With AI dashboards, learning analytics and adaptive platforms shaping today’s classrooms, responsive teaching is helping educators act on insights instantly, making learning more personal and meaningful, say school leaders from across the GCC

Nov 10, 2025, Dubai: As learning becomes increasingly personalised, responsive teaching has emerged as a powerful approach that places student data, observation and reflection at the centre of decision-making. It enables educators to adjust lessons, provide timely feedback and guide students towards their goals, ensuring that every learner receives the right support to progress. 

But how ready are schools to put this philosophy into consistent practice? Do teachers today have the tools, training and flexibility required to interpret data and adapt instruction in real time? And are EdTech providers doing enough to make responsive, AI-enabled solutions accessible and effective in everyday classrooms?  

These are the questions we posed to school leaders across the region to understand how responsive teaching is being implemented, what challenges persist and how technology is shaping the way teachers respond to learners’ needs. 

Rania Hussein, Deputy Head of School, Swiss International Scientific School Dubai 

Responsive teaching represents a powerful shift towards evidence-informed practice. In essence, when teachers adapt their instruction in real time to meet the diverse and evolving needs of learners, they are engaging in adaptive teaching. This approach is being engaged by many schools in the Middle East as part of a broader move towards personalisation and inclusion. The region’s growing investment in professional development, using formative assessment, observation and student voice as key data points, has helped to shape learning experiences in a way that is both meaningful and targeted.  

Readiness to implement responsive teaching varies widely, and while many educators demonstrate the openness, flexibility and agility required to apply it, consistent training and structured support remains essential in order to ensure impactful application. As such, the role of school leadership is to foster a culture of reflection, collaboration and trust to reap the rewards of this transformative approach.  

Within this context, EdtTech companies continue to design tools that support adaptive instruction; and rather than replace the teacher’s professional judgement, AI-driven platforms are providing real-time insights into how to better support and accelerate learning. Importantly, however, is that their impact depends on accessibility, teacher training, and alignment with sound pedagogy. 

Ultimately, responsive teaching is not just about technology; it is about relationships, feedback and responsiveness to students as individuals. Schools who are able to combine skilled teachers, thoughtful use of data and the right digital tools are best placed to ensure every learner thrives. 

Dr. Robert Jackson, Head of School, ACS Doha 

Responsive teaching asks educators to interpret students’ thinking in real time and adapt instruction accordingly. That’s challenging even under normal circumstances. Today, teachers also face an overwhelming stream of ‘best practices’, relentless communication demands (parents, students and administrators) and rising documentation requirements. The paradox is clear: responsive teaching depends on meaningful evidence about learning, yet gathering and acting on that evidence often burdens the very teachers who need it most. 

AI sits right in this tension. Recent OECD data shows that about one-third of teachers across member countries use AI, with figures reaching 75% in Singapore and the UAE, but only 20% in Japan (OECD, 2025). Most current applications support planning and summarising rather than analysing participation or performance data that would drive responsive instruction. In the US, RAND finds that roughly a quarter of teachers used AI for planning or teaching in 2023–24, and about half of districts offered some AI training by fall 2024. 

Could AI make responsive teaching easier? Potentially. Tools that condense reading loads, draft exemplars, or surface misconceptions might free time for formative dialogue. Evidence on feedback, one of the highest-impact levers for learning, suggests real gains are possible if feedback is timely and actionable (Education Endowment Foundation). Yet AI is not a silver bullet. OECD and UNESCO flag concerns about equity, bias, privacy and overreliance on automation. 

Ultimately, the impact of AI on responsive teaching depends on how it’s used.  Applied thoughtfully, it can enhance insight and reclaim teacher time; imposed carelessly, it only adds. 

