“We’re all reaching for the top of the mountain but some of us will need more help, more guidance, more time.” (Sherrington, 1999)

Discussion around how and why adaptive learning should differentiate, scaffold, or both, in our lessons is often hotly debated. There is no ‘right’ answer, and each setting and lesson has different requirements. Differentiation and scaffolding strategies often overlap depending on the lesson content, the output and the prior learning of the pupils.  They can and should be used in conjunction with each other. The DfE clearly lays out for us the expectation for ensuring success for every pupil:

• Plan lessons to ensure that there are no barriers to every pupil achieving
• Set high expectations for every pupil
• Stretch work for pupils whose attainment is above expected standard
• Plan lessons for pupils who have low levels of prior attainment / disadvantaged backgrounds

To get the best from our pupils, we should have an ethos within the classroom that creates a culture of learning without limits and promotes flexibility, independence, and challenge. Both approaches are critical for achieving this.

Differentiation vs Scaffolding

One definition of differentiation is the way in which the teacher changes the content, task, environment or expectations of teaching and learning. As Carol Ann Tomlinson (1999) explains, “Differentiation means providing students with many options for gaining knowledge. ****It ensures that learning and teaching works for every student. In order for it to work for every student, we must not approach differentiation with a single approach.” The Early Career Framework states, “adaptive teaching is less likely to be valuable if it causes the teacher to artificially create distinct tasks for different groups of people or to set lower expectations for particular pupils.”

Scaffolding is “the process of making it easier for pupils to reach their learning goals by splitting up big development goals or tasks into several, progressive stepping stones and providing support such as prompting questions or writing frames.” (GTC Research of the Month Summary Behaviour for learning: Engaging with research.) It is the journey from teacher-led learning to pupil-led learning by gently adding and then removing levels of support, like the removal of stabilisers on a bike.  This should be built into the curriculum and pedagogy of a school, but teachers should also be adapting individual lessons responsively.