Personalising maths instruction sounds great in theory, but when you’re standing in front of 30 students, each with different abilities, learning preferences, and levels of confidence, it’s a whole other story. The sheer thought of meeting everyone’s needs while covering the curriculum feels overwhelming—even impossible at times.
But what if there were practical, scalable strategies to make personalisation achievable, no matter how large or diverse your class?
This blog explores actionable ways to personalise maths learning in large, mixed-ability classrooms without sacrificing curriculum coverage or running yourself into the ground.
Why Personalised Learning Matters in Maths
Maths classrooms rarely consist of students all marching in step. On any given day, you’re likely to have a wide range of readiness levels. Some students race ahead, finishing every problem with ease, while others struggle to grasp foundational ideas.
The traditional “teaching to the middle” approach might seem like a reasonable middle ground, but in reality, it leaves the strongest students bored and under-challenged while others feel left behind.
Personalisation addresses this issue by tailoring maths instruction to individual needs. Why does this matter so much?
It Builds Student Confidence
When tasks are tailored to a student’s skill level, they feel capable and motivated to tackle challenges. Success at these tasks reinforces their belief in their abilities, creating a positive feedback loop.
This confidence doesn’t just apply to the task at hand—it spills over into other areas of learning, encouraging them to take on new and more difficult challenges with a growth mindset.
It Leads to Deeper Understanding
Personalised tasks give students the opportunity to engage with material in meaningful ways. Instead of rushing through topics or feeling overwhelmed, learners can process concepts at their own pace, ask questions, and explore ideas more thoroughly.
This leads to genuine understanding, rather than surface-level memorisation, ensuring that knowledge sticks with them for the long term.
It Nurtures Long-Term Success
When students feel supported through personalised learning, they associate challenges with growth rather than failure. This builds resilience and a willingness to persist, even when faced with difficulties.
Over time, this positive approach to problem-solving helps them see subjects like maths as areas they can excel in, paving the way for success in academics and beyond.
The Reality of Large Classrooms
While the benefits of personalised maths instruction are clear, the reality of implementing these strategies in a large classroom is considerably harder. Teachers face challenges such as:
Time Constraints
Teachers face the challenge of managing limited time while balancing multiple responsibilities. With 30+ students in a class, creating individualised lesson plans for everyone becomes nearly impossible.
Between teaching, grading, attending meetings, and completing administrative tasks, there’s little time left to deeply personalise learning for each student, even though it’s crucial for their success.
Wide Ability Ranges
Every classroom consists of students with varying levels of ability and learning speed. Some students are high-achievers who require advanced challenges to stay engaged, while others need extra support and time to grasp the basics.
Meeting these diverse needs simultaneously can feel overwhelming, like trying to juggle multiple priorities without dropping the ball.
Pressure to Meet Standards
Teachers are constantly under pressure to ensure all students meet curriculum outcomes and perform well on standardised tests. However, these performance benchmarks can sometimes conflict with the goal of personalising education.
The need to stick to rigid lesson plans and timelines often leaves little room for flexibility, making it difficult to address individual student needs effectively.
Traditional differentiation methods often fall short here. Customising tasks for every student isn’t scalable without smarter strategies and tools.
Strategies to Personalise Maths in Large Classes
Personalisation doesn’t have to mean rewriting your entire approach to teaching. By implementing these strategies, you can offer tailored learning experiences that align with the curriculum and fit within your busy schedule.
Start with Diagnostics
Before personalising, you need to understand where your students are. Diagnostics help you assess each student’s strengths and gaps across key areas so you can focus your teaching where it’s needed most.
Use auto-marked diagnostic tools
Education tools are designed to provide valuable insights into student performance, helping teachers assess both individual and class-wide readiness levels.
Platforms like Education Perfect Maths take this a step further by offering immediate and detailed data, enabling teachers to group students effectively and assign tasks that match their learning needs.
Design Tiered or Scaffolded Tasks
Rather than creating tasks for each individual, craft activities with built-in tiers or layers to accommodate different abilities.
Begin with a core task that aligns with your curriculum goals
Start by identifying a task that directly supports the learning objectives you’ve established for your students. This should be a carefully chosen activity that is both relevant and meaningful, acting as the foundation of your lesson.
A well-aligned core task ensures that students are working toward clear, measurable goals, making it easier to assess progress and maintain focus. By connecting the task to curriculum standards, you also ensure it contributes to broader learning outcomes and builds essential skills.
Add scaffolding by including simpler examples to support students who may need extra help
Not all students learn at the same pace, so providing scaffolding is key to supporting those who might struggle with the core task.
This can include breaking the task into smaller, more manageable steps, providing clear instructions, or offering simpler examples that build foundational knowledge. For example, you might include guided practice exercises or visual aids to help clarify more complex concepts. At the same time, it’s important to challenge advanced learners by offering extension activities or deeper questions that encourage critical thinking and exploration.
This dual approach ensures all students stay engaged, regardless of their starting point.
Allow students to choose their entry point
Giving students the freedom to select how they engage with the task allows them to take ownership of their learning.
You can present the activity with multiple entry points—ranging from basic to more advanced—so each student can begin at a level that feels comfortable yet appropriately challenging. This approach promotes confidence, as students are not forced into tasks that feel overwhelming or too simplistic.
It also encourages independent decision-making and a sense of responsibility for their progress, ultimately fostering greater motivation and engagement in the learning process.
For example, during a unit on fractions, you could offer tasks ranging from identifying basic fractions to solving more advanced word problems involving mixed numbers.
Use Self-Paced Learning Models
Self-paced learning lets students move through content at their own speed, ensuring that those who grasp concepts quickly stay engaged while others have the time they need to build understanding.
