Introducing our new course: Evidence Informed Teaching

As teachers, our main goal is to give our students the best education possible. However, teaching and learning is highly complex, and what ‘effective’ looks like in the classroom is not always obvious.

That’s why engaging with evidence is so valuable. Research gives us reliable insights into what is most likely to work, drawing on findings from thousands of classrooms. It offers a shortcut to identifying the ‘best bets’ for learning.

Crucially, evidence also helps us understand why particular teaching approaches are likely to make a difference. When teachers understand the mechanics of how learning happens, they can make better professional judgements and adapt their teaching with greater flexibility and impact.

The better we understand the evidence, the better equipped we are to teach.

Despite its value, becoming an evidence-informed teacher can feel daunting. Academic research is often dense, filled with conflicting findings, and difficult to translate into everyday classroom practice. For many teachers, it is hard to know where to start.

Our new Evidence Informed Teaching (EIT) course brings together the best available research and translates it into practical, classroom-ready professional development (PD) . The course is made up of six interactive modules, each taking around 45 to 60 minutes to complete.

Each module synthesises decades of educational research and evidence, making it accessible, engaging and actionable for teachers at all stages of their career.

The course is structured around the Simple Model of Teaching. Each module helps teachers to build a rich mental model around one of the six core challenges that every teacher faces, regardless of subject or age range.

• 1.
  Expert insights
  Each module opens with a video from Ania Townsend and Peps McCrea, exploring key ideas drawn from research on effective teaching and learning.
• 2.
  Clips of great teaching
  We share classroom footage of real teachers using evidence-informed strategies in practice.
• 3.
  Evidence explainer
  A written explainer explores the research in more depth, following a fictional teacher as they make subtle but transformative improvements to their classroom practice.
• 4.
  Interactive quizzes
  Each module includes carefully designed questions to activate relevant prior knowledge, apply learning and check understanding.
• 5.
  Action planner
  At the end of each module, teachers create a clear action plan for their own practice – the most important step in turning evidence into impact.

Becoming evidence-informed is only part of the puzzle. The next challenge is translating that knowledge into sustained improvements in teaching practice.

That’s why the course mirrors the Steplab PD curriculum. Teachers build a strong understanding of the why behind effective practice while using Steplab’s Core Steps to practise the how. This makes the course an ideal launchpad that fits seamlessly into existing CPD and instructional coaching programmes.

As a PD lead, the EIT course can help you to:

• 1.
  Build a shared understanding – particularly valuable for new staff, or for whole-staff alignment if your school is new to Steplab.
• 2.
  Support a whole-school PD focus – assign a module to leadership teams or all staff to strengthen the knowledge underpinning a current teaching and learning priority.
• 3.
  Target specific development needs – direct individual teachers or teams to the module most closely aligned with their current action step or area for development.

We’ve designed the course as a flexible, self-guided journey towards evidence-informed teaching and leadership. Teachers can complete modules independently or collaborate with colleagues as part of their wider CPD.

Teachers at every career stage will find value in this course. For early career teachers, it builds strong foundations in evidence-informed practice. For more experienced teachers, it deepens and refines understanding, including how to better support pupils with additional or special educational needs. For leaders designing and delivering PD, it provides a clear, focused refresher on key ideas, common misconceptions and high-quality explanations.

“As an experienced teacher (18 years), there was lots I got from it. I found it very useful and relevant. I really liked the way everyone saw primary and secondary in a variety of subjects.”
- Pete Rose, MFL Teacher, Teign School, Newton Abbot, UK

“I found the modules reassuring as honest challenges were acknowledged. The video included questions that teachers regularly ask and the responses were reaffirming and insightful. The running example of Ms Jacobs was helpful.”
- Michella Pradel, Instructional Coach, St. Francis of Assisi Primary School, Tarneit, Australia

We hope the EIT course helps you and your colleagues have greater impact in the classroom. If you’ve not yet explored it, you can get started today. And if you’ve already begun, we’d love to hear how it’s supporting your practice and PD. Contact us at hello@steplab.co to share your feedback and insights.

Whether you use Steplab or not, join Peps McCrea, Ania Townsend and myself for an info webinar on 4 February at 4:00 pm. We’ll share why we created the EIT course, what it covers, and the thinking & research behind it.