Pedagogy vs Knowledge YouTube video by It’s Your Time You’re Wasting!

Our latest chat on ‘It’s Your Time You’re Wasting is about whether pedagogy trumps subject knowledge www.youtube.com/live/3YRLO2j... it is also available as a podcast on Podbean, Apple, Amazon & Spotify - with @didau.bsky.social and yours truly…

As I continue to write my book, Teacher Hacks: Geography, I'm drafting something on the role of Big Ideas in creating geographical meaning, exploring the metaphor that knowledge had a topography.

Thoughts and feedback welcome!

An interesting thread on the pivotal role of checking for understanding in adaptive teaching.

Ultra-Processed Minds: The End of Deep Reading and What It Costs Us A reflection on the reading life. What formed it, what threatens it, and what remains.

Ultra-Processed Minds: The End of Deep Reading and What It Costs Us
An erudite long-read by co-author, colleague, and friend @carlhendrick.substack.com - More than worth the time and effort to read!
#EduSky
open.substack.com/pub/carlhend...

Loving the bearded chap

A thing of beauty

9/
In short:
C4U isn’t an optional extra — it’s the engine of adaptive teaching.

Without it, we’re just flying blind.

8/
And with that data, action is key:
• Reteach
• Reframe
• Simplify
• Use more examples
• Scaffold or fade support

Otherwise, adaptive teaching is just another label slapped on poor implementation.

7/
These techniques reduce the “blind trial and error” Nuthall warned about.

They tell you:
• Who’s got it?
• Who hasn’t?
• Do I reteach?
• Can I push further?

They give you data to adapt your teaching in real time.

6/
If you want to get better at adaptive teaching, invest in the tools that make student thinking visible:
• MWBs (mini whiteboards)
• Hinge questions
• Cold calling
• Exit tickets
• Retrieval checks

5/
How do you adapt instruction if you don’t know what your students are thinking?

Without C4U, adaptive teaching is just educated guesswork.

4/
But here’s the catch:

If adaptive teaching is to mean anything, it must start with being in step with your students.

And that means checking for understanding (C4U).

3/
Adaptive or responsive teaching is everywhere right now.
It’s the buzzword of the moment — and for good reason.

We should aim to maintain high expectations for all, not return to “differentiation” that diluted learning and widened gaps.

2/
Graham Nuthall, in The Hidden Lives of Learners (2007), reveals a powerful truth:

“Much of what happens in classrooms is invisible to teachers.”

That’s a big problem for adaptive teaching.

1/
I’m increasingly convinced:
You can’t talk meaningfully about adaptive teaching without talking about checking for understanding.

Let me explain why. A thread.

Look forward to new teacher coaches in our, @WALKTHRUs_5 coaching book.

PS. Stay informed:

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