Teacher actions promoting student learning

While there is no formula that will guarantee learning for every student in every context, there is extensive, well-documented evidence about the kinds of teaching approaches that consistently have a positive impact on students’ learning. This evidence tells us that students learn best when teachers:

• Create a supportive learning environment
  
• Encourage reflective thought and action
  
• Enhance the relevance of new learning
  
• Facilitate shared learning
  
• Make connections to prior learning and experience
  
• Provide sufficient opportunities to learn and inquire in a positive teaching-learning relationship.
  

What should this look like in our classrooms?

Students are likely to:

• Take an active role in decisions about the content, process and assessment of learning
  
• Take an active role in learning
  
• Wait less and learn more
  
• Be interested in their learning
  
• Feel empowered to make suggestions
  
• Ask questions of themselves, the teacher and others
  

The teacher is likely to:

• Notice, recognise and respond to learners - which may necessitate adapting plans in the teaching moment
  
• Give quality feedback and feed-forward that relate to the learning areas as well as the thinking behaviours
  
• Alter and adapt plans in response to learners
  
• Revisit learning plans with students
  
• Show themselves as learners and to model thinking behaviours
  

Content, topic or foci are likely to:

• Be (or become) interesting to students
  
• Draw on authentic contexts - related to things that are happening in the local and global community
  
• Relate to students' existing knowledge and experience
  
• Broaden students' competencies
  

Resources are likely to:

• Come from a range of sources - local, national and global
  
• Draw on diverse perspectives
  
• Include a range of media
  
• Be sourced not only by teachers, but also by students, parents, community members and others
  

Activities are likely to:

• Take students into real, authentic contexts
  
• Be flexible and adaptable
  
• Be dynamic - activities that lead to and generate other unforeseen activities
  
• Be for other individuals and groups
  
• Be purposeful and worthwhile
  
• Be aligned to important outcomes
  

The classroom culture is likely to:

• Develop creative, critical or reflective thinking
  
• Focus on learning
  
• Embrace flexibility
  
• Feel like a place where students are confident to have a say
  
• Encourage questions, contributions, suggestions, learning from mistakes and successes