Debbie Morgan discusses differentiation

NCETM’s Director for Primary tells us why she thinks teachers no longer need to provide different work for different children

Debbie Morgan, NCETM Director for Primary, has been considering the practice of differentiation in the primary maths classroom – specifically the practice of planning for different questioning and supplementary tasks for different groups of children, even where most of the lesson is taught to the whole class. Fresh from speaking at a number of summer conferences in 2022, Debbie explained her developing thinking to us on the podcast.

Show notes

Taking part in the discussion:

• Debbie Morgan, NCETM Director for Primary
• Gwen Tresidder, NCETM Communications Manager

Episode chapters:

• 01:04 – Should there be any differentiation within a teaching for mastery approach?
• 04:41 – How can teachers cater for children who understand concepts more quickly?
• 14:19 – Can all children access these lessons, even those with SEND that affects their maths learning?
• 16:36 – How does whole class teaching work for children with gaps in schooling?
• 18:06 – Would you remove differentiation from an upper primary class that were new to a mastery approach?
• 20:11 – Does removing differentiation reduce teacher workload?

Useful links:

• Debbie tweets as @ThinkingMaths
• More about teaching for mastery can be found on the NCETM Teaching for mastery page
• To explore CPD opportunities in teaching for mastery, visit the Maths Hubs CPD page: What Maths Hubs are doing | NCETM, then use the ‘Primary’ filter.