Rewrite the Rulebook on Differentiation in Your School, and Discover why True Personalisation Has Always Been Synonymous with Adaptive Teaching

I was working with a school in the south of England some years ago, helping them to develop differentiation.

After a handful of observations and feedback discussions, it became clear that one thing, above all else, was hampering not only the efforts of the senior leaders, but also of every classroom teacher.

Ambiguity.

Uncertainty.

Or, to put it another way, a lack of clarity over what, exactly, differentiation is.

Since that day, I’ve worked with hundreds of schools and found a similar pattern many times over.

Everyone uses the term ‘differentiation’, but there isn’t an agreed definition.

Many teachers feel under pressure to define a section of their lesson as ‘the differentiation bit’.

Some fall back on the idea that effective differentiation means multiple worksheets or trying to plan and teach three simultaneous lessons to three different groups of learners.

What should be a simple, straightforward concept – one that is, at heart, about professional decision-making – becomes unwieldy, vague and difficult to use.

For me, differentiation is, and always has been, synonymous with adaptive teaching.

It’s all the things we do as teachers to personalise learning, whatever the starting point of the learner or learners in front of us.

It isn’t something we add onto lessons.

It isn’t something we do in a segment of a lesson.

It’s a lens through which we look at teaching and learning.

One that helps us make professional decisions about how to mediate the learning, so all learners can access it and experience a level of challenge that is right for them.

Whenever I deliver Rethinking Differentiation training, I always start with this definition.

And we take it from there.

Building out what that means in practice, and looking at why effective differentiation nearly always encompasses far more than teachers might think.

Inspire and Motivate Your Teachers, Giving Them the Practical Tools They Need to Adapt, Refine and Finesse Their Teaching for the Learners in Front of Them

Sometimes a worksheet is the right option.

Sometimes making extra resources is an effective way to differentiate.

But you should never think that personalisation and additional materials automatically go hand-in-hand.

Effective differentiation doesn’t mean a massively increased workload.

Adaptive teaching isn’t about having a host of handouts lined up, ready for different learners to use.

For me, it’s the teacher that is ALWAYS the most important resource in the room.

So much of effective differentiation is driven by what the teacher does in the lesson, in response to what’s happening in front of them.

Scaffolding. Modelling. Verbal Feedback.

Tailored questioning.

Explaining, re-explaining and demonstrating.

Adding in an extra layer of challenge.

Switching around who’s working together to create a different dynamic.

Adjusting the pace of the lesson.

All of this is about the teacher’s professional decision-making, in the moment.

And it drives so much of effective differentiation.

Sometimes an additional resource is absolutely the right choice.

And there’s no question that planning has a huge role to play in effective personalisation.

But the role of the teacher, in the lesson, adapting the learner’s experience in the moment?

That’s crucial.

That’s where so much differentiation happens – and where so many practical strategies are open to us.

For me, the split is roughly like this:

That, I would argue, is where effective differentiation comes from.

Some of it happens in the planning phase.

Most of it happens in the teaching phase.

And a little happens in the assessment phase.

(With the caveat that information gleaned in the assessment phase informs how we plan and teach.)

You could have an incredibly effectively differentiated lesson where the only resource is the teacher themselves.

Not convinced?

Try watching a brilliant PE teacher deliver a lesson outdoors.

(And trust me, I’ve seen a lot of these across the 1000+ lessons I’ve observed.)

Without a worksheet, handout or PowerPoint in sight, they’ll create a highly personalised, highly differentiated experience for their learners.

How?

Through scaffolding, modelling, verbal feedback, tailored questioning, activity planning based around learners’ starting points, different levels of challenge, peer modelling, and one-to-one support.

A key focus throughout the Rethinking Differentiation training, is helping teachers in your school to change how they think about differentiation.

This means them recognising that much more of their daily work is about personalisation than they might previously have believed.

And it’s about giving them new tools and new ways of thinking they can use to differentiate effectively in the future.

The most important example of this is when I introduce my Five Categories of Effective Differentiation to staff in your school.

This simple delineation gives your teachers a tool they can use to reflect on existing practice and to prioritise where they want to develop their teaching in the weeks and months ahead.

The Five Categories are the fundamental basis of practical differentiation, helping us to focus on the areas of teaching and planning that will truly make a difference for the learners in front of us.

Having shared the model with staff, we move on to explore tried-and-tested practical strategies that show effective differentiation in action, including:

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Make Differentiation Simple, Straightforward and Relevant for Every Teacher in Your School

A full-day with Mike will help your staff completely rethink their approach to differentiation and adaptive teaching.

They’ll be primed and ready to personalise learning in a sustainable, meaningful way.

Here’s an example of a full-day schedule:

We start the morning with an opportunity for reflection.

I ask colleagues to think about their existing experiences of differentiation, and the strategies and techniques they rely on to support the learners they know best.

