Teaching Matters Summit: Day 2 Champions Explicit Instruction

With over 400 delegates in attendance, the 3rd Annual Teaching Matters Summit 2025 Day 2 kicked off with the “titans of teaching”.  Delegates heard the very best in contemporary evidence-based teaching and learning practices and the impact these are having across the globe.

World-renowned behavioural expert, Tom Bennett OBE, delivered the first keynote. In a highly entertaining presentation, Tom shared the scaffold required for children to make sensible decisions and usher them into maturity. He described how the teacher-student relationship hinges on teachers being trustworthy, predictable and reliable. They should have clearly understood expectations, establish clear boundaries and consequences and demonstrate high regard and care. Questions came thick and fast for Tom, who shared his expertise in designing equitable accommodations for children with behavioural challenges and provided the salient advice that in the complexities of education, everything works somewhere, but nothing works everywhere.

Tom’s UK counterpart, Bruno Reddy, OBE, then took to the stage to discuss variation theory and the importance of helping children ‘spot the key feature’ with careful, deliberate, intentional sequencing of questions. In doing so, teachers can encourage the mental calculation, but in slight increments. Bruno encouraged delegates to identify big and small differences, providing a sequence of examples and non-examples to guide conceptual understanding.

Jared Bussell, Director of Shaping Minds Australia, walked us through his own teaching journey, speaking of the Kimberley Schools Project, an experience that has shaped his teaching philosophy and practice today. He highlighted the critical responsibility of teachers, noting that when a student fails to learn, it is often a reflection of a failure in teaching. Jared also stressed the importance of Explicit Direct Instruction (EDI) and the role of engagement norms in maintaining high levels of student participation and accountability. Finally, he showed how structured intentional teaching can boost students’ fluency and comprehension in literacy by demonstrating the fluency instructional sequence using the Invictus poem.

The afternoon sessions enabled delegates to choose between sessions on emotional engagement in the early years, research into oral language foundations for learning, questioning and response strategies, and a practical workshop on the Variation Theory introduced by Bruno Reddy earlier in the day.

Linguistics expert, Lyn Stone, took to the main stage to discuss two vital questions at the heart of literacy – how words are built, and how they are remembered. She encouraged delegates to think beyond phonics as English words are multi-layered and it’s not as simple as ‘spell it like it sounds’. Lyn walked through word sums, families and word etymology as means of teaching the exceptions and the fact that every irregular word tells a story. Once students learn how the strands connect, meaning, structure, and memory work together.

As we climbed to the pinnacle of the Summit, Jennifer White, System Lead: Curriculum & Pedagogy, brought together experts from policy, best practice pedagogy and research to look to the future with a powerful and thought-provoking panel on the importance of creating a learning environment where every student can flourish. 

As three knowledge-rich days came to a close, delegates left engaged, energised and ready to move into a new era for education.

Of the two days, Emily Sass, Deputy Principal at Marist Regional College, said, “It’s a great networking opportunity as well as some of the best speakers within Australia in our profession. The speakers have all been amazing. They’re all really engaging and really on the money with where our profession needs to go. Our team are all really passionate about that and we’re trying to soak up as much as we can while we’re here.” 

As three knowledge-rich days came to a close, delegates left engaged, energised, and ready to move into a new era for education.

Teaching Matters Summit 2025: Day 1 Delivers Powerful Practice

Day one of the 3rd Teaching Matters Summit 2025 opened with energy and purpose with a glorious Welcome to Country video capturing the majestic beauty of Bruny Island. In his opening address, Dr Gerard Gaskin, Executive Director, Catholic Education Tasmania (CET) provided delegates with an epistemological journey through this year’s theme of Knowledge, Truth and Freedom, ‘The end of education is knowledge. The end of knowledge is truth’ – principles in existence since the time of Aristotle.

