BCE Senior Manager – Student Learning and Wellbeing, Brent Johnston said the partnership would help to evolve and mature the existing BCE approach to teaching, to better reflect the changing nature of educational research.
What is the 'Science of Learning'?
“The Science of Learning is a multidisciplinary field that integrates insights from education, neuroscience, and psychology to better understand how people learn,” Brent said.
"The evidence from the Science of Learning, combined with the experiential knowledge and expertise of our educators and learning leaders, will ensure the model we develop is robust, effective and tailored to the unique needs of our BCE community of schools."
Senior Lecturer at the UQ School of Education and Program Director at the UQ Learning Lab, Dr Stephanie MacMahon, said one of the overarching principles of the Science of Learning is that when students understand how they learn, they can improve the way they learn.
“The Science of Learning provides a very holistic understanding of learning as it recognises the complexity of learning and the integration of cognitions, emotions, relationships, culture and identity, along with the neurological components of learning in terms of the underlying mechanisms of how we learn,” Dr MacMahon said.
“We are working very closely in partnership with teachers, school leaders and learning leaders to develop a shared understanding of this complexity of learning for BCE and the approach we might take to structure learning at BCE.”
The UQ partnership building capability at scale
BCE will establish up to 12 pilot schools in 2025, with the Living Learning model providing the framework for high-performing teaching strategies and communities of practice.
“The UQ Learning Lab will build capability at all levels to understand the Science of Learning so that these pilot schools can make really good, informed decisions about what works for them in their context,” Dr MacMahon said.
“The pilot schools will provide key insights into the support and resources needed to mobilise the Science of Learning at scale, in a sustainable way, within a school environment.”
What our teachers say
Teacher Natalie Dean from St Peter Claver College Riverview said the model will benefit teachers in a very practical way.
"As teachers in the classroom, we instinctively know that relationships matter and that students are social and emotional learners and that you can’t separate emotions from cognition,” Natalie said.
“Having the research that underpins this, and a framework to support it, is very affirming and helps us be more purposeful and explicit in our teaching.”
Research and innovation at BCE
Collaborations with UQ and other research partners ensure BCE students have the best outcomes through the latest teaching practices and classroom innovation.
"We’re really excited about our BCE partnership with The University of Queensland and the opportunity it brings to work with leading experts in the field of the Science of Learning,” Brent said.
“Drawing on the lessons learned through the BCE Education Strategy Pilot program, we hope to further develop the confidence and agency of our teachers to undertake and implement research within a school context.”