Dates:    Wednesday 30th September, 7th, 14th & 21st October 2026
Time:      7.00 - 8.00 pm
Venue:   Online via Zoom

Target Audience: Primary and Post Primary classroom teachers and leaders with responsibility for teaching and learning

Adaptive teaching is not about creating multiple worksheets or lowering the bar. It is about making precise, evidence-informed decisions in response to what pupils know, think and misunderstand.

This four-part webinar series explores adaptive teaching as a responsive classroom practice rooted in formative assessment, cognitive science and high-quality instruction. Across the series, we will examine how to check for understanding effectively, make in-the-moment instructional decisions, scaffold without simplifying, and build classroom routines that make adaptation sustainable rather than reactive.

Grounded in research and sharply practical, this series is designed for teachers and leaders who want to strengthen classroom responsiveness while maintaining high expectations for every pupil. Participants will leave with clear frameworks, concrete strategies and a deeper understanding of how expert teachers adapt teaching without increasing workload

Session 1 - Adaptive Teaching Begins with Checking for Understanding

Adaptive teaching is only possible when we know what pupils are thinking. This webinar explores practical, high-leverage strategies for checking for understanding that go beyond hands up and worksheets. Drawing on formative assessment and cognitive science, we will examine questioning techniques and live feedback as tools for responsive instruction. Participants will leave with clear routines that make pupil thinking visible and enable real-time adaptation

Session 2 - Responsive in the Moment: The Decision-Making of Expert Teachers

What does adaptation actually look like during teaching? This session explores the micro-decisions teachers make: when to reteach, when to model again, when to increase challenge and when to provide scaffolds. We will unpack misconceptions, modelling, guided practice and deliberate practice as mechanisms for adaptation, without lowering expectations. The focus is on responsiveness, not task variation.

Session 3 - Scaffolding Without Simplifying: Maintaining High Expectations

Adaptive teaching is not about different work for different pupils. It is about responsive support and challenge. This webinar explores effective scaffolding, reducing cognitive load, and gradually removing support to build independence. We will examine common misconceptions about scaffolding and discuss how to support struggling learners while keeping the same ambitious curricular goals for all.

Session 4 - Building Adaptive Classrooms: Culture, Routines and Curriculum

Adaptive teaching does not sit in isolated moments. It is built on clear curriculum sequencing, predictable routines and a classroom culture where errors are valued. This session explores how retrieval practice, feedback, modelling and classroom norms create the conditions for effective adaptation. Participants will consider how to embed adaptive teaching systematically rather than relying on instinct alone.

By the end of the series, participants will:

• Understand the core principles of adaptive teaching and how it differs from traditional differentiation.
• Use formative assessment to make responsive, in-the-moment instructional decisions.
• Implement scaffolding and classroom routines that support adaptation while maintaining ambitious expectations for all learners.

Bio of Presenter: Kate Jones

Kate Jones is an experienced teacher, leader and Senior Associate for Teaching and Learning with Evidence Based Education. Kate began her teaching career in Buckley, North Wales followed by five years teaching in Abu Dhabi. She is currently based in Solihull, UK. In addition to her teaching and leadership roles Kate is the author of seven books published with John Catt Educational; including the Retrieval Practice series. Smashing Glass Ceilings; Empowering Women in Education is the latest book Kate has published, with Routledge. In addition to authoring books, Kate is the editor and contributor of The researchEd Guide to Cognitive Science. Kate is also a regular writer for various educational publications, including the TES and HWRK magazines.

Kate has spoken at various educational events and conferences around the world including Thailand, Hong Kong, Malaysia, the Middle East and Europe. Kate has collaborated with leading figures in education such as Dylan Wiliam, Doug Lemov and Professor Robert Bjork and is co-authoring her next book with Professor Alan Baddeley. Winston’s Wish is a bereavement charity, dedicated to giving grieving children hope and Kate is proud to be an ambassador of this charity. Kate is very active on social media @KateJones_Teach across social media.