Curated videos on teaching and learning — organised by topic, free to watch, and ready to share with your team
Some of the best professional development available to teachers is completely free — you just have to know where to look. This page collects the most useful videos on teaching and learning, organised by theme so you can go straight to what matters to you.
Every video here is about how to teach — not subject content. Think of it as a curated staffroom library, except it's all on YouTube.
Barak Rosenshine's 10 Principles are widely regarded as the most practical, evidence-based framework for classroom instruction available. Drawn from cognitive science, observations of master teachers, and cognitive support research, they offer a direct bridge between educational research and everyday classroom practice. Tom Sherrington's Masterclass series (Parts 1–5) is the recommended starting point.
Former headteacher and author Tom Sherrington introduces Rosenshine's Principles and explains why they represent the best single framework for evidence-informed teaching. The essential starting point before watching the rest of the series.
Strand 1: presenting new material in small steps, providing worked examples, and thinking aloud to model expert reasoning. Directly applicable to lesson planning in any subject.
Strand 2: why the most effective teachers ask more questions to more students in more depth. Covers cold calling, no opt out, and checking for understanding beyond "does everyone get it?"
Strand 3: how daily, weekly and monthly review strengthens long-term retention. Covers retrieval practice in a Rosenshine context and why review is not just revision — it's foundational to learning.
Strand 4: the progression from guided practice to independent practice, achieving high success rates, and scaffolding difficult tasks. How to move students from supported to genuinely independent learning.
The original. Rosenshine himself explains the ideas behind his principles in a lecture recorded in 2002. A remarkable primary source — hear the thinking straight from the researcher who spent decades studying what effective teachers actually do.
What does cognitive science tell us about how students actually learn and remember? This category covers the research that underpins great teaching — memory, retrieval, cognitive load, spaced practice, and more.
A team of cognitive psychologists explains the six most evidence-backed learning strategies: spaced practice, retrieval practice, interleaving, elaboration, concrete examples, and dual coding. Short, clear videos designed for both teachers and students. Free posters and classroom resources also available at learningscientists.org.
Australian educational psychologist John Sweller explains the theory Dylan Wiliam called "the single most important thing for teachers to know." Working memory is severely limited — and how you design instruction either works with that constraint or against it. Understanding this changes how you structure explanations, tasks and resources.
Testing isn't just assessment — it's one of the most powerful tools for consolidating learning. This video explains the testing effect and how teachers can use low-stakes retrieval regularly to dramatically improve long-term retention across any subject.
Why cramming produces short-term results and long-term forgetting — and how spacing learning across time produces dramatically better retention. Practical for teachers thinking about how they sequence topics and structure review throughout a term or year.
Why mixing up topics during practice produces better long-term learning than working through them one at a time. Interleaving is one of the most underused learning strategies — counterintuitive because it feels harder in the moment, yet the evidence shows it builds stronger, more transferable knowledge. Practical implications for how teachers sequence content and design practice tasks.
Cognitive scientist Daniel Willingham draws on research about how the brain works to answer one of teachers' most pressing questions. His key insight: the brain is not designed for thinking — it's designed for avoiding thinking. Understanding this changes how you design lessons, explanations and tasks. Based on his landmark book of the same name, which is widely recommended for Australian teachers.
The art and science of teaching — instructional approaches, lesson design, explanation, modelling, and how teachers continue to grow and improve their practice over a career.
Dylan Wiliam on why every teacher — regardless of experience — can and should keep developing their practice, and what that development should actually focus on. One of the most widely shared education talks on YouTube. Essential viewing for any teacher who wants to understand what professional growth in teaching really looks like.
Teacher and educator Jennifer Gonzalez produces well-researched, practical videos on instructional strategies, lesson design, classroom management, curriculum design, and the broader challenges of teaching. One of the most trusted independent teacher-facing education channels on YouTube — updated regularly and grounded in real classroom experience.
One of the largest free libraries of classroom practice videos available. Covers instructional approaches, project-based learning, social-emotional learning, formative assessment, and teacher development. Videos show real classrooms rather than lecture-style delivery — useful for seeing strategies actually in action.
Melbourne-based teacher, author and podcaster Ollie Lovell interviews leading researchers and educators on what works in teaching. His podcast is the most popular education podcast in Australia — video versions of many conversations are freely available on YouTube. Author of Cognitive Load Theory in Action, Tools for Teachers, and The Classroom Management Handbook.
