Teaching & Learning
A recent article published this week detailed catholic schools in the ACT and Goulburn have seen a dramatic improvement in NAPLAN results by adopting "direct instruction" through the Catalyst program, focusing on explicit teaching methods over student-led approaches. This shift not only improved academic outcomes but also reduced disruptive behaviors and lessened teacher workload. The success of this approach challenges current education trends, emphasising the importance of structured teaching and cognitive load theory to enhance long-term learning.
This article highlights a core principle at Sacred Heart—we do not compromise on learning. As Ross Fox explains, parents want their children to be safe, happy, and to learn. In the past, there’s been a tendency to prioritise safety and happiness at the expense of learning, but at Sacred Heart, we believe in achieving all three. We are proud to be ahead of the curve, proving that a safe, happy, and academically successful environment is possible.
Our 2024 Grade 2 cohort is our benchmark, our line in the sand and they have benefited from:
- High-quality systematic synthetic phonics instruction
- Universal screening combined with targeted Tier 2 and 3 interventions
- Access to grade-level content without ability grouping
- Frequent explicit instruction in sentence-level writing (The Writing Revolution) with less focus on whole texts
- A low-variance, coherent, cumulative, and knowledge-rich curriculum.
This chart shows Oral Reading Fluency (ORF) - Words Correct for second graders at the beginning, middle, and end of the year. ORF measures how many words students read correctly in one minute, a key reading skill.
Benchmarks:
- Beginning of Year (Green): 49 words/min
- Middle of Year (Blue): 78 words/min
- End of Year (Yellow): 94 words/min
The boxes show the range of scores, with the black line marking the median. Whiskers show the highest and lowest scores. This data helps track student progress and identify areas for support.
A rising tide lifts all boats, seen and unseen.
Kate Stroud