The QT Model

The QT Model is derived from a long history of research into classroom practice that makes a difference for students. Predecessors of the QT Model are:

• Authentic Pedagogy: Professor Fred Newmann and associates developed ‘authentic pedagogy’ (1990- 1995) as part of the Center on Organization and Restructuring of Schools (CORS) research agenda
• Productive Pedagogy: Associate Professor James Ladwig, Professor Bob Lingard, Professor Allan Luke and Laureate Professor Jenny Gore AM developed ‘productive pedagogy’ (1998-2000) as part of the Queensland School Reform Longitudinal Study (QSRLS).

In 2002 the NSW Department of Education approached Associate Professor James Ladwig and Laureate Professor Jenny Gore AM to develop a pedagogical framework using the best available evidence of teaching that makes a difference to student learning.

Along with senior department executives, Jenny and James spent weeks poring over research, discussing key elements of pedagogy, debating the clear articulation of classroom practice, and undertaking hours of lesson observation coding.

From these discussions, the Quality Teaching Model was born.

The QT Model centres on the three key dimensions of teaching practice:

• Intellectual Quality: Developing deep understanding of important knowledge
• Quality Learning Environment: Ensuring positive classrooms that boost student learning
• Significance: Connecting learning to students’ lives and the wider world

Within each dimension are six elements of pedagogy (18 in total). The Model treats teaching holistically and attend to matters of curriculum, pedagogy, student engagement, and equity within classroom and assessment practice.

In 2003, the QT Model was launched across 2,200 NSW government schools along with a suite of resources, including the QT Classroom Practice Guide, a discussion paper, research material and accompanying lesson videos.

Immediately, teachers responded positively to having a framework that provided a conceptual lens and common language with which to discuss and analyse classroom practice.

Following the launch of the QT Model, Jenny, James and colleagues set out on the first major research project to understand the impact of the QT Model.

Systemic Implications of Pedagogy and Achievement in NSW Public Schools (SIPA) was a longitudinal study of 36 schools over four years, involving 660 lesson observations and analysis of 522 assessment tasks, which investigated relationships among pedagogy, professional development, and student achievement.

The project made a significant contribution to the field’s understanding of schooling, school reform and educational research. The study used the QT Model to examine classroom and assessment practice and found despite evidence of effective teaching practice, there was also significant room for pedagogical improvement.

The study also concluded that a pedagogical framework like the QT Model was unlikely, on its own, to make a significant difference to teaching practice – teachers needed a way to use it and embed it in their practice.

Following the SIPA study, Jenny, along with Dr Julie Bowe set out to develop a way of supporting teachers to work with the QT Model.

And so Quality Teaching Rounds was born.

The first study of QT Rounds, Effective Implementation of Pedagogical Reform (EIPR), took place in 2009 with 16 schools from the Parramatta Catholic Education Office.

Strong positive results from this study supported the implementation of pedagogical reform through QT Rounds. By changing teachers’ understanding of pedagogy and providing a powerful and structured teacher learning framework, the EIPR project demonstrated that QT Rounds is an effective and valuable approach to professional development.

Following the positive results from the EIPR study, Jenny, Julie and colleagues, set out to further investigate the feasibility of Quality Teaching Rounds across diverse school settings using design experiment methodology.

A study, Investigating QTR to Support Teacher Professional Learning, was undertaken with 18 government schools in the ACT.

This study provided additional evidence that QT Rounds is a positive experience for teachers. Having tested a series of modifications, it honed the QT Rounds process into the version used today which typically involves groups of four teachers undertaking four days of in-school QT Rounds.

It is widely understood that the quality of teaching is the most important in-school factor influencing student academic achievement.

Between 2014 and 2015, Jenny and colleagues at the University of Newcastle’s Teachers and Teaching Research Centre set out to gather empirical evidence on the impact of Quality Teaching Rounds on teachers.

