Term 2, Week 2, 2026

Let’s do a quick review. In my previous posts I have been unpacking The Science of Learning which is the research that unpins our new curriculum. In the last post I wrote about reducing intrinsic load for students in the classroom which is about getting the learning task just right. Not too hard and not too easy for the students. I listed some of the strategies the teachers at FBS use to do this, for example breaking down content into small manageable chunks and maximising explicit teaching.

I am often asked by parents, how do the teachers know that the students have understood the learning that is taking place in the classroom? We call this Checking for Understanding (CFU) and it is an instructional practice that aligns with the Science of Learning.

Teachers are continuously monitoring student understanding during lessons (not just at the end), addressing misconceptions, and reteaching when required. They do this while the lesson is unfolding using short, specific checks of understanding and proficiency. Teachers use questions, prompts and tasks that require students to frequently and actively respond.

Here are some examples of how our teachers at FBS check for understanding while the lesson is taking place.

• Pair shares – students share their responses or thinking with another student while the teacher roams the room and listens to responses.
• Mini-whiteboard responses – small whiteboards are used for individual responses (answers) then held up by the students for the teacher to check.
• Multiple choice questions interspersed throughout the lesson.
• Cold calling – calling upon a ‘non-volunteer’ to answer a question, as opposed to taking hands up volunteers.