Then, I offer my definition of differentiation as an alternative approach.

A different way of thinking about personalisation and adaptive teaching.

We explore it together, tying it to the existing practice of colleagues in your school.

After that, I introduce my Five Categories of Effective Differentiation model, and we look at what this means for how we tackle differentiation in practical terms.

This sets up the morning, and usually takes the first hour.

We then turn our attention to practical strategies and techniques.

Across the final part of the first session, and all of the second session, we explore a host of these.

Colleagues have the opportunity to try them out for themselves, to share their thoughts, and to reflect on how they would tweak and modify the techniques, so they work for them in their lessons, with their learners.

Implementation is Key

After lunch, we get colleagues into teams, working on implementation.

For me, this is crucial.

Staff need the opportunity to translate the ideas and techniques from the morning into their own practice.

While this is happening, I circulate, spending time with each team in turn.

It’s incredible just what colleagues can produce in this timeframe. The quality and depth of work I’ve seen teams create is remarkable.

I always encourage one or more senior leaders to come round with me as I circulate, so they can get a sense of what staff are developing.

Finally, we have the reflective plenary.

I bring everyone back together and teams have the opportunity to share their work with each other in a supportive, collegial atmosphere.

This creates great momentum to carry into the next full week of teaching, and beyond.

It ends the day on a high, and gives staff the confidence and energy to drive forwards with the new ideas, strategies and materials they’ve created.

What is included in a full day of Rethinking Differentiation INSET, Training or CPD?

All bookings include:

For half-day and twilight INSET or CPD, we focus on the expert-led sessions from Mike, and remove the implementation and plenary sessions from the agenda.

Everything else listed above is included in half-day and twilight bookings.

One input from Mike and, if you follow his guidance on how to maintain momentum around developing differentiation, you’ll have scope for 12+ months’ sustained impact in your school.

Plus, an exclusive bonus to celebrate the launch of my newly developed CPD platform, Mike Gershon’s Effective Teaching and Learning.

World-Leading Expertise on Practical Teaching and Learning That Works

Five reasons you can rely on Mike to deliver expert training and practical guidance for your staff.

Frequently Asked Questions

Do you do half-day and twilight training?

Yes. I offer both and recognise the flexibility schools sometimes need around their calendars. Half-day and twilight CPD focuses on expert input from me. We remove the teamworking and plenary sessions to accommodate this.

Do you offer follow-up packages?

Yes. Many schools I work with ask me to come back and work with them again, to support them in their developmental journey. Follow-up options include further training, supportive observations with constructive feedback, paired observations and SLT coaching.

We’re a small primary school, can we still work with you?

I always hold back a few dates each year for small primaries, recognising the challenges the smallest schools face in accessing high-quality training. We can also work around tight budgets by looking at online options and in-person training involving multiple schools. The smallest primary I’ve worked with had four teachers – and we had a great day together!

We’d like to look at online training. Is that something you offer?

Yes. It is not my preference as I believe that in-person is always better, and includes elements that can’t be replicated online. However, I do provide online training for schools where in-person may be difficult due to geography, time zones and other factors. My one rule for online is that staff must sit together so that I can facilitate discussion and interaction just as I do when delivering in person.

How far are you willing to travel?

I travel across the UK and overseas from my base in York. Far flung visits have included Shetland, Cornwall, Scotland, Northern Ireland and Pembrokeshire. Even further flung visits have included Romania, Norway, Italy, Bahrain, Kuwait and The Falkland Islands. Trips that require extensive travelling attract a higher cost to cover additional time and mileage.

Can we book you in conjunction with another school?

Yes. Many smaller schools opt for this approach. Sometimes this sees two or three primaries joining up for a full-day session, sometimes a cluster of schools combine budgets and I work with them over an extended period. Occasionally schools ask if they can book me and then sell tickets to the event to nearby schools to cover costs. That is also fine with me.

Is the training relevant for all age groups?

Yes. I have worked with hundreds of primaries, hundreds of secondaries, and dozens of FE colleges over the years. I present in a curriculum agnostic way, using examples that are relevant for the audience in front of me and the age group they teach. A big part of all my training is giving colleagues the opportunity to think about how they can take the ideas and strategies I present and use them with the learners they know best.

Start Changing Your Staff’s Approach to Personalisation Today With Mike’s FREE Differentiation Knowledge Base

Get a head start on developing differentiation in your school by exploring my Differentiation and Adaptive Teaching Knowledge Base and sharing it with your staff.

The Knowledge Base features 38 blogs and articles adapted from my bestselling book How to Use Differentiation in the Classroom: The Complete Guide.

You’ll find guides, explanations and practical strategies covering:

So enjoy – I hope you and your team find it useful!

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P.S. Don’t forget, when I deliver my Rethinking Differentiation training, the emphasis is always on making life simpler and easier for your teachers, so they can adapt, develop and enhance their practice in ways that work.