Big Think features short, sharp interviews with leading researchers, thinkers and educators on how learning works, what motivates people, and how teaching can be improved. With over 7 million subscribers, it's one of the most-watched educational channels on YouTube. Browse their Education playlist for interviews with cognitive scientists, psychologists and educators — ideal for professional reading groups or short stimuli for staff discussions.
How do we know students have actually learned something — and what do we do when they haven't? This category covers formative assessment, checking for understanding, and feedback that actually moves learning forward.
Wiliam's most practical talk — covering his five key strategies: clarifying learning intentions, engineering effective classroom discussions, providing feedback that moves learning forward, activating students as learning resources for each other, and activating students as owners of their own learning.
Wiliam on the paradox of feedback — why more feedback isn't always better, why grades and marks often undermine learning, and what kinds of feedback actually produce improvement. Challenges some widely held assumptions about how we give students information about their performance.
A straightforward case that teachers rarely receive the specific, actionable feedback they need to keep improving — and what a genuine professional feedback system could look like. Applicable to both student assessment thinking and professional development design.
What does the research actually say about what works in education — and how do we make sense of it? This category covers effect size research, meta-analyses, and how to read and apply education evidence as a classroom teacher.
Melbourne researcher John Hattie synthesised over 1,600 meta-analyses covering more than 300 million students to identify what has the greatest effect on student achievement. His Visible Learning framework has shaped school improvement conversations worldwide. These talks explain the key findings and what they mean for classroom practice — including what doesn't work despite widespread use.
Hattie's deep dive into feedback — which has one of the highest effect sizes in his research, yet is also one of the most variable. Not all feedback is equal: the timing, type and direction of feedback dramatically changes its impact. A talk that will change how you think about giving students information about their progress.
researchED has produced some excellent talks on how to be a critical consumer of education research — understanding effect sizes, distinguishing correlation from causation, and avoiding the fads that sweep through schools. Browse for speakers such as Stuart Ritchie and Robert Coe on research literacy for teachers.
Hattie's most well-known talk and the core message of Visible Learning: teachers should become evaluators of their own impact on student learning. Not just "did I teach it?" but "did they learn it?" A shift from teaching-centred to learning-centred thinking that has influenced school improvement conversations across Australia and internationally.
Effective classrooms run on well-designed routines. This category covers behaviour management, establishing expectations, entry and exit routines, transitions, and the proactive approaches that prevent most problems before they start.
Edutopia's classroom management series covers proactive strategies for establishing routines, building a positive classroom culture, and addressing behaviour before it escalates. Includes short videos showing real teachers implementing specific strategies — entry routines, attention signals, transition management and more.
Melbourne educator Ollie Lovell draws on his book The Classroom Management Handbook to explain the evidence-based principles behind effective classroom routines and behaviour management. Covers scripts for common classroom scenarios, how to establish expectations, and what to do when behaviour breaks down — practical tools for teachers at any career stage.
A veteran educator with 40 years in classrooms makes a passionate case that teacher-student relationships are the foundation of everything — including behaviour. When students feel genuinely known and valued by their teacher, most behaviour problems don't occur. Funny, moving and memorable.
What drives students to persist, engage, and believe in their own capacity to grow? These talks draw on psychology and education research to explore what motivates students and the beliefs that shape their outcomes.
Psychologist Angela Duckworth left consulting to become a maths teacher, then went back to study what predicts student success. Her finding: it isn't IQ or natural talent — it's grit. A grounding talk for thinking about student persistence, long-term goals, and what schools should be cultivating.
Stanford psychologist Carol Dweck introduces growth mindset vs fixed mindset — the idea that believing intelligence can be developed changes how students respond to challenge and failure. Worth watching alongside critical perspectives on how growth mindset has been simplified and misapplied in many schools.
Pink presents research showing that extrinsic rewards — marks, prizes, consequences — are often counterproductive for tasks requiring deeper thinking. Autonomy, mastery, and purpose are far more powerful motivators. Directly applicable to how teachers design classroom learning and think about student engagement.
