As beginning teachers enter the final phase of their ITT year and take on teaching 80% of a full timetable, we often see a return of the wobbles first experienced in February or March. This is a demanding point in the year; they are being asked to prioritise, to decide what really matters, and to accept that perfection is rarely achievable.
It is also the point at which many beginning teachers recognise that they have developed unhelpful habits around teaching and delivery. A common example is their sudden realisation that much of their workload issues stem from the excessive time they are spending creating attractive PowerPoints and resources that look lovely but do little to enhance learning. For many, the issue is not effort but sequence: too much creating before doing enough thinking.
When teaching feels like it is going backwards
By May, most beginning teachers can manage a classroom and get pupils working. They can deliver a lesson and feel broadly competent. However, it is also common for lesson feedback at this stage to signal that, despite this apparent progress, intended learning is not really happening. This can feel like going backwards.
In my experience, this situation usually arises for one or more of the following reasons.
- Planning has moved ahead of knowledge development
Lessons and enquiries are planned or resourced before sufficient attention has been given to subject knowledge or pedagogical content knowledge. For example, a teacher may plan a change and continuity enquiry or a sources and evidence lesson without engaging in the disciplinary reading needed to understand the concept or the pedagogical approaches that help pupils access it.
- The learning sequence lacks a clear rationale
Either the enquiry question is not fit for purpose because it does not intrigue pupils, demand historical thinking, or lead to a tangible outcome (Riley, 2000), or the outcome itself is vague or insufficiently disciplinary. Individual lessons then struggle to cohere because their purpose is unclear.
- A narrow activity toolkit is over-used
Beginning teachers often rely on a small number of activities they know they can manage behaviourally and make work. These are then deployed repeatedly, regardless of whether they serve the learning intention. For instance, every lesson includes a factors card sort, even when a different approach (such as a living graph) would better reveal patterns of change or power over time.
What should a beginning teacher do when they’re stuck in a rut?
When lessons feel flat, when pupils are busy but not learning, or when the teacher is no longer certain what pupils should be learning or why, this is the moment to pause, breathe, and reprioritise.
Spending time revisiting foundational work from the start of the ITT year is not a step backwards; it is time well spent. Beginning teachers should:
- Return to subject knowledge enhancement plans, ensuring that disciplinary and pedagogical knowledge are given as much attention as substantive content.
- Revisit enquiry questions and lesson rationales, even mid‑sequence if necessary. Re-engaging with early training on what makes effective planning can re-anchor thinking that has been lost in the busyness of the year. History teachers, for example, may benefit from returning to:
- Broaden their pedagogical toolkit so that teaching strategies serve different kinds of disciplinary thinking. This can be done by:
- Observing colleagues and noting which task types stimulate which kinds of thinking
- Examining departmental schemes of work with a similar disciplinary focus and identifying the rationale behind task choices
- Drawing on subject‑specific classroom research and practice examples, such as articles in Teaching History or SHP Curriculum Paths units.
- There is also a wide range of subject-focused books offering practical approaches to disciplinary thinking. For history teachers, A Practical Guide to Teaching History in the Secondary School (2nd Ed) and 100 Ideas for Secondary Teachers: Outstanding History Lessons are particularly useful for making this connection between activities and disciplinary thinking.
Getting lessons to fly
When lessons really work, there is always a clear connection between the teacher’s subject knowledge (disciplinary and pedagogical, not just substantive) and their enquiry planning and choice of purposeful activities. Recognising this link is a crucial step in moving towards confident, independent practice.
For beginning teachers who feel this is an unreasonable expectation at such a busy point in the year, it may be time to reflect on where energy is being spent. Are you investing heavily in things that are desirable, or even luxurious, rather than essential? This might be the moment to experiment with a few PowerPoint‑free lessons and see how much cognitive and temporal space that frees up for focusing on pupil learning.
Sometimes, stopping to think is the most productive thing you can do.
Becoming a History Teacher 