Spotlight on Evidence
In this section we spotlight individual influential pieces of research evidence, providing a summary and links to source documents and linked resources, where appropriate. This section also features case studies of the use of research evidence in practice.
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You may also find the EEF 'Evidence into Action' podcast series useful.
- 06/03/25
Do we need to talk - about oracy?
Published on 8 October 2024, the Commission on the Future of Oracy Education in England’s We Need To Talk report makes the case that oracy should be viewed in education as the fourth “R”, equal in status to reading, writing and arithmetic. The Commission’s report...Read Full Story - 13/11/24
Essex Research School's Leadership Series - Effective Professional Development
Essex Research School has launched a professional development (PD) leadership series focusing on strategies for leaders in designing and implementing effective PD to improve outcomes for all learners. The series aims to provide practical guidance and evidence-based strategies for school lead...Read Full Story - 19/09/24
Clips from the Classroom - supporting the development of teaching and learning
How many times when attending – or even leading – training have we thought ‘I wish there was a way of seeing what it actually looks like in practice'? A resultant search for video clips can take many hours, and also lead us down many rabbit holes.Read Full Story - 29/04/24
Beneath the surface of cognitive science
Working memory, cognitive load, dual coding, spaced retrieval….the language and theory of cognitive science and its application to teaching and learning in schools is high profile at the current time, and justifiably so. The EEF is a very useful starting point for schools looking for comprehe...Read Full Story - 04/03/24
Essex Research School
Essex Research School is based at Lyons Hall Primary School in Braintree. Lyons Hall is one of the three schools that make up the Learning Pathways Trust and is a relatively new Research School having launched in 2023. Its director is Kate Alliston, a primary teacher with over 20 years’ experi...Read Full Story - 13/11/23
REACHout Early Years Stronger Practice Hub - East of England
The Early Years Stronger Practice Hubs programme was launched in November 2022 and is part of the DfE's Early Years Education COVID-19 Recovery Package. The REACHout East of England Stronger Practice Hub, based in Halstead, Essex is holding a launch event in Chelmsford on 22 November 2023...Read Full Story - 01/07/23
Effective Professional Development
The research tells us that professional development for teachers works – if it is well designed, carefully selected and robustly implemented. For busy teachers and practitioners, it needs to be worth the investment of time and energy. That is why it is so important to look at the evidence on...Read Full Story - 17/05/23
Take part in research projects and access funding through the EEF
The Education Endowment Foundation provides access to a vast amount of existing educational research and guidance of evidence led practice. However, not everyone is aware that it also offers opportunities to take part in research trials or to apply for funding for your own locally based project.Read Full Story - 17/03/23
Evidence for the early years - new support and resources for professionals working in schools, nurseries and other early years settings from the EEF
This Spotlight focuses on a new Early Years resource area launched by the Education Endowment Foundation in February. This marks a big step forward in their mission to support early years practitioners by providing the most up-to-date evidence about how effective different approaches are likely to b...Read Full Story - 01/02/23
Evidence Into Action – the EEF podcast series
This Spotlight article, rather than exploring a single piece of research, focuses on the EEF’s Evidence into Action podcast series.Read Full Story - 05/12/22
The skills imperative 2035: Essential skills for tomorrow’s workforce
In this Spotlight, we temporarily move away from the world of specific pedagogical research to a wider topic which is currently being explored by NfER in a 5-year research programme - The skills imperative 2035: Essential skills for tomorrow’s workforce.Read Full Story - 13/10/22
Great Teaching Toolkit Evidence Review
This Spotlight article focuses on a resource first published in June 2020 but which may well have been overlooked by teachers and leaders as they necessarily dedicated huge amounts of time and effort to coping with the challenges of day-to-day survival in a pandemic.Read Full Story