When was the last time you asked a student to reflect on their learning? The chances are it was relatively recently.

The ability to look back and self-evaluate is exactly the type of metacognitive skill that evidence has shown can give learning a huge boost. In fact, according to the Education Endowment Foundation, ​metacognitive strategies - which get pupils to think about their own learning - can be worth the equivalent of an additional seven months’ progress when used well.

But it isn’t just students who benefit from self-reflection. Teachers, too, have a lot to gain from looking back on their previous performance and considering what they might do differently going forward.

Good teachers are flexible; their approaches are always changing. And their experiences in the classroom and interactions with students are the driving force behind those changes.

We asked teachers from across the sector to reflect on the past year and consider the moments that prompted a shift in their practice - and what important lessons they’ll be taking away from them. Here’s what they said.

What lessons did teachers learn this year?

‘It all has to start with confidence’ 
Abbi Bainton, assistant principal and science teacher at Bristol Brunel Academy

The biggest change to my teaching this year was triggered by the lasting effects of the Covid-19 lockdowns. Given how much teaching time was lost, covering all the required content in time for exams has been a huge issue. 

Initially, our solution was to focus on accelerating through the content, reteaching where necessary. We were working on the assumption that the children would simply take it in.

However, it soon became clear that we weren’t really reteaching; the students felt we were covering much of the material for the very first time. Everything was taking longer than usual, leaving us with no time for students to practise their skills before the exams. Even my high-ability science GCSE classes were lacking confidence. Going too fast meant they were giving up on themselves and disengaging. 

We realised we needed to find the balance between fitting the content in and meeting the needs of the students, building up their confidence and giving them time to practise and reflect. 

I identified the hardest topics and focused on gradually building students’ familiarity with at least one of those areas each term. After initially teaching the unit, we allowed time to reteach, reflect and practise. 

The impact was significant. Confidence levels improved, which empowered the students to use their skills independently when revising. This was crucial because we had limited time for revision in class. 

I’ve become more aware of the importance of building students’ confidence, especially post Covid. It’s not enough to simply get through the content. 

No matter how pushed for time you are, it all has to start with confidence.

‘Children need to know their problems will be prioritised’
Claire Tracy, a Year 6 teacher in Berkshire

Since Covid, and particularly this year, it has become much harder to deal with social issues.

Over and over again, children were coming to me and telling me about “someone being mean” to them. No matter how many PSHE lessons we did on being nice to one another, it kept happening.

Initially, I was quite exasperated by this. We have so much curriculum content to cover that we don’t have time to deal with what can seem like petty behaviours.

Obviously, we don’t want any of our children to be upset, but as a Year 6 teacher, part of the job is equipping pupils for secondary school, where they will be expected to be far more independent and where fallings-out with friends will certainly continue to happen.

More on teaching and learning:

• Should you start every lesson with a retrieval quiz?
• Is it time to ditch differentiation?
• John Hattie: Why I’m rethinking teaching strategies

But there was one child in particular who was being so affected by friendship problems that they didn’t want to come to school. This made me realise that I needed to change my attitude and take a new approach.

I gave this child a little book to record all the “dirty looks” and other social interactions that were causing them discomfort, and told them to leave this book on my desk. This made me aware of what to watch out for, and allowed me to assess the full severity of the issue. 

The approach was really effective because it eliminated any fears about “snitching” and created much better communication between the child and myself. It turned out that the incidents weren’t actually happening that often, but when they did they were causing distress. So I worked one-to-one with the child, equipping them to deal with it going forward. 

I also started to incorporate examples of real incidents that had happened in our classroom, some of which were drawn from the book, into our PSHE lessons. That context gave the lessons relevance.

Eventually, the child stopped using the book, which was their decision, not mine. They felt heard and empowered to handle the issue, and the behaviours that were causing upset also seemed to disappear.

Going forward, I will continue to find creative ways to enable children to communicate and let them know that, even if I’m having a busy day, I will ensure that their problems are being prioritised.

‘Don’t be afraid to make use of the students’ interests’
Anabel Snowball, head of English at an independent special school in the South East of England

My school caters for students with language difficulties, many of whom also have additional special educational needs, such as autism spectrum conditions or attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). 

Many of our sixth-form students were preparing to resit their English language papers, in some cases for the fifth time. They were consistently attaining the same low grades - a disheartening experience that left them wondering why they were bothering.

In an attempt to help, I initially identified the creative writing section as a target area to focus on, as there are more marks up for grabs and more opportunity for freedom of expression, which can boost grades in different ways. 

However, it soon became clear that my students’ imaginations were lacking, and that they found it very difficult to think of and write an engaging story in the space of an hour. 

