You may be correct in connecting Ruby's musical family to her Grand Pop - Jimmy... See less

There is too much at stake in 2026 for a young person to spend most of their school days in a traditional model of learning.
"Whether you are considering this school, or any other school, I would encourage you to ask the leader one very direct question:
How do you explicitly develop, monitor and evidence the rich development of contemporary skills and dispositions in your students? And can you show us, please?
I would be wary of vague or waffly responses.
One very small example - can they tell you the difference between what is expected for a year 4 student to 'collaborate' compared to a year 7 student?"
LFLC Shines
— Derek Bartels, address to prospective LFLC parents.

One of the most powerful moments from yesterday’s conversation on contemporary learning came not from an adult, but from a student.

When asked whether they enjoyed learning through Project-Based Learning approaches, one young man from St Mark’s College off the cuff turned to the 450 educators, and designers in the room and said:

“Raise your hand if you genuinely enjoyed your learning experience at school.”

The room went quiet.

Almost no hands went up.

Then came the applause for the student.

In one spontaneous moment, a student challenged us all to reflect on the kind of learning experiences we create for young people, and whether schooling is truly engaging, authentic and memorable.

This is why contemporary learning matters.

When students are given agency, authentic challenges, real-world problems and opportunities to collaborate, create and contribute, learning becomes something they do with purpose, not something done to them.

The future of schooling will not be formed solely by adults designing for students.It will be authentically co-created with students.

And today, these young people reminded us why their voice matters so deeply. (Unleashed LEA International Conference, Perth)

When Leadership remove all barriers and extra guff from teachers, the magic happens!🕺 Melissa and Derek energised by FLCr Champions

“Derek and Mel, the PBL ideation and delivery has taken the college by storm. One recent event was a monster success, attracting more than 400 parents as students shared their understanding through delivering a night carnival for the community which they had designed and created themselves. Families loved it, students were highly engaged, and the team did an incredible job. There are now so many examples of rich, authentic PBL happening across the college.” College Leadership Team.

Comments like this from school leaders are incredibly encouraging.

This week has been a privilege, with Mel and I working alongside around 60 teachers at Faith Lutheran College Redlands, individually honing their Project-Based Learning craft. Together we have been refining driving questions, strengthening authenticity, designing meaningful public products, deepening inquiry, and exploring how learning can become even more rich, relevant and connected to the real world while richly developing and tracking respective dispositions.

In all fairness to present both sides of this tussle in New Zealand, a recent response from the NZ Minister of Education, Hon Erica Stanford is now on the site below. Thanks

📣AN OPEN LETTER TO THE AOTEAROA NZ MINISTER OF EDUCATION📣

🔗 learningenvironments.org.au/AotearoaNZ

Our Executive has released an Open Letter to the Aotearoa New Zealand Minister of Education — a message grounded in respect, evidence, and our shared commitment to better outcomes for all learners.

💡 The letter highlights the substantial research supporting Innovative Learning Environments (ILEs/MLEs) and reaffirms the vital role Aotearoa New Zealand educators and researchers play in shaping global best practice.

✨ To our Aotearoa New Zealand educators — we see you and we hear you. Your mahi continues to shape the future of learning across our region.

If you care about the future of learning, educational research, or the design of impactful learning environments, this is essential reading.

🔗 learningenvironments.org.au/AotearoaNZ

All the way from Scotland
Ewan McIntosh from NOTOSH joins us in person to provoke educators and designers tomorrow evening in Melbourne. Currently 16 places remaining out of the 95 registrations. See you there.

LEV - Speaker Series 1: Who Shapes Your Learning The Victoria Chapter of LEA invite you to attend our Chapter event