May 31, 2025 • 12 mins
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Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Jocelyn (00:00):
Hi there, welcome to this episode of the Structured
Literacy Podcast recorded herein Tasmania, the home of the
Palawa people.
I'm Jocelyn, and today I'd liketo talk with you about the
language we use and theassumptions we make about
student learning.
Have you ever found yourselffrustrated when you know that
(00:21):
you've taught something, butstudents just can't remember or
use certain content?
Have you ever taught a unit ofwork that felt amazing and then
three weeks later, the studentscouldn't remember what was in it
?
Have you ever planned a unit ofwork based on the fact that
students already knew certainthings, but when you began to
(00:42):
teach, it was very clear thatthey didn't know those things?
And we say to ourselves butthey know this or they knew this
, and I'm sorry to say thatmaybe they don't, because if
they knew it, they'd do it.
Have you ever found yourselfsaying phrases like we've
(01:04):
already taught that or they'vedone that before or, my personal
favourite, they covered that.
Well, I know that I have and Istill do it, and I think most of
us have fallen into this trapat some point and perhaps still
do it on a daily basis.
But there's a fundamental flawin this kind of thinking and
(01:25):
this kind of language that Iwant to address today.
We often assume that becausewe've said something, students
should remember it.
We teach a concept once andtwice and expect it to stick,
but what we know from cognitivesciences is that students need
many more repetitions than wethink they do to embed new
(01:46):
learning into long-term memoryand develop schema.
John Sweller, who has beencalled the architect of
cognitive load theory, helps usremember that learning is a
permanent change to long-termmemory.
That means it's not just aboutstudents being present in the
classroom when teaching ishappening.
(02:06):
We need knowledge and skill tobe transferred to long-term
memory for actual learning tooccur.
And when we think about thedifferent types of memory,
declarative, procedural andconditional, we realise that our
assumptions about learning areoften misguided.
(02:27):
We've been taught to teach in away that makes the assumption
that if we engage students inthe procedural, if we have them
do things, they will develop thedeclarative, or the knowledge
themselves.
Most of the time, this justdoesn't work.
The language we use matters, andI would like to challenge
everyone about this, includingmyself, because those phrases
(02:51):
like we've done that or they'vedone that or we've taught that,
all lead us down the path ofassumption and, as my mother
used to remind me, when youassume, you make an ass out of
you and me.
We need to shift that languageto be focused on student
outcomes.
What do students know?
(03:11):
Is the question we should beasking.
And then hot on the heels ofthat question is how do we know?
Some of the challenge in all ofthis is the pressure we feel to
do all of the things in thecurriculum.
This propels us helter skelterthrough the school year just
doing one thing after another.
But we really do need to slowdown and focus on going deeper.
(03:35):
We need to do less and do itbetter.
Another way I've heard thisexpressed is to go a mile deep
and an inch wide, instead of aninch deep and a mile wide.
Give yourself permission toteach the students in front of
you, rather than beatingyourself up because you feel
like you haven't covered everycontent descriptor every
(03:56):
semester.
These language habits are hardto break.
So how can we do it?
How can we shift our languageand therefore our focus, to
where it needs to be?
I've got five steps for you, andthe first one is to notice and
reframe.
Whenever someone on your teamor yourself uses phrases such as
(04:18):
I've taught that or they'vedone that, we could pull them up
really gently by saying whoaNellie unless, of course, you
have someone on your team namedNellie, then maybe choose a
different name, but keep it fun,keep it light and keep it
consistent.
So, collectively, saying whoaNellie and having a bit of a
(04:40):
giggle makes it so that we'renot being attacked, but we are
pulling ourselves up on thelanguage we use.
The next part of this is toreframe with things like I have
introduced, or we are practicing, or we are consolidating.
These are all greatalternatives to we have done,
(05:01):
and when you're having planningmeetings, you can say things
like in previous years, studentshave written narrative text,
but I'll base my instruction onhow much of that has stuck.
So I know how much has stuck,because.
This is keeping the focus onwhere it needs to be, so that we
(05:21):
know how best to support thestudents.
So step two, then, is evaluatelesson and unit plans, and you
can do this with this questionin mind: have we organised
instruction to make learningstick, or have we organised
instruction to tick curriculumboxes?
