Browse the AERO collection

Attention and focus are essential for students to process and retain new information effectively. Attention refers to the selective focus of conscious thought on specific information, allowing students to engage meaningfully with learning tasks. Engagement encompasses how students behave, feel and think as they actively participate in learning activities.

Learning depends fundamentally on how students process and retain information. Knowledge refers to the facts, concepts and procedures that students acquire through experience and education – their theoretical and practical understanding of subjects. That knowledge is stored in long-term memory so that it can be retrieved for later use.

Mastery of learning is the accumulation and retention of knowledge, conceptual understanding and skills, and knowing when and how to use them. Application of learning includes transferring information to both familiar and new contexts, which leads to deeper understanding and more sophisticated use of knowledge. Mastery is fundamental to students’ achievement in school and their lives beyond formal education.

Retention and recall are fundamental to successful learning outcomes. Knowledge needs to be retained so that it can be used. Retention is the ability to store information in memory over time, while recall is the ability to retrieve and use stored information when needed. When students effectively retain and recall information, they can easily access and apply it to build on existing knowledge and develop deeper understanding.

This video demonstrates how teachers explain learning objectives in alignment with AERO’s model of teaching and learning. Learning objectives are concise statements that outline the goals of a lesson, a series of lessons or a learning activity. They specify what students are expected to learn and are expressed in language that is accessible to students, with any unfamiliar terms clearly explained.

This video demonstrates how teachers teach explicitly in alignment with AERO’s model of teaching and learning. Introducing new information is most effective when teachers break it down and teach it explicitly using explanation, demonstration and modelling, especially when students are new to that learning area. It involves teaching content explicitly in ways that manage cognitive load to support students with building foundational knowledge before they practise independently.

This video demonstrates how teachers scaffold practice in alignment with AERO’s model of teaching and learning. Supports – known as scaffolds – consist of guidance from the teacher and tools and resources the student can use. Scaffolds can be designed during planning (planned scaffolding) or introduced during lessons to respond to learning needs as they arise (contingent scaffolding). Teachers select and use scaffolds to support each phase of the learning process as students retain, consolidate and apply their learning.

This video demonstrates how teachers monitor progress in alignment with AERO’s model of teaching and learning. Monitoring students’ progress by checking for understanding helps you determine what they know and can do, identify gaps in their learning and adjust your teaching to meet their needs. It helps you create a learning environment where students feel safe and supported to be active participants in the learning process, and better equips you to provide valuable feedback.

This video demonstrates how teachers revisit and review student learning in alignment with AERO’s model of teaching and learning. Revisiting learning is the practice of regularly coming back to content that’s already been taught. Revisiting learning can activate prior knowledge to connect new learning with what students already know (from their previous learning at school, in the community and at home). Importantly, revisiting what’s been taught consolidates new learning.

This video demonstrates how teachers provide varied and spaced opportunities for students to practise their learning in alignment with AERO’s model of teaching and learning. Varying the ways students practise consolidates learning better than repeatedly practising in the same ways. Spacing out practice over time supports long-term retention and fluent recall by helping to manage cognitive load.

This video demonstrates how teachers can support students to organise their knowledge, aligning with AERO’s model of teaching and learning. When students have opportunities to organise and re-organise their knowledge in memory, and understand the connections between the ideas they learn about, they develop mental models in long-term memory that become easier to recall and apply widely in increasingly complex ways.