Over the years, we’ve come to realise that some teaching can be effective for some students, but the best teaching is effective for all students (Wiliam, 2024).
On 22 February, Melbourne Archdiocese Catholic Schools (MACS) launched its position statement, Vision for Instruction (MACS 2024a), outlining the goals, methods and processes for embedding a refreshed and system-wide approach to achieving teaching and learning excellence.
MACS is the largest Catholic education system in Australia, educating around 116,000 students across almost 300 schools, and employing 16,000 teachers and support staff. Grounded in evidence-based research, Vision for Instruction provides explicit guidance for MACS schools, emphasising instructional best practices and principles.
Never see a need without doing something about it
Years of declining performance in OECD PISA results meant that outdated approaches to teaching and learning need to change. The evidence now at hand supports explicit instruction methods as the best way of teaching children the knowledge they need to flourish (Dr Edward Simons, Executive Director of MACS cited in MACS, 2024b).
In 2022, MACS conducted extensive horizon scans of state, national and international education jurisdictions to identify future opportunities and potential pathways for improvement. Additionally, a thorough analysis of MACS’ performance and practice in schools was undertaken, including a curriculum survey of over 500 teachers.
The need for a teaching and learning position statement emerged and Vision for Instruction was developed throughout 2023. Enriched by input from national and international education experts, as well as MACS advisory groups, Vision for Instruction underwent extensive consultation with all MACS schools and office staff in November 2023.
Vision for Instruction has 2 fundamental goals:
Goal 1 – Excellence
All MACS schools deliver a knowledge-rich, evidence-based teaching and learning program.
Goal 2 – Equity
Every student, regardless of background, achieves literacy and numeracy proficiency (MACS, 2024a, p. 5).
Our educators are dedicated to providing all students with fundamental literacy and numeracy skills, ensuring their active engagement in society while fostering lifelong learning (Dr Mary Oski, Director of Learning and Regional Services at MACS cited in MACS, 2024b).
Every child is a blessing to be nurtured, supported and encouraged
Vision for Instruction leverages insights from the science of learning and has been designed to support educators in developing practices that lead to more impactful teaching and learning outcomes.
It is the culmination of years of global research on how students learn best, along with studies and analysis of the most successful teaching methods, developed with input from teachers in our own schools (Simons cited in MACS, 2024b).
The position statement outlines the evidence from cognitive science research on how learning happens and connects this research to practical implications for teaching. It explores biologically secondary knowledge (Castles, Rastle & Nation, 2018); long-term memory (Willingham 2009); working memory (Sweller, 2011); memory recall (Pashler et al., 2007); and knowledge building (Hirsch, 1996).
Explicit instruction promotes direct teaching over student-led or inquiry-based learning, breaking down new concepts into smaller steps and modelling each step before progression. The method is underpinned by an evidence-based, scientific understanding of how students learn (Grace, 2024).
Coherent and deliberate planning of knowledge and deliberate sequencing of tasks has been shown to positively impact student learning. The Vision for Instruction explicit instruction model provides a framework for teacher-designed lessons that begin with teacher-guided instruction and gradually shift responsibility for learning to the student with modelling and guided practice. The teaching sequence – explicit instruction, modelling, guided practice and independent practice – is then refined through formative assessment and regular review.
The mission of schools and teachers
[Explicit instruction] has already been embraced by individual schools in all sectors, but the Melbourne Archdiocese will embed a system-wide approach, providing teachers with training and curriculum resources to ensure each school operates under the same framework (Grace, 2024).
The MACS implementation approach for Vision for Instruction is built on research-informed practices and effective professional learning models, and it ensures each school can effectively navigate its own implementation journey.
However, for sustainable implementation to occur, teachers need support, resources, time and the right school environment to be able to enact high-quality teaching and learning approaches. ‘MACS is committed to providing teachers with the highest quality, knowledge-rich curriculum and evidence-based teaching practices’ (Oski cited in MACS, 2024b).
The research and instructional practices outlined in Vision for Instruction are designed to create more able learners in every classroom. It builds upon established frameworks for school engagement, wellbeing, improvement and inclusive practices for students with diverse learning needs.
The MACS Vision for Instruction is an epic step in the right direction for the most important people in our system … our teachers and students (Chloe Painter, English Leader, St Robert’s School, Newtown).
Stay tuned for stories from schools putting Vision for Instruction into practice.
References
Castles, A., Rastle, K., & Nation, K. (2018). Ending the Reading Wars: Reading Acquisition from Novice to Expert. Psychological Science in the Public Interest, 19 (1), 5–51. https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/1529100618772271.
Grace, R. (2024, 22 February). The big change coming to the way Catholic school kids are taught. The Age. https://www.theage.com.au/national/victoria/the-big-change-coming-to-the-way-catholic-school-kids-are-taught-20240220-p5f6g0.html.
Hirsch, E.D. (1996). The schools we need and why we don’t have them. Doubleday, New York.
Melbourne Archdiocese Catholic Schools. (2024a). Vision for Instruction. https://www.macs.vic.edu.au/MelbourneArchdioceseCatholicSchools/media/Documentation/Documents/Vision-For-Instruction-Position-Statement.pdf.
Melbourne Archdiocese Catholic Schools. (2024b). MACS Vision for Instruction to shape the future of our education system. https://www.macs.vic.edu.au/News-Events/Media-Releases/2024/Vision-for-Instruction.aspx.
Pashler, H., Bain, P., Bottge, B., Graesser, A., Koedinger, K., McDaniel, M., & Metcalf, J. (2007). Organizing Instruction and Study to Improve Student Learning. National Center for Education Research: Institute of Education Sciences. https://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/ED498555.pdf.
Sweller, J. (2011). Cognitive Load Theory. Psychology of Learning and Motivation, 55, 37–76. https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/B9780123876911000028.
Wiliam, D. (2024). Dylan Wiliam Vision for Instruction Endorsement, YouTube, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GieWrkD7gLQ.
Willingham, D.T., (2009). Why Don’t Students Like School?. American Educator. https://www.aft.org/sites/default/files/WILLINGHAM%282%29.pdf.
