Duration: 07:11
This video showcases authentic examples of teaching practices outlined in the Australian Education Research Organisation (AERO)’s Teaching for How Students Learn model of learning and teaching in 4 Australian schools:
- Aveley Secondary College (WA)
- Briar Road Public School (NSW)
- Riverwood Public School (NSW)
- Serpentine Primary School (WA).
Each example aligns with a consistent set of techniques teachers can use to vary practice, demonstrated in a range of learning areas and with students of varying ages. These techniques include:
- Vary question and task types
- Vary participation routines
- Vary practice content
- Check for understanding during practice
- Encourage students to question and explain their thinking.
You’ll also hear reflections and insights from teachers and students about how these techniques support learning.
We recommend watching this video after reviewing AERO’s Vary Practice practice guide. You don’t need to watch the video in one sitting – you can pause to reflect, take notes, discuss the content with colleagues or consider how it applies to your own practice. Viewing this video as part of a staff meeting or professional development session can help spark discussions and collaboration within your team.
Acknowledgements
AERO extends its gratitude to the teachers, students and families from the following schools for their support and participation:
- Aveley Secondary College (WA)
- Briar Road Public School (NSW)
- Riverwood Public School (NSW)
- Serpentine Primary School (WA).
We would also like to thank Professor Lorraine Hammond, Dr Nathaniel Swain, members of AERO’s First Nations Expert Reference Group, and the teachers and school leaders who reviewed and provided feedback on these videos.
More information
You can find more information about this and related practices in:
Transcript
[On-screen text] Vary practice: What it is:
- Providing multiple opportunities for students to consolidate their learning at spaced intervals.
- Using learning and assessment tasks that vary how students interact with and apply what they’re learning.
- Explaining and modelling to students how spaced and varied practice supports their learning.
- Explicit explanation and modelling to guide students’ own development of effective approaches to learning.
[On-screen text] This video demonstrates examples of the following techniques to explain vary practice:
- Vary question and task types
- Vary participation routines
- Vary practice content
- Check for understanding during practice
- Encourage students to question and explain their thinking
Jessie Griffiths, Assistant Principal, Year 3/4 teacher, Briar Road Public School: During my lesson today, where I introduced the suffix -ment, I provided my students with lots of varied practice. This included things like reading words with the suffix -ment, spelling words with the suffix -ment and putting words with the suffix -ment into sentences.
Okay, I'm going to show you what I can do when I add the suffix -ment. ‘Attach’ becomes ‘attachment’. ‘Ship’ becomes ‘shipment’ and ‘enjoy’ becomes ‘enjoyment’. Your turn. You're going to attach the suffix -ment to these base words and say the word with me. So, everyone, what is the base word?
Class: Attach.
Jessie Griffiths: What is the suffix?
Class: -ment.
Jessie Griffiths: Whole word?
Class: Attachment.
Jessie Griffiths: So it's the result of attaching to something, an attachment. Okay. The next one. Base word?
Class: Place.
Jessie Griffiths: Suffix?
Class: -ment.
Jessie Griffiths: Whole word?
Class: Placement.
[On-screen text] Vary participation routines
Jessie Griffiths: Good. I want you to pair-share. What does ‘placement’ mean? What is it the result of?
Class: [Interposing voices.]
Jessie Griffiths: Next one?
Class: Arrange.
Jessie Griffiths: Suffix?
Class: -ment.
Jessie Griffiths: Whole word?
Class: Arrangement.
Jessie Griffiths: Excellent. Pair-share.
[On-screen text] Vary participation content
Jessie Griffiths: Put ‘arrangement’ into a sentence. Off you go. Pair-share.
Class: [Interposing voices.]
Penny Blomfield, Year 3 teacher, Serpentine Primary School: I give my students multiple opportunities to consolidate learning by a lot of pair-share, a lot of thinking time, a lot of class discussions and written responses to set questions.
[On-screen text] Encourage students to question and explain their thinking
Penny Blomfield: Let's have a quick recap with the person next to you. We're going to do this. We've got 3 animals to think about. Quick discussion: what was an adaptation of the Arctic fox? Go.
Class: [Interposing voices.]
Penny Blomfield: Try go from memory, Savannah. What can you remember?
Class: [Interposing voices.]
[On-screen text] Check for understanding during practice
Student: It can wrap its tail around its body –
Penny Blomfield: Exactly. what can you remember about the Arctic fox?
Student: – to keep warm.
Class: [Interposing voices.]
