Upcoming professional learning

Our professional learning supports teachers to apply the science of learning in real classrooms.

Designing for cognitive load in 2026 webinar Monday 16 Feb click here to register

Join our upcoming workshop

Join our upcoming workshop

Supporting All Learners: Scaffolding Challenging Texts and Ideas

Supporting All Learners: Scaffolding Challenging Texts and Ideas

Monday February 16

Online

6.30PM - 7.30PM (AEDT)

Designing for cognitive load in 2026 webinar Monday 16 Feb click here to register

Wednesday May 6

Online

7.00PM - 8.30PM (AEDT)

$59

This session will be recorded

Wednesday May 6

Online

7.00PM - 8.30PM (AEDT)

$59

This session will be recorded

Join this hands-on online workshop that will support you to plan effective lessons that enable all students to access complex texts and material - from novels to historical sources to subject matter content. This session is tailored to secondary teachers but is equally applicable to primary teachers seeking to engage students with complex ideas and material.

What the workshop covers


This session will provide teachers with an evidence-based, practical approach to ensure all students successfully access and learn from year-level text and subject materials. Participants will learn how to plan scaffolded lessons that maintain rigour while ensuring students are prepared to engage with complex texts and ideas. The session will demonstrate a clear, structured approach to preparing students before reading, guiding their understanding during learning, and consolidating thinking for stronger writing outcomes.

Registration process supports payment by invoice.

Join this hands-on online workshop that will support you to plan effective lessons that enable all students to access complex texts and material - from novels to historical sources to subject matter content. This session is tailored to secondary teachers but is equally applicable to primary teachers seeking to engage students with complex ideas and material.

What the workshop covers


This session will provide teachers with an evidence-based, practical approach to ensure all students successfully access and learn from year-level text and subject materials. Participants will learn how to plan scaffolded lessons that maintain rigour while ensuring students are prepared to engage with complex texts and ideas. The session will demonstrate a clear, structured approach to preparing students before reading, guiding their understanding during learning, and consolidating thinking for stronger writing outcomes.

Registration process supports payment by invoice.

Our first PD of the year focuses on how to use Cognitive Load Theory to make planning easier and ensure learning transfers beyond the lesson, especially for struggling students.

Understanding Cognitive Load Theory has been the biggest game-changer for my teaching and my students’ learning.”

We hear this from teachers all the time, so this is what we wanted to start the year with.

This free webinar will focus on a foundational idea that can make a real difference to how your classroom runs day to day.

If you’ve ever felt pressure to cram content into a unit, found it difficult to engage struggling students, or wondered why students forget what you’ve taught, this first session is for you.

Detail

In this session you will learn how to

In this session you will learn how to

  • Use principles from Cognitive Load Theory to reduce student overwhelm and support students to successfully engage with complex content

  • Design an effective essential idea to focus your students' thinking and reduce overload

  • Build the knowledge students need before reading

  • Structure lessons that support both struggling and high-achieving students

  • Maintain rigour while making content accessible

  • Lay the groundwork for students to engage in extended responses and analytical writing

You will be provided with a practical approach that shows what to teach before students read, so they can successfully understand and engage with complex texts and ideas.

During this session, participants will learn from modelled examples and also by doing - applying the approaches to real classroom texts and ideas.

What you'll walk away with

  • A clear sequence of lessons that will lay the foundations for a written response

  • A planning template to replicate the process

  • A model for scaffolding novels, articles and any other complex, subject-based texts

  • A clear idea of how to engage students - including what to teach, in what order, and why

  • A clear sequence of lessons that will lay the foundations for a written response

  • A planning template to replicate the process

  • A model for scaffolding novels, articles and any other complex, subject-based texts

  • A clear idea of how to engage students - including what to teach, in what order, and why

This session is for you if

  • Your students struggle to understand what they read

  • You’re teaching novels, analysis of sources, or content-heavy topics

  • You’re expected to differentiate but it feels unsustainable

  • Students struggle to produce strong written responses

  • Limited spots available to allow for feedback and support.

Who should attend

Secondary English and Humanities teachers (Years 7–11) and Primary Teachers working with mixed-ability classes where students struggle to access complex texts and content. Learning and literacy specialists and leading teachers driving school-wide approaches to curriculum development and pedagogical practices.

This workshop focuses on what to teach to prepare students for reading and writing. Future sessions will explore vocabulary, close reading, and writing instruction in more depth.

Please note, there will be some optional pre-work for the workshop.

  • Why students struggle and disengage

  • Why unit and lesson design matters more than motivation or engagement

  • Why some learning endures beyond the lesson and other learning is forgotten

  • How teaching that works with the brain supports both learners and teachers

Who should attend

Secondary English and Humanities teachers (Years 7–11) and Primary Teachers working with mixed-ability classes where students struggle to access complex texts and content. Learning and literacy specialists and leading teachers driving school-wide approaches to curriculum development and pedagogical practices.

This workshop focuses on what to teach to prepare students for reading and writing. Future sessions will explore vocabulary, close reading, and writing instruction in more depth.

Please note, there will be some optional pre-work for the workshop.

  • Why students struggle and disengage

  • Why unit and lesson design matters more than motivation or engagement

  • Why some learning endures beyond the lesson and other learning is forgotten

  • How teaching that works with the brain supports both learners and teachers

Stay up to date new posts and PD opportunities

Read our latest posts

Beyond Differentiation: Why Better Unit Design — Not More Adjustments — Supports Every Student

Why differentiation often fails — and how cognitive load theory reshapes unit design to support struggling and high-achieving students. ...more

Science of Learning ,Cognitive Load Theory Curriculum & Instruction &Cognitive Science in Education

March 04, 20266 min read

Beyond Differentiation: Why Better Unit Design — Not More Adjustments — Supports Every Student

Back to Basics Teaching: How to Achieve More with Less

Teaching has become overcomplicated. Learn how back-to-basics lesson design grounded in cognitive science improves student learning while reducing teacher workload. ...more

Science of Learning ,Cognitive Load Theory Teacher Wellbeing & Professional Practice Teacher Burnout &Secondary Teaching

February 13, 20266 min read

Back to Basics Teaching: How to Achieve More with Less

Why the 'Great Mother Teacher' Myth Must Die

Exploring the ‘Great Mother Teacher’ myth: how overextending care undermines teaching, student learning, and teacher wellbeing. ...more

Teacher Wellbeing & Professional Practice ,Teacher Burnout

November 02, 202511 min read

Why the 'Great Mother Teacher' Myth Must Die

Developing crtitical thinking through reading and writing

Join our community to stay updated on the latest courses, new content, and learning resources.