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 explainer provides an introduction to explicit instruction, with a focus on explaining how it contributes to positive outcomes for students’ learning achievement and dispositions.

This explainer provides an introduction to the role of knowledge in learning, implications for effective teaching, and describes how building background knowledge facilitates higher-order thinking and learning outcomes.

This explainer gives a brief introduction to cognitive load, focusing on ways to manage it for effective and efficient learning.

Understanding the cognitive science behind how students learn to read and the research on effective instruction makes it easier for educators to align policy and classroom teaching with evidence.