I decided to move to discussion-based lessons in which we talked about the TV shows and films that they watched and enjoyed. Although the students were all very different and not necessarily friends, they all seemed to have seen the same sort of shows. It turned out, for example, that I had a class full of EastEnders viewers.

Using this as a springboard, I taught them to include an EastEnders-style dramatic moment in each story. The effect was instant. Their stories suddenly became far more engaging.

What’s more, in the next series of exams, the two boys I had tried this with in particular went from obtaining grade 3s to a grade 5 and a grade 6.

My takeaway is to not be afraid of making use of the students’ interests. Sometimes the information they share can inform your planning and make the work far more relatable to them. This is particularly true for those with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) or any students who struggle to connect with their learning.

‘Effective leadership is about having faith in my team’
Machel St Patrick Hewitt, assistant headteacher at Sedgehill Academy in London

The biggest issue for me this year wasn’t to do with classroom teaching but with leadership. 

I started working a 0.8 timetable, which means I’m not in school for one day per week.

Initially, I found myself working on my day off to successfully fulfil my senior leadership role. I was checking in constantly and setting things up in advance to make sure everything was prepared and signposted for what needed to happen in my absence. This was a lot of work, but I wanted the people I manage to be comfortable without me being there.

However, I began to realise that effective leadership is about being able to have faith in my team, and not trying to micromanage everything - if you do that, you’re essentially deskilling your team and telling them you don’t trust them.

‘I taught them to include an EastEnders-style dramatic moment in each story. The effect was instant’

My taking a step back empowered many members of my team to believe in themselves and accelerated their development - although I soon found that some colleagues needed a bit more support. This was a lesson in itself. I’d been assuming that what I was doing would work for everyone when, in fact, you can’t lead a team with just one model.

This year has taught me that, even after 20 years of working in education, school leadership is still a learning curve for me. The key is to accept this. Once you acknowledge that you can’t ever completely crack this job, you open yourself up to growth.

You must be humble enough to accept that there are always going to be learning points, whether you’re a classroom teacher or a senior leader. As long as you maintain that humility as your core approach to teaching, you can always get better.

‘I slowed everything down and went back to basics’
Jessica Webster, Year 6 teacher at Westlea Primary School in Swindon

My Year 6 class were struggling to grasp the concept of long division and see the links to their existing knowledge, like their times tables. There were children just sitting there staring at me with blank faces. They said things like “I don’t get it” and “I just can’t do it”. Some of them were frustrated with themselves, and frustrated with me for not giving them the answers straightaway.

Something needed to change. And so I slowed everything right down and went back to basics. 

I started by showing the class how to do short division again, and because they could all do that, this gave them more confidence. I then used different coloured pens to explain what went where, and started working with small groups of children at a time, making them write out their times tables for reference. 

After that, we practised it over and over again. We watched YouTube videos about long division. We did long division in pairs. We did lots of practice arithmetic tests to enhance this learning.

Yes, it was slow. But eventually, something clicked; the “I just can’t do it” turned into “I get it”. 

The children could independently answer questions and were even able to talk about how to solve long-division problems. 

In future, I will remember to initially slow down and not assume their understanding. I will also employ different methods from the get-go, teaching in a variety of ways from the very beginning.

‘All teachers need to talk about emotions’
Helen Simpson, a primary school teacher in Fife

Sadly, my classroom has been affected by a lot of death and illness this year. 

First, my own father died, so I missed some school. And when I came back, over the course of the year, among the children in the class, we’ve had six grandparents die, two fathers die, one mother become seriously ill and a new Ukrainian child whose father was left in Ukraine fighting.

All these losses or potential losses felt too big to ignore. But how could I acknowledge them in an appropriate, sensitive way?

In Scotland, there’s recently been a huge push on mental health and wellbeing, and in Fife there is a local initiative, called Kitbag, which is great. The idea is that teachers use multisensory materials to help children and young people talk about their feelings and share their thoughts in a safe place.

We were already doing these sessions regularly, but it wasn’t until tragedies occurred that I realised just how valuable they were.

‘School leadership is still a learning curve for me. The key is to accept this’

For example, when one of my children lost their father, they obviously didn’t come into school the next day, and I was told not to say anything to the rest of the class. But as the children were coming in, it was clear that quite a few of them already knew, and they were discussing it. One of them was actually quite upset because he had seen his mum crying and it was a shock. 

I changed the lesson I had planned to start the day, hosting a Kitbag session instead. Having the space to discuss the issue was really useful. It helped the children to understand that loss is a shared experience and that other children have been through similar things.

In schools there are always new initiatives. Some things work; some things don’t. But I would say that all teachers need to talk about emotions. 

Sometimes, we might try to avoid it - but that’s the opposite of what most children want. Even those who are too shy to speak up have plenty to gain from listening.