Increasingly, teachers’ professional development is being informed by education research. This is a good thing, as, applied carefully and thoughtfully, research into the science of learning can have a powerful impact on classroom practice.
Teachers are often exposed to “blockbuster” studies from education research: papers authored by big hitters like Daniel Willingham, John Hattie and Carol Dweck. These classic papers are, of course, classics for a reason. It would be a shame, however, to miss out on interesting insights by focusing only on the seminal stuff.
Here are seven lesser-known papers that can help teachers looking to boost their students’ progress. They may not be from academia A-listers, but these undiscovered gems should be of use when planning for the forthcoming academic year.
1. Fong et al (2018) ‘A meta-analysis of negative feedback on intrinsic motivation’
Critical feedback is a vital part of the learning process but one that students can find difficult to accept. As Carlton J Fong and colleagues put it, “information that highlights shortcomings in a student’s work can simultaneously instruct the student toward greater gains in learning, yet undermine self-confidence and intrinsic motivation’”.
Navigating this balancing act and encouraging students to make improvements to their work, therefore, is a tricky task for teachers. Thankfully, offers a range of helpful guidance that can be implemented easily.
2. Steuer et al (2024) ‘Error climate and alienation from teachers: a longitudinal analysis in primary school’
In a similar vein, Gabriele Steuer and colleagues investigate what happens after students make errors in the classroom. As the researchers make clear, “errors are an integral part of learning. As schools are places where learning occurs, errors happen a lot”. But students perceive errors as “negative events… accompanied by negative emotions”. And these negative emotions are influenced, in large part, by the teacher’s adverse response to their mistakes.
In their , Steuer and her colleagues vividly illustrate how these negative reactions to errors have a damaging impact on student/teacher relationships.
3. Butowska-Buczyńska et al (2024) ‘The role of variable retrieval in effective learning’
Retrieval practice is already a staple of research-informed classrooms, but Ewa Butowska-Buczyńska and colleagues offer a way to maximise this practice. Their paper how the benefits of spaced retrieval practice “can be further boosted when variability is introduced across practice sessions”.
In their experiment, students who received variable retrieval prompts performed better in subsequent tests. Yet, as the researchers explain, they disliked the additional challenge and “judged learning to be more effective with constant rather than variable cues”.
This article illustrates how students are often wrong about the effectiveness of learning strategies and “severely under-appreciate” the techniques that will help them most.
4. Häusler et al (2024) ‘Too much time or not enough? An observational study of teacher wait time after questions in case-based seminars’
Research invariably shows that teachers don’t allow sufficient wait time after asking a question. Often the evidence finds that teachers only allow a second or two for students to answer, and that elongating the wait would encourage participation and deeper engagement with learning.
But what is the optimal teacher wait time? This by Janina Häusler and colleagues posed this question in the context of medical seminars. Based on their findings, they offer teachers some precise and very helpful timing guidance.
5. Van Houtte (2024) ‘Gender differences in class engagement and disruptive school behaviour: boys’ susceptibility to peers’ motivation culture’
Generally, research into academic motivation tends to focus on individual student characteristics. by Mieke Van Houtte, however, finds that a school’s motivation culture can affect students “above and beyond their personal motivation”.
Specifically, boys who are “susceptible to peer influence” appear to be more likely to disengage from learning and disrupt lessons, regardless of their own personal academic motivation.
Van Houtte’s work highlights, therefore, how establishing a positive whole-school motivational culture is probably even more important than developing individual student motivation.
6. Vasiou and Vasilaki (2025) ‘Cracking the code of test anxiety: insight, impacts, and implications’
Students increasingly report feeling anxious about assessments. Yet, as this by Aikaterini Vasiou and Eleni Vasilaki makes clear, test anxiety isn’t just confined to the exam hall and “can occur during daily classroom assessment”.
As such, teachers must reflect carefully on how they can reduce the stakes when conducting routine class tests. Crucially, Vasiou and Vasilaki argue that teachers shouldn’t leave it to the last minute to start supporting students who feel anxious about big assessments.
This paper demonstrates that to reduce test anxiety, we must get the classroom environment right and reassure students well in advance of challenges on the horizon.
7. Williamson et al (2024) ‘The performance and psychological effects of goal setting in sport: a systematic review and meta-analysis’
I’m not normally an advocate of applying ideas from sport to academic settings. They are, after all, very different fields. Yet the insights gained from Ollie Williamson and colleagues’ are just too good to overlook.
A key message from their overview of effective goal setting in sport is that “goals within an athlete’s control should be recommended and applied, and goals based solely on outperforming others should not”. In other words, the emphasis should be very much on process over outcomes.
The paper illustrates how, from a goal setting perspective, students trying to control things that are out of their control are usually heading for disappointment.
Mark Roberts is director of research and an English teacher at Carrickfergus Grammar School in Northern Ireland and author of books including The Behaviour Whisperer
You can now get the UK’s most-trusted source of education news in a mobile app. Get Tes magazine on and on