Create structured activities for independent or low-guidance learning.
Create activities that guide students step-by-step, with clear, detailed instructions and a logical progression that is easy to follow.
Break tasks into manageable parts to help students build their skills gradually, ensuring they feel a sense of accomplishment at each stage. Incorporate opportunities for them to apply what they learn independently, fostering autonomy and confidence in their abilities.
Additionally, consider including checkpoints or examples along the way to clarify expectations, making the learning process both engaging and effective..
Clearly outline expectations and success criteria for every step in the sequence.
This model works particularly well when paired with online learning platforms, as they provide a structured and flexible way to deliver content while allowing learners to progress at their own pace.
These platforms often include features such as progress tracking, interactive assessments, and personalised feedback, making it easier to monitor individual achievements and identify areas for improvement. By combining the model with these tools, both learners and educators can benefit from a more efficient and targeted learning experience.
Incorporate Technology for Differentiation and Feedback
Technology can be a game-changer in large classrooms, enabling you to deliver personalised maths instruction without adding to your workload, but not all edtech tools support you to the same level.
For example, Education Perfect allows you to assign level-appropriate content for each student, ensuring that every learner is working on tasks suited to their abilities and needs.
The platform enables you to track their progress in real time, giving you a clear picture of how each student is performing and which areas might require additional support.
Moreover, it provides instant, tailored feedback to help students understand their mistakes and improve. Automation tools like this not only enhance the learning experience but also simplify time-consuming administrative tasks, freeing you up to focus more on teaching and engaging with your students directly.
To read how EP is built for impact and supports the full teaching and learning cycle click here.
Build in Peer Support and Small-Group Work
Implement peer teaching
Peer teaching is a highly effective yet often overlooked strategy in maths classrooms. Giving stronger students the opportunity to explain concepts to their peers not only helps those struggling with a topic but also strengthens the understanding of the students doing the teaching.
Teaching requires students to articulate their thought processes, deepening their comprehension and boosting their confidence.
For example, in a peer teaching setup, students work in pairs where one explains a math concept to the other, breaking it down into simple steps. The teaching student reinforces their own understanding while the learning student gains clarity in a supportive setting.
Use flexible grouping
Another impactful strategy is using flexible grouping to address varied learning needs. By grouping students based on their current level or specific challenges, teachers can provide targeted support where it’s needed most.
These groupings can be dynamic and change as students progress, ensuring that every learner gets the attention and guidance required to succeed in their mathematical journey.
For example, a teacher might conduct a guided session on multiplication strategies with one group, providing direct instruction and feedback, while other groups work independently on practice problems. This dual approach allows teachers to focus on small-group teaching without leaving the rest of the class idle. It’s a balanced way to address diverse learning needs while keeping the whole class engaged.
Staying on Track with the Curriculum
One of the most common fears when personalising learning is falling behind on curriculum goals. However, with careful planning and the right tools, you can personalise while aligning with national standards.
Design tasks with curriculum outcomes in mind from the start
When planning lessons, it’s essential to align tasks with the desired learning outcomes right from the beginning.
This ensures that every activity contributes meaningfully to students’ progress and reinforces the skills and knowledge outlined in the curriculum. By keeping outcomes at the forefront, teachers can create purposeful, effective learning experiences that drive student success.
Use technology to track coverage, ensuring no key content is overlooked
Leveraging technology allows you to monitor content coverage effectively and ensures every critical piece of information is accounted for.
With Education Perfect’s automated tracking systems, intuitive analytics dashboards, and AI-powered tools, you can easily identify learning gaps, prioritise key content, and streamline your teaching workflow.
This not only saves time but also reduces the risk of missing key updates or insights, keeping your strategy comprehensive and well-informed.
We have created this EdTech Buyers Guide for Heads of Mathematics to help those in selecting an edtech vendor.
Blend traditional whole-class instruction with personalised pathways
This approach combines teaching the entire class the same foundational content with tailored activities that meet individual learning needs.
For example, a class-wide introduction to decimals can be followed by differentiated practice activities that reinforce key concepts at varying levels of difficulty.
Realistic Personalisation: Progress Over Perfection
Here’s the truth: you don’t need 30 individual lesson plans to personalise maths learning. Realistic personalisation focuses on small, manageable changes that make a big difference over time.
Start with one topic, one task, or one class per week
When beginning something new, it’s easy to feel overwhelmed by everything that needs to be done. Instead, focus on one manageable step at a time.
Whether it’s introducing a single topic, completing one task, or committing to one class per week, breaking your goals into smaller pieces makes them more achievable and sustainable. Small steps consistently taken lead to meaningful progress over time.
Use tools and strategies that scale with your class size
What works for a small group might not work for a larger one. Make sure the tools and teaching strategies you choose can adapt as your class grows.
For example, use online platforms that handle multiple users or create methods that work for individual and group learning alike. Scalable systems save time and effort while keeping your class engaged and productive.
Remember, progress is more important than perfection
It’s easy to get stuck chasing perfection, but what truly matters is moving forward. Focus on making steady improvements rather than achieving flawless results. Progress builds momentum, and over time, those small wins will add up to big accomplishments. Celebrate the journey, not just the destination!
Personalisation is a process, not an overnight transformation. Be patient with yourself and your students as you explore what works best for your classroom.
Bringing Personalisation into Your Large Classroom
Yes, it is possible to personalise maths learning while covering the curriculum—even in large, diverse classrooms. By leveraging diagnostics, designing tiered tasks, adopting self-paced models, and integrating technology, you can support every learner effectively and sustainably.
Interested in making personalisation easier? Discover how Education Perfect Maths helps teachers personalise learning for every student. Sign up for a free trial today and see first-hand how smart tools can transform your classroom.
