Teaching Techniques
Techniques Built to Develop Adaptive Expertise
Great teaching is thousands of in-the-moment decisions. Every technique on IRIS Connect is designed to build the judgement behind those decisions, so teachers can adapt to any class, any moment and not just perform a strategy by rote.
80+ Video Models
Bite-size summaries of the evidence behind each area of teaching, each brought to life with a video example and cognitive rehearsal activity.
150+ WalkThrus
Evidence-based teaching and learning strategies, ready to pull straight into a Pathway.
*Separate WalkThrus subscription required
Your Own Resources
Add and adapt your school’s own materials so every technique fits your context, not a generic template.
Use the Right Technique, at the Right Time, for the Right Reasons
Drill a technique by habit and you build routine expertise. Real classrooms need something far more adaptive.
Routine Expertise
A routine expert has drilled a technique until it is automatic, and performs it fluently in familiar conditions. But habit is a double-edged sword: the technique gets used because it is practised, not because it is the right move for that moment. So the instant a lesson takes an unexpected turn, or a learner needs something different, it stalls.
Adaptive Expertise
An adaptive expert has the same techniques, but holds them with judgement. They understand why each one works, notice what is actually happening in the room, and adjust in the moment to the learners in front of them. Because their practice rests on understanding rather than habit, it holds up in any class, any topic, any surprise.
Fostering Adaptive Expertise
That is exactly what our techniques are built to develop: adaptive expertise, not routine
Designed for Adaptive Expertise
Every guide is built to develop judgement, not just the routine performance of a strategy. Teachers learn why a technique works and when to flex it so it transfers to any topic, key stage, or class.
Delivered at the Right Moment
Techniques are embedded directly within a Pathway, so they arrive exactly when a teacher needs them matched to the goal they’ve identified through reflection, coaching, or AI Insights. No hunting through a library.
Built for Every Learner: Notice, Consider, Adapt
Every technique guide includes inclusion considerations, so teachers can confidently adapt each one to the diverse needs of their classroom and improve success for all learners rather than applying a one-size-fits-all approach.
80+ Techniques Guides, Grouped Around Seven Fundamental Focus Areas
Rather than an overwhelming catalogue, techniques sit within seven focus areas chosen from the evidence base of the ECF and NPQs, and meta-analysis of what makes effective teaching. Development stays coherent and builds over time.
Behaviour
Entry & exit routines, non-verbal cues, clear instructions, the ‘choice’ technique, and more.
Checking for Understanding
Cold call, hinge questions, mini-whiteboards, think-pair-share, exit tasks, and more.
Consolidation of Learning
Retrieval practice, spaced practice, dual coding, concept mapping, and elaboration.
Instruction for Initial Understanding
Retrieval practice, spaced practice, dual coding, concept mapping, and elaboration.
Oracy
Sentence starters, talking roles, structured talk grids, and academic vocabulary.
Responsive Teaching
Scaffolding, planning with misconceptions in mind, flexible grouping, and re-teaching.
Feedback
Whole-class feedback, live marking, feedback codes, gallery critique, and exit-slip loops.
Where Techniques Get Powerful: When They Connect
Inside IRIS Connect, techniques become part of a full development loop with everything in one place.
“What I love most is the organisation of it! Everything is together, easy to review, revisit and for trainees to track their progress.”
– Sarah, Lead Subject Tutor at Nottinghamshire Torch SCITT
What Educators Are Saying
“This has given me some really useful examples of ways I can maintain motivation and scaffold talk for learners… ‘Think Pair Share’ is vital for dialogue between learners and teachers.”
Sau Kan, Whiteheath Junior School
“Loved it! Gained confidence, knowledge and know how simple and easy the strategy is to adapt to any topic or key stage.”
Kathleen, Cayman Prep & High School
“It allowed us to choose clear ways to move our practice forward and guided us in our reflections in a way that was very useful.”
Natalie, Oakridge Junior School
Try Our Video Technique Guides for Free
Get instant access to 80+ classroom technique guides, each with a video model and a cognitive rehearsal activity. See for yourself how they build practice that sticks, then bring them into your school.