Summaries & explainers

This research summary outlines key findings about evidence-based teaching practices that support Autistic students and students with ADHD with learning at school.

Professional learning is a common strategy for influencing and supporting the use of evidence-based practices in schools and early childhood education and care (ECEC) services and enhancing learning outcomes for children and young people. The Australian Education Research Organisation (AERO) is exploring how best to deliver professional learning in the Australian education context. This research summary outlines early evidence from one of our research projects on coaching.

This research summary provides an overview of how professional learning can influence and support the use of evidence-based practices in schools and early childhood education and care (ECEC) services, to enhance learning outcomes. It outlines early evidence from one of our research projects on coaching.

This research summary describes an AERO research project that explored how long it takes Australian students learning English as an additional language (EAL) to develop the English language skills necessary to participate equitably in curriculum learning.

Mastery of learning is the accumulation and retention of knowledge, conceptual understanding and skills, and knowing when and how to use them. Application of learning includes transferring information to both familiar and new contexts, which leads to deeper understanding and more sophisticated use of knowledge. Mastery is fundamental to students’ achievement in school and their lives beyond formal education.

Learning depends fundamentally on how students process and retain information. Knowledge refers to the facts, concepts and procedures that students acquire through experience and education – their theoretical and practical understanding of subjects. That knowledge is stored in long-term memory so that it can be retrieved for later use.

Retention and recall are fundamental to successful learning outcomes. Knowledge needs to be retained so that it can be used. Retention is the ability to store information in memory over time, while recall is the ability to retrieve and use stored information when needed. When students effectively retain and recall information, they can easily access and apply it to build on existing knowledge and develop deeper understanding.

Attention and focus are essential for students to process and retain new information effectively. Attention refers to the selective focus of conscious thought on specific information, allowing students to engage meaningfully with learning tasks. Engagement encompasses how students behave, feel and think as they actively participate in learning activities.

This report discusses the findings of an investigation AERO conducted into student attendance in Australian schools for Education Ministers.

This research summary provides an overview of a study on peer mentoring for professional learning conducted by AERO in partnership with ALNF.

This explainer outlines how students develop proficiency in maths. It explains how teaching practices and whole-school approaches aligned with how students learn can support the development of maths proficiency.

This is the fifth and final explainer in a series of 5 on the key components of a deliberate and structured approach to implementation. It outlines the process of monitoring implementation outcomes, including success outcomes schools can monitor, how these can be aligned with enablers and barriers, and methods for collecting data.