The Australian newspaper published an article last week stating that the New South Wales Department of Education is returning to the old school method of teaching children, vital facts, in sequence. This change is based on recent “research that proves children learn best when they are explicitly taught facts and given practice to embed them in long-term memory”. The article goes on to explain that teachers must rely on evidence of what works to help children learn, just as doctors perform operations based on proven and best-practice surgical techniques.
Here at MacKillop, our teachers have already been on this journey for the last 4 years. We have been researching and implementing the recommendations of the Australian Education Research Organisation (AERO) across the College. This includes the implementation of synthetic phonics in Prep to Year 2. This involves a sequenced program that teaches our children to recognise / decode the 44 phonemes (sounds) that make up words, and then synthesise / blend graphemes (written representations of the sounds, to enable them to read and write words.
We have also embedded the latest brain research on cognitive load, to help our students learn more effectively. Our working memory is only able to hold a small amount of information at any one time, and therefore our instructional methods should avoid overloading students with input as this limits processing. Additionally, we practice to mastery through retrieval practice, and teach by breaking learning into smaller chunks that then allow students to experience success. Every morning across the Primary sector, students start their day with a morning routine of retrieval and fact building; our Secondary students start every lesson with a retrieval quiz.
Students might also learn to chant, draw and perform actions to remember Mathematics concepts this way. For example, SOHCAHTOA for calculating the unknown size of an angle in a right-angle triangle.
Of course, all of our curriculum programs sequence student learning so that it is developmental and gradually building student knowledge, skill and confidence. This is labelled the Gradual Release model.
Once students know something about a topic or concept, then they will be able to do something with it – apply their knowledge, analyse information or data, use their understanding to construct, investigate or problem solve. This is our goal; one that we take very seriously, and the whole purpose of learning – to use what we know to do something with it!
This all comes together in Secondary, under the banner of the Universal design for Learning. This links all pedagogies to help students understand the what, why and how of their learning.
So how can you help your child? Read to them; help them decode words – no matter what age. Talk to them about their learning – help them retrieve information and explain concepts to you; take them places, research new information, expose them to new experiences – this will build their background knowledge and help them to supercharge their long-term memory. All of these things will help them grow in confidence and encourage them to apply what they know.
For more information please refer to our College newsletter.
