Maths
What a well-built maths lesson looks like, from modelling and worked examples to checking every student's understanding. I've gathered maths lesson videos, webinars and podcast episodes on explicit teaching in maths, with modelling, worked examples and checking every student's understanding.
Practices in this area:Small stepsModelling and think aloudWorked examplesChecking for understandingGuided and independent practice
Lesson with commentary
AERO · 6:25 · Primary · Australia
Victorian primary teacher Sue Davis teaches place value and adding 100 to four-digit numbers in small steps, using base-10 blocks and place value charts and checking understanding before moving on.
FreeOpens at edresearch.edu.au
Lesson footage
Research Schools Network · UK
Precise questions and tight mini whiteboard routines used to check understanding and adapt teaching.
FreeOpens at researchschool.org.uk
Lesson with commentary
Teach Like a Champion (Doug Lemov) · Middle years · USA
A guest post by Joaquin Hernandez on why checks for understanding can mislead, with a clip of middle school teacher Bryan Belanger using Cold Call to get a truer picture of what students know.
FreeOpens at teachlikeachampion.org
Lesson footage
Research Schools Network · UK
A short clip from the maths section of the Research Schools Network library showing teacher modelling and explicit strategy instruction, presented as a way to support students' metacognition.
FreeOpens at researchschool.org.uk
Lesson with commentary
AERO · Primary · Australia
Evidence-based practices working together in a maths lesson on splitting numbers.
FreeOpens at edresearch.edu.au
Lesson footage
Research Schools Network · UK
Worked examples that break multi-step maths processes into manageable parts.
FreeOpens at researchschool.org.uk
Lesson with commentary
Chalk Dust · Primary · Canada
JUMP Math founder John Mighton uses footage from Canadian primary classrooms, on place value and long division, to show how small steps and carefully sequenced practice help every student succeed in maths.
FreeOpens at youtube.com
Lesson footage
The IRIS Center Video Collection · Primary · USA
A primary school example of explicit, systematic instruction in maths, from the IRIS Center's video collection in the United States.
FreeOpens at youtube.com
Lesson footage
Impact Curriculum (formerly Ochre Education) · 4:06 · Year 5 · Australia
A Year 5 classroom demonstration of the instructional cycle in primary mathematics, from Ochre Education (now Impact Curriculum).
FreeOpens at youtube.com
Lesson footage
Research Schools Network · UK
Worked examples in mathematical problem solving, with problem and solution shown together.
FreeOpens at researchschool.org.uk
Lesson with commentary
AERO · Primary · Australia
Primary teacher Sue Davis checks understanding of place value during maths lessons with quick quizzes and mini whiteboards, anticipates likely errors and reteaches when a misconception appears.
FreeOpens at edresearch.edu.au
Lesson with commentary
Teach Like a Champion (Doug Lemov) · Secondary · 2023 · USA
A variation on Turn and Talk in which pairs complete a maths task together rather than discuss a question, with notes on the details that make it productive.
FreeOpens at teachlikeachampion.org
Lesson footage
Research Schools Network · UK
Worked solutions used as a framework for teaching specific problem-solving skills.
FreeOpens at researchschool.org.uk
Lesson with commentary
AERO · Primary · Australia
Sue Davis teaches rounding four-digit numbers using mastery learning, breaking the topic into ordered steps, checking each one with mini whiteboards and manipulatives, and reteaching small groups as needed.
FreeOpens at edresearch.edu.au
Lesson with commentary
Research Schools Network · UK
Four principles for teaching high-quality talk in maths.
FreeOpens at researchschool.org.uk
Webinar
Think Forward Educators, with Samantha Charlton, Templestowe Heights Primary School · About 1 hour · 2025 · Australia
Samantha Charlton unpacks the parts of an explicit maths lesson aligned with the VTLM 2.0, covering review, teaching new content, guided and independent practice, fluency and in-lesson assessment.
FreeOpens at thinkforwardeducators.org
Webinar
Think Forward Educators, with Brendan Lee · About 1 hour · 2026 · Australia
Brendan Lee looks at the common reasons a maths lesson does not land and the instructional choices that make student success far more likely.
