Learning — New Tech Network Australia: Innovative Thinking in Education

Evidence-Based Explicit Instruction for Cognitive Engagement and Skills for Success in Life

As Hattie (2009) explains, when teachers adopt explicit teaching practices they clearly show students what to do and how to do it. The teacher decides on the learning intentions and success criteria and makes them transparent to students, demonstrating them by modelling. The teacher checks for understanding, and at the end of each lesson revisits what was covered and ties it all together.

When teachers intentionally focus on the I do, We do, You do model of explicit instruction, teacher clarity improves and student learning gains are evident.

It’s here: Design Thinking with NTNAU

A year in the making, and after several years running this program in schools, we are now thrilled to officially launch NTNAU Design Thinking.

Aligned with the General Capabilities of the Australian Curriculum, this fully resourced semester-long course is suitable to run for students of any age. Designed for the modern student, this course takes the load off teacher preparation time and maximises student collaboration, critical thinking and communication skills.

FREE PBL Resource: Summative Assessments and Authentic End Products

Research shows that student engagement and motivation increases when they present their work to someone other than their teacher but what should the end product look like and how can we publish student work to the world for feedback and impact? Check out this free resource from New Tech Network, experts in student-centred learning.

New Tech School Tour - Texas April 2023

This April, we had the great pleasure of taking fourteen Australian educational leaders to Dallas, Texas to visit six New Tech schools that are at the forefront of educational reform. These leaders had the opportunity to network with educators, principals and experts from all over the USA, gaining insight into the most recent practices and developments in project-based learning, school leadership, and educational innovation.

We were welcomed into schools by students and teachers alike, had some incredible hands-on learning experiences and learnt so much from what we saw. It’s hard to narrow it down, but here are our key observations below. Why not join us on our next trip?

NTNAU Services for Student-Centred Learning

Every school is unique in terms of its ethos, student cohort and staff. Regardless of this, every school in the country has, at its core, a desire to see young people excel in school and life in general. At NTN we believe all students are capable of great achievements and acknowledge that schools, by design, play a critical role in supporting student success.

Teacher practices and classroom culture are a critical starting point in school change, and that’s why we have developed three levels of support for schools, from those just starting out with student-centred learning and PBL to schools ready to dive in to all the benefits of joining a deeper learning network, for ongoing support and sustainable school change.

Getting Real About School Change

Formative feedback was the initiative at my school in 2009. We had a full day PD session with all the staff in the school canteen and I remember enjoying the day. The concept made sense to me: What Went Well… and Even Better If… My students would better understand their strengths and have something concrete to improve. The whole school would be using the same language and students would receive written formative feedback fortnightly. Wait… fortnightly? As a high school teacher of multiple classes, that meant…400 comments in books each fortnight? I was a French teacher, and the maths behind this gave me sleepless nights. Ask me to do something to improve student learning and I’ll do it. But seriously?

Making Lemonade from Lemons: Fostering Post-Pandemic Growth in our Students

We’re not out of the woods by any stretch of the imagination, but with rising vaccination levels and talk of opening up towards the end of the year, here at New Tech Network Australia, we’ve been considering this: as the pandemic starts to recede from the cortex of our minds, how do we make lemonade out of almost two years worth of lemons?

What is, and how do we build, post-pandemic growth in our students?