Evidence behind every part of the way we teach.

Precision

Education Endowment Foundation

Tackling Misconceptions in Science by Using Good Diagnostic Assessment

Prior knowledge and preconceptions shape how new ideas are understood. Diagnostic, low-stakes assessment helps a tutor identify gaps and misconceptions before deciding what to teach next.

How EduPrism applies it: We begin with diagnostic work and use each student's responses to set priorities, rather than teaching a generic sequence from an assumed starting point.

Evidence note: EEF notes that formative-assessment interventions have produced mixed results. A diagnostic is a decision-making tool; its value depends on the teaching response that follows.

Rigour

Australian Education Research Organisation

Monitor progress

AERO describes checking for understanding as a crucial part of effective instruction and formative assessment. It helps identify gaps and determine whether students need further teaching, guidance or feedback.

How EduPrism applies it: Students retrieve prior learning, show their working and explain ideas aloud. The tutor checks what each student can apply before the group moves forward.

Evidence note: Checking alone does not improve learning. It must lead to an appropriate response — feedback, another explanation, guided practice or a change in pace.

Insight

Education Endowment Foundation

Cognitive science approaches in the classroom

The EEF-commissioned review examines how organised knowledge structures, or schemas, can help learners connect new material with what they already know and retain it more meaningfully.

How EduPrism applies it: Tutors make the structure beneath a problem visible: they compare examples, connect concepts and ask students to explain why a method works, not only reproduce it.

Evidence note: EEF says much of the positive evidence comes from small or tightly controlled studies. Transfer to unfamiliar problems is difficult and should not be assumed simply because a concept was taught.

Strategy

Education Endowment Foundation

Metacognition and Self-Regulated Learning

EEF's guidance supports explicitly teaching students to plan, monitor and evaluate their learning. Metacognitive talk helps students make their approach visible and become more deliberate learners.

How EduPrism applies it: Tutors model how to choose an approach, then ask students to articulate their reasoning, monitor progress and evaluate whether a strategy worked.

Evidence note: Metacognition is not a generic shortcut. EEF stresses that these strategies work best when explicitly taught within specific subject content and tasks.

Mastery

Education Endowment Foundation

Mastery learning

In mastery learning, objectives remain constant while the time and support needed to reach proficiency can vary. Learners demonstrate understanding before progressing and receive additional support where needed.

How EduPrism applies it: We verify understanding throughout the learning sequence and revisit weak areas with explanation, guided practice and feedback before treating them as secure.

Evidence note: EEF rates mastery learning as moderate impact based on limited evidence, with varied effects between studies. It is an evidence-informed structure, not a guaranteed outcome.