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Teaching and Learning Links
Pedagogy, retrieval practice, questioning, modelling and cognitive science
A curated selection of research, articles and practical resources focused on effective teaching, learning and classroom practice.
Cognitive Science & How Learning Happens
Links to what research from cognitive science and educational psychology tells us about how pupils learn, think and remember, and what this means for effective classroom practice.
Books
Websites and Articles
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InnerDrive — Teacher CPD Academy: Cognitive Science and Teaching & Learning
InnerDrive's Teacher CPD Academy brings together books and professional development exploring applications of cognitive science to teaching and learning. The associated book series is designed around translating research into practical classroom approaches.
Explore resources →
https://www.innerdrive.co.uk/
Paul A. Kirschner & Carl Hendrick — How Learning Happens: Seminal Works in Educational Psychology and What They Mean in Practice
Kirschner, P. A. & Hendrick, C. (2020). Routledge.
An accessible introduction to some of the most influential research in educational psychology. The book examines 32 seminal works and considers what they tell us about learning, memory, cognition, motivation and effective classroom practice.
InnerDrive — What is the Science of Learning?
A useful introduction to the science of learning and how findings from psychology, neuroscience and education research can inform classroom practice. A good starting point for teachers wanting an accessible overview before exploring individual areas in greater depth.
Read article →
https://www.innerdrive.co.uk/blog/what-is-science-of-learning/
Bradley Busch & Edward Watson — The Science of Learning: 99 Studies That Every Teacher Needs to Know
Busch, B. & Watson, E. (2021). Routledge.
Brings together influential studies about how pupils learn and translates their findings into practical implications for teachers. Particularly useful as an accessible introduction to research on memory, retrieval, feedback, metacognition, motivation and learning. InnerDrive describes the current edition as containing 99 studies for teachers.
Explore book →
https://www.innerdrive.co.uk/our-books/the-science-of-learning/
Bradley Busch & Edward Watson — Teaching & Learning Illuminated: The Big Ideas, Illustrated
Busch, B. & Watson, E. (2023). Routledge.
Uses clear explanations and visual summaries to make key ideas from teaching, learning and educational research accessible. Particularly useful as a reference book for revisiting important principles and translating research into classroom practice.
Explore book →
https://www.innerdrive.co.uk/our-books/teaching-learning-illuminated/
Daniel Willingham — Science and Education
Daniel Willingham's website brings together his writing and resources on cognitive psychology and education. Particularly useful for exploring memory, thinking, background knowledge, attention and misconceptions about learning.
Explore resources →
https://www.danielwillingham.com/
Daniel T. Willingham — Why Don't Students Like School? A Cognitive Scientist Answers Questions About How the Mind Works and What It Means for the Classroom
Willingham, D. T. (2021). Jossey-Bass. 2nd edition.
A highly influential introduction to the cognitive science of learning. Willingham explores principles including the limits of working memory, the importance of background knowledge, the relationship between memory and thinking, and why learning requires sustained mental effort.
Explore author and book →
https://www.danielwillingham.com/books.html
Retrieval Practice
The following books and links explore retrieval, spacing and carefully designed practice can strengthen memory, improve long-term retention and help pupils access and apply previously learned knowledge.
Books
Websites and Articles
Education Endowment Foundation — Why Bother with Retrieval?
A particularly useful overview of why retrieval practice supports learning. It considers retrieval not simply as remembering previously taught material, but as a process that can strengthen and reorganise knowledge in memory.
Read article →
https://educationendowmentfoundation.org.uk/news/eef-blog-why-bother-with-retrieval
Education Endowment Foundation — Not Another Quiz! Refining Retrieval Practice
Explores some of the features that make retrieval practice effective and highlights the importance of thoughtful implementation. Particularly useful for moving beyond the idea that retrieval simply means giving pupils frequent quizzes.
Read article →
https://educationendowmentfoundation.org.uk/news/eef-blog-not-another-quiz-refining-retrieval-practice
Education Endowment Foundation — Does Research on Retrieval Practice Translate into Classroom Practice?
