Catholic Education Canberra and Goulburn (CECG) had the privilege of hosting 24 leaders from the Edmund Rice Education Australia (EREA) Schools Network.
Among the visiting delegates were Director – Education Strategy & Performance QLD/ACT, Peter Fullagar, staff from St Edmund’s College Canberra, as well as Principals and Assistant Principals from Queensland Colleges.
Over three days, the group visited four CECG Primary and two CECG Secondary Colleges. Here, they had the opportunity to step into classrooms where they observed High Impact Teaching Practice (HITP) and engaged in rich conversations with teachers and school leaders. The key focus of the visit was to see the impact of Catalyst and witness Explicit Instruction in action. This was supported by opportunities to learn about the change management strategies that support the system’s successful implementation across CECG classrooms.
Visitors observed teaching practices and heard firsthand accounts of how this evidence-based approach are driving improved student outcomes. CECG teachers and leaders shared both the successes and challenges of their journey implementing Catalyst, offering a transparent and authentic look at school improvement in progress.
Jessica Colleu Terradas CF, Senior Teaching & Learning Officer, Literacy and Instructional Coach of CECG reflected on the visits, saying, “it was energising to see how much we can learn from each other when schools open their doors and share their journey, challenges and all. Collaboration like this keeps the momentum for change moving forward,”
Delegates spoke highly of their experience, noting the consistent approach to teaching and learning across the schools. They also commented on the high levels of student engagement and that there was a clear sense of purpose articulated by staff. Many remarked on the evident passion and conviction with which educators described the positive impact of Catalyst on both their teacher practice and student learning.
Last week, Catholic Education Canberra Goulburn (CECG) was honoured to share the transformational journey of Catalyst at the Australian Catholic Education Conference (ACEC) in Cairns. With more than 1,200 education leaders from across the country in attendance, the three-day conference explored the theme “Hope, anchored in Faith”, an apt backdrop for reflecting on the impact of evidence-informed teaching across our Archdiocese.
Over the past five years, Catalyst has become a nationally recognised example of how evidence-based practice can transform classrooms. This reputation saw CECG invited to co-present with Catholic Education Tasmania (CET), to more than 200 delegates. The joint presentation, titled ‘A Tale of Two Systems’, showcased how research-informed practices are revolutionising student outcomes across Australia. While each system reflects different contexts, both share the common purpose of investing in teachers as the most important learners, to realise every student’s God-given potential.
The presentation explored the similarities and differences between the Catalyst program and the Insight into Learning program. While both systems share a common mission grounded in Faith, similar governance frameworks, and strong leadership supported by dedicated teams, each brought differences to their rollout of their approach.
Patrick Ellis, CECG Education Lead, outlined the deliberate steps taken in Catalyst’s five-year transformative journey, including crucial foundations:
Building teacher and leadership capacity from the outset
Prioritising leader engagement across all schools
Maintaining a phased, evidence and data-driven program to sustain change – even when everything feels like a priority
With CECG’s large system spanning NSW and ACT, it was vital to approach the implementation with a strong data-focus to provide rich insights into performance and identify measurable gains.
The evidence clearly demonstrates CECG’s progress with 73% of students now competent readers, exceeding the national NAPLAN average of 68%.
Jennifer White and Patrick Ellis at ACEC
Jennifer White, CET’s System Lead: Curriculum and Pedagogy, shared the stage with Patrick, and demonstrated CET’s accelerated implementation, leveraging learnings from CECG and enabling a more fluid and agile approach.
Both speakers reinforced the power of whole-system approaches that empower teachers to excel in their calling. This transformation programs have been made possible through consistent change management, anchored in Catholic values and informed by the Science of Learning. By investing in teachers as the most important learners, providing them with research-informed resources and support, and maintaining our Catholic mission at the core, our students are provided with the foundations for lifelong learning.
This recognition at ACEC validates the Catalyst program even further and CECG welcome further opportunities to share our insights and collaborate with colleagues embarking on their own program of change. CECG extend our gratitude to the National Catholic Education Commission for the invitation to present.
In this episode, we welcome Dr. Carl Hendrick—educator, researcher, and co-author of How Learning Happens, How Teaching Happens, and Instructional Illusions. Carl shares his insights on the evolving educational landscape in Australia, the science of learning, and the myths that often mislead teachers and schools.
We explore key ideas from his books, including the “Engagement Illusion,” the importance of prior knowledge, and what is ‘learning’. Whether you’re a teacher, school leader, or education enthusiast, this episode will challenge your assumptions and offer practical strategies for improving learning outcomes.
