In recent Check. Adapt. blogs, we’ve explored how teachers use what pupils show to decide what to do next in lessons. The question is now: how do busy teachers improve this in reality?
Often, it isn’t about trying something completely new. Instead, it is about improving what we already do, so that responses become clearer and more useful.
Refining what you already do
Across classrooms, small adjustments to everyday routines can make a big difference to how well teachers interpret pupil feedback.
Mini whiteboards to check understanding
I ask my students to hold whiteboards face down, hovering just above the table, to demonstrate they are ready to share their response. Once I see every student hovering, I give the instruction to “show me!” and thirty whiteboards flip face up in unison. Not only does it make it easy to see when every pupil in the classroom has an answer they can share, it also gives them the time and space to think about their own response, without the temptation of peeking over at their partner’s work.
Gabriel Bell, English teacher, and PGCE Tutor for Arthur Terry SCITT
Scaffolding using structure strips
Structure strips help my pupils organise their ideas and focus on constructing one strong idea at a time, keeping them on track so they don’t forget what they want to say or drift off on a tangent, while also allowing me to add prompts to support some pupils and stretch others. As confidence grows, the strip shifts from a scaffold to a planning tool, helping pupils take ownership and set the direction for their own writing.
Stella Jones, Director of Town End Research School
In each case, the approach itself is familiar. What changes is how the routine is used.
Refining how we adapt
In the moment, teachers have several responses available. The Check. Adapt tool helps organise these so decisions are more likely to move learning forward.
A useful way to refine practice is to focus on one response at a time:
- Identify one essential step
When pupils show uncertainty, what response matters most for moving learning forward? - Refine the routine
Make one deliberate change to how you respond, for example, by modelling a step again, adding a prompt, or adjusting support. - Make it consistent
Repeat that response until it becomes ‘just what you do’ — a reliable habit when pupils need it.
Sometimes one adjustment is enough. At other times teachers may combine several responses to help pupils move forward. What matters is making these decisions with purpose.
Why small changes matter
These refinements begin with a simple question: What small change might help me respond more effectively in this moment?
Over time, these small shifts make it easier to notice uncertainty early and respond in ways that keep learning moving forward for more pupils. This can be particularly important for pupils who may have had fewer opportunities to secure their understanding, as timely adjustments help ensure they aren’t left behind.
A role for school leaders
For this to work, teachers need the time and space to refine practice. Leaders can support this by:
- creating professional development that focuses on embedding practice
- encouraging discussion of real classroom decisions
- keeping the focus on improving one habit at a time
Effective teaching rarely comes from dramatic change. It grows from small, deliberate adjustments to what we already do practice, the kind that help more pupils move forward.
Blogs
Feedback: The engine room of adaptive teaching
Blogs
Adaptive teaching in practice: using feedback to check understanding
Blogs
How checking for understanding can guide your teaching in the moment
Blogs
Checking for understanding that leads to action: adaptive teaching