The Adaptive Dimension represents a comprehensive view of learners. From this perspective, student diversity is regarded as the norm to be valued, and curriculum, instruction, and the learning environment are regarded as the variables that must be adapted to the needs of the student rather than as a set of uniform predetermined expectations to which the student must adjust.
Celebrating and accommodating student diversity rather than striving for uniformity in student attitudes and achievements demands a different perspective of the teacher's role. The teacher is viewed as the facilitator of learning in the classroom. Curriculum is viewed as something to be manipulated by the teacher. Independence, freedom to make important decisions regarding adaptations, support for experimentation with all facets of teaching, encouragement to break away from traditional approaches to learning and teaching, and collaboration with colleagues should all be encouraged through administrative support that recognizes teachers as knowledgeable and capable professionals.
As stated earlier, the Adaptive Dimension variables are:
Adaptations to one or more of these variables are made in accordance with the strengths, needs, and interests of the learner. It is the teacher who assesses the needs and strengths of the learner. It follows that the teacher makes the appropriate educational program for each student. The student is the focus of these interrelated decisions, as shown in Figure 5.
Adaptive Dimension Variables
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Figure 5
The key variable that informs and determines the type and extent of adaptations is the learner. Any adaptation must begin with the developmental level, abilities, aptitudes, motivation, interests, cultural backgrounds, and achievement level of each learner.
Learning Styles
When teachers understand the concept of learning styles and apply that knowledge in their interactions with students, those students are more likely to enjoy their school experiences and to achieve academic success (Butler, 1987). By encouraging students to understand their learning styles and by providing learning options based on these learning styles, teachers can create a supportive classroom environment that is conducive to maximizing student academic potential.
Cognitive Development
A general understanding of cognitive development, as well as the ability to assess the level of cognitive development in individual students, is also a necessary prerequisite to adaptation. Students of the same chronological age in the same classroom may be at quite different stages of development in terms of their capacity to interact with curriculum content and to benefit from specific instructional strategies. They may also differ in experiential background and degree of prior knowledge they bring to the learning experience. It is important that teachers know what types of learning tasks are appropriate for different levels of cognitive development in order to make the necessary adjustments in the learning experience.
Physical Development
Knowledge of learning styles and cognitive functioning level are important aspects of the larger process of recognizing and accommodating individual differences in the classroom. Knowledge of the physical development of learners is also important. Large muscle and small muscle development, visual-motor coordination, and development of spatial relations are just a few of the factors in a student's physical development that have important implications for the student's ability to succeed in tasks commonly associated with school learning. A clear understanding of the kinds of physical factors affecting a student's ability to learn and a willingness to adapt curriculum and instruction to accommodate differences in physical development are critical to effective teaching.
Social and Emotional Development
The social and emotional development of students must be taken into consideration when the teacher is observing students and planning the type and extent of adaptations required to support student learning. In addition to knowing about typical social and emotional development in children, the teacher must also consider such things as social and cultural factors, family constructs, home environment, and the experiential background of individual children that might create atypical patterns of development. Problems that might occur could potentially be alleviated by adaptations to the learning experience.
Multiple Intelligences
Understanding the role of intelligence in academic performance and maintaining the ability to assist students to maximize their intellectual strengths are essential parts of the teacher's role. Recent research in the area of intelligence supports the view of multiple intelligences (the concept of an individual having varying levels of aptitude toward e.g., numeracy and abstract thinking) as opposed to earlier views of intelligence as a single measurable attribute (Gardner, 1983; Kaufman, 1979; Sternberg, 1988; Ysseldyke, 1988). Many researchers accept the general premise that intelligence involves selecting, assessing, and adapting to or shaping the environment (Feuerstein, 1980; Sternberg, 1985, 1986). Although the components of intelligence may be universal, the ability to use those components to shape and to adapt to specific environmental situations varies from one individual to another. It might be argued that "how much" intelligence an individual has is less important than how well that individual uses intelligence to deal effectively with the environment. If this is the case, the role of the teacher is twofold: first, to determine the strengths and weaknesses of students in terms of their various types of intelligence; and second, to help students to maximize their strengths and compensate for weaknesses. Because each learner is unique in terms of the combination of intelligences, strengths, and weaknesses, the teacher must exercise professional decision making to determine which adaptations to curriculum, instruction, and learning environment, if any, are required to help students to maximize their learning potential.