Professor Pamela Snow kicked off the keynote presentations, speaking on the importance of reading and its distinction from literacy. She illustrated the benefits of applying public health principles to education and reading instruction and what Response to Intervention looks like. Professor Snow emphasised why progress monitoring and evidence needs to underpin the education system to the benefit of society.

Our first international keynote, Tom Sherrington, continued in a similar vein, illustrating how Rosenshine’s Principles of Instruction are nothing new, but provide a practical and sensible means to guide teacher practice. He stressed the importance of the word ‘all’ in respect of students, stating that the benchmark for success is the active participation of the entire class, with anything less ‘not good enough’. Those fortunate to attend Tom’s afternoon masterclass were then able to further explore the techniques of cold calling and think pair share in a classroom setting.

Distinguished Professor Pamela Snow gave an informative keynote on the challenge of working with neurodiverse students and the responsibilities of educators to create ways for students to access learning, regardless of ability and Dr Nathaniel Swain dispelled the myth that explicit direct instruction suppresses creativity by illustrating how it creates a framework through which imagination can thrive.

The day’s theme of leading change was explored at length with representatives from educational bodies such as the Australian Education Research Organisation, the Grattan Institute, the Australian Institute for Teaching and School Leadership and the Centre for Independent Studies (CIS). As Glenn Fahey, Director – Education Program, CIS, said, it is important for educators and policy makers to ‘challenge what we believe, revisit what we’ve learned and do the hard things to put students first even if it leaves us feeling uncomfortable.’ He praised catholic education as being ‘great innovators’, citing the collaboration between CET and Catholic Education Canberra Goulburn as leading the way in advancing pedagogy and curriculum. 

This year, delegates were able to choose from concurrent sessions with topics ranging from early years education, to leading change at the school level, through to a full system transformation.

Acting in the role of Master of Ceremonies for the day, Jennifer White, System Lead: Curriculum & Pedagogy, CET, said, ‘It was a pleasure to facilitate an exceptional day of learning for delegates. As a system we have welcomed the expertise of these professionals over the last three years and it’s a privilege to have the opportunity to share this knowledge with colleagues from across Australia, New Zealand, Britain and even China.’

Day 1 culminates in the ‘Pearls of Wisdom’ Gala Dinner, celebrating what we’ve learned, sharing what we know and setting the stage for the conversations and insights of Day 2.

Sharing our success story at the Australian Catholic Education Conference 2025

Last week, Catholic Education Tasmania (CET) had the honour of being invited to present at the 2025 Australian Catholic Education Conference (ACEC) in Cairns. This triennial event brings together over 1,400 leaders from across Australia and was a wonderful opportunity to share our transformational journey through Insight into Learning.

We were thrilled to collaborate with our trusted friends at Catholic Education Canberra & Goulburn (CECG) as Jennifer White, CET System Lead: Curriculum and Pedagogy and Patrick Ellis, Education Lead from CECG, took the stage to present ‘A Tale of Two Systems’. 

Over 200 delegates heard how our two systems have successfully embedded evidence-based teaching practice across our schools and how, whilst our goals were aligned, there were marked differences in our approach to achieving them.

Since 2023, CET has been working towards our bold goal to be the most improved education system in Australia delivered through our Insight into Learning program. Jennifer’s presentation explored our unique model to transform our system, with a framework of exceptional professional learning, expert coaching and our Instructional Leadership program. 

Our Insight into Learning program encapsulates the critical components of Science of Learning methodology by ensuring that every educator

• Understands the cognitive science on how students learn, process, retain and recall information
• Is supported by a comprehensive, knowledge-rich curriculum with scope and sequence by subject
• Receives regular, intensive coaching, observation and feedback

As Jennifer explained, this approach re-establishes the teacher as directing and evaluating learning – in every subject – everyday.

Through targeted professional coaching, CET has created over 600 Instructional Leaders across our system, shifting our focus from external support to a sustainable, internally driven model. As we embark on a new phase of maintenance and refinement, we strengthen our focus on core Principles of Instruction through intensive teaching sprints, workshops and whole system professional learning. 

