Launch of a new academy a boost to teacher education
The article Launch of new academy a boost to teacher education published by Education Review on 5 June, explores how the new teaching academy established by some of Australia’s leading education researchers aims to ensure more teachers have a working knowledge of the science of learning and how to use evidence-based teaching practices to improve student achievement.
Dean of The Academy Dr Mark Carter said he expected the initiative to be a game-changer for Australian education and student learning outcomes, which have been in decline for the past two decades.
“Research tells us that teachers, or more specifically quality teaching practice, is the single most important driver of student outcomes,” said Dr Carter.
“Yet we repeatedly hear reports about teachers emerging from years of study feeling that they do not have the know-how to teach children important fundamental skills.
“Some university courses, for example, do not adequately cover the research behind how children learn to read or the importance of explicit systematic phonics instruction, which has been proven to be the most effective way to teach early literacy.
“In many ways, The Academy has been created out of necessity to address these quite serious gaps.”
Chair of its academic board Emeritus Professor Kevin Wheldall AM, has been researching how best to teach children who struggle to learn to read for more than 50 years.
“One of the things that is easy to forget as adults is just how challenging it is for a child to learn a completely new skill,” he said.
“It is quite common for educators to confuse the process by which novice learners acquire new skills, such as reading for example, with the way accomplished readers perform these skills.
“Learning to read is not something that develops biologically, like learning to speak.
“It is a secondary skill that, for most people, must be explicitly taught in a structured and systematic manner.
“Explicit instruction typically follows a pattern of the teacher modelling a new skill, followed by guided practice with some helpful feedback, and finally independent practice by the student.
“Further, students typically need repeat exposure to new knowledge and skills before they can master them.”