Interests
Students' interests should be one of the major forces behind learning in the classroom. Recognizing that motivation is often intrinsic, it is essential that the classroom teacher capitalize on the abilities and interests of students in developing an appropriate instructional program. Operating within the parameters of Core Curriculum, it is the teacher’s responsibility to become familiar with the individual interests and abilities of each student and to use that knowledge to make the appropriate adaptations. By so doing, the teacher helps students to explore and to expand both their interests and their abilities in a variety of ways.
Self Concept
It is essential that the classroom teacher recognize the importance of self concept as a critical factor in the social, emotional, and academic development of students. Positive interaction with parents and significant others in a child's early years is an important factor in the development of a healthy self concept. Another factor is the interaction that takes place at school (Frey & Carlock, 1989). It is important that the classroom teacher do everything possible to structure learning experiences in the classroom in a manner that will help students to develop positive perceptions of themselves as individuals and as competent learners.
Having assessed the strengths and the needs of the learner, the teacher determines whether or not adaptation is required in order to provide the most appropriate educational program. As indicated in Figure 5, the teacher has many options to consider in the process of adaptation. The first to be discussed is the learning environment.
Included in the learning environment are elements such as:
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Classroom Climate
Classroom climate, which includes the norms, understandings, expectations, and values teachers and students come to share in their daily interactions, can have a major impact on the learner. While most learners respond best in a climate that is warm and supportive, there may be significant differences in their individual needs. Certain aspects of a classroom environment may be very important for one learner and inconsequential for another. For example, some students may prefer to work independently in a quiet, orderly, structured environment while others may prefer a more collaborative and interactive learning environment (Treffinger & Barton, 1989). Others need frequent verbal interaction for feedback and encouragement. Although the teacher cannot possibly accommodate the preferences of each student all of the time, an awareness of student preferences allows the teacher to accommodate individual preferences some of the time, while simultaneously developing a student's capacity to work in a variety of learning environments.
Physical Setting
The physical setting includes variations in environmental factors such as noise level, light, temperature, ventilation, room arrangement, and times of day for optimum learning, which may have an impact upon student learning (Dunn & Dunn, 1975, 1978). While it is possible to place too much emphasis on environmental elements, it is important that the teacher take these elements into account as part of preplanning for a learning environment that maximizes student learning potential. In addition, such considerations as appropriate furnishings, seating arrangements, and use of space are also important factors in promoting a classroom environment that is conducive to learning.
Grouping Students For Instruction
Historically the solution for addressing student diversity within the classroom has been to assess similarities in learning characteristics and to put those students with similar characteristics together in instructional groups (Slavin, 1989). In other words, students have been grouped within the classroom or differentiated into different programs or segregated classes on the basis of perceived academic ability. According to Shepard and Smith (1989) and Slavin, (1986, 1989), when students are divided into groups or classrooms according to perceived ability, the gap between the most successful and least successful students tends to widen over time. Often teacher expectations change when students are labelled as slow learners or gifted learners. There are alternatives to homogeneous grouping practices that do not isolate students and do not foster stereotypes or limit teacher expectations (Archambault, 1989; Braddock & McPartland, 1990). Some of these alternatives include: heterogeneous cooperative learning groups, peer tutoring plans, flexible cross-grade tutoring plans, and groupings that vary from time to time or from subject area to subject area. It is recommended that teachers consult the Saskatchewan Education publication, Instructional Approaches: A Framework for Professional Practice (1991), for more detailed information on effective grouping practices and examples of different kinds of small instructional groups.
Technical Support and Support Personnel
Technical supports are currently available to both students and teachers. For example, some students may require a brailler, voice synthesizer, or personal amplification system in order to derive maximum benefit from classroom instruction. In addition, the teacher may choose to meet some individual needs through the use of such things as computer assisted instruction, computer mediated instruction, interactive video instruction, and the use of electronic data bases (Behrmann, 1984; Garvey, 1982; Levin, Glass & Meister, 1987).
