Friday, 16 October 2026
Whether students are responding to an emergency or solving an unfamiliar problem, purposeful practice helps turn knowledge into confident, masterful action.
“I know my school cares about me because of how many fire drills we do!” one little Primary student from our sister school, Northpine Adventist College, told me during a recent professional visit.
I like that way of looking at it! Drills help us achieve worthwhile outcomes – in this case, keeping students safe. Showing them that we value them? That's icing on top.
We use “drills” in learning: recalling multiplication tables, practising spelling patterns, revisiting scientific concepts, refining sports techniques, repeating musical scales.
But why bother when our phones have calculators and music platforms, Google is handy, YouTube demonstrates almost anything, and AI appears to have all the answers? (That's debatable!)
Because finding information is not the same as knowing what to do with it. When students regularly recall and apply their learning, particularly in different contexts, it becomes more secure and accessible in their memory. Australian education research supports this combination of staged recall and varied application to help students retain and use learning over time. On this basis, their minds are primed to use higher-order thinking skills: analysis, creation, and problem-solving.
Our grading system reflects this progress. A “C” indicates that a student can apply learning at the expected standard. A “B” requires them to tackle more complex but still familiar problems. An “A” requires them to apply their learning in complex, unfamiliar situations. Reaching that point is difficult without foundational knowledge and skill to draw upon.
Tech can support learning, but it can’t replace mastery. Watching a swimming video won’t make us strong swimmers. Mastery takes time, effort, feedback, and practice.
As Colossians 3:23 reminds us:
"Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart.”
On Wednesday, we ran an emergency drill, and we hit a hiccup or two. Those hiccups don't mean that the drill failed. They showed us why practice matters: it prepares us to respond confidently when the unfamiliar or unexpected occurs.