Too often we structure ourteaching to cover content rather
(05:44):
than ensuring strong learningand, as we know, covering
content doesn't necessarily leadto learning.
We need to build in deliberatepractice.
We need to revisit conceptsregularly and check for
understanding frequently.
The third step is to do thiswork collaboratively.
(06:05):
Work collaboratively andcollegially to address instances
of box ticking in instruction.
And leaders, help your teamdefine what is expected and
where wriggle room sits withinthe terms.
Now, one of the simplest waysto address this to start with is
just to leave an extra week, ormaybe two, in every unit plan
(06:28):
to be able to pause new learningand consolidate as needed.
We don't want to wait justuntil the end of the unit and
then say, oh, here are seventhings we need to consolidate.
We need to notice when thingsare and are not sticking and
pause right then, right in thatmoment, to give the students the
time and practice they need.
(06:49):
Leaving this extra room justtakes the pressure off.
In our Spelling Success inAction program, every fifth week
is recommended as aconsolidation week, so give
yourself the breathing room inother areas of the literacy
block or across the curriculum.
Another part of workingcollaboratively is to help each
(07:11):
other reframe learningintentions and success criteria
to include strong verbs.
Verbs that sit in theAustralian curriculum and other
curriculums, such as explore,know and understand, are
wishy-washy.
They make it extremely hard forus to confidently determine
what the student learningoutcomes are.
(07:32):
Instead, use verbs like select,define, explain, calculate and
classify.
These strong verbs lead us downthe path of really
understanding where students arein their learning, rather than
just having to guess.
(07:57):
Step four in this is to planregular retrieval and
consolidation.
So we've heard a lot in recentyears about daily review and
retrieval practice.
In fact, we have a wholeresearch to the classroom series
on it, so you can searchresearch to the classroom daily
review and retrieval and it willcome up.
Rather than just havingstudents review content, though,
(08:17):
make sure they are activelyrecalling it.
This is the power ofconsolidation.
They also have to use it.
So it's not enough just to haveconsolidation opportunities
that result in a one or two wordanswer.
They need to also haveopportunities for elaborative
(08:38):
retrieval and rehearsal, wherethey have to put what they are
learning to work and think aboutit a little more deeply.
Step five collect evidence oflearning, and this ties directly
back to that reframing of thelearning intentions and success
criteria.
We have to move beyondassumptions by collecting
(09:00):
evidence of learning, and itdoesn't have to be super formal
summative assessment, exittickets, observing students as
they work and recording whatthey've done, or having them
record their own understandingof a concept using an iPad are
great ways to capture wherestudent learning is sitting
(09:20):
right in this moment.
When we have the evidence, whenwe plan to have the evidence
right from the start of our unitplanning, it is so much easier
to stay out of the trap of we'vedone that and help us down the
road of making informeddecisions based on what students
have actually learned ratherthan what we included in the
(09:45):
unit plan.
The big question here is whatdoes it mean to teach?
Is it that we've conductedlessons?
Is it that we've coveredcontent, or is it that students
have learned and have learned itfor the long term?
If they haven't learned it, wehaven't taught it.
(10:06):
And how do we get them to thelearning?
Well, fundamentally through theexplicit teaching model and
remembering that explicitteaching is the whole model, all
the way through independentpractice and retrieval and
rehearsal.
It's not just the part wherethe teacher presents information
and provides that quickfollow-up task.
(10:28):
Teaching and learning have to beviewed as a long game.
There are no quick pathwayshere.
So I encourage you to bemindful of the language you use,
the assumptions you make andthe evidence you collect.
Give yourself and your studentspermission to go deeper rather
than wider, and create space inyour planning for consolidation
(10:53):
and mastery.
And when next you hear someonesaying we are doing the solar
system or they've coverednarrative, say in the lightest,
most fun way possible, whoa,Nellie.
And then help each otherreframe your language to keep
the focus on the students ratherthan the actions of the adults.
(11:22):
You're all doing important work, and by focusing on what
students actually know ratherthan what we've covered, we'll
be able to make that work evenmore impactful.
As is often said about manythings, this work is a marathon,
not a sprint, and sometimesslowing down is exactly what we
need to do to help our studentsto succeed for the long term.
