Learning First, an education research and consultancy group, recently hosted a conference titled “Enriching learning through quality curriculum”. At the heart of the discussion was the central idea that a strong curriculum forms the backbone of a solid education system, and a call to action to elevate the level of rigour and specificity in the Australian curriculum was a distinct throughline. Parallel to this were discussions around a term that has been becoming more prominent in recent years; that of a “knowledge-rich curriculum”.

If you're reading this blog, you're probably already familiar with the evidence underpinning cognitive load theory, explicit instruction, knowledge-rich curriculum and behaviour routines. There is little need to revisit the importance of applying cognitive load theory to lesson design, the enduring value of Rosenshine's Principles of Instruction, or why building knowledge enables students to learn more. You’re the choir and I won’t preach.

In recent years, evidence-informed practice has gained significant momentum across Australian education. Increasing numbers of schools are exploring explicit instruction, knowledge-rich curriculum, predictable classroom routines and the science of learning. Yet while many examples of sustained implementation are emerging, secondary educators often find themselves asking a different question:

What does this work look like in a large, complex secondary setting?

MTSS is often misunderstood as a system of intervention, but at its core it is about organising opportunity to learn. Grounded in the idea that ability is shaped by what students are taught, the most effective approaches prioritise strengthening Tier 1—curriculum, instruction, and classroom practice—so more students succeed from the outset. Over time, strong core instruction reduces the need for additional support, shifting MTSS from reactive intervention to proactive system design.

Why are schools pursuing the Workshop Model for young students? The Workshop model entails students working through the writing process to learn the art of being an author through editing and revising. The difficulty here is one of mass differentiation. Here are the practical things we need to consider in the implementation of shifting to an explicit writing model.

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).

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

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.