Considers the strength of the research evidence behind retrieval practice and the challenge of translating findings from cognitive psychology into authentic classroom settings. A useful reminder that effective implementation matters alongside the underlying evidence.
Read article →
https://educationendowmentfoundation.org.uk/news/does-research-on-retrieval-practice-translate-into-classroom-practice
Education Endowment Foundation — Retrieval Practice Podcast
A discussion exploring how thinking about retrieval practice has developed and how teachers are applying cognitive science principles in classrooms. Particularly useful for considering the practical nuances of retrieval rather than treating it as a fixed classroom routine.
Listen →
https://educationendowmentfoundation.org.uk/news/new-eef-podcast-retrieval-practice
InnerDrive — The Complete Guide to Understanding Retrieval Practice
A comprehensive and accessible overview of retrieval practice, including why it works, its benefits, potential pitfalls and practical classroom applications. It also considers how retrieval connects with other areas of cognitive science.
Explore guide →
https://www.innerdrive.co.uk/blog/understanding-retrieval-practice/
InnerDrive — How to Use Retrieval Practice Effectively in the Classroom
Practical guidance on incorporating retrieval into everyday teaching. It considers different forms of retrieval and highlights benefits including identifying gaps in knowledge, strengthening memory and helping pupils make connections between ideas.
Read article →
https://www.innerdrive.co.uk/blog/retrieval-practice-in-class/
InnerDrive — Combining Spacing and Retrieval Practice
Explores how two well-established learning strategies can work together. Particularly useful for thinking about curriculum and lesson planning over time, rather than viewing retrieval as something that happens only at the beginning of individual lessons.
Read article →
https://www.innerdrive.co.uk/blog/combining-spacing-retrieval-practice/
The Learning Scientists — Spaced Retrieval Practice Benefits Long-Term Learning
Explores the evidence for combining spacing with retrieval and the importance of allowing some forgetting between opportunities to recall previously learned material. Particularly useful for thinking about retention over weeks and months rather than immediate performance.
Read article →
https://www.learningscientists.org/blog/2022/8/18-1
InnerDrive — How to Use Retrieval Practice Effectively in the Classroom
Practical guidance on incorporating retrieval into everyday teaching. It considers different forms of retrieval and highlights benefits including identifying gaps in knowledge, strengthening memory and helping pupils make connections between ideas.
Read article →
https://www.innerdrive.co.uk/blog/retrieval-practice-in-class/
Chartered College of Teaching — Optimising Learning Using Retrieval Practice
A research-informed overview of retrieval practice by Megan Sumeracki and colleagues, exploring how retrieval can be implemented effectively in classrooms. Particularly useful because it looks beyond simply using quizzes and considers issues such as retrieval difficulty, success rates, timing and different retrieval formats.
Read article →
https://my.chartered.college/impact_article/optimising-learning-using-retrieval-practice/
Chartered College of Teaching — Testing and Spacing: Effective Learning Strategies for the Classroom
Explores the evidence behind both retrieval practice and spaced practice, and how combining the two can support longer-term retention. Particularly useful for thinking about how opportunities to revisit knowledge can be deliberately planned across lessons and curriculum sequences.
Read article →
https://my.chartered.college/research-hub/testing-and-spacing-effective-learning-strategies-for-the-classroom/
Chartered College of Teaching — Is It All Just Memorisation?
Jonathan Firth considers the role memory plays in developing understanding and challenges the idea that evidence-informed approaches such as retrieval practice simply encourage pupils to memorise disconnected facts. It also explores retrieval, spacing and interleaving and their potential to support transfer to new situations.
Read article →
https://my.chartered.college/early-career-hub/is-it-all-just-memorisation/
Kate Jones — Retrieval Practice: Research & Resources for Every Classroom
Jones, K. (2019). John Catt Educational Ltd.
An accessible and practical introduction to retrieval practice, combining research with classroom strategies and examples. Particularly useful for teachers wanting to understand why retrieval works and how it can be embedded routinely without becoming repetitive or superficial.
Explore book →
https://www.hachettelearning.com/retrieval-practice
Kate Jones — Retrieval Practice 2: Implementing, Embedding and Reflecting
Jones, K. (2021). John Catt Educational Ltd.
