In 2025, the demand on teachers to deliver stronger outcomes—faster and with fewer resources—has never been greater.
With workloads surging and student needs becoming increasingly complex, Australia’s teachers are calling out for time-saving, evidence-informed strategies that actually work in today’s classrooms.
Recognising this, the Centre for Education Statistics and Evaluation (CESE) has released its ‘What Works Best 2025’ update, spotlighting eight powerful teaching practices proven to boost student achievement, engagement and wellbeing.
The release includes practical classroom guides and real-school examples, helping teachers and leaders turn research into results—without having to reinvent the wheel.
These practices—high expectations, explicit teaching, effective feedback, using data to inform practice, assessment, classroom management, wellbeing and collaboration—work in concert to drive student achievement, skills development, participation and wellbeing.
New for this release, CESE will also publish a series of interconnected and complementary practical guides, offering more detail on strategies for implementing the practices in the classroom and an illustration of how each theme is used effectively in schools.
CESE Executive Director Jennifer Buckingham said the new resources were aimed at supporting teachers by sharing best practice.
“They are useful to all teachers and school leaders, as they summarise the latest and best evidence for high impact practices, and practical ways to adapt that research into any classroom,” she said.
This first release focusses on explicit teaching and shows how Doonside Technology High School has brought evidence to life.
Alexandra Kelly, PDHPE teacher at Doonside Technology High School said the teaching strategies in the new resources were tried and tested which would help other teachers and save them time.
“There’s no need to reinvent the wheel, we’re short for time as it is,” Kelly said. “Somewhere in this guide you’ll find something that works more effectively or efficiently in your classroom.”
Kelly also recommended discussing the materials with a group of colleagues to create a community of practice within the school.
Importantly, Kelly reinforced the benefits of remaining curious and being open to innovation.
“Ask of yourself what you ask of your students each and every day – try something new, a new way of thinking or new way of doing,” she said.
“This mindset keeps me motivated and the students appreciate it too – they’re smart enough to know when you bring something new to the classroom, and more often than not, they appreciate it.”
The explicit teaching resources provide teachers and school leaders with concrete, research-backed techniques to boost clarity, engagement and learning outcomes.
“By following the practical guide, educators can adopt structured lesson sequences, model key concepts, check for understanding and tailor instruction to meet diverse student needs,” Buckingham said.
“School leaders can draw on the materials to foster a cohesive, whole-school approach that supports consistent instructional practice.”
Further releases throughout the second half of 2025 will include additional illustrations of practice and practical guides for each of the remaining themes, ensuring schools have the tools they need to translate research into everyday teaching.
When used together, they create a framework that helps teachers and school leaders to improve student achievement, skills, participation and wellbeing.
Dr Buckingham said the eight themes represent some of the strongest evidence-based strategies in education.
“While these eight themes are not an exhaustive list of effective educational practices, they represent some of the strongest evidence-based strategies in education,” she said. “A focus on these practices is typically seen in our highest-performing schools.”
The upcoming resources will follow the same approach, exemplifying the department’s commitment to delivering pragmatic, evidence-informed support that empowers teachers and school leaders to help every student succeed.
The original version of this article first appeared as a media release from the NSW Department of Education.