News release

From: Flinders University

Where to Now? Teaching in the 21st Century is aresearch-informed book providing in-depth discussions of teaching, from junior primary to Year 10 levels, while identifying and addressing the multi-faceted challenges that pre-service and early career teachers can face.

Dr Loretta Bowshall-Freeman, co-author of the book and Deputy Teaching Program Director (Education) at Flinders University’s College of Human Sciences and Culture, says the role of teachers has expanded in recent years – and key strategies are required to help pre-service and early career teachers navigate professional challenges while they also maintain focus on teaching priorities.

“This extends beyond the classroom. It includes ways to support pre-service and early career teachers as they prepare for a new teaching role, day-to-day and long-term professional logistic solutions, and effective approaches for working with curriculum and education policies,” says Dr Bowshall-Freeman.

The book also examines how teachers can prepare for new roles within their teaching responsibilities, embed Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander perspectives, navigate curriculum and policy demands, manage classrooms effectively, and design inclusive, engaging and assessable learning opportunities.

It explores strategies for professional collaboration and networking to sustain long-term growth and reflective practice – and also provides case studies, recommended readings and guided responses.

“Teaching today is not a script that teachers simply follow. In every lesson, teachers are reading the room, noticing who is engaging, who is struggling, who’s thinking is emerging, and what needs to happen next,” says book co-author and Flinders University colleague Dr Rozi Binte Rahmat.

“This book was written for those real classroom moments, offering practical, research-informed strategies that help teachers make confident and responsive decisions.”

Teaching Strategies in the 21st Century supports new educators to transition into their roles with confidence, while laying the foundations for a reflective, adaptive and student-centred practice.

“My work in assessment has always reminded me that teaching is not just about what teachers do, but about how students experience learning,” says Dr Rozi. “A strategy is only powerful when it helps teachers notice student thinking, respond to different needs, and create opportunities for all learners to show what they know and can do. That is the kind of practical, responsive teaching this book supports.”

The book – Teaching Strategies in the 21st Century: Where to Now?, by Loretta Bowshall-Freeman, Rozi Binte Rahmat and Michael Colbung (published by Cambridge University Press) – is available as an eBook from 16 July, with hardcopy versions available from 30 July.