Research School Network: Play, pause and prompt: refining teaching by making the most of video exemplification New Clips from the Classroom videos to support professional development in schools

Grace Coker and Lauren Grocott explore how to use our new maths-themed ​‘Clips from the Classroom’ video as part of professional development.

What do you notice?

What do you notice when offered a window into someone else’s classroom practice? The classroom environment, the children, the resources, the teaching techniques? Something else?

All the above are valid. There is much we can learn from observing others, whether ​‘live’ or through video exemplification. But sometimes, to get the most from professional learning, we need a narrower focus.

Making the most of video exemplification

Ms Parker is working with her EYFS and KS1 team to improve early mathematics at their school.

Research evidence indicates that integrating maths into daily routines can be effective. So, Ms Parker plans to share a video with examples of what this looks like at another school.

Videos can support teachers to reflect on or learn a technique as part of effective professional development (Education Endowment Foundation, 2021).

Initially, the team is concerned that this will lead them to ​‘copy’ whatever the staff in the video do. Ms Parker outlines how they will use the video to:

• See examples of an evidence-informed approach in action
• Reflect on their own practice
• Consider what this might look like in their own context.

Play

The team watch the video once in full and jot down their initial reflections. Before replaying it, Ms Parker reminds them to:

• Focus on the role of the adult
• Consider routines as a tool adults use for integrating maths throughout the day.

Pause

Ms Parker makes good use of pause points to focus the team’s reflections. Her well-chosen questions include:

• What do you notice about how the teachers use the routines?
• Which routines feel familiar? How are we currently using them?
• Which are unfamiliar? Are there new opportunities here?

Prompt

After some discussion, the team agree that tweaking their tidy-up times would enable them to further develop children’s spatial reasoning.

Ms Parker prompts them to read Recommendation 2 of the EEF’s Improving mathematics in EY and KS1 guidance report and reflect on what adaptations to the learning environment, resources or routines could enhance children’s opportunities for spatial reasoning.

Want to find out more?

The Research Schools Network Clips from the Classroom has been updated to offer more video examples of evidence-informed maths practice. There’s an array of topics covered across several phases. They include pause points, focus questions and curated content you can use in professional development.

So, remember before you press PLAY, don’t forget to plan your PAUSE and PROMPT to make the most out of video exemplification.

Education Endowment Foundation. (2021). Effective Professional Development, pp. 20 – 23. Available at: EEF-Effective-Professional-Development-Guidance-Report.pdf

Education Endowment Foundation. (2020). Improving mathematics in Early Years and Key Stage 1, pp. 16 – 17. Available at: EEF_Maths_EY_KS1_Guidance_Report.pdf