Author: lenoxhill

Catholic Education Archdiocese of Canberra & Goulburn (CECG) were delighted to speak alongside representatives from St Thomas the Apostle, Kambah at the Sharing Best Practice event held in Geelong.

Patrick Ellis, Education Lead, teamed up with Ursula Jamieson, Principal, Monique George, Year 3/4 Teacher, and Lauren Jameson, Kindergarten Teacher from St Thomas the Apostle to discuss Catalysts’ evidence-based approach to teaching and learning for system and school improvement.

Lauren Jameson – Kindergarten Teacher, Ursula Jamieson – Principal and Monique George – Year 3/4 Teacher.

The presentation captured the day’s intention to share best practices in education. Reflecting on their Catalyst journey thus far, Patrick, Ursula, Monique and Lauren outlined the next steps for them in their context.

Patrick provided a summary of evidence-based change at the system level, followed by Ursula who discussed change at the school level, and lastly, Teachers Monique and Lauren who provided an overview of implementation outcomes at the classroom level.

Attendee Lachlan West, Teacher at Good News Lutheran College applauded Patrick and the St Thomas the Apostle representatives for facilitating a “very valuable discussion of Catalyst and best practice.”

CECG were joined by keynote presenters, including Professor Stephen Dinham OAM (Emeritus Professor at University of Melbourne and Author), Lyn Stone (Clinical Director at Lifelong Literacy and Author) and Tanya Serry (Associate Professor at La Trobe Melbourne). Breakout sessions were held with various experts in their field, topics included building a Knowledge Rich Curriculum, early literacy instruction, how cognitive science can assist with teaching and learning, behaviour management, writing instruction and assessment, instructional coaching models and more.

“It was great to discuss evidence-based change at the system, school and classroom level alongside the wonderful Ursula, Lauren and Monique from St Thomas the Apostle, Kambah. I look forward to future Sharing Best Practice events,” Patrick said.

Attendees at the Sharing Best Practice event in Geelong March 2023.

Catholic Education Canberra & Goulburn (CECG) are delighted to be co-hosting the first Teaching Matters National Science of Learning Summit alongside Catholic Education Tasmania (CET) from 2-4 April in Hobart.

This must-attend professional learning event provides the opportunity for educators across Australia to learn from internationally recognised education experts and expand their network with collaboration opportunities.

CECG Director Ross Fox will open the Summit alongside Dr Gerard Gaskin, Executive Director of CET. The pair will talk to the importance of evidence-based teaching practice, and what it means to implement this across a school system.

CECG Education Lead, Patrick Ellis, will present a keynote alongside CET’s Project Lead of Insight, Jennifer White, on the collaborative journey the two systems have embarked on to embrace a Science of Learning approach – Catalyst and Insight.

Jessica Colleu Terradas, CECG Senior Officer Teaching and Learning Literacy, will also present  on Literacy Intervention.

The high-calibre of guest speakers include

• Peps Mccrea, Dean of Learning Design at Ambition Institute and Director of Education at Steplab
• Noel Pearson, Founder of Good to Great Schools Australia and Cape York Partnership
• Dr Lorraine Hammond, Associate Professor for the School of Education at Edith Cowan University
• Professor Pamela Snow, Professor for the School of Education at La Trobe University
• Jordan O’Sullivan, Teacher and Director at Shaping Minds Australia
• Michael Roberts, Managing Director of Mastery Schools Australia and the Executive Director of COGlearn
• Toni Hatten-Roberts, Director and Lead Consultant for COGlearn and the Executive Director of Education and co-founder of Mastery Schools Australia
• Reid Smith, Founder and Co-CEO of Ochre, Teacher at Ballarat Clarendon College and Member of the La Trobe University’s Science of Language and Reading (SOLAR) Lab
• Dr Nathaniel Swain, Instructional Coach, Researcher, and Senior Lecturer at the La Trobe School of Education
• Glenn Fahey, Program Director of Education Policy at the Centre for Independent Studies
• Ollie Lovell, Teacher, Education Researcher, Podcaster, Author, Philanthropist
• Jordana Hunter, Program Director of Education at the GRATTAN Institute

For more information, and to register, visit teachingmatters.au

Catholic Education Archdiocese of Canberra & Goulburn (CECG) were delighted to speak about Catalyst at the second Science of Teaching & Learning Australia: Leading Change event held in Sydney.

