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.

We have written here before about the valuable Approach in Action video clips embedded within the expanding EEF Early Years Evidence Store, but recently the Research Schools Network has launched a resource to provide access to video materials for the primary, secondary and post 16 phases.

Called, appropriately, Clips from the Classroom, it provides just that – short, contextualised video clips interleaved with pause points and prompts for reflection. There are currently 41 items in the Clips from the Classroom ‘library’, organised under the headings of Literacy, Maths, Science, Learning Behaviours and Cognitive Science – accompanied by a pledge that the collection will continue to grow.

To expand on an example, let’s take a look at Using Retrieval Practice in Year 3 Science Lessons, which lasts for just under six minutes in total. In the first 2 minutes, the Deputy Headteacher contextualises the practice, briefly summarises the theory behind it, and introduces the practical strategies that the video clips will exemplify. The remaining 4 minutes include 2 video examples from the classroom, with prompt questions for professional reflection and a final summary slide which also links to further reading.

Other current topics include Developing Reading Fluency, Purposeful, Playful Practice in Mathematics, Scaffolding Tasks and Explicit Instruction.

These Clips from the Classroom do not claim to serve as in-depth training materials but instead may be useful for staff discussion if the school is considering implementing similar approaches, or as prompts to review implementation once it is underway. Alternatively, they could be integrated into broader structured professional development to begin to address that perennial ‘What does it look like in practice?’ question.

We will conclude with this from a Research School Director involved in the project:

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