The Australian Education Research Organisation (AERO) has launched a new short online course to help teachers bolster their understanding of how students learn and apply this knowledge in their classrooms.
The course, ‘Introduction to AERO’s model of learning and teaching’, provides a practical entry point into the evidence that underpins effective classroom practice, supporting teachers to make informed decisions about how they teach.
It introduces AERO’s model of learning and teaching — a key framework that brings together decades of research into how students learn and what approaches are most effective in the classroom.
Designed as a starting point for teachers and school leaders, the course explores how the model can be used to guide planning, instruction and assessment, helping educators reflect on whether their current approaches align with the best available evidence.
AERO CEO Dr Jenny Donovan said the course was a response to growing demand from teachers for clear, practical guidance that was grounded in evidence.
“Teachers want to know that the approaches they are using in the classroom are aligned with how students actually learn,” Dr Donovan said.
“This course provides a clear and accessible introduction to the evidence behind effective teaching and helps teachers connect that evidence to the decisions they make every day so they can have greater impact in the classroom.”
AERO's model of learning and teaching links elements of student learning processes to associated teaching practices in four key areas:
- To align with the evidence that learning is a change in long-term memory, teachers develop a teaching and learning plan for the knowledge students will acquire.
- To align with the evidence that students process limited amounts of new information, teachers manage the cognitive load of learning tasks.
- To align with the evidence on how students develop and demonstrate mastery, teachers maximise retention, consolidation and application of learning.
- To align with the evidence that students are actively engaged when learning, teachers foster the conditions of a learning-focused environment.
The course is complemented by a new series of classroom videos that show how key practices from the model play out in real Australian classrooms across a range of subjects and school contexts.
One of the videos highlights how AERO’s Extend and Challenge practice can be used to provide appropriately challenging opportunities for students to apply, stretch and demonstrate mastery of their learning.
The free course is available online through AERO’s website.
For jurisdictions and school systems, it is also available in SCORM and xAPI formats for integration into existing learning management systems.
For AERO media enquiries, contact:
Rebecca Urban
M: 0411 790 304
E: media@edresearch.edu.au
About Us
AERO is Australia’s independent education evidence body, established in 2021 and funded by the Commonwealth, state, and territory governments.
Our vision is to achieve excellence and equity in education outcomes for all children and young people through the effective use of evidence. AERO’s role is to generate high-quality evidence, make it accessible, and encourage the adoption and effective implementation of evidence into practice and policy.