Research use in schools is a social process. Schools listen to schools, and teachers listen to teachers. However robust a piece of educational research is, and however interesting the implications, it is of little use to teachers, if they can’t see how it might apply to them.
An important role for the EEF is that of bridging any perceived gap between evidence and practice; to help teachers see what research looks like, not just in the classroom, but in their classroom. Partnerships and communities, like our Research Schools Network were founded upon this understanding.
Our next step is to enable teachers to hear directly from other teachers in our ‘Voices from the Classroom’ video series. We’re keen to share how teachers are applying research evidence to their practice, especially at the moment, when opportunities to share experiences are so limited. We can’t just sit in the coffee room and chat right now, and it’s much more difficult to pop into someone else’s lesson to pick up some tips than it used to be, too.
Our first video in this new series features Emma Taylor, a Science teacher from ARK King Solomon Academy in London. In her video, Emma explains why she takes account of misconceptions in her teaching, and provides a range of practical examples of how she does so. Importantly, her videos take into account the situation we currently all find ourselves in, and also includes some ideas for remote teaching.
We hope you’ll enjoy our series and this window into fellow teachers’ classrooms, along with picking up some idea of what research evidence might look like in yours