Teaching and learning priorities 2022-2023

As we encounter new situations at the start of a new academic year, we begin to reflect on what will help us to achieve - not only the goals we've set for ourselves - but also how we need to shape our practice to ensure that our students can achieve their best and enjoy a happy and fulfilled year in our class.

You may begin to draw on the expertise of other colleagues. Perhaps you might seek out some literature on particular topics or you may even want to engage in professional development beyond what is offered by your school. Trying to fit this in around your busy schedule of teaching, planning and marking can be challenging.

That's why we offer four courses, available to Lyfta subscribers, that are pre-recorded and can be done at a time that's convenient for you. Below, we've included a little more information about each course, the topics it covers and why you might be interested in exploring these areas of education in more detail.

We know from what our users have told us that addressing issues surrounding race, racism and tackling tough topics with students is an important part of their classroom practice. We also know that teachers are often nervous about how to tackle this pressing issue; a Guardian investigation, for example, revealed that there had been 60,000 racist incidents reported in schools over a five year period but that the true figure is likely to be 'considerably higher'.

Our course draws on the expertise of diversity, equity and inclusion expert and consultant, Angela Browne, who co-designed the professional development sessions with Lyfta. It aims to equip educators with an understanding of the historical context of race and racism in schools, with Angela explaining why it often feels so challenging to tackle these topics with our students. From here, it goes on to explore how we can use narratives to start exploring the issues of race and racism. Lastly, it provides teachers with a range of strategies to consider how they can be flexible and responsive to world events and students' needs.

The bread and butter of all teachers' practice, questioning is something we all do on a regular basis and it's often something that we do instinctively. However, when research shows that only 8% of questions asked by primary teachers elicit higher order thinking from students and that number drops to 4% at secondary school , questioning is something that needs to constantly be considered by all teachers at all stages of their career to ensure that students are engaged in deep and critical thinking.

This course examines how to plan for effective questions and how you can elicit deep and critical thinking from students. It includes a range of classroom strategies to assess the understanding of all students in a class.

Feedback, whether provided by the teacher, the learner or a peer has the potential to have a potent impact on student progress. With evidence from the Education Endowment Foundation showing that for very little cost, teachers can improve student outcomes by 6 months of additional progress. Feedback, and the activities associated with engaging students with that feedback to improve their work, forms the crux of our professional development course on assessment for learning and Lyfta.

Not only will course participants understand how to assess student understanding while using Lyfta, they'll also be provided with a wide range of classroom strategies too.

In addition to assessment for learning, metacognitive strategies have the potential to also have an enormous impact on student progress. With extensive research demonstrating that these strategies can have a very high impact for a low cost, they are a key part of any teachers' toolbox.

Similarly to our other pre-recorded courses, this course examines the importance of metacognitive strategies, the impact it has for your students and provides you with a wide range of strategies to employ whilst using Lyfta and at other times too!