Builds on the principles of retrieval practice by focusing more explicitly on implementation. It considers how retrieval can be embedded across classrooms and departments, alongside common misconceptions, practical approaches and reflection on effective use.
Explore book →
https://www.hachettelearning.com/retrieval-practice-2
Kate Jones — Retrieval Practice: Resource Guide
Jones, K. (2021). John Catt Educational Ltd.
A concise, practical companion containing strategies, templates and ideas for using retrieval effectively in the classroom. Particularly useful as a quick-reference resource for teachers already familiar with the underlying principles.
Explore book →
https://www.hachettelearning.com/retrieval-practice-resource-guide
Explanation, Modelling and Scaffolding
The following consider how clear explanation, explicit modelling, worked examples and carefully designed scaffolds can make complex learning more accessible while supporting pupils towards increasing independence.
Books
Websites and Articles
Education Endowment Foundation — What Goes Up, Must Come Down: Promoting Pupil Independence Through Scaffolding
A valuable reminder that effective scaffolding involves not only deciding what support to provide but also planning how and when that support will be withdrawn. Particularly useful for thinking about the movement from guided to increasingly independent learning.
Read article →
https://educationendowmentfoundation.org.uk/news/what-goes-up-must-come-down-promoting-pupil-independence-through-scaffolding
Chartered College of Teaching — Modelling and Metacognition in a Secondary Classroom
A practical case study showing how teacher modelling can expose the thinking and decision-making involved in approaching complex tasks. It also illustrates how modelling can be gradually replaced by checklists and more general prompts as pupils become increasingly independent.
Read article →
https://my.chartered.college/early-career-hub/modelling-and-metacognition-in-a-secondary-classroom/
InnerDrive — What Does Research Say About Modelling?
Explores the research behind teacher modelling, including the importance of making thought processes visible rather than simply demonstrating a finished product. Particularly useful for considering how modelling can support pupils in developing mental models and approaching unfamiliar tasks.
Read article →
https://www.innerdrive.co.uk/blog/research-on-modelling/
Rachel Ball & Alex Fairlamb — The Scaffolding Effect: Supporting All Students to Succeed
Ball, R. & Fairlamb, A. (2025). Routledge.
This is a superb book! An evidence-informed guide to scaffolding and adaptive teaching, drawing on cognitive science and classroom practice. Particularly useful for understanding scaffolding as temporary support that enables pupils to tackle challenging work, rather than as a way of simplifying the curriculum or reducing expectations.
Explore book →
https://www.routledge.com/The-Scaffolding-Effect-Supporting-All-Students-to-Succeed/Ball-Fairlamb/p/book/9781032739830
Chartered College of Teaching — More Effective Teaching Through Modelling
Explores different forms of modelling, including exemplars, conceptual models and explicit narration of teacher thinking. Particularly useful for considering how modelling can make expert thinking visible and help pupils understand both what successful work looks like and how it is produced.
Read article →
https://my.chartered.college/impact_article/more-effective-teaching-through-modelling/
Tom Sherrington — Rosenshine’s Principles in Action
Sherrington, T. (2019). John Catt Educational Ltd.
A concise and highly practical interpretation of Barak Rosenshine’s principles of instruction. Particularly relevant here for its treatment of presenting new material in manageable steps, modelling, guided practice and providing scaffolds for difficult tasks.
Explore book →
https://www.johncattbookshop.com/products/rosenshines-principles-in-action
Education Endowment Foundation — Scaffolding: More Than Just a Worksheet
A useful exploration of what scaffolding actually means in classroom practice. It emphasises that scaffolds should provide temporary support which is adjusted and ultimately removed as pupils become more capable and independent.
Read article →
https://educationendowmentfoundation.org.uk/news/scaffolding-more-than-just-a-worksheet
Education Endowment Foundation — Supporting Pupils with Worked Examples
Explores how worked examples can reduce demands on working memory and help pupils understand how to approach complex tasks. Particularly useful for its discussion of fading and alternation as pupils move from teacher modelling towards independent practice.
