Science of learning for excellence and equity

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.

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.

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.