Mentor materials
Adapting lessons to meet pupils’ needs
Select a development area
Consider the development areas for this topic (below). Then make a note of the area you plan to zoom in on and when you plan to visit so you can observe your teacher in this area. Familiarise yourself with the focused development areas. You will select one later when you observe your teacher.
Development area 1: Efficient feedback to meet needs
Focused development area
- Teacher uses whole-class or group feedback where possible to address common misconceptions, gaps in knowledge and errors the class are making.
- Teacher prioritises re-addressing core knowledge gaps during feedback.
Development area 2: Targeted support and challenge
Focused development area
- Teacher plans additional support for pupils they anticipate may benefit from it.
- Teacher ensures pupils who show they have understood core content are able to apply their understanding and be challenged.
Example precise target: Teacher plans additional support for pupils they anticipate may benefit from it
- Not doing it at all: Identify pupils who are likely to require additional support with understanding core knowledge and skills and plan time for them to have additional practice with your support.
- Doing it but needs some improvement: Plan how you might rephrase the question you have asked or provide a prompt for pupils who need additional support.
- Doing it well and needs some stretch: Plan how you would further break down the challenging aspects of the core knowledge and skills you are teaching for pupils who you anticipate will need additional support, if they show they need it.
Development area 3: Adapting teaching over time
Focused development area
- Teacher plans time efficiently into future lessons to address patterns of misconceptions, gaps in knowledge and errors made by pupils in assessments.
- Teacher plans effective ways to tackle patterns of misconceptions, gaps in knowledge and errors made by pupils.
Observe
Consider the following questions based on a short (approximately 15 minute) observation of your teacher.
What was your teacher’s previous target? Are they meeting it? How do you know?
Thinking about the development area you have selected for this topic, what is your teacher already doing well in this area? Which focused development area best aligns with what your teacher needs to get better at? What one precise target (bite-sized action) might you work with them on during your mentor meeting?
Reminder: You can choose to stick with this previous target if they have not made enough progress. When moving on to a new precise target, you can select one from the table above or, if this doesn’t fit your teacher’s needs, you can write your own.
How will you model the target to your teacher to show them what good looks like? What questions will you ask to check your teacher understands the model? For example, ‘How it is different from your current practice?’ and ‘What impact might it have on your practice and pupils?’
Reminder: Your model should help your teacher develop their ability in some of the following:
- Be aware of common misconceptions and discuss with experienced colleagues how to help pupils master important concepts.
- Adapt lessons, whilst maintaining high expectations for all.
- Plan to connect new content with pupils’ existing knowledge or provide additional pre-teaching if pupils lack critical knowledge.
- Build in additional practice for pupils that need it.
- Reframe questions to provide greater scaffolding or greater stretch.
- Consider carefully whether intervening within lessons with individuals and small groups would be more efficient and effective than planning different lessons for different groups of pupils.
Next, meet with your teacher to work through the ‘feedback’ stage of instructional coaching.