Frames for Learning (F4L) is a professional development programmeA programme is a package of support, including professional development, that helps early years educators to improve particular areas of practice and children’s outcomes. developed by Sheffield Hallam University to support teachers and teaching assistants (TAs) in improving science attainment. It focuses on scaffolding how pupils work scientifically by applying principles from cognitiveRelated to the mental process involved in knowing, understanding, and learning. science.
The programme used a blended CPD model, delivered across the academic year, focused on cognitiveRelated to the mental process involved in knowing, understanding, and learning. load, schema theory and how to scaffold children’s learning using the visual graphic organiser known as a ‘frame’, designed to support pupils’ thinking during science enquiry type activities such as investigations. The frame introduces prompts to build on existing knowledge (schema development) and help to connect scientific topics, while also supporting teachers to plan and deliver lessons that manage the amount of information children can process at once (cognitiveRelated to the mental process involved in knowing, understanding, and learning. load).
Teachers receive six exemplar frames based on key primary science topics. These provide a starting point for implementing the approach in the classroom. As teachers become more familiar with the programme, they are supported to create their own frames as they adapt and apply the F4L approach into inquiry-based lessons they have planned. Teachers are also provided with a complementary tool, the Sheffield Task Load Index, to assess cognitiveRelated to the mental process involved in knowing, understanding, and learning. load in their pupils.
As part of the Department for Education’s Accelerator Fund, the EEF commissioned a number of evaluations of programmes that show promise for increasing pupil attainment. The approaches used in F4L are supported by the EEF’s Evidence and Practice Review: CognitiveRelated to the mental process involved in knowing, understanding, and learning. Science in the Classroom, which suggests that well-targeted scaffolding, guidance, and schema-based support can effectively help students solve problems or learn from complex tasks. The programme was evaluated to understand feasibility, implementation and practitioner perspectives.
The evaluation found some convincing evidence of promise. F4L was generally implemented as intended, leading to well-structured, scaffolded science lessons where pupils showed improved engagement, focus, and independence in lessons. The vast majority of teachers and TAs reported improvements in their understanding of cognitiveRelated to the mental process involved in knowing, understanding, and learning. science principles, which were central to the programme’s theory of change.
Teachers and TAs found the programme to be feasible and acceptable, valuing its practical focus and the flexibility to adapt frames. However, clearer guidance on what constitutes acceptable adaptations could help strike a better balance between flexibility and consistency, supporting implementation across diverse settings and varying levels of teacher experience. The Sheffield Task Load Index tool, used to measure cognitiveRelated to the mental process involved in knowing, understanding, and learning. load, was not widely embraced by teachers who used it inconsistently and would need some development to support its practicality and integration into everyday classroom practice.
The programme may benefit from further refinement of the training to integrate theory and practice earlier on, better supporting teachers in addressing subject-specific challenges and adapting the programme to further meet the needs of pupils with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) and from socio-economically disadvantaged backgrounds.
Areas for improvement for the programme include:
- further refinement of the training to integrate theory and practice earlier on
- clarifying what constitutes acceptable adaptations of the programme
- better supporting teachers in addressing subject-specific challenges
- developing the cognitiveRelated to the mental process involved in knowing, understanding, and learning. load assessment component of the programme
- adapting the programme to further meet the needs of pupils with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) and from socio-economically disadvantaged backgrounds
At its current stage of development, the F4L programme is not ready for trial. Systematically addressing the areas identified for improvement will help embed learning from the pilot and strengthen the programme’s potential ahead of future impact evaluations.