Chalk & Talk We know more about teaching than ever—so why is change so slow? with Joanna Barbousas (Ep 69)
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Apr 17, 2026 Joanna Barbousas, Pro Vice-Chancellor and Dean of Education at La Trobe University who founded the SOLAR and SUM labs, discusses transforming teacher preparation with evidence-based reading and maths. She recounts classroom roots, redesigning programs, launching labs and an employment-based pathway called Nexus. The conversation highlights why university change is slow and how to build lasting reform.
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Secondary Art Class Revealed Reading Gaps
- Joanna noticed capable secondary art students couldn't access curriculum because they lacked foundational reading and language skills.
- She described students in senior years with the reading level of seven-year-olds, which motivated her lifelong focus on teacher preparation.
How University Structures Shaped Teacher Training
- Joanna explains teacher education historically emphasized theory and social perspectives over cognitive science and specific instructional knowledge.
- Universities aligned education with humanities, which reduced focus on memory, learning mechanisms, phonics, and explicit instruction.
Rowe Report Called For Systematic Reading Instruction
- The Rowe report (2005) concluded reading instruction must be systematic, explicit and include phonemic awareness, phonics, fluency, vocabulary and comprehension.
- It also recommended supervised, standards-linked teacher preparation, but lacked accountability so its impact was delayed decades.