EDvance Teaching Intensives at Dawson Park Primary School

The EDvance Teaching Intensives provides the opportunity for teachers to develop and practice high impact instruction strategies. Since the intensives began in 2018, more than 500 teachers have benefitted from the week-long program. With a growing appetite for high impact instruction in secondary schools, 2021 was the first year secondary teachers joined the program.  The total group comprising of more than 100 early childhood, primary and secondary teachers. 

Another unique component of the Teaching Intensive is the opportunity for the teachers to develop their new skills by practising with ‘real’ students.  In 2021, over 80 Dawson Park Primary School students were keen participants and returned to the classroom during their school holidays, to assist in the professional development program.  

Georgie Wynne, Fogarty EDvance Program Director highlights the approach taken for participants to improve their teaching practice, is well supported by research where “95% of teachers transfer new skills to their teaching practice after receiving ongoing coaching, feedback and support.”

“There is also significant evidence to support the successful application of high impact instruction, particularly for students from disadvantaged communities. Many practitioners are keen to develop skills in this area as part of their ‘toolkit’ for successful teaching.”  

“The teaching intensive program provides teachers with a deeper understanding of this evidence-based approach and hands-on experience in the delivery of high impact instruction. This is supported by lesson demonstrations and individualised coaching from expert leaders in the field.” 

The Fogarty Foundation established the EDvance Teaching Intensives to encourage teachers to adopt high impact instructional practices for the improved educational outcomes of West Australian students and works in partnership with Dawson Park Primary School, Dr Lorraine Hammond Associate Professor from Edith Cowan University and Brooke Wardana, an early years literacy expert. These experts are instrumental in the program design and delivery and are supported by a group of expert teachers in the delivery of lesson demonstrations, coaching, the provision of teaching resources and individualised support.

Dr Hammond said that teachers who follow an explicit or high impact instruction approach, demonstrate and model everything; from blending sounds together to decode words, to writing a complex sentence with figurative language.

“While some students achieve success quickly, others need far more opportunities for practice,” Dr Hammond said.

“Teachers who follow an explicit instruction approach provide daily reviews of previously learned knowledge and skills so they become automatic; they can then be applied to more complex tasks such as reading or writing a short story.

“Critics of explicit instruction typically argue it is a deficit model that sees students sitting passively in rows all day engaging in rote learning. This is a misunderstanding of explicit instruction, which when done properly, is engaging, and rarely done for extended periods of time.”

Annie Fogarty, Chairperson of the Fogarty Foundation, said the Foundation was committed to identifying, supporting and developing programs that deliver educational opportunities with wide impact.

“By investing in teachers, school leaders and school principals, we hope to inspire excellence and high-quality instruction in schools and improve educational outcomes for all West Australian students,” she said.