Climbing Mount PISA: Why we can’t expect students to know what we don’t teach them
Australia’s PISA and NAPLAN results show a concerning downward trend, but the blame game won’t fix it. The real issue? We are testing students on complex problem-solving before they’ve mastered…
Bridging the Divide
As teachers, we just want to know what works. But relying on a single scientific lens leaves us with blind spots. Explore why combining the mental software of cognitive science,…
Why the ‘Conceptual Understanding’ Debate Is Arguing Over the Wrong Premise
Does ‘conceptual understanding’ actually exist, or is it just an unmeasurable educational myth? In the maths wars, we constantly see educators arguing over a false binary: progressive ‘understanding’ versus traditional…
The Lost Blueprint of Learning
What if the reason your lesson didn’t land had nothing to do with engagement and everything to do with how it was designed? Drawing on Tiemann and Markle (1983), this…
Engineering the “Aha!”: When Discovery Learning Actually Works
Most teachers have seen it happen. A student suddenly “gets it”. They solve a problem they’ve never been shown how to solve or make a connection you didn’t explicitly teach….
The Architecture of Attention
Great lessons fail when attention leaks. This article explains why routines are not admin tasks but instructional infrastructure and how well designed routines free up working memory, reduce friction and…
When Explicit Instruction Turns Robotic
Explicit instruction is often presented as a clean sequence of steps. In real classrooms, it rarely works that way. When teachers lack clarity about what to do next, fidelity turns…
Stop Guessing. Measure Your Maths Instruction.
Most maths improvement plans begin with good intentions and weak diagnosis. We assume we know what is happening in classrooms, then choose strategies to fix it. This piece argues that…
The Part of Explicit Instruction Most Teachers Get Wrong (and how to fix it tomorrow)
Many teachers believe they are doing guided practice when students sit close by or when the teacher shares the answer at the end. I used to be one of them….
The Essential Guide to Explicit Instruction in Mathematics
Mathematics learning is built on strong foundations. When students first encounter new concepts, they don’t need guesswork or open-ended exploration. They need clarity. They need structure. They need instruction that…
The Effortless Illusion
Ever wondered why experts make hard things look easy? The “Effortless Illusion” hides the invisible effort behind mastery, tricking both learners and educators into underestimating how much practice it really…
What Makes Practice ‘Intelligent’? Craig Barton on Getting More from Maths Tasks
Discover how Craig Barton’s concept of intelligent practice can transform maths teaching. Learn how small changes between questions build deeper thinking, and why one worksheet can stretch every student in…
What It Really Takes to Elevate Instruction
Discover how Templestowe Heights PS creates a culture where expert teaching thrives. This reflection unpacks five powerful principles that elevate instruction beyond the ordinary….
Good Tool, Wrong Time (Part 1): Why Great Strategies Sometimes Miss the Mark
We’ve all been there—a strategy that should work falls flat. The problem often isn’t the tool itself, but when we’re using it. In this post, I unpack four widely used…
The Secret to Making Assessment Data Actually Useful
Are you using assessments to help students—or just to tick boxes? In this breakdown of my podcast with Dr. Matthew Burns, discover why most teachers misuse data, what assessments are…
Five Things Every Teacher Should Do
Dr. Carl Hendrick reflects on key insights he wished he’d known early in his teaching career to bridge research and practice. He emphasises the need for educators to embrace evidence,…
A Practical Guide to Positive Behaviour Interventions and Supports: Key Concepts and Classroom Strategies
Understanding and supporting student behavior is essential for teachers. Conversations with Dr. Brandi Simonsen highlight the importance of proactive approaches, linking behavior to academic performance and attendance. Key strategies include…
Explicit Instruction: A Key to Learning, But Not the Whole Story
In education, we often get caught in debates where people talk past each other. Sides are taken, lines are drawn, and not much listening happens. One of those debates is…
Creating an Instructional Playbook
One of the biggest sources of frustration between teachers and school leaders is due to not having a shared understanding. Whether it’s about pedagogy, curriculum, or school expectations, if everyone…
When teaching maths… Instead of this, Do this
I’ve worked with a number of schools and teachers over the past few years and I have come across many common challenges and questions. So, I thought it might be…
The Gradual Release of Responsibility in Action
In this article, Brendan Lee unpacks the gradual release of responsibility. You’ll read about how he uses it in his lessons now and he addresses some of the misconceptions of…
5 SIMPLE STEPS TO SCHOOL IMPROVEMENT
The blog discusses Brendan Lee’s recent focus on applying the science of learning with schools and teachers nationwide. Key points for school improvement include: establishing and aligning a clear vision,…
Implementing a Behaviour Curriculum
The topic of school behavior is widely discussed, but can be a taboo topic within schools. It poses a significant barrier to learning and retention of teachers due to constant…
5 Key Principles for Teaching Primary Mathematics Effectively
Currently, there are a lot of misconceptions about how to teach primary mathematics effectively. In this post, Brendan Lee offers five research-informed principles for teachers to follow in order to…
Gradual Release of Responsibility for Teacher Development
We know how valuable the gradual release of responsibility model can be for supporting our students’ learning, but why don’t we also do it for teacher development? This article looks…
A Systematic and Structured Approach to Teaching Primary Mathematics (Part 1)
This article looks at how we can take a systematic and structured approach towards teaching primary mathematics. In Part 1, Brendan Lee gives an overview of the Pre-Lesson Phase and…
The Nuances Of Changing Teacher Behaviour
We can provide the best professional learning for teachers, but often it doesn’t change what they do in the classroom. In this post, I look at why changing teacher behaviour…
How teachers have a finger in every pie, but no time to eat it
Currently, teachers are facing a major workload crisis. This article looks at the different types of knowledge needed, how much time it actually takes to develop resources and questions why…
Why you can’t change someone who believes in balanced literacy
In this blog, I will look at why it can be so hard to get someone to change and four simple steps that we can follow to support them through…
5 Rules For Using Data Effectively
So much is invested into schools based on data, yet I will argue in this article, a lot of school data isn’t reliable or valid. I will also analyse some…