Read article →
https://educationendowmentfoundation.org.uk/news/supporting-pupils-with-worked-examples
InnerDrive — How to Use Scaffolding in Your Lessons
An accessible introduction to scaffolding and the gradual transfer of responsibility from teacher to pupil. Includes practical examples of how temporary support can help pupils access challenging learning while developing greater independence.
Read article →
https://www.innerdrive.co.uk/blog/scaffolding-in-your-lessons/
Checking for Understanding, Questioning and Participation
The following books and links look at how effective questioning and responsive checking for understanding can reveal what pupils are thinking, identify misconceptions and gaps, and ensure that participation and cognitive engagement are distributed across the classroom.
Books
David Goodwin — What Are They Thinking? The Ultimate Guide to Checking for Understanding
Goodwin, D. (2026). Routledge.
A practical guide focused explicitly on one of the central challenges of teaching: finding out what pupils actually understand and using that evidence to decide what to do next. Particularly useful for thinking about questioning, sampling responses, misconceptions and making checking for understanding a routine part of responsive teaching. The book is due for publication in September 2026.
Explore book →
https://www.routledge.com/What-Are-They-Thinking-The-Ultimate-Guide-to-Checking-for-Understanding/Goodwin/p/book/9781041108238
Dylan Wiliam — Embedded Formative Assessment
Wiliam, D. (2018). Solution Tree Press. 2nd edition.
A highly influential exploration of formative assessment and how teachers can use evidence of learning to adapt teaching. Particularly relevant here for its focus on classroom discussion, questioning and tasks that elicit evidence of understanding, alongside strategies for increasing pupil participation and ownership of learning.
Explore book →
https://www.solutiontree.com/embedded-formative-assessment-second-ed.html
Doug Lemov — Teach Like a Champion 3.0: 63 Techniques that Put Students on the Path to College
Lemov, D. (2021). Jossey-Bass.
A wide-ranging practical guide to classroom teaching with several particularly relevant techniques for questioning, checking for understanding and increasing participation. Strategies such as Cold Call and approaches to checking pupils’ responses are useful for considering both the quality and distribution of thinking across a class.
Explore book →
https://teachlikeachampion.org/books/teach-like-a-champion-3-0/
Websites and Articles
Chartered College of Teaching — How to Use Questions to Check Understanding During Your Lessons
A particularly useful guide to viewing questioning as a form of information gathering. It emphasises sampling responses strategically across a class and using pupils’ answers to determine whether teaching should move on, revisit or adapt.
Read article →
https://my.chartered.college/research-hub/how-to-use-questions-to-check-understanding-during-your-lessons/
Chartered College of Teaching — Skilful Questioning: The Beating Heart of Good Pedagogy
Explores the different purposes of classroom questioning, including engaging pupils, probing understanding, encouraging deeper thinking and determining whether pupils are ready to progress. Particularly useful for thinking beyond questioning as simply eliciting correct answers.
Read article →
https://my.chartered.college/early-career-hub/skilful-questioning-the-beating-heart-of-good-pedagogy/
Education Endowment Foundation — How Checking for Understanding Can Guide Your Teaching
Explores how checks for understanding can reveal where learning is secure and where gaps or misconceptions remain. It emphasises the importance of gathering useful evidence before deciding what feedback or instructional response is needed.
Read article →
https://educationendowmentfoundation.org.uk/news/understanding-feedback-guides-teaching
Education Endowment Foundation — Checking for Understanding That Leads to Action: Adaptive Teaching
A particularly useful recent resource focused on the link between checking and responding. It considers how teachers can gather evidence from pupils and use that information to make immediate decisions about explanation, practice, scaffolding or moving learning forward.
Read article →
https://educationendowmentfoundation.org.uk/news/checking-for-understanding-that-leads-to-action-adaptive-teaching
Education Endowment Foundation — Embedded Formative Assessment
Summarises the evidence behind the Embedding Formative Assessment programme, which centres on five formative-assessment strategies including using classroom discussions, questions and tasks to gather evidence of learning.
Explore resource →
https://educationendowmentfoundation.org.uk/projects-and-evaluation/projects/embedding-formative-assessment
InnerDrive — The Worst Ways to Check for Understanding — and How to Do It Better
Challenges unreliable approaches such as relying on volunteers or asking pupils whether they understand. It emphasises more representative checks that require wider participation and provide teachers with better evidence about what the class is actually thinking.
