Stile and the VTLM: High Impact Teaching Strategies

High Impact Teaching Strategies (HITS) are the fourth component of the VTLM. HITS are 10 reliable, evidence-based instructional practices recommended by the Victorian Department of Education to deliver learning outcomes. Stile is specifically designed to support the implementation of HITS in the science classroom.

1. Setting Goals

Each lesson includes clear learning goals that indicate what students should be able to know, understand and do at the end of the lesson.

A screenshot of a learning goal in a Stile lesson that aligns with the 'Setting goals' HITS.

2. Structuring Lessons

Learning sequences within lessons use SOLO taxonomy to scaffold students from lower-order thinking to higher-order thinking. This is evident in the cognitive verbs that are included in each Stile question. Our science team also uses the 5E instructional model to structure learning at the unit and lesson level. You can learn more about this in the Pedagogical Model blog of this VTLM series here.

An image of the Classification and Biodiversity unit broken down into its individual lessons with key elements highlighted.

3. Explicit Teaching

Teach Mode lets teachers intentionally model what to do and how to do it. A lesson includes learning goals accompanied by Key Questions, which give students an opportunity to demonstrate their progress against the learning goal. This makes the purpose of the lesson transparent to students.

A screenshot from a Stile lesson showing a teaching note that gives teachers further details on how they might explicitly teach this content.

4. Worked Examples

Both model answers and the use of teacher modelling in Teach Mode provide students with access to worked examples that demonstrate the steps required to answer a question. These provide scaffolding that supports students to acquire new knowledge and skills.

A screenshot from a Stile lesson showing a Key Question with its accompanying model answer. The model answer aligns to the 'Worked Examples' HITS.

5. Collaborative Learning

Collaborative question types, such as Live Polls and Live Brainstorms, are intentionally used to get students working together and communicating with one another. Collaborative activities, including engineering challenges and Socratic seminars, require students to collectively negotiate roles, responsibilities and outcomes.

An image of a Live Poll from a Stile lesson with student responses.

6. Multiple Exposures

Following lessons with an associated quiz, activity from a Stile X booklet, or videos, flashcards, and quizzes from the Stile X app give plenty of opportunities for students to encounter, engage with, and elaborate on their learning.

A screenshot from a Stile lesson showing how concepts are covered multiple times in different forms.

7. Questioning

Questions within Stile lessons are crafted to elicit students’ understanding of key concepts. Key Questions, in particular, are aligned with the lesson’s learning goals, and provide a formative assessment opportunity that helps determine the next teaching steps.

A screenshot from a Stile lesson showing a Key Question.

8. Feedback

Student data is instantly available through Teach Mode, so teachers can immediately identify students who need support and provide them with timely verbal feedback. Model answers and rubrics help teachers formulate specific feedback, whether written or verbal, that includes specific advice students can use to improve their performance.

A screenshot from a lesson showing a student's response to a question and the corresponding feedback from their teacher.

9. Metacognitive Strategies

Reflection activities included in Stile lessons and Stile X encourage students to analyse their thinking. Students regularly evaluate their progress and receive explicit instruction on self-regulation and note-taking strategies through expert study tips.

A screenshot from a Stile lesson showing the 'Connect, Extent, Challenge' metacognitive strategy.

10. Differentiated Teaching

Lessons are designed using SOLO taxonomy and aim to extend the knowledge and skills of all students. By scaffolding students from lower-order thinking to higher-order thinking, lessons provide a point of entry for all levels of understanding. Stile includes a number of tools to support students in accessing learning material. Videos include captions, text comes with audio narration and word-by-word highlighting, and our resources are compatible with screen readers and translation tools. Open-response question types provide students with the ability to choose how they communicate their knowledge. Lessons can be further modified using Stile’s editing and customisation tools to accommodate specific needs.

A screenshot from a Stile lesson that shows a teaching note that outlines differentiation opportunities.

Learn more about how Stile supports the next component of the VTLM: High Impact Wellbeing Strategies here.