(11:46):
Until next time, everyone,happy teaching, bye.
Hi there, welcome to this episode of the Structured
Literacy Podcast recorded herein Tasmania, the home of the
Palawa people.
I'm Jocelyn, and today I'd liketo talk with you about the
language we use and theassumptions we make about
student learning.
Have you ever found yourselffrustrated when you know that
(00:21):
you've taught something, butstudents just can't remember or
use certain content?
Have you ever taught a unit ofwork that felt amazing and then
three weeks later, the studentscouldn't remember what was in it
?
Have you ever planned a unit ofwork based on the fact that
students already knew certainthings, but when you began to
(00:42):
teach, it was very clear thatthey didn't know those things?
And we say to ourselves butthey know this or they knew this
, and I'm sorry to say thatmaybe they don't, because if
they knew it, they'd do it.
Have you ever found yourselfsaying phrases like we've
(01:04):
already taught that or they'vedone that before or, my personal
favourite, they covered that.
Well, I know that I have and Istill do it, and I think most of
us have fallen into this trapat some point and perhaps still
do it on a daily basis.
But there's a fundamental flawin this kind of thinking and
(01:25):
this kind of language that Iwant to address today.
We often assume that becausewe've said something, students
should remember it.
We teach a concept once andtwice and expect it to stick,
but what we know from cognitivesciences is that students need
many more repetitions than wethink they do to embed new
(01:46):
learning into long-term memoryand develop schema.
John Sweller, who has beencalled the architect of
cognitive load theory, helps usremember that learning is a
permanent change to long-termmemory.
That means it's not just aboutstudents being present in the
classroom when teaching ishappening.
(02:06):
We need knowledge and skill tobe transferred to long-term
memory for actual learning tooccur.
And when we think about thedifferent types of memory,
declarative, procedural andconditional, we realise that our
assumptions about learning areoften misguided.
(02:27):
We've been taught to teach in away that makes the assumption
that if we engage students inthe procedural, if we have them
do things, they will develop thedeclarative, or the knowledge
themselves.
Most of the time, this justdoesn't work.
The language we use matters, andI would like to challenge
everyone about this, includingmyself, because those phrases
(02:51):
like we've done that or they'vedone that or we've taught that,
all lead us down the path ofassumption and, as my mother
used to remind me, when youassume, you make an ass out of
you and me.
We need to shift that languageto be focused on student
outcomes.
What do students know?
(03:11):
Is the question we should beasking.
And then hot on the heels ofthat question is how do we know?
Some of the challenge in all ofthis is the pressure we feel to
do all of the things in thecurriculum.
This propels us helter skelterthrough the school year just
doing one thing after another.
But we really do need to slowdown and focus on going deeper.
(03:35):
We need to do less and do itbetter.
Another way I've heard thisexpressed is to go a mile deep
and an inch wide, instead of aninch deep and a mile wide.
Give yourself permission toteach the students in front of
you, rather than beatingyourself up because you feel
like you haven't covered everycontent descriptor every
(03:56):
semester.
These language habits are hardto break.
So how can we do it?
How can we shift our languageand therefore our focus, to
where it needs to be?
I've got five steps for you, andthe first one is to notice and
reframe.
Whenever someone on your teamor yourself uses phrases such as
(04:18):
I've taught that or they'vedone that, we could pull them up
really gently by saying whoaNellie unless, of course, you
have someone on your team namedNellie, then maybe choose a
different name, but keep it fun,keep it light and keep it
consistent.
So, collectively, saying whoaNellie and having a bit of a
(04:40):
giggle makes it so that we'renot being attacked, but we are
pulling ourselves up on thelanguage we use.
The next part of this is toreframe with things like I have
introduced, or we are practicing, or we are consolidating.
These are all greatalternatives to we have done,
(05:01):
and when you're having planningmeetings, you can say things
like in previous years, studentshave written narrative text,
but I'll base my instruction onhow much of that has stuck.
So I know how much has stuck,because.
This is keeping the focus onwhere it needs to be, so that we
(05:21):
know how best to support thestudents.
So step two, then, is evaluatelesson and unit plans, and you
can do this with this questionin mind: have we organised
instruction to make learningstick, or have we organised
instruction to tick curriculumboxes?