It was with great pleasure that Jennifer shared our 2025 NAPLAN results as clear evidence that our approach is working. CET students exceeded the Tasmanian average across all domains and year levels. In addition, students in Year 5 in 2025 showed measurable gains when compared to the same cohort in Year 3 in 2023, improving 4% in reading, 9% in spelling, and an impressive 11% in grammar and punctuation.

Our student success is just one of the ways our system has transformed. Our teachers report feeling empowered and energised, with 98% stating that they are equipped with the resources to effectively teach reading. Our parents also advocate for our approach, displaying strong confidence in our curriculum’s consistency and appropriateness for their children’s developmental needs.

Jennifer expressed her delight at being invited to present at such an auspicious event. “We are proud of all that we have achieved at CET through Insight into Learning. It is my hope that the reflections from our journey inspire other systems to continue their own transformation, so that we can elevate teaching practice Australia-wide.”

We extend our gratitude to the National Catholic Education Commission for the invitation and look forward to fostering the connections made through future collaboration.

All System Day Delivers Global Expertise to Enhance Learning for 2025

The highly anticipated initial All System Day for 2025 took place on 4 February, bringing together over 1,700 educators across three different locations for an exceptional day of professional learning.

Catholic Education Tasmania was fortunate to engage Tom Bennett; a world-renowned educator and academic from the UK and the founder and director of researchED as the first keynote speaker. Tom has extensively studied behaviour in over 1,500 schools of varying socio-economic status across the globe.

In his presentation titled The Culture that Nurtures, Tom challenged the audience to define good behaviour in all common classroom situations, setting clear parameters from the outset. He encouraged a pedagogical approach to behaviour, with expectations proactively taught and insisted upon, so that they become habitual. He also stressed the importance of teaching students why it matters, so that they value the behaviour.

Tom explained that behavioural outcomes are achieved through establishing norms and routines. These are reinforced by clear and consistent sanctions for unwelcome behaviours and sincere, proportionate and targeted praise for positive behaviour. Through clear and consistent application at the whole school level, the right culture is created to enable students to flourish.

Following Tom’s insights, established linguist, author, and CEO of Lifelong Literacy, Lyn Stone, showcased her mastery of language in her presentation on The Writing-Learning Loop. Lyn explained how writing enhances all areas of learning, and how structure, content and process is essential to establish writing fluency.

Lyn’s use of practical examples and Explicit Direct Instruction created a highly engaging session as our educators were presented with a number of techniques to generate genuine interest in writing in the classroom.

“It was an honour to be able to share my learnings with Catholic Education Tasmania’s network of educators. I hope attendees left feeling empowered with the tools to encourage writing fluency in their schools,” says Lyn.

Dr Gerard Gaskin, Executive Director of Catholic Education Tasmania, was “absolutely thrilled to commence the year by coming together as a system to share best practice.”

“It was a pleasure to be able to kick-start proceedings by presenting our new Insight into Learning program, The Teach First Initiative, a means of upskilling our own educators to mentor our teachers and support our students in sustaining lasting change.”

The Teach First Initiative enhances teacher practice through collaboration, learning and growth. Each term, teachers work in small teams to explore a Rosenshine principle, coming together at the end to share insights.

In an exciting first for All System Day, educators from within Catholic Education Tasmania’s system were given the opportunity to share their Insight into Learning journey with other schools. Educators from six different schools presented across the three regions and offered helpful advice to those at an earlier stage.

Jennifer White, System Lead: Curriculum & Pedagogy said “As we welcome more schools into the Insight into Learning program, the willingness of our Educators to share lived experience has been delightful to witness and we are grateful for their valued contribution to our All System Day.”