Read article →
https://www.innerdrive.co.uk/blog/checks-for-understanding/
InnerDrive — An Overview of Effective Questioning in the Classroom
A practical overview of questioning strategies including cold calling, wait time and approaches designed to increase both participation and the depth of pupils’ thinking.
Read article →
https://www.innerdrive.co.uk/blog/effective-questioning-overview/
InnerDrive — How to Maximise Cognitive Engagement
Explores Doug Lemov’s distinction between participation ratio and think ratio: how many pupils are actively involved and how demanding the thinking is. Particularly useful for considering participation as something broader than simply getting more hands up.
Read article →
https://www.innerdrive.co.uk/blog/maximise-cognitive-engagement/
Responsive and Adaptive Teaching
The following books and links consider how teachers can anticipate barriers to learning, respond to evidence of pupil understanding and adapt explanations, support, practice and challenge while maintaining ambitious curriculum goals for all pupils.
Books
Websites and Articles
Education Endowment Foundation — Guide to Inclusive Teaching
Published in July 2026, this new EEF guide brings together evidence about effective teaching, SEND, socio-economic disadvantage and inclusive classroom practice. It emphasises strong universal teaching alongside carefully chosen adaptations and additional support, making it particularly valuable when considering adaptive teaching.
Explore guide →
https://educationendowmentfoundation.org.uk/education-evidence/inclusive-teaching
Education Endowment Foundation — Adaptations and Additional Support
Part of the new 2026 Guide to Inclusive Teaching, this section considers when some pupils may need additional adaptations or support, how these can be selected carefully and how teachers can judge whether they are helping rather than inadvertently hindering learning.
Explore resource →
https://educationendowmentfoundation.org.uk/education-evidence/inclusive-teaching/adaptations-additional-support
Education Endowment Foundation — Clips from the Classroom: How Teachers Check Understanding and Adapt
Published in July 2026, this collection uses classroom examples to make responsive teacher decision-making visible. It explores how teachers gather evidence of pupils’ understanding and use that evidence to decide what to do next, while emphasising professional judgement rather than fixed routines.
Explore resource →
https://educationendowmentfoundation.org.uk/news/clips-from-the-classroom-check-understanding-and-adapt
Education Endowment Foundation — Supporting Pupils with SEND in the Moment
A July 2026 article exploring how checking for understanding and adapting teaching during lessons can support pupils with SEND as part of inclusive classroom practice. Particularly useful for connecting inclusive teaching with responsive decisions made in real time.
Read article →
https://educationendowmentfoundation.org.uk/news/supporting-pupils-send-in-the-moment
Education Endowment Foundation — Checking for Understanding That Leads to Action: Adaptive Teaching
Introduces the EEF’s Check. Adapt. practitioner resource. It organises responsive decisions around three broad situations: when many pupils misunderstand, when some remain unsure and when most understand and are ready to move forward. The emphasis is on using evidence from pupils to inform what teachers do next rather than treating adaptive teaching as a predetermined set of strategies.
Read article and access Check. Adapt. →
https://educationendowmentfoundation.org.uk/news/checking-for-understanding-that-leads-to-action-adaptive-teaching
Education Endowment Foundation — Adaptive Teaching in Practice: Using Feedback to Check Understanding
Provides practical classroom examples of teachers checking what pupils understand and deciding how to respond. Particularly useful for illustrating adaptive teaching as an ongoing cycle of gathering evidence, interpreting it and adjusting subsequent teaching.
Read article →
https://educationendowmentfoundation.org.uk/news/effective-teacher-feedback-understanding-in-adaptive-teaching
Education Endowment Foundation — Five-a-Day: Supporting High-Quality Teaching for Pupils with SEND
Highlights five evidence-informed approaches likely to benefit all pupils while being particularly supportive for many pupils with SEND: explicit instruction, cognitive and metacognitive strategies, scaffolding, flexible grouping and technology.