Penny Blomfield: Beautiful. Okay, well done.
Student: [Inaudible.]
Penny Blomfield: Finish up. Yep.
Student: When it's winter, they are very white, and when it's summer, they blend into the rocks.
Penny Blomfield: Love that. That's fantastic.
Tim Shaw, Assistant Principal, Year 5/6 teacher, Riverwood Public School: So, in our novel study, there were lots of think-pair-shares, thinking time. There were also lots of turn-and-talks, which, you know, helped with the pace of the lesson and the content as well.
[On-screen text] Check for understanding during practice
Tim Shaw: But a lot of that is in our preplanning phase, where I would actually read through the text, and I'd mark in the book exactly where I want to think-pair-share, where I'm going to be asking a question, what type of question I'm going to be asking, whether it's a closed question or if it's more about the author's intent, and making sure that the lesson flow and the pace was good through that way.
What is the queen actually asking Edmund here? —— What is the queen actually asking?
[On-screen text] Encourage students to question and explain their thinking
Tim Shaw: When you have figured out, show me that you know [points to temple]. All right. Think-pair-share. Go.
Class: [Interposing voices.]
Melissa Watson, Year 10 humanities teacher, Aveley Secondary College: It's really important students are able to practise what they're learning during a lesson, and there's multiple ways that I can do that. There's the I Do, We Do, You Do strategy, where I'm modelling things.
[On-screen text] Vary question and task types
Melissa Watson: We are doing it together for a We Do. They do it by themselves. In a case of a declarative model lesson, where you're really – the point is for them to learn this information. One way I like to go about doing that is through think-pair-shares. I rely on them a lot in my lessons.
[On-screen text] Vary participation routines
Melissa Watson: Students know that there's an expectation they're going to be talking quite a bit in my lessons because it gives them an opportunity to think about their answer first, an opportunity to rehearse that with a peer, which is far safer than just in an open classroom.
[On-screen text] Check for understanding during practice
Melissa Watson: And then by picking non-volunteers, it is creating that accountability. So they all know they have to engage in that think-pair-share to have an answer. But they also know – and this is where safety comes in and the importance of establishing that classroom environment. They need to feel safe, so they know that when they share that answer with me, I'm going to support them through it if they're not 100% sure, so I'm going to scaffold it if needed.
[On-screen text] Encourage students to question and explain their thinking
Melissa Watson: I'm going to extend them wherever I can, so they know that maybe once they've given their answer they might get pushed. But they also know that I'm going to pull out all the wonderful things they did and really praised that, and I think that's really essential in the rehearsal and in creating that success for the students.
Outline how political instability and corruption causes spatial inequality with your partner.
[On-screen text] Encourage students to question and explain their thinking
Melissa Watson: Very briefly, how can that stop someone from experiencing wellbeing? Have a quick chat.
Class: [Interposing voices.]
Melissa Watson: So, thinking about if you lived in a country with a corrupt government, how would that impact on your human wellbeing? What do you think?
Student: You would not –
Melissa Watson: Yeah, you wouldn't feel safe.
Student: – feel safe. You would –
Melissa Watson: So frequently I'll use things like matching terms to definitions. Most students are able to engage in that successfully. It's very easy to correct if they do make an error and for them to then feel success when I return to them.
[On-screen text] Vary question and task types
Melissa Watson: So my first question to you today, please, on your whiteboard. Can you match the term with its correct definition, please, Year 10s. Matching the term with its correct definition.
[On-screen text] Check for understanding (CFU) during practice
Melissa Watson: During a lesson itself, we have verbal CFU questions. I utilise guided notes. Utilising, again, those task verb questions, and not always relying on what's on the slides: you really need to tailor to what the kids – their learning ability. So, for an extension class, for example, I want to jump straight into the explain, the analyse. Consider why this has an impact, not just define a key term, because they can do that as a class with a track or a ‘read with me’ straight off the bat, but I want to see if they can apply that to something else.
So we need to outline. So if I ask you to outline, what do you need to do, Taylor?
[On-screen text] Check for understanding during practice
Student: Provide the main features?
Melissa Watson: Provide the main features. Outline is what, Year 10s?
Class: Provide main features.
Melissa Watson: Provide main features. What is question 2, please, Michael?
Student: Describe how poverty has posed a barrier to improving human wellbeing.
Melissa Watson: Fantastic. If I'm asking you to describe, what do you need to do, please, Layla?
Keywords: student learning, science of learning, teaching practices