How IRIS Connect has Evolved to Change the Way Schools Develop Teachers

Sponsored Content by IRIS Connect.

Why Are We Teachers? Why Do We Lead?

At the heart of both roles lies a shared purpose: to improve outcomes for learners. Every initiative or innovation should ultimately serve that goal.

For school leaders, the most powerful lever we have to achieve this is teacher professional development. Decades of research confirm its importance and provide a roadmap for doing it well.

But let’s be clear: it’s a roadmap, not a blueprint. That distinction matters. Be wary of one-size-fits-all programmes. Great professional learning isn’t a rigid itinerary, it’s a journey. There’s a common destination and key waypoints, but every teacher starts from a different place and takes a different route.

The Destination: Adaptive Expertise

Research points us towards one clear goal: adaptive expertise.

Great teachers don’t just do the right things — they do them at the right time, for the right reasons. They blend technique with professional judgement and situational awareness. These adaptive experts are more effective, more fulfilled, and more likely to stay in the profession.

Key Waypoints Along the Journey

• Technique + Dialogue:
  Technique-building matters, but without conversations centred on noticing, intent, and decision-making, we risk creating technicians, not professionals.
• Rooted in Reality:
  Real change happens in classrooms, not conference rooms. Training must be grounded in the day-to-day context of teaching.
• Balance Consistency and Innovation:
  Overemphasise consistency, and teachers may disengage and default to compliance. It may look like progress, but it’s not deep learning.
• Growth Everyday:
  Professional learning should be woven into the fabric of school life, not reserved for training days. Build time and space for reflection and refinement.
• Proactively Build Trust:
  Trust doesn’t appear by magic. Create opportunities for teachers to take risks, so you can actively demonstrate support.

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IRIS Connect: Powering Adaptive Professional Development

For over a decade, IRIS Connect has made professional learning scalable, sustainable, and personalised — within the constraints schools operate under.

We started with video, enabling teachers to reflect, share, and coach more effectively. It acts like a time machine — capturing classroom moments that spark reflection, build shared understanding, and deepen expertise.

But we’ve evolved beyond video.

A Complete Platform for Teacher Growth

With our Learning Pathways tool, you can design and guide structured coaching cycles, self-reflection routines, and collaborative improvement. Set goals, assign deadlines, issue nudges, and monitor progress — at scale.

Our AI-powered video analysis identifies key moments in lessons and links them to reflective questions, helping teachers think more deeply and engage in richer dialogue.

With over 120 teacher techniques organised across seven critical domains, the platform offers expert-created, evidence-informed resources that are practical, accessible, and easy to embed.

Built for Your School

IRIS Connect is fully customisable. You can create your own learning journeys, align resources with your school’s language and frameworks, and tailor AI analysis to your unique goals.

“At first, we used IRIS Connect just for video observations — to ease timetabling and cover challenges in coaching. But with Pathways and AI, it’s now been embedded into our coaching model and school ethos. It helps us truly personalise support for every teacher and easily adapt our coaching cycles to best support their individual development.”

– Tejinder Deeks, The Langley Heritage Primary

If you haven’t seen IRIS Connect recently, now’s the time. Get in touch and see how we can help you transform professional development in your school.