Principal Danyel Efstratiou and teacher Nasya Hassan have embraced an explicit teaching model which has helped turn NAPLAN results around at Sydney Adventist School, Auburn NSW.
NAPLAN, the National Assessment Program – Literacy and Numeracy, is a nationwide measure through a series of tests focused on basic skills that are administered to Australian students in year 3, 5, 7 and 9.
Both Ms Efstratiou and Ms Hassan credit the NAPLAN results, which are now above average in numeracy and literacy for students, as a result of embracing methods which are informed by the latest science on the way kids’ brains work.
Explicit teaching is research-based measure which involves a series of steps teachers ensure students have a clear understanding of why they are learning something, how it connects to what they already know, what is expected of them, and how to do it.
Ms Efstratiou said in an interview with the ABC News, the “explicit model of teaching” style which the staff are trained in at Auburn’s Sydney Adventist School, has “minimised the classroom disruption” and is “derailing many other schools across the country.”
On Wednesday, the 2023 NAPLAN results were released reaveling one in three school students across Australia failed to meet the minimum numeracy and literacy expectations.
“It’s really different because all students are involved. Other methods might just pick one student or two but this one requires all of them to be actively involved in their learning,” Ms Efstratiou says.
“With literacy and numeracy, kids need to know the basic skills,” explains Ms Efstratiou says. “Teaching them explicitly and showing them ‘this is how you need to do it’ helps them”.
Ms Hassan added, “We teach phonics explicitly. We teach the kids what sounds look like, what the sounds are and how to decode words.”
The pair say changing the teaching practices has improved the learning and outcomes at Sydney Adventist School, recommending the explicit approach not only to primary schools but also higher level education.
Source: ABC News
