Pedagogy | Adaptive Teaching That Keeps Pupils Thinking

Core leadership question:

How do teachers adapt teaching so all pupils can access ambitious learning without reducing cognitive demand?

Session two summary:

Adaptive teaching is now central to conversations about inclusion, SEND, disadvantage and high-quality classroom practice. But adaptation is not about creating multiple versions of the curriculum, lowering expectations, or doing the thinking for pupils. At its best, adaptive teaching protects access and challenge at the same time.

This session explores how leaders can support teachers to adapt teaching in ways that keep pupils thinking. It will focus on how teachers use explanation, modelling, scaffolding, questioning, checking for understanding and task design to identify barriers and respond effectively. The emphasis will be on practical classroom decisions that help all pupils access ambitious learning, while maintaining the cognitive demand needed for genuine progress.

Delegates will leave with a clearer way to evaluate adaptive teaching across classrooms, including how to distinguish between support that enables thinking and support that unintentionally reduces it.