The recent Intensive Training and Practice (ITaP) week for our secondary teacher trainees was a pivotal point in their training. It brought together opportunities to explore the theories underpinning specific strategies for effective teaching, observe and analyse best practice in, then implement the strategies in classroom settings under expert guidance at their placement schools. 

What’s an ITaP week? 

Unlike standard curriculum weeks, the ITaP week combines theoretical insights with targeted, hands-on classroom applications. The focus for our second ITaP week was metacognition—teaching students how to think about their own learning—and retrieval practice, a strategy to enhance long-term memory by actively recalling learned information. Both strategies are essential tools for fostering independent, reflective learners and improving knowledge retention.  

At the start of the week, trainees engaged with research and key theories around metacognition and retrieval practice before observing the theories in action in their placement schools for the next couple of days. Expert colleagues from placement schools, William Perkin CE High school and Twyford CE High school opened their classrooms to our trainees giving them the opportunity to observe, analyse and discuss with highly effective teachers how the strategies were implemented and the impact on pupil learning.

Trainees then applied metacognitive strategies and retrieval practice in their own planning, which they took back to their classrooms on Thursday. With the guidance and support of their mentors, trainees gained specific and targeted feedback, allowing them to structure their reflections and practice the strategies again, this time more effectively! Finally, trainees reflected on their experiences, identifying successes and areas for improvement. Structured feedback from peers and mentors facilitated a cycle of continuous improvement. To end the week, our 75 trainees came together to consolidate their learning, share their ITaP experiences and practice with each other! 

 

“It’s been a great week with lots of take aways to become great in the profession.” Trainee Omolara. 

 

Key takeaways from trainees

Trainees reported a wealth of learning from the week and welcoming placement school environments. Trainee Britta described her ITaP week at Ada Lovelace CE High School as a "welcome deep-dive" with Trainee Rowan, commenting that his ITaP  observations at Nower Hill High School was "very positive and productive - it is always useful to speak to other sociology teachers!" Trainee Nazanin, also at Nower Hill High School for the week shared her positive feedback, “My experience at the ITaP host school was fantastic as I observed two expert teachers with different classes and sets. I also had the opportunity to have a chat with both teachers with enough time given to discuss their implementation of metacognition in their teaching.” 

Trainee Honey was impressed with the quality of teaching she observed at her placement school, Ada Lovelace CE High School, "The 2 lessons I observed were amazing, especially the one with year 11. The way the teacher used exam style questions for retrieval practice was something to remember and use in future. It was such well executed lesson.”

By the end of the ITaP week, our trainees demonstrated a strong understanding of how to weave these strategies into their teaching, ensuring that students not only learn content but also develop the tools to manage and reflect on their own learning processes. Trainee Kelsey who spent her ITaP week at Ealing Fields High School said, “This ITaP week completely changed my perspective on teaching. I now understand the power of modelling and narrating thought processes, and how beneficial this is for the pupils’ learning journey.” 

Nicola Fish, Teach West London’s ITT Phase Lead for Secondary said “We’re pleased the ITaP week provided our secondary teacher trainees with a focused, hands-on opportunity to master metacognition and retrieval practice. With these tools, our trainees are now better prepared to empower their students to take ownership of their learning, setting the stage for success in the classroom and beyond!” 

We’d like to thank our trainees for their willingness to deep dive into new techniques in a different school setting and our ITaP placement schools for their welcome and eagerness to share foundational teaching skills. We look forward to sharing more about our upcoming primary and secondary ITaP weeks.  

Are you ready to make a lasting impact in the classroom? Visit our 'why train with Teach West London?' to find out more: https://teachwestlondon.org.uk/initial-teacher-training/why-train-with-teach-west-london