Rehearsal Resistance

Hey 👋

It’s nice to be back in your inbox. This week, a final video instalment in our teacher development series…

Big idea 🍉

Most schools know that rehearsal—where we practise outside the classroom—is one of the most powerful ways to improve teaching. But not all of us are doing it. What’s going on? Over time, I’ve started to form a triple hypothesis about why…

Firstly, teaching can be a really private act. Many of us go months without performing in front of another adult. So when someone suggests rehearsing in front of colleagues, it can feel awkward or even babyish.

Secondly, many schools carry the legacy of high-stakes observations... times when being watched meant being judged. That makes rehearsal feel risky, unless there’s deep trust between colleagues.

And thirdly, training has long been seen as something we do early in our career, or if we’re not “good enough.” Put these three things together, and we’ve got some serious emotional barriers.

However, just because rehearsal resistance is real doesn’t mean we should accept it. Where we can make rehearsal easier, we should, and over the past year, I’ve seen three tactics that really help:

1. Remind people why, and keep reminding them. In the busyness of teaching, it’s easy to forget that rehearsal is used across lots of other professions, is backed by research, and is one of the best ways to truly master our craft.

2. Create a super safe space. Make it clear that everyone can make mistakes, with zero consequences or ridicule, and that what happens in the room stays in the room.

3. Make it easy to start. Shrink the change. Focus on one small, highly relevant technique. And make sure the people leading the session go first (ideally embarrassing themselves a little, because that always makes everyone else feel a little bit better).

Once you’ve started, don’t stop. Those schools who stick with rehearsal long enough to get over the hump not only improve teaching faster, but build stronger shared language, alignment, and trust.

🎓 For more, check out this systematic review of teacher rehearsal studies and an overview of Steplab’s new group professional development tool.

Summary

• Even though we know teacher rehearsal is powerful, we don’t all do it.

• This is understandable, due to the isolated nature of teaching, high-stakes observations, and views that training is for the inexpert.

• We can overcome this resistance by reminding ourselves why, creating a safe space, and making it easy to start.

Little updates 🥕

• Study replicating a classic “scaffolding” experiment → finds no clear benefit of flexible help, suggesting good teaching depends on the situation

• Paper comparing written vs spoken learning journals → suggests spoken journals enhance strategy use and retention (aka speech supports learning)

• Large RCT of Montessori approach → finds higher pre-school reading, memory, and executive function, suggesting lasting, cost-effective benefits

• Review of global evidence on reading instruction → finds that explicit, systematic, home-language teaching best improves reading

Upgrade your evidence edge → Get Snacks PRO