What You’ll Learn
Carl’s thoughts of the Catalyst program and educational innovation in Australia
How to support autonomy in learners
The role of prior knowledge in effective teaching
Why popular practices like “discovery learning” may harm learning outcomes
How strong teacher-student relationships impact learning
The difference between engagement and deep understanding
Where technology and AI fit into modern classrooms
How to foster creativity while maintaining cognitive rigor
In this episode, we sit down with staff from St Patrick’s Primary School Bega, a school that has embraced the Catalyst initiative to transform teaching and learning. From instructional programs to leadership strategies, we explore how this school has aligned its practices to create a knowledge-rich, student-centered environment.
School-Wide Impact
Catalyst Learnings
How Catalyst has influenced school-wide practices.
Implementation of instructional programs: Reading Mastery, Spelling Mastery, InitialLit, and CMC supplemented with units developed in partnership with Ochre.
Emphasis on a knowledge-rich curriculum: Teaching deeper, not broader, while meeting outcomes.
Curriculum beyond DI Programs
School Routines & Behaviour
Creating Consistency
Aligning expectations around routines and behaviour.
Tools and strategies: Behaveability (Ian Luscombe), scripted routines
Teaching Practice
Teachers share their experiences and reflections on Catalyst’s impact.
Good Shepherd Primary School serves students from diverse and multicultural backgrounds in Canberra. The school has transitioned from an inquiry-based approach to teaching to Catalyst’s focus on Direct Instruction and Explicit Instruction, and staff are seeing strong results from the change.
At Good Shepherd, Catalyst supports equity in learning
Prior to Catalyst, Good Shepherd adopted a student-led approach where children where taught with an inquiry-based model. Current research suggests that students benefit most from this approach when they have existing content knowledge to draw on. For this reason, Catalyst focuses on a ‘knowledge-rich curriculum’ and ensuring every student is explicitly taught the skills they need.
“We can now see that every student is getting the same thing, and one class isn’t missing out on, for example vocabulary or text level writing.” (Classroom teacher)
The Catalyst approach now taken at Good Shepherd is about giving every student the same opportunity to succeed. A strong message from leadership about equity resonates with teachers, who recognise the importance of this – not just at their school – but for every child in the system.
“The biggest conversation I would have with those new teachers is about equity.“ (School leader)
Teachers work in teams to bring this approach to life. Weekly two-hour meetings are the key mechanism for consistency, with all staff in a given year level planning together to ensure they are delivering the same content. Teachers know when and how to adapt the shared plan, when needed, to best support the children in their particular class.
The new Principal identifies the importance of student assessment
While the school has undergone a leadership change in 2024, the new Principal has maintained a strong focus on Catalyst. Data use across schools is unlocking new possibilities for teaching, and Good Shepherd is keen to be at the forefront.
The Principal identifies, “We’re really evolving a new language around assessment at the school”.
The approach to data use and assessment spans both sophisticated adaptive and diagnostic testing, to systematically using miniature whiteboards with students in classrooms. The latter is a Catalyst strategy that gives teachers instant feedback on how well all students are grasping what is being taught. It means teachers get the information they need, without students constantly doing tests.
“The biggest change is using data to inform our teaching practices. We’re collecting data more consistently. And just even the use of whiteboards we collect more data rather than relying only on formal assessments…And trusting that that is actually a good way of informing our teaching practices.” (Classroom teacher)
Teachers are motivated by the results they are seeing students achieve
Ask any teacher at Good Shepherd about the impact of Catalyst, and they will tell you what they are seeing in their classroom, and how this motivates them to keep getting better and better.
“The results are really what’s driving us, that we can actually see these programs are working… We can see our little people are growing.” (Classroom teacher)
Good Shepherd NAPLAN results – Year 3 and 5 combined
This improvement, and the way the school supports all students can also be observed in NAPLAN.
Empowering students to take the next step in their learning
In reflecting on the next steps for the school in 2025, there is a strong emphasis on how students can feel that they ‘own’ their assessment data (in an age-appropriate way). This aligns with research about the importance of student agency, motivation and wellbeing, and the types of feedback that best help students learn. In practice, this might look like conversations with students after tasks to help them understand the specific next step for them in their learning.
External Analysis delivered by
To measure the outcomes and impact of the Catalyst program, CECG engaged Deloitte Access Economics (DAE) for an external analysis. Starting in January 2022, DAE evaluated Catalyst’s effectiveness on schools. Their final report includes six case studies from diverse schools in the Archdiocese, highlighting academic achievements for students and advocacy impacts for teachers, along with areas for improvement.