Robust evidence of the effectiveness of any form of professional development for teachers is limited. The initial randomised controlled trial involved 192 teachers from 24 NSW government schools. It demonstrated, for the first time, that participation in QTR leads to a measurable improvement in the quality of teaching and teacher morale across both primary and secondary schools and schools in metropolitan and rural areas. The effects of QT Rounds in this study were sustained six months later.

Impressed by the findings from the first randomised controlled trial, the philanthropic Paul Ramsay Foundation supported the Teachers and Teaching Research Centre to conduct a major five-year program of research and scaling.

The Building Capacity for Quality Teaching in Australian Schools project was launched in 2018 and had three core aims:

1. Undertake a rigorous program of research
2. Scale QTR, making it widely accessible for teachers across Australia
3. Develop a non-profit social enterprise to ensure long-term sustainability

Building Capacity for Quality Teaching in Australian Schools has been described as a 20-year program of research undertaken in just five years.

The sheer scale of the Building Capacity program of research, investigating the impact of QT Rounds on teacher and student outcomes, makes it unlike anything undertaken in Australian education. It comprised four randomised controlled trials, including the largest randomised controlled trial in Australian education research history. Several related studies also provided rich data and valuable insights into the impact of QT Rounds in a range of contexts.

The evidence collected to date on the impact of QT Rounds is compelling. QT Rounds improves teaching quality, teacher morale, teacher efficacy, and school culture.

Robust evidence of the impact of professional development on student outcomes is elusive on the world stage. The Building Capacity project demonstrated for the first time that participation in QT Rounds improved student academic achievement.

Three RCTs produced robust evidence demonstrating that QT Rounds produces statistically significant positive effects on student achievement:

• in two subjects (maths and reading)
• in two stages (Years 3-4 and Years 5-6)
• in two states (NSW and QLD)
• in two modes (face-to-face and fully online PD) and,
• in an independent trial conducted by the University of Queensland.

From the beginning, the Building Capacity project had three interrelated goals: undertaking extensive research, taking QT Rounds to scale, and ensuring the sustainability of QT Rounds.

The sustainability goal was advanced in 2020 when we launched the Quality Teaching Academy – a non-profit social enterprise designed to support teachers in delivering quality teaching for every student, every day.

The QT Academy delivers powerful professional development, translates rigorous research into practice, advocates for the profession, and connects educators who share a vision of quality teaching.

QT Rounds professional development in its current form has been offered since 2014. The launch of the QT Academy in 2020 turbo-charged uptake of QT Rounds around Australia, making it more accessible through a program of face-to-face workshops in major cities and regional centres. The development of QTR Digital and online QT Rounds workshops enabled more and more teachers from across Australia (and the world) to engage with the QT Model.

Since 2014, more than 6,000 teachers from 1,500 schools have participated in QTR, delivering benefits to as many as 1,032,000 students in that time.

The QT Model has continued to resonate with teachers since its publication. Teachers tell us they value that the Model builds on a solid research foundation, honours the complexity of teaching, and respects what teachers already know and do.

At the Model’s core is a simple intention: to provide teachers with a conceptual lens and common language to guide discussions and analysis of pedagogy.

New projects are enabling QT to continue its profound impact in classrooms across Australia. In 2023, the federal government announced a program to expand QT Rounds as part of its National Teacher Workforce Action Plan. Strengthening Induction through QTR seeks to support 1,600 teachers to improve retention, teaching quality and student outcomes.

In 2024, the Paul Ramsay Foundation provided the Teachers and Teaching Research Centre a new grant to support 25 disadvantaged NSW public schools, based on our award-winning partnership with Cessnock High School. The Thriving Schools project will run until 2027 investigating the supports required to enact positive school change in disadvantaged communities.

Additional work continues to investigate the impact of the QT Model and QT Rounds in various contexts including: for casual teachers, higher education, initial teacher education, inclusive education, hospital schools, and in assessment practice.