Explore resource →
https://educationendowmentfoundation.org.uk/education-evidence/guidance-reports/supporting-high-quality-teaching-for-pupils-with-send
Chartered College of Teaching — The Shift to Adaptive Teaching: A Research-Informed Guide
Explores the move from traditional forms of differentiation towards a more responsive model of adaptive teaching. It considers how teachers can adjust teaching according to pupils’ needs without predetermining different learning pathways or lowering expectations.
Read article →
https://my.chartered.college/impact_article/the-shift-to-adaptive-teaching-a-research-informed-guide/
Chartered College of Teaching — Moving from Traditional Differentiation to Adaptive Teaching
A practical case study exploring a move away from routinely creating separate tasks for predetermined groups towards anticipating barriers, maintaining shared learning goals and making more targeted adaptations in response to evidence about pupils’ needs.
Read article →
https://my.chartered.college/impact_article/moving-from-traditional-differentiation-to-adaptive-teaching-a-case-study/
Chartered College of Teaching — Moving from Traditional Differentiation to Adaptive Teaching
A practical case study exploring a move away from routinely creating separate tasks for predetermined groups towards anticipating barriers, maintaining shared learning goals and making more targeted adaptations in response to evidence about pupils’ needs.
Read article →
https://my.chartered.college/impact_article/moving-from-traditional-differentiation-to-adaptive-teaching-a-case-study/
Chartered College of Teaching — Impact: Adaptive Teaching and Inclusive Pedagogy
An entire issue of the Chartered College’s Impact journal dedicated to adaptive teaching and inclusive pedagogy. It brings together research and practice exploring how curriculum and classroom activity can be adapted to support a diverse range of learners.
Explore issue →
https://my.chartered.college/impact/issue-24-adaptive-teaching-and-inclusive-pedagogy/
InnerDrive — A Teacher’s Guide to Adaptive Teaching
An accessible introduction to adaptive teaching, including what it is—and what it is not—and how teachers can adjust their practice in response to differences in pupils’ needs while maintaining appropriate challenge.
Explore guide →
https://www.innerdrive.co.uk/guides/guide-to-adaptive-teaching/
InnerDrive — Adaptive Teaching: Explanations and Modelling
Written by Jade Pearce, this article considers how explanations and modelling can form part of adaptive teaching. Particularly useful for connecting adaptive practice with the principles of modelling and scaffolding explored elsewhere on this page.
Read article →
https://www.innerdrive.co.uk/blog/adaptive-teaching-modelling/
InnerDrive — Adaptive Teaching: Practice and Questions
Explores how practice and questioning can be adapted responsively to support pupils’ learning, reinforcing the idea that adaptive teaching is rooted in ongoing decisions about appropriate challenge and support.
Read article →
https://www.innerdrive.co.uk/blog/adaptive-teaching-practice-and-questions/
Ambition Institute — What is Adaptive Teaching?
A clear contemporary overview of adaptive teaching, focusing on how teachers can create the conditions for all pupils to access shared learning goals. Particularly useful for distinguishing adaptive teaching from traditional differentiation and for considering the role of teacher decision-making, support and challenge.
Read article →
https://www.ambition.org.uk/blog/what-is-adaptive-teaching/
Ambition Institute — Adaptive Teaching and Inclusive Education
Explores the relationship between adaptive teaching and inclusion, drawing on the experiences of teachers and school leaders. Particularly useful for considering adaptive teaching not simply as a collection of classroom techniques but as part of a broader inclusive approach to teaching and school culture.
Read article →
https://www.ambition.org.uk/blog/five-ways-adaptive-teaching-plays-a-role-in-inclusive-education-what-teachers-and-school-leaders-say/
nasen / Whole School SEND — Adaptive Teaching for Inclusion
A collection of professional learning materials and think pieces exploring adaptive teaching through the lens of inclusion and SEND. Particularly useful for considering how responsive classroom practice can support pupils with a wide range of needs while maintaining ambitious expectations.
Explore resources →
https://nasen.org.uk/page/adaptive-teaching-inclusion
Jade Pearce — Demystifying Adaptive Teaching: How to Teach to the Top
Pearce, J. (2026). Routledge.
