Australian teachers will have free access to hundreds of high-quality curriculum resources to help drive excellence and equity in educational outcomes. This is the result of a new partnership announced today, between the Australian Education Research Organisation (AERO) and Ochre Education, a new Australian education not-for-profit organisation.
The partnership aims to present instructional resources available to teachers that:
- are created by, and relevant to, Australian teachers
- support effective, evidence-based practices
- comprehensively address the learning expected in the Australian Curriculum.
AERO will support Ochre to work with teachers to produce around 300 high-quality video lessons and about 550 resources such as lesson slides, worksheets and quizzes in primary maths and English, and secondary science. Fully sequenced curriculum maps will also be developed, detailing overviews of the content, units and principles for each subject. These lessons and resources will support teachers to effectively implement evidence-based practices like explicit instruction and formative assessment.
The resources aim to save teachers time and ease the pressure in locating and creating teaching and learning resources that embed evidence-based practices. They are also an instant back-up to support teachers with remote learning.
Ochre resources will be made progressively available to teachers from Term 1, 2022 to support them as they enter the new school year.
Caroline Reed and Reid Smith, co-CEOs of Ochre Education say: 'Ochre Education has been created by teachers, for teachers, to help support teachers to deliver more great lessons. We are delighted to be working with AERO, to start our work within Australia to support the people who know best – teachers, to maximise their impact on the students in their classroom. Inspired by the impressive impact of the UK’s Oak National Academy, we aim to replicate Oak’s success within Australia to support every child to have fair access to high-quality education.'
Dr Jenny Donovan, Chief Executive of AERO says: 'AERO wants to improve student learning by encouraging teachers to use evidence-based practices that are proven to work. One way to support teachers to adopt effective practices is to show them what these approaches look like in classrooms, modelled by expert practitioners. Ochre’s teacher-developed content brings to life the evidence base that is described in AERO’s "Tried and Tested" evidence guides.'
About the Australian Education Research Organisation
AERO is Australia’s new independent education evidence body, established and funded by Commonwealth, state and territory governments.
AERO works towards excellent and equitable outcomes for all children and young people by advancing an evidence-based education system. AERO’s role is to generate high-quality evidence, make high-quality evidence accessible and enhance the use of evidence in Australian education.
About Ochre Education
Ochre Education is a new Australian not-for-profit online classroom and resource hub created by teachers, for teachers, which supports teachers to deliver more great lessons. Through its bank of video lessons and instructional resources, Ochre aims to:
- share high-quality, curriculum-aligned lessons and instructional materials, created by fellow teachers, freeing up teachers to allow them to focus on working directly with students
- enable students away from school to access those same great lessons in our online classroom
- support teacher professional development through demonstrations of evidence-based teaching practice embedded in the curriculum.
Ochre is a free platform, with no sign-ups or logins required.
Ochre is inspired by the UK’s successful Oak National Academy, which was launched by teachers in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.
The partnership with AERO will enable Ochre to provide an initial offer to teachers, with an ambition to work with Australian teachers to produce 8,000 lessons and materials by the end of the 2022 school year.
Ochre Education is a registered charity with the Australian Charities and Not-for-Profit Commission.
Media contact
For AERO media enquiries please contact: media@edresearch.edu.au