Small Steps…Big Impact

The evidence is clear: using the EEF’s Five-a-day principles — explicit instruction, scaffolding, metacognition, flexible grouping and technology — can make adaptive teaching stronger for every learner!

Evidence supporting the Five-a-day approach comes from the EEF’s Special Educational Needs in Mainstream Schools evidence review. Cullen et al. (2020) reviewed 38 systematic reviews and found positive outcomes for high-quality teaching approaches for pupils with SEND, including explicit instruction, cognitive and metacognitive strategies, scaffolding, flexible grouping and the use of technology. These approaches support adaptive teaching because teachers use them flexibly in response to pupils’ needs. For example, Dessemontet et al. (2019) found that systematic phonics instruction had a large positive effect on decoding skills for pupils with intellectual disabilities, showing the value of structured, explicit teaching.

Five-a-day isn’t extra. It’s good teaching, every day. #AdaptiveTeaching #SEND #FiveADay #Teaching