Are teachers gaining from educational trials? A question of evidence-based practice

A review published in 2018 found that the number of randomised controlled trials (RCTs) in educational settings had more than quadrupled over the previous decade. Such trials have long been the domain of medical research. This article looks at one RCT in England carried out in the 2018–19 school year where teachers of GCSE chemistry were trained to deliver revision lessons to students in the weeks leading up to their exams. While key stakeholders primarily focus on the subsequent GCSE results of students who received these bespoke lessons (compared with those who did not), the research outlined here concerns itself solely with the potential benefits for teachers.