There are times when the classroom teacher requires the services of a variety of support personnel in order to make the necessary adaptations to meet student needs. Consultative services may be obtained from school-based or system-based personnel. Professionals such as speech and language pathologists, school psychologists, physiotherapists, nurses, social workers, and counsellors may team with the classroom teacher to assist in program planning. In addition, the appropriate use of paraprofessionals and volunteers may increase the amount of time teachers spend interacting with students. Some of the tasks that might be performed by paraprofessionals and volunteers include:
It is important that teachers understand that adaptations designed to meet individual needs must be undertaken with a view to helping them achieve the approved curriculum foundational objectives, not with the view of changing or reducing the basic objectives.
Assessment of Curriculum Concepts
The first step in curriculum adaptation involves an examination of curriculum concepts and a determination of the knowledge, skills, and attitudes essential in the educational program of all students. Curriculum guides are a valuable support for the teacher in this regard. Depending upon the cognitive development of individual learners, as well as a number of other factors, such as interest and motivation, it may be necessary to omit, substitute, or add a specific curriculum concept without jeopardizing the foundational objectives of the course. The principles of differentiated curriculum (Kaplan, 1979; Maker, 1982) may be a useful guide for teachers seeking to meet individual interests and individual needs while still ensuring that each student is able to attain the majority of approved foundational objectives for a particular course of study.
Variations to Curriculum Content
The determination of essential content, the substitution of equivalent content, and the addition of supplemental content are the responsibility of the classroom teacher. The teacher may wish to seek suggestions, materials, and support from colleagues, school and system-based consultants, school administrators, special education teachers, and Saskatchewan Education personnel.
The complexity of concepts, including the degree of abstraction and the sophistication of thinking required to comprehend those concepts, must be considered by the teacher in planning adaptations to curriculum content. While some students require the challenge of abstract concepts using the skills of synthesis and evaluation, others need concrete examples to assist them in their thinking processes.
Resource-based learning is a particularly effective means of varying content by using resource materials that best suit students' needs (e.g., reference books, tape recordings, filmstrips). This allows students, for example, to develop research topics or questions appropriate for them and to use materials suited to their own ability level, language proficiency, preferred learning style, and cultural orientation. Means of reporting can also vary from traditional written reports and oral presentations to audio-visual presentations, visual journals, or kinesthetic activities.
Many teachers choose theme or context-based teaching as a way to vary content for students. They also often adjust content by monitoring their use of vocabulary. By using both familiar and new vocabulary in appropriate contexts, teachers can challenge all students, regardless of the prior knowledge or experience they possess.
Selection of Curriculum Resources
Teachers may adapt curriculum content through their selection of instructional materials. Resource-based learning offers the teacher flexibility in providing print and non-print materials that are appropriate for the variations in language development, literacy levels, ability, aptitude, and interests found in every classroom. Some students may require materials that provide basic information on a topic while other students in the same class may require advanced materials on the same topic. Using a variety of print and non-print materials ensures that all students will have instructional resources to match their level of competency.
If a student cannot achieve the foundational objectives in most courses of study in the regular program, even with adaptations, then movement has occurred beyond the limits of the regular approved program and a modified or an alternative education program must be initiated. Information on the development and the approval process for locally modified courses and alternative education programs is contained in Policy and Procedures: Locally Developed and Modified Courses, and Alternative Education Programs (Saskatchewan Education, 1992).
Student Evaluation
As stated in Student Evaluation: A Teacher Handbook (Saskatchewan Education, 1991)
| ... student evaluation should be an integral part of good teaching practice ... student evaluation should be planned, tied to the intended outcomes of the curriculum, and be capable of meeting individual student needs. (p. 2) |
Within the context of the Adaptive Dimension, evaluation practices must also be adjusted, provided that such adjustments do not compromise the integrity of the formally stated foundational objectives. Teachers are advised to consult appropriate sections of Chapter Two in Student Evaluation: A Teacher Handbook (Saskatchewan Education, 1991) for specific suggestions regarding evaluation of students who require curricular adaptations in order to maximize their learning potential.
Instructional Strategies, Methods, and Skills
Adapting instruction refers to the selection of appropriate instructional strategies, methods, and skills for all students. This does not mean that teachers must instruct every student in the class differently. Rather, teachers plan instructional practice with every student in mind so that every student has an opportunity to learn.