FreeOpens at thinkforwardeducators.org
Webinar
Think Forward Educators, with Sean Alston · About 50 minutes · 2025 · Australia
Sean Alston explains the four stages of the Instructional Hierarchy and uses primary maths examples to show when to teach explicitly and when problem solving fits.
FreeOpens at thinkforwardeducators.org
Webinar
Think Forward Educators, with Ollie Lovell, Toni Hatten-Roberts and David Morkunas · About 1 hour · 2025 · Australia
Ollie Lovell, Toni Hatten-Roberts and David Morkunas take teachers through the core instructional routines that keep every student thinking in primary maths, whatever program a school uses.
FreeOpens at thinkforwardeducators.org
Webinar
Think Forward Educators, with Jane St John, Jonathan Nettelbeck and Michelle Lastrilla · About 1 hour · 2025 · Australia
Staff from three small and regional schools describe how they organise multi-age classes, lessons, planning and intervention to teach maths explicitly, and the challenges they still face.
FreeOpens at thinkforwardeducators.org
Webinar
Think Forward Educators, with Samantha Charlton and Martin Ravindran, Templestowe Heights Primary School · 30 to 60 minutes · 2023 · Australia
Two Templestowe Heights teachers unpack the evidence behind the F-2 maths strands, show what explicit teaching of them looks like and where play can connect.
Free account neededOpens at thinkforwardeducators.org
Webinar
Think Forward Educators, with Nathaniel Hansford · 30 to 60 minutes · 2024 · Canada
Nathaniel Hansford compares discovery, inquiry and explicit approaches in maths, reviews meta-analysis evidence and addresses common myths about conceptual knowledge, procedures and productive struggle.
Free account neededOpens at thinkforwardeducators.org
Webinar
Think Forward Educators, with Toni Hatten-Roberts, David Morkunas and Ollie Lovell · 30 to 60 minutes · 2024 · Australia
Toni Hatten-Roberts, David Morkunas and Ollie Lovell cover instructional routines, cognitive load and systematic review in primary maths, with practical strategies teachers can try straight away.
Free account neededOpens at thinkforwardeducators.org
Webinar
Think Forward Educators, with Brendan Lee · 30 to 60 minutes · 2023 · Australia
Brendan Lee sorts through mixed messages about primary maths, covering what to teach, how and when, with attention to fact fluency and the hierarchical nature of the subject.
Free account neededOpens at thinkforwardeducators.org
Clear explanations
Chalk & Talk · with Kristopher Boulton
Kristopher Boulton argues that many student errors in maths are predictable results of how concepts are taught, and shows how better instructional design can prevent misconceptions.
FreeOpens at chalkandtalkpodcast.podbean.com
Worked examples
Education Research Reading Room · with Michael Pershan
Maths teacher and blogger Michael Pershan discusses what the research says about worked examples and how to use them well when teaching new procedures.
FreeOpens at ollielovell.com
Hinge questions
Education Research Reading Room · with Craig Barton
Craig Barton lays out his whole philosophy of maths teaching and how he enacts it, covering knowledge versus skills, explicit instruction and diagnostic questions.
FreeOpens at ollielovell.com
Maths teaching craft
Knowledge for Teachers · with Craig Barton
Craig Barton, author of How I Wish I Taught Maths, talks with Brendan Lee about what he has learned about becoming a better maths teacher.
FreeOpens at knowledgeforteachers.podbean.com
Lesson design
Education Research Reading Room · with David Morkunas
David Morkunas explains what goes into writing high-quality maths lessons and how those principles are built into the Explicit Mathematics Program.
FreeOpens at ollielovell.com
Craig Barton (Tips for Teachers) · Substack · 2024 · UK
Using two versions of a maths explanation, Barton shows how to plan explanations that are clear and free of clutter, and how checking students were listening reveals whether an explanation worked.
FreeOpens at tipsforteachers.substack.com
Craig Barton (Tips for Teachers) · Substack · 2026 · UK
Barton unpacks a study of primary maths worksheets pairing correct and incorrect worked examples with self-explanation prompts, looking at their effect on students' motivation and how they view errors.
FreeOpens at tipsforteachers.substack.com
Podcast and blog · Australia
Opens at ollielovell.com
Substack and podcast · UK
Opens at tipsforteachers.substack.com
