Inclusive Quality First /  Adaptive Teach 

At our school, we embrace an approach to teaching and learning called Inclusive Quality First / Adaptive Teach. This method ensures that every student receives high-quality, personalized education tailored to their unique needs.

What is Pedagogy? Pedagogy, the art of teaching, encompasses all the strategies we use to teach effectively. Our approach includes a broad set of pedagogical skills such as:

• Pausing for Effect: Using voice modulation and strategic pauses to maintain student engagement.
• Scaffolding/Modelling Tasks: Providing support and gradually encouraging independent learning.
• Rewards and Punishments: Motivating students through incentives and consequences.
• Chunking: Breaking down information into manageable chunks to prevent cognitive overload.
• Classroom Layout: Arranging the classroom to suit different learning activities.
• Assessment: Using formative and summative assessments to guide and improve student learning.
• Scanning the Classroom: Maintaining oversight to support and manage students effectively.
• Prompting: Offering hints to deepen students’ understanding.
• Transitioning: Smoothly moving between tasks to maintain focus.
• Asking Open-Ended Questions: Encouraging critical thinking and detailed responses.
• Setting High Expectations: Inspiring students to strive for their best.
• Differentiating Instruction: Tailoring lessons to meet individual learning needs.
• Spaced Repetition: Reinforcing learning through regular review.

Difference Between Pedagogy and Curriculum:

• Pedagogy is how we teach. It involves all the strategies listed above.
• Curriculum is what we teach. It includes all the subjects we teach, such as math, science, English, history, and geography. The development and organization of the curriculum are crucial for inspiring learners and providing them with the skills, knowledge, and cultural capital they need to succeed in life.

Strategies for Improving Learning Retention:

• Interest and Motivation: Engaging learners with interesting and motivating content helps retain information longer.
• Repetition: Regular practice and review of learning material enhance retention.
• Association: Connecting new information with real-life scenarios aids in better retention.
• Use of Multiple Channels: Catering to different learning styles (visual, hands-on, instructor-led) boosts retention.
• Lecture: While lectures are less effective for retention, they can provide a foundation of knowledge.
• Reading: Reading offers reference material that aids in recalling information.
• Audio/Visual: Using videos and visual aids makes learning more engaging and easier to absorb.
• Demonstration: Showing how to perform tasks step-by-step helps in understanding and retaining complex details.
• Discussion: Active discussions stimulate thinking and increase engagement.
• Practice by Doing: Hands-on experience is highly effective for long-term retention.
• Teaching Others/Collaborative Learning: Teaching and collaborative activities enhance mastery and retention of knowledge.

We do not prescribe any particular teaching style or pedagogical approach at our school. Instead, we have developed the Inclusive / Adaptive Quality First Teach approach, which supports the development of a broad set of pedagogical skills. Our teachers and teaching assistants actively adapt to the learning needs of their students, continuously developing their knowledge of individual learning profiles.

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