ELE Blog
This blog contains perspectives on using research evidence in schools, reflections on 'what works' and recommendations for useful evidence resources. It is written by our Evidence Leads in Education.
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- 05/03/24
“I wish I had thought of that sooner” - The Integrated Model of Metacognition
“Evidence suggests the use of ‘metacognitive strategies’ – which get pupils to think about their own learning – can be worth the equivalent of an additional +7 months’ progress when used well. However, while the potential impact of these approaches is very high...Read Full Story - 18/01/24
Revisiting Cognitive Load Theory - Links to Embodied Cognition
As leaders and practitioners, we all appreciate the importance of continually reviewing developments in our field in order to ensure our practice remains relevant and maximises the learning outcomes of our pupils. Although Cognitive Load Theory (CLT) has been known and developed within the academic...Read Full Story - 14/11/23
Accessible professional development for the Early Years: update to the EEF Early Years Evidence Store
Those of us who work in or with Early Years settings will know the value of research which is both accessible and practically based. That is why I was so pleased to read today that the EEF is making good on its commitment to expanding the number of themes covered within its Early Years Evidence Stor...Read Full Story - 01/07/23
Research engaged and evidence informed - lessons from the flipped classroom
Having been involved with continuous professional learning and development for teachers and schools for a number of years, I am committed to the use of research to inform practice but am always also acutely aware of how this can become something that can be viewed as a ‘luxury’ or...Read Full Story - 17/03/23
The power of disciplined professional enquiry
This year our primary trainee teachers were set a simple professional enquiry task. They were asked to think about how pupils learn, with a particular focus on cognitive load theory. The task was to be presented as a question; What impact does X have on the outcomes for pupil/pupils Y over a 6-week...Read Full Story - 01/02/23
Implementing the EEF’s ‘Five-a-day' principle to support SEND learners in the classroom
The EEF’s ‘Five-a-day' principle to support pupils with SEND, taken from their ‘Special Educational Needs in Mainstream School’s’ guidance report, is illustrated in the diagram below.Read Full Story - 05/12/22
The Importance of Activating Prior Knowledge
I have previously written about the role of memory in classroom pedagogy. This post draws upon both this theme and its link to Metacognition in the discussion of the topic, Activating Prior Knowledge.Read Full Story - 13/10/22
Learning through the arts – teacher development through Disciplined Inquiry
With the current – and often necessary – focus on enabling pupils whose schooling has been significantly disrupted by Covid to ‘catch up’, we could perhaps be forgiven for overlooking the impact that learning through the arts can have on children’s learning and wel...Read Full Story - 08/06/22
Teaching Assistants - The Key to Metacognition
Guest blog post: Abi Joachim, HLTA & ELE for Ipswich Associate Research Schools, shares the importance of metacognition in TA practice.Read Full Story - 19/04/22
Why use 'low stakes testing' and not just 'testing'?
In my previous post, I mentioned how 'low stakes testing' (LST) could be used as a strategy for improving memory and recall in the classroom. Low stakes testing is "that students be given the opportunity to try (a task), make mistakes, and to learn from those mistakes with little o...Read Full Story - 02/03/22
Every interaction is an intervention
Having been a leader of teacher development for many years there has never been a more crucial time for responsive, quality teaching. I’m sure all educationalists would agree that our main purpose is to enable children to flourish; and in these uncertain times we can perhaps more than ever be...Read Full Story - 27/01/22
Practical recall methods in classroom practice
Following on from her blog post on recall in November 2021, ELE Vanessa Sullivan discusses the use of ‘Retrieval Grids’ and provides links to some useful templates and examples.Read Full Story