42. Scaffold up, don't dumb down! with Alex Fairlamb
Tue Dec 02 2025
What if the supports we give students could raise the bar instead of lowering it? We sit down with Alex Fairlamb, Trust Teaching and Learning Network Lead and Assistant Principal, and author of The Scaffolding Effect, to unpack how temporary, responsive scaffolds help learners move from guided practice to genuine independence without sacrificing high expectations.
We dig into scaffolding as a core part of adaptive teaching: anticipating barriers before a lesson starts, using data and recent assessments to plan, and then adjusting live through tight loops of checking for understanding. Alex explains why “scaffold up, don’t dumb down” matters for every learner, including those with SEND and EAL, and how to avoid diagnostic overshadowing by focusing on actual barriers like organisation, attendance, and gaps in prior knowledge. We challenge prescriptive routines, exploring why rigid I, we, you mandates can backfire across subjects, and how subject-specific modelling, comparative exemplars, and teacher judgement create better outcomes.
Literacy takes centre stage with practical strategies you can use tomorrow. We cover teacher-led modelled reading and reciprocal routines that turn fluent readers into strategic readers, explicit vocabulary instruction that lives inside rich texts, and writing supports that span the full process - from decoding prompts with RUSS to planning, drafting, revising, and editing with clarity. Metacognition runs through it all: narrating decisions, using “weak” nudges that provoke deeper thinking, and building automaticity so working memory is freed for higher-order tasks. Most importantly, we talk timing: fading scaffolds too late creates the illusion of learning; too early undermines confidence. The craft is knowing when and how to step back so students step up.
If you care about high expectations, smarter modelling, and literacy that sticks, this conversation brings fresh, usable ideas. Subscribe, share with a colleague, and leave a review to tell us which scaffold you’ll add or remove this week.
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What if the supports we give students could raise the bar instead of lowering it? We sit down with Alex Fairlamb, Trust Teaching and Learning Network Lead and Assistant Principal, and author of The Scaffolding Effect, to unpack how temporary, responsive scaffolds help learners move from guided practice to genuine independence without sacrificing high expectations. We dig into scaffolding as a core part of adaptive teaching: anticipating barriers before a lesson starts, using data and recent assessments to plan, and then adjusting live through tight loops of checking for understanding. Alex explains why “scaffold up, don’t dumb down” matters for every learner, including those with SEND and EAL, and how to avoid diagnostic overshadowing by focusing on actual barriers like organisation, attendance, and gaps in prior knowledge. We challenge prescriptive routines, exploring why rigid I, we, you mandates can backfire across subjects, and how subject-specific modelling, comparative exemplars, and teacher judgement create better outcomes. Literacy takes centre stage with practical strategies you can use tomorrow. We cover teacher-led modelled reading and reciprocal routines that turn fluent readers into strategic readers, explicit vocabulary instruction that lives inside rich texts, and writing supports that span the full process - from decoding prompts with RUSS to planning, drafting, revising, and editing with clarity. Metacognition runs through it all: narrating decisions, using “weak” nudges that provoke deeper thinking, and building automaticity so working memory is freed for higher-order tasks. Most importantly, we talk timing: fading scaffolds too late creates the illusion of learning; too early undermines confidence. The craft is knowing when and how to step back so students step up. If you care about high expectations, smarter modelling, and literacy that sticks, this conversation brings fresh, usable ideas. Subscribe, share with a colleague, and leave a review to tell us which scaffold you’ll add or remove this week.