Patrick Ellis, Education Lead, presented on the Catalyst journey from 2021 to now, and the learnings and successes experienced at the level of the system, the school and the classroom.

Patrick presented alongside esteemed teaching and learning experts including, Daisy Christodoulou (Director of No More Marking and Author), Dr. Lorraine Hammond AM (Associate Professor at ECU School of Education), Ray Boyd (Foundation Principal of Dayton Primary School) and Michael Roberts (Executive Director of COGlearn and Co-founder and Managing Director of Mastery Schools Australia).

“It was great to share our Catalyst journey and connect with likeminded people. I look forward to future SoTLA events,” Patrick said.

Catholic Education Archdiocese of Canberra & Goulburn (CECG) was delighted to have one of UK’s most sought-after education authors, Daisy Christodoulou, to present on the Principles of Assessment and Comparative Judgement, with more than 75 teachers attending in-person and online.

Daisy Christodoulou is the Director of Education at No More Marking and author of 7 Myths about Education, Making Good Progress and Teachers vs Tech. She is an avid supporter of evidence-based teaching practice and the Science of Learning.

Feedback from participating teachers was positive and affirmed how valuable this session was.

Watch Part 1 – ‘What make an Effective Assessment?’

Watch Part 2 – ‘Comparative Judgement’ 

Over 2,300 educators from across the Archdiocese gathered to hear from 25 national and internationally recognised education leaders at the annual System Day. This year’s event was held at the National Convention Centre in Canberra, and the atmosphere was brimming with excitement as staff connected in person for the first time in several years.

Event Highlights

Archbishop Christopher Prowse addressed the audience with a welcoming presentation reflecting on the theme for 2023, Walking Together, and how it strongly links to the work of Catholic Education Canberra Goulburn (CECG) through Catalyst.

Archbishop Christopher Prowse

Director Ross Fox presented the long-term direction of teaching and learning for CECG. He also announced the direction of Catholic Education Canberra Goulburn’s Strategic Plan – Faith in Learning – a focus on providing both faith and learning opportunities for our students and our staff.

Director Ross Fox addressing attendees

“We have exactly the right teachers, Principals, classroom support and learning assistants to be one of the best education systems in Australia, if not the world. We can do that through a focus on learning and our faith – Faith in Learning,“ Mr Fox said.

“To be the best system, we endeavor to have a common approach across all our schools, grounded in the evidence of the Science of Learning, to ensure we provide the best learning outcomes for students, and a great place to work.”

Watch Ross Fox’s full presentation here

Good to Great Schools Australia founder Noel Pearson was invited to share his experiences with Explicit Direct Instruction in schools in Cape York. His stories provided key evidence and insights on why this approach is the most effective way of teaching.

Noel Pearson delivering his keynote presentation

“This is the most important thing I have seen in education in the past 20 years. For 30 years I have seen so many children fail to reach their potential. We have a juvenile justice crisis in this country, and it starts with the failure to read.”

Watch Noel Pearson’s full presentation here

Catalyst was recognised by the Federal Government. Senator Anthony Chisholm, Assistant Minister for Education expressed his interest in the impact of Catalyst’s approach to developing teachers to deliver evidence-based teaching practice to improve student learning outcomes.

Educators were given the opportunity to select three breakout sessions from a selection of over 20 topics, to further enrich their Science of Learning knowledge. Session presenters included Dr Lorraine Hammond, Ollie Lovell, Michael Roberts, Toni Hatten-Roberts, Ingrid Sealey, Reid Smith, Dr Tim McDonald, Professor Tom Lowrie and many more.

System Day 2023 presenters

Participants also heard from Ross Fox, Noel Pearson, Professor Pamela Snow, Dr Jennifer Buckingham, Br David Hall and Dr Ben Jensen in a panel discussion, moderated by Australian Education Research Organisation’s CEO Dr Jenny Donovan.

