Curriculum News 

Welcome back all our returning families to St Anthony's and a warm welcome to the new students and families who join us in 2025. I hope you have had an enjoyable and restful break. I am now the Instructional Specialist at St Anthony's, my role is to lead school wide teaching and learning initiatives, support teachers to deliver a high quality reformed curriculum, transform pedagogical practice and ensure excellent student outcomes.

I would like to begin by covering topics that our teachers continue to explore in their Professional Learning Sessions: The Cognitive Load Theory in practice and Daily Review.

The Cognitive Load Theory in practice

The Cognitive Load Theory  is a framework that explains how the brain processes and stores information during learning. Developed by John Sweller in the 1980s, the theory suggests that our cognitive resources are limited, and effective learning occurs when we manage this limited capacity in the most efficient way possible.

The Cognitive load theory is supported by a robust evidence base which shows that students learn best when they are given explicit instruction accompanied by lots of practice and feedback. 

These strategies work by optimising the load on students’ working memories.

Strategy 1: Tailor lessons according to students’ existing knowledge and skill.

Strategy 2: Use worked examples to teach students new content or skills.

Strategy 3: Gradually increase independent problem-solving as students become more                            proficient.

Strategy 4: Cut out inessential information.

Strategy 5: Present all the essential information together.

Strategy 6: Simplify complex information by presenting it both orally and visually.

Strategy 7: Encourage students to visualise concepts and procedures that they have                                  learnt.

(Taken from DET Cognitive Load Theory in Practice - Centre for Education Statistics and Evaluation - www.cese.nsw.gov.au)

Daily Review

Daily review  refers to the practice of revisiting and reinforcing previously learned material on a regular basis, typically at the beginning of each class or lesson. This process helps students consolidate their knowledge, retain information over the long term, and make connections between old and new concepts. The goal is to improve students' confidence, develop their fluency and ensure students have the prerequisite skills they need for the lesson.

Daily review supports learning because it helps develop a student's long-term memory and consolidates their understanding. In essence, daily review is a powerful teaching strategy that helps maintain student engagement, strengthens memory retention, and supports ongoing learning in the classroom.

I look forward to sharing what our teachers are doing in their classrooms, to support student learning and growth throughout the year.

Working together for our students,

Leanna Langlands

Instructional Specialist