Our ‘Tried and Tested’ series covers education practices that have been proven to make a difference to learning outcomes for children and students.

The guides are written for teachers and educators, supporting ongoing professional development across key evidence-based practices. They can be read individually or together. Each guide is carefully sequenced, providing a step-by-step outline of how to effectively implement the practices.

How to use these guides

You can use these guides in a variety of ways.

  • If you are a new educator or teacher, you may use the guides to learn about how to implement certain practices that may be new to you, or to reflect and refine your practice.
  • If you are experienced, you may use these guides as a reminder or to gain new ideas for your own practice, or for instructional coaching and mentoring.
  • The guides could also be used in collaborative practice as part of informal or formal professional learning.

As part of AERO’s ongoing work, we will be undertaking research into how teachers and educators use these guides in practice. We will use the findings to inform future directions, including how we support you to most effectively use evidence to improve practice.

Why are they important?

These guides are particularly important in light of the disruptions to learning as a result of COVID-19. Disadvantaged students and children are likely to have had the greatest learning losses during shutdowns associated with COVID-19. The practices in the guides have been proven to work quickly and effectively with this cohort, as well as others.  

Can I trust these practices?

These guides only include practices that have been proven to work.

AERO has synthesised the most rigorous and relevant evidence-based practices from meta-analyses, systematic reviews and literature reviews. We have rated these sources of information against our Standards of evidence, focusing on evidence generated in an Australian context where possible.

Each individual guide has an annotated reference list outlining the evidence base. At times, some of the information in our resources draws on older seminal texts that inform later developments in the evidence base. We balance this information with more recent studies when presenting the evidence base.

Other resources 

The Tried and Tested guides complement and support existing Australian resources such as the Australian Professional Standards for Teaching, the Early Years Learning Framework and guidance offered by schools and systems. Some specific guidance that may be relevant to you:

  • Teachers and leaders in ACT government schools are encouraged to consider these resources within the wider framework set out in Enabling Pedagogies, accessible with their system log-in.
  • Teachers and leaders in the Independent sector are encouraged to read these resources in conjunction with pedagogical guidance provided by their Association.

For teachers in Victoria

Teachers and leaders in Victorian schools are encouraged to read the Tried and Tested resources in conjunction with the Framework for Improving Student Outcomes (FISO) and the Victorian Teaching and Learning Model (VTLM). The resources provide additional support for implementing a number of the high impact teaching strategies set out in the VTLM.

For teachers in Queensland

Teachers and leaders in Queensland government schools should read the advice presented in these resources in conjunction with the P–12 curriculum, assessment and reporting framework. Additional support for adopting an inquiry approach to school improvement is available on the Intentional Collaboration website (Department of Education staff only).

For teachers in Tasmania

Teachers and leaders in the Tasmanian government system are encouraged to read these resources in conjunction with the Learners First Systematic Curriculum Delivery, Pedagogical Framework and Assessment Strategy.

For teachers in Northern Territory

For teachers and leaders in Northern Territory government schools, these resources align directly to the work of the Signature Strategies, particularly supporting schools to explore and deepen their understanding of effective practice across strategies within the Engage improvement journey.