Each panellist provided their unique perspective on the Science of Learning, the evidence and why Catalyst is so important, not just for CECG but for others to learn from.

Media coverage following the event has been widespread including –

• Australian Financial Review, Indigenous underclass abandoned by educational authorities: Pearson
• Canberra Times, Noel Pearson urges schools to follow evidence, praises Canberra Goulburn Catholic education Catalyst program
• Sydney Morning Herald, ‘Do the opposite to what progressive thinking says’: Pearson slams teaching trends
• The Australian, Progressive teaching fads fuel youth crime: Pearson
• WIN News, Educators gather in Canberra for conference
• ABC News, Teaching model used in ACT Catholic schools praised
• ABC Radio, Has progressive education failed?
• National Indigenous Times, Noel Pearson warns of schooling system failing disadvantaged and Indigenous kids
• Education HQ, ‘Failing to see 50 years of evidence’: Noel Pearson slams inquiry-based learning
  Riotact, Catholic school teaching program ‘the most important thing I’ve seen in 20 years’, says Pearson
• Catholic News, Pearson backs Catholic schools’ ‘Catalyst’ reform

Thank you to all those who attended and contributed to making System Day 2023 such a success. Feedback from both staff and presenters in attendance has been uplifting and we look forward to seeing everyone again next year.

Over the past two years, teachers at St Bernard’s Batemans Bay have been transforming their teaching practice.

On a visit to the school, journalist Lucy Carroll from the Sydney Morning Herald, experienced high impact teaching practice and explicit instruction in Rebecca Brady’s kindergarten classroom.

Rebecca said “as a school, we’ve changed our whole approach to teaching. We use a lot of repetition, fast-paced learning and intense explicit instruction; behaviour is improving, and the children are so engaged. It’s been a huge turnaround. Kids don’t have time to disengage.”

Read the full article – ‘We changed everything’: How 56 schools transformed their teaching and boosted results – Lucy Carroll

Rebecca Brady and her kindergarten class at St Bernard’s primary school in Batemans Bay.

PHOTO CREDIT:ALEX ELLINGHAUSEN

More than 90 teachers from Catholic Education Canberra Goulburn, Melbourne, Queensland, Tasmania and South Australia, dedicated three days of their school holidays to participate in a High Impact Teaching Practice Intensive Program, facilitated by Dr Lorraine Hammond AM.

The inaugural professional learning experience was held at St Thomas the Apostle Kambah and aimed to immerse educators into high impact teaching practice, specifically looking further into the Science of Learning research, what that means for classroom practice and the impact it has on student achievement.

The Intensive program aligned to the Catalyst four phased professional learning approach of Theory – Demonstration – Practice – Coaching.

Participating teachers were split into three streams for each of the morning sessions– Kindergarten to Year 2, Year 3-4 and Year 5-6 – to connect with HITP coaches who demonstrated a live lesson with students. Students were recruited to attend via the School Holiday Program run at St Thomas the Apostle.

Following the demonstration, participants were encouraged to lead a section of the lesson to practice delivery, and received instant coaching feedback from the expert coaches. As part of the program, CECG teachers who have been involved previously in HITP professional learning, were selected to support coaching participants, building their instructional leadership and mentoring.

“We are helping our teachers become even better teachers,” one Year 2 student who participated in the demonstrations said.

“The lessons we did were really fun and fast-paced, I enjoy learning most when its quick and engaging,” one Year 5 student said.

The afternoon sessions were dedicated to presentations from Dr Lorraine Hammond, the three expert coaches, and a session from the St Thomas the Apostle team on their journey with HITP and Catalyst.

Feedback from participating teachers has affirmed the value in bringing together educators from various schools with many noting that it has given them a new network of peers to connect with to share challenges and successes.

“The Intensive Program has not only shown me how high impact practice looks in the classroom, I’ve also had a chance to try it out myself on real students and get feedback in real time.”