Dweck's shorter, more classroom-focused talk explaining the practical application of growth mindset through the concept of "not yet" — replacing failing grades with the idea that students haven't mastered something yet. More directly teacher-facing than her longer TED talk and easier to use as a stimulus for staff discussion about grading, feedback language and how we talk to students about their progress.
Meeting the diverse needs of students in the same classroom — differentiation, Universal Design for Learning, flexible grouping, and how to personalise learning without creating unsustainable workloads.
Universal Design for Learning is a framework for designing instruction that works for all learners from the outset — rather than retrofitting accommodations after the fact. These videos explain the three UDL principles (multiple means of engagement, representation, and action & expression) and what they look like in practice.
Sal Khan makes the case that education systems move students through content based on age and time regardless of mastery — leaving gaps that compound over years. He explores what a mastery-based model looks like and what happens when students are allowed to genuinely understand something before moving on.
A collection of Edutopia videos showing what differentiation actually looks like in real classrooms — flexible grouping, tiered tasks, choice boards, and how teachers adjust instruction in the moment without creating unsustainable planning workloads.
CAST (the organisation that developed UDL) produces clear, authoritative explainer videos on the Universal Design for Learning framework and its three principles. These are the primary source for understanding UDL — directly from the researchers who developed it. Useful for school-based PD on inclusive design and for teachers wanting to understand UDL before implementing it.
Supporting students with additional learning needs — students with disability, learning difficulties, autism, ADHD, and those who need adjustments to access the curriculum. Includes evidence-based approaches and practical classroom strategies.
Edutopia's collection of videos on supporting students with learning difficulties in mainstream classrooms. Covers reading difficulties, ADHD, sensory processing, and how teachers can make adjustments that benefit all students — not just those with identified needs.
The Australian Institute for Teaching and School Leadership has produced a range of videos on inclusive education for Australian teachers — covering disability, adjustment, and how to meet the diverse needs of students in Australian school contexts. Directly relevant to AITSL standards requirements.
Understood.org produces accessible, well-produced videos explaining learning and thinking differences — dyslexia, ADHD, dyscalculia, executive function difficulties — for teachers, parents and the students themselves. The channel is especially strong on how these differences look in the classroom and what practical adjustments help. A reliable, accessible resource for teachers supporting students with identified learning needs.
How we design learning — sequencing, backward design, knowledge-rich curriculum, and the decisions that happen before students walk through the door.
Wiliam on why the curriculum is the most important tool teachers have — and how thinking carefully about what knowledge to teach, in what order, and why, underpins everything else. A counterpoint to the skills-over-content view that has dominated education thinking for decades.
A collection of talks making the case for knowledge-rich curriculum design — why what we teach matters as much as how we teach it, and how curriculum decisions shape long-term outcomes for students. Browse the researchED YouTube channel for speakers including Christine Counsell and Michael Fordham.
Understanding by Design (UbD), developed by Grant Wiggins and Jay McTighe, is one of the most influential curriculum planning frameworks for classroom teachers. "Backward design" means starting with what you want students to understand and be able to do at the end — then designing learning experiences that lead there. Multiple clear explainer videos and examples are available on YouTube covering the three stages of backward design.
How to use technology purposefully — not just because it's available. This category covers EdTech, AI in the classroom, digital tools for learning, and how to evaluate whether technology is actually improving student outcomes.
Widely used by Australian schools. Common Sense Education covers digital citizenship, online safety, privacy, and how to use technology effectively in the classroom. Practical tutorials and classroom-ready videos on responsible technology use — relevant given Australia's evolving social media and digital safety legislation.
Tutorials, webinars and classroom ideas for Google Workspace tools widely used across Australian schools — Google Classroom, Docs, Slides, Forms and more. Practical and regularly updated. Useful for teachers implementing or deepening their use of Google tools, or for school-based digital integration PD.
One of the most practically useful EdTech channels for classroom teachers. Weekly tutorials covering Google Workspace, Microsoft 365, Canva, and a wide range of apps and tools used in schools. Videos are clear, step-by-step and aimed specifically at teachers rather than general tech users — making it easy to learn exactly what you need without wading through irrelevant content.
The official Microsoft Education YouTube channel covers Teams for Education, OneNote, Minecraft Education, AI tools for teachers, and professional learning with Microsoft 365. Useful for schools using Microsoft environments — tutorials, webinars, and classroom ideas updated regularly. Pairs well with the Microsoft Educator Centre (education.microsoft.com) for structured self-paced PD.