The Insight into Learning team would like to thank the following schools and their educators for exchanging their knowledge on the following topics:

• Immaculate Heart of Mary Catholic School – joining Insight into Learning and their continuous improvement model
• Mount Carmel College – strategies to help boost students’ confidence in learning
• St Finn Barr’s Primary School – facilitating classroom norms and how this helps establish a culture of success
• St Patrick’s College – teacher practice and why setting routines and expectations can help students thrive
• Marist Regional College – how to implement evidence-informed practices in everyday teaching
• St Patrick’s Catholic School – how to build a culture of success through professional learning, embedded norms and student feedback

Feedback from the day was overwhelmingly positive, with many educators referencing the school presentations as useful insight for their own journeys.

Thank you to everyone who came together to attend and contribute to this extraordinary day of learning. The next All System Day on Monday 21 July 2025 will be facilitated within schools.

All System Day October: Empowering Practice

Educators from across Catholic Education Tasmania (CET) virtually gathered for the October All System Day, creating a space for engaging discussions around a shared vision of ‘Empowering Practice’. The day’s primary objective was to provide teachers and leaders with the opportunity to deepen their understanding of the educational theories they’ve been upskilled in and explore how to practically apply these concepts in the classroom.

To start the day off, educators had the privilege of hearing from Tom Sherrington, who travelled from the UK to deliver his highly anticipated presentation. Tom brought a wealth of expertise on the TAPPLE framework and Rosenshine’s 17 Principles of Instruction, offering valuable insights into how these concepts can transform classroom practice. His ability to break down complex theories and demonstrate their practical application resonated deeply with CET teachers and leaders, providing them with clear, actionable strategies to enhance student engagement and learning outcomes.

“Tom Sherrington’s practical advice for good pedagogy was exceptional. He explained the importance of the strategies well and the implications for their use. Tom’s address enabled reflection of my current practice and also provided strategies for future focus.”

All System Day Attendee

To follow on from Tom’s session, our educators were treated to a thoughtful and informative presentation by University of Tasmania, Speech Pathologist Dr Sam Calder. Dr Calder provided educators with valuable perspectives on the critical role of oral language as a foundation for student success in the classroom. His presentation deepened understanding of how strong oral language skills can support learning across various subjects, equipping educators with knowledge to better support their students’ development.

Our educators then split into three focused groups: Early years, Primary, and Secondary. In these sessions, participants had the opportunity to hear from Oral Language experts who tailored their presentations to meet the specific needs of each cohort. Early Years educators were guided by Anna Taylor and Dr Anna Desjardins from MultiLit, while primary educators benefited from a session led by Curtin University lecturer, Laura Glisson. Dr Emily Jackson, also a lecturer at Curtin University, continued the conversation for secondary educators, exploring how oral language supports learning in older students.

After an insightful morning, educators had the chance to reflect and recharge over lunch in preparation for a Q&A session with Tom Sherrington. During the Q&A, teachers and leaders were able to delve deeper into Tom’s earlier presentation, engaging in meaningful discussions and gaining additional practical strategies for applying the TAPPLE framework in the classroom. This interactive session provided a valuable opportunity for educators to clarify concepts and explore how to implement TAPPLE techniques effectively.

To conclude the October All System Day, Primary and Secondary teachers broke into their respective cohorts to engage in self-led lessons from Tom Sherrington on the TAPPLE framework. Concurrently, Teacher Assistants participated in a session with Dr Lorraine Hammond, focusing on effective methods for teaching spelling to small groups of children. Additionally, Kindergarten educators benefited from a presentation by CET’s Early Years Subject Matter Expert, Tash Williams, who provided guidance on supporting Early Years students. 

The final All System Day for 2024 successfully delivered on the objective of Empowering Practice for our teachers and leaders. Educators enjoyed the opportunity to collaborate in their professional learning and have been readily equipped with new approaches and fresh ideas to enhance their teaching practices. The event enriched our professional knowledge building system wide, while reinforcing a shared commitment to empowering student learning and achievement.

System-wide assessment results demonstrate Insight into Learning’s early success

Catholic Education Tasmania is delighted to see early indicators of the success of Insight into Learning implementation across schools, with a measurable outcome of improved student achievement.