A practical, evidence-informed guide to adaptive teaching which explores how teachers can maintain high expectations while adjusting teaching to support pupils in accessing and succeeding with an ambitious curriculum.
Explore book →
https://www.routledge.com/Demystifying-Adaptive-Teaching-How-to-Teach-to-the-Top/Pearce/p/book/9781032900346
Rachel Ball & Alex Fairlamb — The Scaffolding Effect: Supporting All Students to Succeed
Ball, R. & Fairlamb, A. (2025). Routledge.
Explores the relationship between scaffolding and adaptive teaching, with a particular focus on providing temporary, responsive support that enables pupils to access challenging learning without unnecessarily reducing complexity or expectations.
Explore book →
https://www.routledge.com/The-Scaffolding-Effect-Supporting-All-Students-to-Succeed/Ball-Fairlamb/p/book/9781032739830
Metacognition
The following links and resources explore how pupils can develop greater awareness and control of their learning through metacognitive knowledge and strategies, including planning, monitoring and evaluating their thinking, and how teachers can model and scaffold these processes to develop increasingly independent, self-regulated learners.
Books
Nathan Burns — Developing a Metacognitive Curriculum
Burns, N. (2026). SAGE Publications Ltd.
A particularly useful recent guide to embedding metacognition within curriculum design rather than treating it as a standalone learning skill. Burns explores how metacognitive approaches can be developed through subject teaching, curriculum planning and whole-school practice, with examples drawn from across the secondary curriculum.
Explore book →
https://www.sagepub.com/shop/buy-a-book/developing-a-metacognitive-curriculum-1-292159
Nathan Burns — Inspiring Deep Learning with Metacognition: A Guide for Secondary Teaching
Burns, N. (2023). SAGE Publications Ltd.
A clear introduction to metacognition in secondary classrooms, connecting the research base with practical approaches teachers can use to help pupils become more aware of and regulate their learning. Particularly useful for understanding how modelling, questioning and reflection can support deeper and increasingly independent learning.
Explore book →
https://www.sagepub.com/shop/buy-a-book/inspiring-deep-learning-with-metacognition-1-279323
Websites and Articles
Education Endowment Foundation — Metacognition and Self-Regulated Learning
The substantially updated EEF guidance, published in November 2025, brings together current evidence on developing pupils' metacognitive knowledge and skills. Its seven recommendations emphasise explicitly teaching pupils how to plan, monitor and evaluate learning, alongside teacher modelling, scaffolding and application within subject contexts.
Explore guidance →
https://educationendowmentfoundation.org.uk/education-evidence/guidance-reports/metacognition
Dr Sarah Dowey — ‘Down the Rabbit Hole… Thinking about thinking isn’t enough’
A particularly useful recent exploration of metacognition which challenges its common reduction to simply ‘thinking about thinking’. Dowey considers the more complex processes involved in preparing, monitoring, evaluating and reflecting on learning and the importance of grounding metacognition in secure subject knowledge and meaningful classroom contexts.
Read article →
https://drsarahdowey.substack.com/p/thinking-about-thinking-isnt-enough
Education Endowment Foundation — Promoting Metacognitive Talk in the Classroom
Explores how purposeful classroom talk can make thinking more visible and help pupils articulate how they approach learning. It provides practical approaches for using teacher–pupil talk, peer discussion and self-talk to support planning, monitoring and evaluation.
Read article →
https://educationendowmentfoundation.org.uk/news/promoting-metacognitive-talk-in-the-classroom
Education Endowment Foundation — How to Use Visual, Verbal and Written Scaffolding to Support Metacognitive Strategies
A practical 2026 resource exploring how carefully designed scaffolds can support pupils in using metacognitive strategies before those supports are gradually withdrawn. Particularly useful for connecting metacognition with the development of learner independence.
Read article →
https://educationendowmentfoundation.org.uk/news/scaffolding-independent-learning--metacognitive-strategies
Education Endowment Foundation — The Seven-Step Model Planning Tool
A practical tool based on the updated EEF guidance which helps teachers plan how to model and scaffold learning before gradually transferring responsibility to pupils. Particularly useful for translating the principles of metacognition into lesson and curriculum planning.