Tracy Crowder-Cloe, Principal, Cranleigh Abu Dhabi  

Responsive teaching is embedded in Cranleigh Abu Dhabi’s culture of personalised learning. What has evolved are the tools enabling teachers to understand students more precisely. Our purpose-built data dashboards consolidate all the student data a teacher needs (academic, pastoral, well-being, extra-curricular) in a quickly accessible and user-friendly manner. This empowers teachers to identify patterns early, adapt lessons, provide targeted interventions, meaning every student’s learning journey is ambitious and achievable. Our approach ensures no learner is without the right level of challenge and support.  

Inquiry drives our teaching philosophy. Through the Extended Project Qualification and International Project Qualification, students pursue self-selected research topics, deepening knowledge and scholarly confidence. Data rich insights strengthen these personalised pathways, helping teachers provide tailored feedback and guide students to excel.  

Of course, technology is only impactful when accompanied by strong professional development. Our comprehensive professional development programme has upskilled teachers on adaptive teaching, which utilises data and live progress in each lesson to maximise learning.  

The region is advancing rapidly, driven by ambitious educational goals and innovation. At Cranleigh, we adopt emerging technologies with purpose, ensuring AI enhances personalisation, progress and real classroom impact, not innovation for its own sake.  

Helen Booth, Principal, Downe House Muscat   

Responsive teaching is not a trend; it is what great teachers have always done. Static lesson plans are long a thing of the past and today’s classrooms require teachers to interpret learning as it happens and to adjust their instruction instantly.  

At Downe House Muscat, our Grid of Excellence, which defines great teaching, expects teachers to retrieve feedback during every lesson and adapt in real time. This might mean revisiting a concept, raising the level of challenge or reshaping the discussion according to what a Downe House student demonstrates in the moment.  

Technology is increasingly supporting this process, with digital platforms being used for assessment, feedback and learning analytics. Most recently, AI-driven tools have entered the market aimed at helping teachers to identify patterns, monitor progress and plan next steps with greater precision. 

Many schools are adopting these systems; however, their effectiveness depends upon teacher confidence and purposeful application rather than the technology itself. Much of the most effective responsive teaching still occurs without artificial intelligence.   

Technology can reveal data, but it cannot replace a teacher’s professional judgement or sensitivity to a pupil’s motivation, misconceptions or readiness to move forward.   

Responsive teaching is very much in action in Downe House Muscat already and we welcome ways to support our teachers’ work to be more intuitive, efficient and insightful by the use of technology. EdTech firms should be working with teachers to see how the technology can support, rather than replace the responsive teaching already in action.  

Michael Bloy, Principal, Repton Dubai   

Responsive teaching is often described as the next big educational trend. In truth, it has been quietly shaping great schools in the UAE for years. The KHDA’s framework has long encouraged evidence-informed reflection, assessment literacy and adaptability — the essential ingredients of a responsive classroom.  

At Repton Dubai and across the Cognita group, this culture is strengthened through the Teaching, Impact, Learning, Progress (TILP) model, which helps teachers use perceptive data from student voice and well-being to attendance and attainment, to inform decisions in real time. This turns assessment into a living feedback system, not a bureaucratic one.  

Teachers today are more than ready for this approach. In mature systems, formative assessment and adaptive instruction are part of daily practice. The next step is refinement: creating the conditions that allow teachers to interpret data thoughtfully, collaborate meaningfully and act with precision. When this happens, responsiveness becomes less a technique and more a professional instinct.  

Technology and AI are extending what’s possible. Adaptive testing and AI tutors already personalise learning and provide powerful diagnostic insight. Within Cognita, we are exploring this further through FLINT, a new global platform for Cognita that uses AI to help educators understand not only what students know, but how they think, question and sometimes shortcut their learning.  

The future of responsive teaching lies in this partnership: intelligent data, purposeful technology and the enduring human judgement of great teachers. 

Nicholas Rickford, Principal, Sunmarke School   

The best schools in the region are harnessing a range of digital tools in support of high-quality adaptive teaching. At Sunmarke, our teachers use a bespoke Master GPT Portal, developed in-house, to access more than 25 custom tools for planning, ReACT feedback, inclusion adaptations and multilingual scaffolds. This infrastructure reduces workload and sharpens diagnosis; for example, science marking time has halved through AI-generated ReACT feedback and students benefit from built-in follow-up tasks.   