Executive Director Dr Gerard Gaskin said he was thrilled to see the early impact of Insight into Learning as identified by student achievement demonstrated in 2023 Progressive Achievement Testing (PAT) results.

“Let’s celebrate the early indicators of growth and redouble our efforts to see every single student grow in knowledge, wisdom and service.”

“Let’s all take great encouragement from these results. We are setting all of our students up for continuous growth in their learning across all the core subjects,” he said.

In the domains of maths, reading, spelling and vocabulary, CET Schools have seen an improvement in the average scale score. A significant component of this forward progression is the scale scores from students from Insight into Learning schools that have embraced the Science of Learning and Science of Reading methodologies.

Students from schools that have embraced the Insight into Learning, Science of Learning and Science of Reading methodologies over the past 12 months achieved better growth results on PAT results across all domains from 2022 to 2023.

This progression is notable when comparing the percentage increase in average scale score. Across the domains, Insight schools outperform non-Insight schools by as much as 11 per cent.

For more information, read our Becoming the Most Improved Education System in Australia brochure.

PAT has been implemented across all CET schools, offering a system-wide view of student progress in maths, reading, spelling and vocabulary. CET will continue to use the common assessment data to measure student progress as a means of monitoring growth in teaching and learning practices over time, providing a strong evidentiary foundation on which the Insight program can build.

Teaching Matters Summit: Day Two unveils Varied Perspectives and Innovative Ideas

After a knowledge rich first day, the second day of the Summit saw delegates enjoy a relaxed breakfast accompanied by engaging conversation with the experts. This provided an opportunity for delegates to ask questions stimulated by day one’s presentations and draw on the vast national and international expertise.

Day Two’s headline keynote speaker, Jan Hasbrouck PHD, presented on how comprehension can impact the success of fluency. Her key tip to for developing students’ comprehension skills was to ensure educators focussed on letter, letter-pattern and word levels plus semantic and syntactic processes at the word, phrase, and sentence level. She also delved into automaticity, whereby reading becomes as fluent as speaking, which can be assessed by using Oral Reading Fluency (ORF), a tool which Hasbrouck highly recommends that educators use to help predict comprehension ability.  

Dr Hasbrouck was then joined by Dr Lorraine Hammond to address questions that arose from her keynote. The conversation started with a discussion around recommended assessment tools for fluency. Both Dr Hasbrouck and Dr Hammond agreed that the most important element of literacy was to continue to practice phonics, fluency and comprehension. The pair recommended daily reviews to check for understanding before moving on to more challenging content.

Host of the podcast Knowledge for Teachers, Brendan Lee, provided practical strategies to support teachers in achieving productive learning in mathematics. Brendan acknowledged that while mathematics is a complex subject, the role of the teacher is to make connections in learning for students. A framework he believes is useful when understanding how to teach mathematics is Instructional Hierarchy: Stages of Learning. The three steps to follow are acquisition, fluency and generalisation. It is important for educators to remember that mathematics is like learning another language.

Brendan was followed by author and educator, Toni Hatten-Roberts who continued the numeracy theme, informing delegates on how to increase student confidence, understanding and achievement through embracing maths fluency. Toni delved into the key insights from her published paper ‘The Need for Speed: why fluency counts for maths learning’, including the impact of using the hierarchy of maths learning, the three stages modelling (Explicit Instruction), immediate corrective feedback and practice for sufficient accuracy.

The afternoon session commenced with an insightful presentation from Rebecca Birch, an English Teacher and Director of Research and Practice, that focussed on student wellbeing in implementation of a Science of Learning (SoL) teaching approach. Rebecca emphasised how explicit teaching structures can mitigate behavioral issues, enhance student self-confidence, and reduce stress through effective study strategies. Delving into the self-determination theory, Rebecca encouraged educators to prioritise meeting all human needs, including autonomy, competence, and relatedness. She elaborated on her personal implementation of these strategies within her college.

