Science of learning for excellence and equity
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Think Forward Educators is a community of over 20,000 teachers, school leaders, specialists, parents, and researchers. We advocate for education that allows every child to succeed: Promoting social equity, using the science of learning.
Upcoming Events
This webinar introduces Direct Instruction - the unique teaching approach created by Seigfried Engelmann at the University of Oregon in the 1960’s, origin of the Science of Learning and Science of Reading body of programs and research with which we are all familiar with today. The webinar will give an overview of the background of DI including Project Follow Through (the largest educational research study ever conducted), the Philosophy underpinning DI, and the basics of the teaching pedagogy that underpins all DI programs.
Participants in the webinar will:
Discover key tools and routines for common classroom scenarios (entry routines, gaining attention and defusing debate)
Experience how instructional coaching and rehearsal can be used to improve teacher practice
Gain insight into the school level systems that support student engagement in the classroom.
One of the most dangerous assumptions a teacher can make is that their students are listening to them. Most of the time, they are not. In this session, we will look at what happens if students are not listening during the I Do phase of a worked example, and how to make sure they are listening. There will be an opportunity to plan and rehearse some checks for listening for an upcoming lesson, so you can take what you learn straight into the classroom. Whilst this workshop uses examples from the world of high-school maths, the key principles transfer across to different phases and subjects.
This presentation will focus on how educators can develop and promote meaningful personalised maths instruction within inclusive classrooms. We will explore research findings that focus on the development of an individualised inclusive educational framework utilising personalized supports, explicit early numeracy skill instruction, age/stage-aligned math outcomes and embedded systematic instruction for students with complex learning needs (i.e., intellectual disability, autism, developmental disability).
Every school in the world is wanting to improve, increase results and lead students to success. Traditional professional development models vary in effectiveness and many are failing us greatly. We need professional development that supports the teacher to increase their expertise in teaching.
In this webinar we will look at the power of instructional coaching as a fundamental professional development tool. Participants will experience examples of instructional coaching structures, the impact and growth that these programs can offer and how accessing an instructional coach can supercharge teaching.
New partnership with La Trobe University
Think Forward Educators is excited to announce a new partnership with La Trobe University!
This will provide more opportunities for collaboration with School of Education researchers and the Think Forward Educators’ network.
This collaboration shows a shared commitment to reducing the research-to-practice gap and ensuring more Australian educators have the knowledge they need be successful in the classroom.
“"Think Forward Educators helped build my confidence and stopped me from feeling like I was alone on my quest for knowledge that was evidence-based."
— Middle leader at a government primary school in NSW
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Think Forward Blog
Comparative Judgement is an innovative new assessment that has recently become available in Australia. Traditional marking, including NAPLAN Writing, involves the use of a rubric. Comparative Judgement relies on many educators comparing one script to another until a continuum of scripts is formed. To understand if Comparative Judgement can be a useful predictor for national writing assessment, No More Marking are able to make some interesting correlations.
A message from Think Forward Educators founder Dr Nathaniel Swain
Introducing Katie Roberts-Hull, the new Think Forward Educators CEO
An overarching problem encountered in many classrooms is having our students write the way they speak. Why do they do this?
Language acquisition is a biologically primary skill, meaning humans will naturally learn how to speak. However, the written word is a skill that must be taught.
Following on from last year’s successful series of blog articles on 5 ways to implement the science of reading, this year experts will be providing ready-to-use tips on the science of maths.
Inspired by Tom Sherrington’s Five Ways Collection, the posts have been edited and curated by Brendan Lee and Dr Nathaniel Swain.
The first blog post of the series comes from maths guru, Alex Blanksby.
Following on from last year’s successful series of blog articles on 5 ways to implement the science of reading, this year experts will be providing ready-to-use tips on the science of maths.
Inspired by Tom Sherrington’s Five Ways Collection, the posts have been edited and curated by Brendan Lee and Dr Nathaniel Swain.
The second blog post of the series comes from maths guru, Karen Tzanetopoulos.
Following on from last year’s successful series of blog articles on 5 ways to implement the science of reading, this year experts will be providing ready-to-use tips on the science of maths.
Inspired by Tom Sherrington’s Five Ways Collection, the posts have been edited and curated by Brendan Lee and Dr Nathaniel Swain.
The first blog post of the series comes from maths guru, Alex Blanksby.
What is the best way of reporting assessment information to students & parents? This is a question I hear all the time, and it isn’t easy to answer. What we all want is an assessment system that is (a) accurate, (b) easy to understand, (c) not too time-consuming for staff, and (d) motivating for students. But these principles are all in conflict with each other.
This article from Brendan Lee looks at what we can do to support school leaders in implementing the science of learning.
So what is Developmental Language Disorder (DLD)? According to data from the SCALES Project, led by Professor Courtney Norbury, it affects 1 in 14 children, which equates to approximately 2 children in every classroom. Each person’s language profile will look different but common features include difficulties with:
Learning and using new words, Word finding, Understanding and using complex sentences, Understanding the nuances of conversation, Working memory, Reading. Chances are that someone in your everyday life has this hidden condition. Please take the time to learn a little more. It could make all the difference.
Think Forward Educators is posting a series of blog articles written by educational experts providing ready-to-use tips on how to implement the Science of Reading into the classroom. Inspired by Tom Sherrington’s Five Ways Collection, the posts have been edited and curated by Brendan Lee and Dr Nathaniel Swain. This blog post on Oral Language comes from teacher and speech-language pathologist, Kathryn Thorburn.
Over the coming weeks, Think Forward Educators will be posting a series of blog articles written by educational experts providing ready-to-use tips on how to implement the Science of Reading into the classroom. Inspired by Tom Sherrington’s Five Ways Collection, the posts have been edited and curated by Brendan Lee and Dr Nathaniel Swain. The fourth blog post of the series from teacher and learning specialist, James Dobson gives us a comprehensive look at fluency.
Over the coming weeks, Think Forward Educators will be posting a series of blog articles written by educational experts providing ready-to-use tips on how to implement the Science of Reading into the classroom. Inspired by Tom Sherrington’s Five Ways Collection, the posts have been edited and curated by Brendan Lee and Dr Nathaniel Swain. This third post of the series comes from teacher and consultant, Debbie Draper, on the teaching of comprehension.
“The Science of Reading is sending waves across the education system.
Our goal is to see the tides change on every shore.”
— Dr Nathaniel Swain, Founder
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There has been a lot of recent commentary about student behaviour in schools and what teachers should do about it. We thought it might be useful to share a series of five “memes” over the coming days that may enhance a teacher’s ability to understand and implement evidence-based behaviour support practices in their classroom. Each meme is based on a significant body of research evidence and may be used to add depth or breadth to practices that you are familiar with already (such as explicit instruction and opportunities to respond).