Teaching for How Students Learn
One of the most valuable questions we can ask as educators is also one of the simplest: How do students learn best? It is a question we should continually be asking ourselves, because the better we understand how learning happens, the better we can support every student. The Australian Education Research Organisation (AERO), Australia’s national education evidence body, has recently updated its Model of Learning and Teaching. It brings together a substantial body of research about how students learn and the teaching practices that are most effective in supporting them.
There is much in this research that resonates with our approach at Kingswood College. We know that learning is about more than being exposed to information or taking part in an engaging activity. Students need to build knowledge, connect new ideas with what they already know, practise and consolidate their learning, and gradually become confident in applying their knowledge independently. This means great teaching will not always look the same. Sometimes students need their teacher to explicitly teach a new concept, model a skill and provide guided practice. At other times, they need opportunities to investigate, collaborate, solve problems, create and apply their learning in new and unfamiliar situations. The question is not whether teaching looks traditional or contemporary. The question is whether it helps students learn.
You may therefore see our teachers:
- explicitly teaching new knowledge and skills
- connecting new learning to what students already know
- modelling and demonstrating before students work independently
- regularly checking students' understanding
- providing opportunities to practise and revisit important knowledge
- gradually removing support as students become more confident and independent
To be clear, this does not mean less creativity or student agency. Quite the opposite. When students have strong foundations in knowledge and understanding, they are better equipped to think deeply, make connections, be creative and tackle increasingly complex challenges. As educators, we have a responsibility to continually reflect on our practice and ask ourselves what the evidence tells us about how we can teach more effectively. This commitment to evidence-informed teaching is an important part of our focus on Exceptional Staff and Bold Expectations within our Strategic Plan. Ultimately, when we understand more about how students learn, we can be more deliberate about how we teach. And when we get that right, we give every student a greater opportunity to shine. We believe that great teaching is about knowing our students, understanding how they learn, and creating the conditions in which they can shine.
At Kingswood College we proudly work to fulfil our vision to embolden hearts and inspire minds in a nurturing environment, on land that holds deep cultural significance to the Wurundjeri people of the Kulin Nation. We acknowledge and honour their Elders, past and present, and extend our respect to all First Nations people. Whenever we gather, and wherever we gather, we extend respect and dignity to the first inhabitants of our country and acknowledge the truth about the country on which our school has stood and now stands.
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