Quillattice · Practical guide · UK education

Plan maths videos around the learning.

A mathematics-specific guide for choosing a video’s role, shaping its explanation and giving learners something useful to do before, during or after viewing.

Educational video planning serviceSeparate practical-demonstration brief

Choose its place in the lesson

Four moments, four different jobs.

Decide when learners need the video and what they should be ready to do next. These uses are distinct; one clip does not need to carry every purpose. [1]

  1. 01

    At the start

    Activate or revisit prior knowledge.

    Open with one short retrieval question learners can attempt before the explanation.

  2. 02

    During explanation

    Introduce new material and motivate interest.

    Show how one mathematical idea develops, with a question that makes its purpose clear.

  3. 03

    At the end

    Consolidate learning, practise skills and build experience.

    Finish with a worked recap and a fresh problem for learners to solve themselves.

  4. 04

    After the lesson

    Revisit material or support blended and flipped learning.

    Set a focused revisit that prepares learners to explain or apply the idea next time.

A practical planning sequence

Move from a learner to a learning check.

The sequence keeps the topic, objective, explanation and learner response connected. Use it to plan a short clip or to place a video inside a larger lesson.

  1. 01

    Start with the learners and the mathematics

    Name the year or course, topic, setting and the prior knowledge the explanation can rely on. Note language, access or equipment needs before you choose a format.

  2. 02

    Write an observable objective for a set time

    Say what learners will show by the end of the video or lesson. Choose a specific action such as represent, calculate, compare or explain; avoid “understand” on its own. [4]

  3. 03

    Choose one teaching role

    Decide whether the video activates prior knowledge, introduces an idea, consolidates practice or supports a later revisit. Keep that role visible in the opening and the final learner task. [1]

  4. 04

    Script a complete explanation

    Order the explanation so each step follows from the last. For every beat, plan what is said, what is shown and how the two clarify the same mathematical relationship.

  5. 05

    Connect representations

    Where it suits the idea, move deliberately from objects or manipulatives, to a diagram or model, then to symbols. Explain what stays the same across each change. [2][3]

  6. 06

    Plan a response and the next step

    Choose a pause question that reveals the target thinking. Then set independent practice, an explanation or a discussion that lets learners use the objective themselves.

Illustrative example · not research evidence

Like denominators: from objective to learner action.

This proposed sequence shows how one objective can shape what appears on screen, where the video pauses and what learners do afterwards.

Observable objective · within an 8-minute video

By the end, learners will represent and calculate two additions of fractions with like denominators, then explain what the denominator counts.

On screen · make the relationship visible

Show eight equal parts. Identify three eighths, then two more eighths; keep the size of each part unchanged as the total becomes five eighths.

Pause question · ask for reasoning

“What stays the same when we combine these fractions, and why?” Pause the video so learners can say or write that the denominator names the equal parts.

Next learner action · check the objective

Ask learners to sketch and solve 1/6 + 4/6, then explain in one sentence why the answer is 5/6. Compare methods with a partner or use the response to decide what to revisit.

Connect concrete, pictorial and abstract

Keep one mathematical idea through each representation.

When the topic benefits from it, plan a progression from real objects or manipulatives, to a diagram or visual model, then to symbols and equations. Physical materials, visuals and technology can work together. [2] [3]

  1. 01 · Concrete

    Make the parts tangible

    Use eight paper strips or counters as equal parts. Set aside three, then two more; count five of the original eight. Each object stands for one eighth.

  2. 02 · Pictorial

    Draw the same relationship

    Replace the objects with one bar split into eight equal sections. Mark three eighths and two eighths, then show their combined five-eighths total.

  3. 03 · Abstract

    Record it with symbols

    Write 3/8 + 2/8 = 5/8. Link each numerator to the parts counted and explain why the denominator remains eight.

The representations are connected views of the same addition, not decorative stages. Show or say what each object, section and number represents before moving on.

Vocabulary and readiness

Make the words available before the formal explanation.

Where useful, introduce selected mathematical terms with a structured visual resource before formal instruction. Let learners revisit familiar ideas, make personal notes and use translation tools when they help. [7]

The report describes a four-step vocabulary process, but the dispatch excerpt only shows the vocabulary-exploration step and the start of mathematics instruction. This guide does not supply the omitted stages.

Active, manageable and accessible viewing

Plan for more than watching.

A video should support lesson activity, not replace it. Passive viewing can leave the learner’s thinking hidden; dense mathematical screens can add visual and cognitive demand. [1] [5]

Invite a response

Pause before a worked step and ask learners to predict the next line, explain a choice or solve a near-transfer question. Give them time to write, sketch, speak or use a mini whiteboard, then follow the clip with practice or discussion.

Reduce competing detail

Keep one mathematical focus on screen at a time. Show only the labels, diagrams and equations being discussed; remove decorative effects, unnecessary text and unrelated movement.

Offer more than one route in

Combine clear spoken and written descriptions with the visual explanation. Offer a non-visual alternative such as a verbal walkthrough, tactile materials or a text description; label cues and steps explicitly. [5]

Make conventions predictable

Never use colour as the only carrier of meaning. Pair it with labels, patterns or position, reuse the same cue for the same purpose, and manage background noise, visual density and sensory stimulation. [5] [6]

What the cited video study can and cannot say

A positive learner-attitude finding, within its limits.

The learning-design report summarises a survey of more than 500 learners in forms 5–6 using GIOS: the vast majority enjoyed mathematics teaching videos and learning in this format. Learners valued pacing, mode, place and time that suited them. These are bounded learner-attitude findings, not proof that videos cause achievement gains for all learners, ages or settings. The report notes that further research is needed. [1]

Use the finding to inform planning questions about choice and pacing, not to promise an outcome. Keep the teaching purpose, mathematical explanation and learner activity at the centre.

Sources and report-reference map

  1. [1] Burda and Vasylieva, “Videos in learning mathematics of 5–6 forms students,” Information Technologies and Learning Tools 85(5) (2021). The DOI links to the cited article.
  2. [2] CPA report finding: concrete objects and manipulatives, pictorial models and movement towards abstract symbols. Full bibliographic details were absent from the dispatch excerpt.
  3. [3] CPA report finding: the concrete–pictorial–abstract sequence and examples of manipulatives, diagrams and equations. Full bibliographic details were absent from the dispatch excerpt.
  4. [4] Report finding on specific, measurable, achievable, relevant and time-bound objectives with observable learner actions; full bibliographic details were absent from the dispatch excerpt.
  5. [5] Report findings on representation options, non-visual access, redundant cues and managing visual or sensory density; full bibliographic details were absent from the dispatch excerpt.
  6. [6] Report finding on repeated, consistent conventions that support predictability; full bibliographic details were absent from the dispatch excerpt.
  7. [7] Report finding on structured visual vocabulary resources, revisiting familiar concepts, personal notes and translation tools; full bibliographic details were absent from the dispatch excerpt.

The completed report and source-message archive were not available in full for this task. Reference numbers [2]–[7] and their stated subjects are retained from the dispatch snapshot; their missing bibliographic entries have not been reconstructed.

Two resources for different jobs

Use the guide for the teaching plan; use the brief for the production prompt.

Mathematics video planning guide

This guide connects lesson purpose, a mathematics objective, explanation, representations and a learner check.

You are reading this guide

Short practical-demonstration video brief

A separate blank planning aid with prompts for learning purpose, demonstration steps, materials, learner focus and access or review.

View the brief and download its PDF

For scripts, storyboards and supporting materials, see the educational video planning service.