Too often we structure ourteaching to cover content rather
(05:44):
than ensuring strong learningand, as we know, covering
content doesn't necessarily leadto learning.
We need to build in deliberatepractice.
We need to revisit conceptsregularly and check for
understanding frequently.
The third step is to do thiswork collaboratively.
(06:05):
Work collaboratively andcollegially to address instances
of box ticking in instruction.
And leaders, help your teamdefine what is expected and
where wriggle room sits withinthe terms.
Now, one of the simplest waysto address this to start with is
just to leave an extra week, ormaybe two, in every unit plan
(06:28):
to be able to pause new learningand consolidate as needed.
We don't want to wait justuntil the end of the unit and
then say, oh, here are seventhings we need to consolidate.
We need to notice when thingsare and are not sticking and
pause right then, right in thatmoment, to give the students the
time and practice they need.
(06:49):
Leaving this extra room justtakes the pressure off.
In our Spelling Success inAction program, every fifth week
is recommended as aconsolidation week, so give
yourself the breathing room inother areas of the literacy
block or across the curriculum.
Another part of workingcollaboratively is to help each
(07:11):
other reframe learningintentions and success criteria
to include strong verbs.
Verbs that sit in theAustralian curriculum and other
curriculums, such as explore,know and understand, are
wishy-washy.
They make it extremely hard forus to confidently determine
what the student learningoutcomes are.
(07:32):
Instead, use verbs like select,define, explain, calculate and
classify.
These strong verbs lead us downthe path of really
understanding where students arein their learning, rather than
just having to guess.
(07:57):
Step four in this is to planregular retrieval and
consolidation.
So we've heard a lot in recentyears about daily review and
retrieval practice.
In fact, we have a wholeresearch to the classroom series
on it, so you can searchresearch to the classroom daily
review and retrieval and it willcome up.
Rather than just havingstudents review content, though,
(08:17):
make sure they are activelyrecalling it.
This is the power ofconsolidation.
They also have to use it.
So it's not enough just to haveconsolidation opportunities
that result in a one or two wordanswer.
They need to also haveopportunities for elaborative
(08:38):
retrieval and rehearsal, wherethey have to put what they are
learning to work and think aboutit a little more deeply.
Step five collect evidence oflearning, and this ties directly
back to that reframing of thelearning intentions and success
criteria.
We have to move beyondassumptions by collecting
(09:00):
evidence of learning, and itdoesn't have to be super formal
summative assessment, exittickets, observing students as
they work and recording whatthey've done, or having them
record their own understandingof a concept using an iPad are
great ways to capture wherestudent learning is sitting
(09:20):
right in this moment.
When we have the evidence, whenwe plan to have the evidence
right from the start of our unitplanning, it is so much easier
to stay out of the trap of we'vedone that and help us down the
road of making informeddecisions based on what students
have actually learned ratherthan what we included in the
(09:45):
unit plan.
The big question here is whatdoes it mean to teach?
Is it that we've conductedlessons?
Is it that we've coveredcontent, or is it that students
have learned and have learned itfor the long term?
If they haven't learned it, wehaven't taught it.
(10:06):
And how do we get them to thelearning?
Well, fundamentally through theexplicit teaching model and
remembering that explicitteaching is the whole model, all
the way through independentpractice and retrieval and
rehearsal.
It's not just the part wherethe teacher presents information
and provides that quickfollow-up task.
(10:28):
Teaching and learning have to beviewed as a long game.
There are no quick pathwayshere.
So I encourage you to bemindful of the language you use,
the assumptions you make andthe evidence you collect.
Give yourself and your studentspermission to go deeper rather
than wider, and create space inyour planning for consolidation
(10:53):
and mastery.
And when next you hear someonesaying we are doing the solar
system or they've coverednarrative, say in the lightest,
most fun way possible, whoa,Nellie.
And then help each otherreframe your language to keep
the focus on the students ratherthan the actions of the adults.
(11:22):
You're all doing important work, and by focusing on what
students actually know ratherthan what we've covered, we'll
be able to make that work evenmore impactful.
As is often said about manythings, this work is a marathon,
not a sprint, and sometimesslowing down is exactly what we
need to do to help our studentsto succeed for the long term.
(11:46):
Until next time, everyone,happy teaching, bye.
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