In this episode, CECG teachers Zoe Cawdron and Lauren Maher unpack the impact of Catalyst on their teaching practice, discussing:
Implementing effective classroom routines, attention signals, and engagement norms
Leading from the classroom through their Sharing Best Practice vocabulary presentation
Using assessment data to tailor instruction, support struggling readers, and extend learning opportunities
This episode offers practical strategies for educators seeking to enhance student engagement and learning outcomes through evidence-informed approaches.
Last week, 148 educators from across the CECG system, including colleagues from Independent and Directorate schools, gathered for a valuable day of professional learning with international classroom behaviour expert Tom Bennett.
A leading voice in evidence-based teaching, Tom draws on over a decade of classroom experience in London and his ongoing work supporting educators to create calm and effective learning environments. Since founding researchED, he has worked with educators across the world to develop research literacy and practical strategies for improving behaviour in the classroom. In recognition of his contributions to education, Tom was awarded an Order of the British Empire in 2022.
His workshop, Running the Room, focused on the critical role that behaviour, culture and routines play in creating orderly and productive classrooms. His insights reflected much of Catalyst’s Bold Goal ‘High Impact Teaching Practice is visible in every classroom’ and further highlighted that effective classroom management is key to improving academic outcomes, student wellbeing and lifelong success.
“Children thrive when we create clear expectations and teach the behaviours we want to see, just as we teach knowledge and skills.”
Building a positive culture
Tom reminded participants that every classroom is shaped by its culture, or the “how we do things around here.” He emphasised that teachers lead this work by –
Setting strong norms: Establishing and reinforcing the behaviours that are expected and celebrated.
Embedding consistent routines: Practicing key behaviours until they become automatic, helping students focus on learning.
Building positive relationships: Holding high expectations and showing a genuine interest for every student.
Behaviour management
Rather than reacting to misbehaviour, Tom emphasised the importance of explicitly teaching and practicing the behaviours we want to see. From how students enter a classroom to how they transition between activities, these routines provide the structure that supports learning.
He also reinforced the role of consequences as feedback, helping students understand that their actions have meaning and impact. While intrinsic motivation is the goal, extrinsic support is often needed to build the habits that lead to lasting change.
A shared commitment
This professional learning session reinforced to our CECG attendees that behaviour is not a separate agenda but an essential part of effective teaching. By setting clear expectations, embedding consistent routines and nurturing strong relationships, we create the conditions for every student to learn, grow and succeed.
Clarendon College’s consistent record of high academic achievement
The role of homework and study methods in supporting student success
Insights into Explicit Teaching and Direct Instruction
How Cognitive Load Theory can inform classroom practice
‘Differentiation or Differentiated Instruction’
His PhD research in Instructional Design
Inquiry Learning
Greg is Deputy Principal at Ballarat Clarendon College in Victoria, and the author of three books, including The Power of Explicit Teaching and Direct Instruction. He also writes a popular Substack newsletter, Filling the Pail. This conversation offers practical insights for educators keen to apply evidence-informed strategies and deepen their understanding of how students learn best.
CECG schools across the ACT have been praised for notable improvement in the latest NAPLAN results released this week on the My School website.
The Australian Curriculum Assessment and Reporting Authority (ACARA) has identified the Top 20 Schools Making a Difference in each state and territory, comparing year on year data for 2023/24. Of the 20 top schools in ACT identified, 13 Catholic Education Canberra-Goulbourn (CECG) schools were recognised, a milestone widely acknowledged by media sources this week and celebrated as a clear endorsement of the power of High Impact Teaching Practice and explicit teaching.
Following its launch over four years ago, Catalyst has transformed how teaching and learning is approached in CECG schools. By implementing High Impact Teaching Practice, grounded in Science of Learning and the Science of Reading, schools have seen positive growth and improvement in literacy and numeracy outcomes.
CECG Director Ross Fox emphasised the program’s ongoing potential in an interview for RioTact –
“We’re excited by these results, but we know there’s more we can achieve. The advancements in early years learning are encouraging, and we’re confident they’ll lead to sustained higher achievements over time.”
Following the success of CECG schools, Good to Great Schools Founder and Co-Chair, Noel Pearson called for all schools to adopt explicit instruction in their classrooms. In an interview for The Australian, he acknowledges all challenges schools face but emphasised,
“If you don’t get the instruction right, you’re going to fail anyway.”