Apple's educator PD content lives primarily on the Apple Education Community platform (education.apple.com) rather than a dedicated YouTube channel — but it's extensive and free. The Apple Teacher program offers self-paced badge-based learning for iPad and Mac in the classroom. Apple Support's YouTube channel also has a large library of how-to videos for teachers. Worth bookmarking if your school is Apple-based.
The SAMR model (Substitution, Augmentation, Modification, Redefinition) is the most widely used framework for thinking about how technology is integrated into teaching — and whether it's actually improving learning or just replacing paper with screens. Developed by Dr Ruben Puentedura, it gives teachers a shared language for evaluating and deepening their EdTech practice. Multiple clear explainer videos are available on YouTube — search "SAMR model explained" for the best short versions, or look for the Edutopia SAMR articles alongside video explainers.
A rapidly growing collection of talks, webinars and panel discussions on how AI is affecting teaching and learning — from AI tools in the classroom to questions about academic integrity, assessment design, and what skills students will need in an AI-enabled world. Search YouTube for recent Australian voices including AITSL, Teacher Magazine and individual educators sharing their classroom experiences.
For school leaders, coaches and aspiring leaders — building a culture of learning, leading improvement, and supporting teacher development at a whole-school level.
Hattie's research on the impact of school leaders — what leadership approaches have the largest effect on student outcomes, and which leadership behaviours are most associated with school improvement. Challenges some common assumptions about what good leadership looks like in practice.
researchED Australian conference talks on evidence-based leadership, instructional coaching, and building a school culture of continuous improvement. Browse the researchED YouTube channel for individual talks from Australian school leaders and researchers.
Ollie Lovell on instructional coaching, how school leaders can build systems that genuinely improve teaching, and what the research says about effective professional learning. Draws on his work with Steplab Australia, a professional learning platform focused on systematic, evidence-based teacher development.
These talks won't give you a classroom technique to use tomorrow — but they'll remind you why the work matters, and spark the kinds of conversations that change how you think about teaching and what schools are for.
The most-watched TED Talk of all time. Robinson argues that education systems prioritise certain kinds of intelligence and inadvertently stigmatise creativity and divergent thinking. Whether you agree with his conclusions or not, this talk sparked a global conversation about what schools are for — and remains a touchstone for that debate.
Finnish education researcher Pasi Sahlberg — who has spent time working in Australia — explains why Finland's education system consistently outperforms others worldwide, and what the rest of the world has misunderstood about what makes it work. A thought-provoking counterpoint to accountability-heavy education models.
Researcher Sugata Mitra shares his "Hole in the Wall" experiments — placing computers in public spaces and watching children teach themselves without any instruction — and asks provocative questions about what schools are actually for in a connected world. With over 3 million views, this talk challenges assumptions about teaching, learning and the future of education. Worth watching as a conversation starter rather than a blueprint.
Australian teachers, researchers and educators talking about teaching and learning in the Australian context. Many Australian voices also appear across other categories on this page — John Sweller, John Hattie, AITSL and researchED Australia are all featured above.
Melbourne-based teacher, author and podcaster Ollie Lovell interviews leading researchers and educators on what works in teaching. The most popular education podcast in Australia — video versions of many conversations are freely available on YouTube. Author of Cognitive Load Theory in Action, Tools for Teachers, and The Classroom Management Handbook.
Published by the Australian Council for Educational Research, Teacher Magazine produces evidence-informed videos directly relevant to Australian teachers — classroom practice demonstrations, teaching strategy explainers, and research summaries grounded in the Australian school and curriculum context.
researchED is a teacher-led organisation bringing rigorous education research to practitioners. Their Australian events draw researchers, teachers and school leaders together to talk about what the evidence actually says about teaching and learning. Most talks are freely available on YouTube — browse by speaker or topic.
The Australian Institute for Teaching and School Leadership produces videos, webinars and resources specifically for Australian teachers — covering the Australian Professional Standards for Teachers, professional learning, and exemplary teaching practice from classrooms across all states and territories.
This page grows as great videos are recommended by teachers. If you've watched something that changed how you think about teaching and learning, we'd love to add it.
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