Through signature programmes in AI, positive education, performing arts, sports, STEAM and robotics, we have taken responsive teaching initiatives from small scale pilots into routine, embedded practice across the school. Our leadership dashboards monitor the impact of responsive teaching techniques in real time, and an AI Acceptable Use Policy provides staff with online safety expectations and supports ethical classroom practice. This whole-school model shows how responsive teaching can scale when governance, tools and training are well aligned.  

When AI is designed to reduce administration, it amplifies the human work that matters most in helping students to move forward in their learning. In our school, the tech is being used by humanities teachers to generate scaffolded tasks, and our English Language learners receive instant translation and levelled practice. The time saved is reallocated to targeted feedback and small group re-teaching, which are key facets of responsive teaching.   

Progress is strong yet schools still need to put in place ethics education, integrity checks and adaptive planning to turn tools into daily impact. This is why our school built a portal, integrity GPT and planning GPTs. Vendors that match our emphasis on safe access, usage analytics and inclusion features best enable responsive practice. Edtech must close the gap between powerful tools and practical classroom adoption.  

Dr Lisa Johnson, Principal, American Academy for Girls  

At the American Academy for Girls, responsive teaching is the heartbeat of our classrooms. In our Reggio-inspired Early Years, responsiveness forms the very foundation of practice, as teachers observe, document and respond to children’s natural curiosity and evolving interests.  

Across the school, we apply the same philosophy through our AAG Core Competencies, which are based on John Hattie’s Visible Learning framework. Teachers and students co-construct success criteria, use formative data to guide next steps, and reflect on progress in real time. Insights from MAP, CAT4 and GL’s Pupil Attitudes to Self and School survey are combined into a single, comprehensive profile, ensuring teachers have a complete picture of each learner’s capabilities before planning lessons.  

To make responsiveness more intentional, we use a standard lesson-planning template that prompts teachers to ask AI to predict possible learning questions, misconceptions and extension pathways. This ensures teachers enter lessons prepared for the many directions learning might take, so responses to student needs are proactive, not reactive.  

While technology supports decision-making, the teacher remains central. Responsive teaching at AAG is about professional agility grounded in evidence and empathy where data informs but relationships drive the learning journey. It ensures that every girl is both seen and supported as she takes ownership of her growth and learning. 

Emily Hopkinson, Principal, The English College  

At The English College Dubai, responsive and adaptive teaching is not a new trend; it has been central to our practice for several years. Our bespoke REMSAP framework (Review, Explain, Model, Scaffold, Apply, Practise), grounded in Rosenshine’s Principles of Instruction, has been continuously refined since 2020 to ensure every learner is challenged, supported and inspired.  

Teachers use contextual and attainment data before lessons to plan appropriately for all learners. During lessons, formative assessment strategies such as questioning, feedback, digital tools and mini whiteboards provide live insights into understanding. This real-time information allows teachers to adjust their instruction dynamically, creating what we call a ‘good struggle’: the ideal balance of challenge and support that deepens learning without discouraging effort.  

As part of the International Schools Partnership, we share a collective commitment to evidence-based practice and continuous improvement. While AI and EdTech platforms provide valuable analytics, true responsiveness still depends on teacher expertise, professional judgement and strong relationships. Technology can inform, but it cannot replace the deep understanding that comes from knowing each learner well. At The English College, we proudly blend innovation with evidence-based pedagogy to deliver consistently adaptive, high-impact teaching.  

Gillian Hammond, Principal, Aspen Heights British School   

Aspen Heights integrates innovative digital tools such as Century AI, Accelerated Reader and Times Table Rock Stars to gather insights into pupil performance. Teachers use this information to refine instruction, personalise support and extend challenge for high achievers. Backed by ongoing professional development, Aspen Heights’ educators are equipped to make evidence-informed decisions that respond to individual learning needs.