Is Differentiation Failing Your Students? | A Conversation with Alex Fairlamb

When Alex Fairlamb describes differentiation as having suffered a "lethal mutation", she means the tiered worksheets and pre-set tasks that quietly cap what children can achieve. Alex, Senior Advisor for Inclusive Teaching at Laidlaw Schools Trust and co-author of The Scaffolding Effect, explains how labels, unconscious bias and a flawed version of Bloom's taxonomy push vulnerable students towards lower expectations while piling extra workload onto teachers. If you lead teaching and learning in an international school, you will likely recognise the pattern in your own classrooms.

You'll learn what adaptive teaching looks like for a child who struggles with reading comprehension, from anticipating barriers before the lesson to checking understanding every two to five minutes and adding or removing scaffolds as you go. Alex and Shane discuss why interventions should supplement the curriculum rather than replace it, and why a music A level specification with no women in it shows what a narrow curriculum can do. For leaders wondering where to start, Alex makes the case for a three to five year professional learning plan over a different initiative every week. This conversation will change how you think about equity in your school.

Resources & Links Mentioned:

Alex Fairlamb's The Scaffolding Effect

Alex Fairlamb's LinkedIn

Episode Partners

International Curriculum Association

Sisi

Join Shane's Intensive Leadership Programme at educationleaders.co/intensive

Shane Leaning, an organisational coach based in Shanghai, supports school leaders globally. He is the author of the best-selling 'Change Starts Here.' Shane is a leading educational voice in the UK, Asia and around the world.

You can find Shane on LinkedIn.

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