The primary goal of instruction should be to facilitate long-term learning - that is, to create relatively permanent changes in comprehension, understanding, and skills of the types that will support long-term retention and transfer. 
Soderstrom and Bjork, 2005
Teaching and Learning
An evidence- informed approach to learning in the classroom
In our classrooms you will see evidenced- informed practises known to best support students deeper understanding and retention of substantive and disciplinary knowledge/skills.
Research underpinning our teaching and learning at St. Francis Xavier School includes;
- What makes great teaching? Robert Coe
- ‘Why don’t students like school?’ Dan Willingham
- The Education Endowment Foundation report on Cognitive Science Approaches in the Classroom
- Principles of Instruction, Barak Rosenshine
- WALKTHRUs Tom Sherrington and Oliver Caviglioli
At St Francis Xavier School
- Students are made aware of the big picture; to know where the topic fits in the curriculum, what is coming next and how their learning will be assessed
- Opportunities are created throughout a lesson to effectively deepen students’ long term memory
- Students will be asked to recall learning from previous lessons to aid retention
- Effective questioning is used to deepens students’ knowledge and challenge their critical thinking
- Modelling is used to scaffold instructions and skills
- Students are encouraged to use their imagination, to connect ideas and be able to relate new learning to old
- Students know what they have done well and how they can make progress in their learning through summative and formative assessments
- Low–stakes testing is regular and gives students opportunity to commit things to the long-term memory
