On Thursday 8th October, the Fashion Technology Academy (FTA) team had a CPD refresher session on ‘Teaching learners of different abilities.’
The aim of the CPD is to develop tutors’ knowledge, skills and confidence in teaching learners with different abilities, needs, learning styles and levels of prior knowledge, ensuring that all learners are appropriately supported, challenged and able to make meaningful progress.
When teaching a mixed-ability group, the aim is to ensure all learners can access the lesson, make progress and be appropriately challenged. Teachers should adapt their teaching methods according to individual learner needs, confidence, prior knowledge and learning pace.
The session covered strategies such as scaffolding, differentiation, and modelling, with examples of how to use them in class. See below.
By the end of the session, the teachers were able to:
- Understand differentiation and explain how teaching can be adapted to meet the needs and abilities of individual learners.
- Use scaffolding effectively to break learning into manageable steps and gradually develop learners’ independence.
- Use modelling and demonstration to make expectations, processes and practical skills clear to learners.
- Adapt the pace of teaching according to learners’ understanding, confidence and progress.
- Use effective questioning to check understanding, identify gaps in knowledge and encourage deeper thinking.
- Apply appropriate support strategies, including visual resources, step-by-step guidance, additional explanation, peer support and one-to-one assistance.
- Provide extension and stretch activities to challenge learners who demonstrate confidence or achieve the learning outcomes quickly.
- Recognise different starting points and learning needs and adapt teaching, resources and activities accordingly.
- Monitor learner progress during lessons and make timely adjustments to teaching where learners require additional support or challenge.
- Reflect on their own teaching practice and identify at least one strategy they can implement to improve learning outcomes for learners of different abilities.
Lan Leeder said: “Teachers must adapt their teaching methods in mixed-ability classrooms. Resources are already available to support diverse learning needs. Differentiation should not be seen as providing lower-ability learners with less educational content; instead, it involves providing the right level of support, challenge, and access so that all students can progress towards their learning goals.”