A “back to basics” overhaul on how Victoria’s Catholic school students learn reading and maths has yielded positive results, including an improvement of more than 20 per cent in numeracy skills in the 12 months since the change was brought in. Source: The Age.
Melbourne Archdiocese Catholic Schools shifted to explicit instruction for its nearly 300 schools in February last year.
The method means teachers introduce concepts and skills that students learn “step by step”, with clear explanations and demonstrations of what they have to learn, including the use of phonics.
It was the largest school system in the country to embed the method into its teaching practice, and came four months before the Victorian Government mandated the teaching style for state schools.
According to Melbourne Archdiocese Catholic Schools, there has been an improvement in year 3 numeracy proficiency across its school network.
Data shows a 41 per cent improvement in numeracy skills at St Mary’s College in Seymour after just one year, while other schools have had improvements of at least 17 per cent or higher.
“While still early days, we are already starting to see the green shoots of the systemic changes we are making,” MACS executive director Edward Simons said.
“Importantly, we are also hearing that our students, their parents and our teachers are enjoying this way of learning,” he said.
The organisation also expects to see additional improvements when NAPLAN results come out later this year.
FULL STORY
Catholic schools reap the benefits of ‘back to basics’ overhaul (By Caroline Schelle, The Age)