“It has also been great to meet teachers who value this as much as I do, I look forward to connecting with them as we head back to our schools and continue using this teaching approach,” one participant said.

Based on participant feedback, similar professional learning events will be planned throughout 2023 across Primary and Secondary contexts. If interested, keep an eye out for further information in 2023.

Read the Canberra Times article on the Intensive Program here (subscription required)

Since 2020 the Catholic Education team in the Archdiocese of Canberra and Goulburn has introduced and rolled out Catalyst across our network of 56 schools, 2,000+ teachers and 21,000+ students.

Catalyst has garnered great interest and acclamation from schools and systems nationwide and, most recently, it has also attracted the attention of the NSW State Government. In a speech at the James Martin Institute for Public Policy’s inaugural oration last month, NSW State Premier, Dominic Perrottet, outlined his plans to modernise and reform the education system. The Premier spoke passionately about his focus on education as an enabler of opportunity and introduced the State Government’s new strategy to lift student success and well-being throughout NSW.

Perrottet specifically referenced the Catalyst program as a great example of effective teacher professional learning which sets both teachers and their students up for success,

“I can see value in the approach that some Catholic schools have taken to teacher development with a program called Catalyst. By working with teachers one-to-one – schools are sharing best-practice methods among teachers, making sure every teacher is equipped with tools to excel. And students are benefiting from higher quality teaching and consistency through their schooling life.”

This is a fantastic acknowledgment of the work that has been undertaken by many to develop, roll-out and advocate for Catalyst as a valuable framework within which we can continue to improve education outcomes through our system.

Watch the speech here (Dominic Perrottet speaking from 45:00):

Jennifer Buckingham PhD FRSN, Director, Strategy and Senior Research fellow at MultiLit, along with Therese Levins, and Alison McMurtrie visited 12 schools in ACT and NSW over two days.  These MultiLit representatives came with the purpose to observe and provide feedback on the practical classroom application of the MultiLit program from Foundation through to Year 2.

L-R: Jessica Colleu Terradas – CECG Senior Officer Teaching & Learning – Literacy, Kerrin Cronin – Diocese of Lismore Lead Primary Education Teaching & Learning, Dr Jennifer Buckingham – MultiLit Director of Strategy, Elissa Baker – Diocese of Lismore Education Officer Primary, Therese Levins – MultiLit trainer, Therese Clancy – CECG Catalyst Project Officer, Bernadette Rayner, CECG Teaching & Learning Officer and Alison McMurtie, MultiLit product development manager

MultiLit was developed over 25 years ago to improve literacy in the classroom, using scientific, evidence-based research on phonics and vocabulary to enable children to become successful readers and writers. MultiLit was coined as an acronym to ‘Making Up Lost Time in Literacy’ and has developed a number of programs to address knowledge gaps, through direct, systematic and intensive teaching and tutoring. The data driven approach to literary education enables students to become confident readers and writers and achieve the basic foundation for academic success.

The visit was to observe three programs in action: InitiaLit, which is a whole-class based literacy program to build essential core knowledge from the outset, reducing the need for intervention and remedial education; MiniLit, which is a small group reading program for students in Year 1 and 2 who require intensive support to develop decoding skills; which intervenes from Year 2 onwards as a contemporary approach to best practice literacy instruction; and MacqLit which provides Year 3+ students specialist support in word recognition.

The time in the classroom allowed the experts to provide guidance and feedback around the implementation of the program and share best practice, empowering teaching staff to deliver quality outcomes.

Leaders in Primary Education from the Lismore Diocese were also invited to attend to discuss their journey into the science of reading and the plans for implementing the best practice approach to learning in 2023.

Jessica Colleau Terradas, Senior Officer Teaching and Learning – Literacy for Catholic Education, Archdiocese of Canberra and Goulburn, said

“Thank you…to our wonderful CECG teaching staff for welcoming us into their classrooms. It was great to see them in action using scientifically-based reading instruction across Foundation to Year 2 classes. The feedback was positive and the whole experience turned out to be a great success, with staff feeling supported and even more committed to do their best for their students.”