Research School Network: Adaptive Teaching: Getting the Most from the Moment and What Comes Next by Rachael Wilson, Deputy Director of Norfolk Research School

Adaptive teaching is everywhere — from statutory guidance and school development planning to performance targets and daily lesson design. As teachers, we live and breathe it. We plan for it, and often pivot instinctively in response to a constant feedback loop between us and our pupils.

Recent work from the Education Endowment Foundation (EEF), in the form of their Check. Adapt resources, offers practical support for strengthening this in-the-moment responsiveness. Devon Research School also provides a clear and helpful summary of how teachers can read pupil understanding and adjust their input accordingly, which can be read here.

We know that adapting teaching in real time matters. Those small shifts — rephrasing an explanation, pausing for a hinge question, redirecting a task — can make a significant difference to what pupils understand there and then.

But there’s a second layer that is just as important, and often harder to get right. The challenge isn’t whether we adapt — it’s how we build on it.

In-lesson adaption and between-lesson adaption are interdependent, because decisions we make in the moment are only as powerful as what we do with them next.

And this is where the challenge often lies:

• Balancing time, curriculum coverage, and pace
• Maintaining consistency across classes and cohorts
• Responding to misconceptions that don’t appear where we expected them to
• Holding onto what we’ve noticed, rather than letting it disappear by the next lesson.

This tension comes up repeatedly in Research School work. Teachers are skilled at responding in the moment — but making that responsiveness stick over time is more complex.

So, the question becomes: How do we make sure our in-the-moment adaptions actually shape what happens next?

Where the real leverage lies

Strong adaptive teaching sits across two connected behaviours:

• Responding in the moment
• Deliberately using what we’ve noticed to shape future teaching.

When these work together, adaption becomes more than reactive — it becomes cumulative.

1. Strengthening in-the-moment adaption

Much of this depends on routines that make pupil thinking visible and manageable. Familiar strategies — hinge questions, paired discussion, mini whiteboards, circulating and scanning work — allow teachers to quickly gauge understanding and adjust accordingly.

Two small shifts have made a difference to me:

Intentional check-ins

Rather than relying solely on who draws attention, I identify specific pupils to check in with during a lesson. This ensures that quieter learners, or those who appear secure, are not overlooked.

Intentional hot marking

Live marking is powerful, but can become reactive. Being clear about who I am focusing on and what I am looking for allows for more precise, meaningful feedback without becoming overwhelmed.

2. Capturing what we’ve learned

If in-the-moment adaption is where we notice, this is where we make that noticing usable.

Washing up tubs

A long-standing part of my classroom practice. Three brightly coloured plastic washing up bowls purchased for £1 each around 15 years ago! At the end of a lesson, pupils self-assess by placing their books into categories such as:

• I need help
• I need more practice
• I’m confident and ready to move on

After a quick review (and occasional adjustment), this provides a clear picture of class understanding.

Open books

Sorting books into:

• Got it
• Close the gap
• Requires more support

This allows for rapid identification of patterns across the class, without overcomplicating the process.

3. Acting on it in the next lesson

This is where adaption becomes cumulative rather than isolated.

Adapted starters / Do Now tasks

Using insights from the previous lesson to shape the next lesson’s starter allows you to address common misconceptions efficiently at a whole-class level, while still targeting individuals and stretching those ready to move on.

Routine flexible grouping

When grouping is a normal part of classroom practice, it becomes far easier to respond to pupil need. Used alongside formative assessment, it supports more precise and purposeful intervention.

What ties this together?

Across both in-the-moment and between-lesson adaption, a few principles hold:

• Build routines that make pupil understanding visible
• Be explicit about what you are looking for
• Use that information deliberately — both now and next lesson
• Keep systems simple enough to reduce, not add to, teacher cognitive load.

Final thoughts

Adaptive teaching is often framed as a split between planning and responsiveness. In reality, it sits in the space between the two.

The moment matters. What we do with it matters just as much.

When we combine responsive teaching in the lesson with deliberate action after it, adaption becomes not just something we do instinctively — but something we build on, lesson by lesson.