The concluding keynote address was presented by Dr Jennifer Buckingham PH.D FRSN,
Director of Strategy and Senior Research Fellow, focusing on the significant reforms in Initial Teacher Education (ITE). Dr Buckingham commenced her presentation by providing an overview of the educational landscape in Australia, noting the extensive array of higher education programs available. She delved into the insights of the Strong Beginnings: Report of the Teacher Education Expert Panel, and emphasised the recommendation to enhance ITE programs by enforcing core content mandates and augmenting them accordingly.

As two insightful and inspiring days of education drew to a close, Glenn Fahey, Program Director at The Centre for Independent Studies, led the second panel discussion on the Science of Learning. This panel included Rebecca Birch, Lyn Stone, Dr. Nathaniel Swain, Brendan Lee, Dr Jan Hasbrouck and Michael Roberts. The discussion commenced with a vibrant exchange on the challenges of implementing the Science of Learning, with Lyn Stone highlighting the importance of finding a supportive school environment conducive to growth. Subsequently, the panel explored the primary considerations essential for understanding the Science of Learning within a classroom context, elucidating the advantageous aspects observable in such environments.

To close out the Summit, CET Executive Director Dr Gerard Gaskin took to the stage to thank and acknowledge all staff, experts and delegates for their involvement.

“You can see from the talents and enthusiasm of generations of speakers, we are part of a ground swell that is the Science of Learning and Reading” he said. 

Insight into Learning’s All System Day February 2024: Reaffirming Knowledge on the Science of Learning

Over 1,500 educators from across Catholic Education Tasmania came together at five different venues across the state to explore and refresh their understanding of the Science of Learning.

Dr Gerard Gaskin, Executive Director of Catholic Education Tasmania, said All System Days enhanced educational development by providing access to global and national teaching expertise.

“We are blessed to have accessed experts in the Science of Learning. This will provide our educators with an even deeper understanding and appetite to apply the principles of the Science of Learning in our daily work,” he said.

The focus of the Professional Learning Day was ‘Questioning’, a key element of Barak Rosenshine’s Principles of Instruction.

The team was thrilled to welcome Tom Sherrington (UK) a former Head Teacher with over 30 years’ experience who now has a successful education consultancy. Tom presented virtually on the key components of Questioning and how it can apply in the classroom setting. Natalie Wexler (USA), a well-known Education writer and the author of “The Knowledge Gap: The Hidden Cause of America’s Broken Education System—And How to Fix It”, also joined the event virtually from New York. Both guest speakers tuned in live to field questions from participants.

The middle portion of the day involved interactive workshops, differentiated by year-level (early years, primary and secondary teachers). Dr Nathaniel Swain, a teacher, instructional coach and researcher, curated a dynamic virtual workshops series based on Checking For Understanding (CFU), drawing upon his experience in his own school, and in schools across Tasmania.

The afternoon session involved two in-person presentations featuring Rebecca Birch, a leading English teacher and the Director of Research and Practice at a top 20 independent school in Sydney, and Toni Hatten-Roberts, a leader in the Science of Learning and bridging the gap between theory and classroom practice.

The event boasted an impressive set of highlights, including:

• Tom Sherrington’s session, which explored the connections between Rosenshine’s Principles of Instruction, particularly around questioning and the process of supporting writing, particularly in more technical subjects and complex classroom environments, to ensure the success of every student and educator.
• Natalie Wexler’s session, which emphasised the importance of writing in improving reading comprehension and analytical thinking. Her insights helped educators understand the importance of basic comprehension skills.
• Toni Hatten-Roberts’s session, which focused on how best to support students in maths fluency, particularly the need for speed and automaticity in mathematics learning.
• Rebecca Birch’s session, which encouraged all teachers to understand the power of writing and why it is essential for secondary teachers to teach writing to achieve the sophistication needed for upper secondary levels, ensuring that students can express their knowledge with clarity and confidence.

The Insight into Learning team would like to thank everyone who attended and contributed to the event. We are looking forward to delivering the next All System Day in July 2024.