Explore tool →
https://educationendowmentfoundation.org.uk/news/eef-blog-modelling-independence-the-seven-step-model-planning-tool
James Mannion — ‘Metacognition, Self-Regulation and Self-Regulated Learning: What’s the Difference?’ — Chartered College of Teaching
A particularly valuable conceptual clarification of terms that are often used interchangeably. Mannion explores distinctions between metacognition, self-regulation and self-regulated learning and explains why those distinctions matter when thinking about developing genuinely independent learners.
Read article →
https://my.chartered.college/impact_article/metacognition-self-regulation-and-self-regulated-learning-whats-the-difference/
Nathan Burns — Mr Metacognition
Nathan Burns’ professional site brings together practical resources, research summaries, articles and professional development focused on metacognition. Particularly useful for exploring how metacognitive approaches can be embedded within individual subjects rather than taught as generic ‘learning to learn’ strategies.
Explore resources →
https://www.mrmetacognition.com/
Ambition Institute — The Hidden Knowledge of Experts
Explores the forms of knowledge that underpin expertise, including self-regulatory knowledge: knowing how and when to manage and apply other forms of knowledge. It provides a useful wider perspective on the relationship between expertise, domain knowledge and self-regulation.
Read article →
https://www.ambition.org.uk/blog/hidden-knowledge-experts/
Intellectual Preparation
The following links consider how teachers can prepare deeply for teaching by developing secure understanding of the content, anticipating misconceptions and likely pupil responses, identifying the most important explanations and examples, and considering how curriculum intentions will be enacted in the classroom.
Websites and Articles
Rob Chambers — Intellectual Preparation, Part 1: Why It Matters
Explores the rationale for intellectual preparation and why effective preparation involves much more than organising lesson resources. It considers the importance of teachers understanding the curriculum, its underlying knowledge and the thinking pupils will need to develop before deciding how a lesson should be enacted.
Read article →
https://robgeogchambers.substack.com/p/intellectual-preparation-part-1-why
Rob Chambers — Intellectual Preparation, Part 2: What It Looks Like in Practice, Through the Lens of Geography
A detailed exploration of what intellectual preparation can look like in practice. Using geography as the subject lens, it considers prior knowledge, misconceptions, vocabulary, explanations and representations, questioning, checks for understanding, scaffolding, independent practice and metacognition. It also explores how knowledge of a particular class can inform responsive decisions before and during teaching.
Read article →
https://robgeogchambers.substack.com/p/intellectual-preparation-part-2-what
Rob Chambers — Intellectual Preparation, Part 3: Making It Work and Keeping It Purposeful
Considers how intellectual preparation can be implemented sustainably within departments and schools. Particularly useful for thinking about collaborative preparation, professional development and ensuring that IP remains focused on improving curriculum enactment rather than becoming an additional planning or accountability exercise.
Read article →
https://robgeogchambers.substack.com/p/intellectual-preparation-part-3-making
Rob Chambers — Curriculum Booklets: Conditions for Success — A Personal Reflection
Reflects on the potential benefits and limitations of bookletised curricula and argues that resources cannot substitute for teacher expertise. Particularly relevant here for its emphasis on the professional thinking and intellectual preparation needed to translate shared curriculum materials into effective classroom teaching.
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https://robgeogchambers.substack.com/p/curriculum-booklets-conditions-for
Rob Chambers — Why Great Explanations Need Careful Thought
Explores the relationship between teacher expertise, explanation and intellectual preparation. It considers how preparing examples and non-examples, anticipating misconceptions, identifying hidden steps in explanations and planning checks for understanding can make expert thinking more accessible to pupils.
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https://robgeogchambers.substack.com/p/why-great-explanations-need-careful
Dr Sarah Dowey — If We Can't Explain the Story, We Haven't Designed the Curriculum
Explores the importance of curriculum narratives in making curriculum intent and progression visible to teachers. Dowey describes intellectual preparation as protected professional time in which teachers examine texts and concepts, rehearse explanations, anticipate misconceptions and consider how learning develops across lessons and units.
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https://drsarahdowey.substack.com/p/if-we-cant-explain-the-story-we-havent