The teacher has options when making instructional decisions regarding the approved curriculum.
Decisions regarding these choices are based on ongoing assessment and evaluation and are always dynamic and changing. Instructional decisions recognize that students' needs may vary from subject to subject, as well as over time.
Instructional Approaches: A Framework for Professional Practice (Saskatchewan Education, 1991) offers more detailed information about specific strategies, methods, and skills that teachers may employ in the delivery of curriculum to meet diverse needs.
Some of the ideas and suggestions described in this document are particularly appropriate for students requiring instructional adaptations. Cooperative teaching, cooperative learning, and peer tutoring are three instructional methods that may be of particular benefit to students requiring instructional adaptations.
Cooperative teaching involves co-teaching by two or more teachers in order to meet the special needs of a single student or small group of students in the classroom. In one type of cooperative teaching two teachers work together on the same curriculum content. One teacher instructs in advance those students who need assistance with such things as vocabulary, concepts, study skills, and research skills that will be required in the lessons to be delivered by the other teacher in the upcoming days or weeks (Bauwens et al, 1989). In another type of cooperative teaching one teacher provides instruction in the curriculum content while the other teacher provides instruction in such things as reading, writing, and organizational skills (Ruhl, Hughes & Schloss, 1987). This teaching method lends itself well to the adaptive dimension because, in this partnership, one teacher analyzes the adaptations required and the other teacher provides the appropriate adjustments.
Cooperative learning involves instruction through small heterogeneous groups. Objectives are established for both academic and interpersonal collaboration among the members of the groups. Relationships among students with widely varying needs can improve significantly when schools are committed to the principles of cooperative learning. In addition, researchers have demonstrated that students of all ages and ability levels generally perform at a higher academic level and retain what they have learned better when they participate in cooperative learning experiences as compared to when they work independently (Johnson & Johnson, 1989; Lloyd, Crowley, Kohler & Strain, 1988; Slavin, 1988).
Peer tutoring and cross-age tutoring have been found to be very effective in increasing academic achievement among students experiencing academic difficulties. In addition to academic gains for the students being tutored, researchers have shown that there can be motivational, social, and academic benefits for both tutors and learners (Jenkins & Jenkins, 1985; 1987).
Pacing and Timing Factors
Often an adjustment to the pacing of instruction is all that is required to allow the learner to obtain maximum benefit from instruction. Some students require less time to assimilate curricular concepts and need to be provided with opportunities to expand their knowledge and extend their understanding of concepts by working independently on individual or small group projects. Other students may be able to assimilate the concepts in a particular lesson or course of study only when the introduction of these new concepts occurs at a slower pace. Finally, some students may be able to comprehend the curricular concepts being presented, but for a variety of reasons may require additional time to complete assignments and to write examinations in order to demonstrate what they have learned.
Getting to know students is an evolving interactive process that is essential to good teaching practice. When making programming decisions, it is important that the teacher know as much as possible about each learner. Because good assessment practices are essential for good program decisions, caution should always be taken to choose assessment instruments and techniques that are fair, unbiased, and most appropriate. Saskatchewan Education has prepared a number of documents to alert teachers to the possibilities of bias in curriculum, instructional practices, evaluation practices, and the selection of materials. Teachers are encouraged to examine the following Saskatchewan Education publications for guidance and support in the provision of fair and unbiased educational assessment and appropriate programming for all students.
In addition to considerations of possible bias in assessment, it is also important that teachers be cognizant of the need for dynamic, as opposed to static, approaches to assessment. In other words, approaches to assessment must be integrated with curriculum and instruction and must be an integral part of the learning process. Assessment and teaching are one integrated process linked by the evaluative and reflective thinking of both the teacher and the learner. With dynamic assessments, teachers can alter the ways in which a task is presented, the nature of the task, and the expected response mode.
Effective assessment should lead to the establishment of a student performance baseline. Instead of measuring student progress according to a set of predetermined criteria for a specific grade level, progress for each learner is measured against the student's performance baseline. This approach to assessment reduces the potential for negative consequences associated with competition and comparisons between students within the classroom. It encourages teachers to focus on individual needs and individual progress (Strickland & lturnbull, 1990). For more detailed information on student assessment and specific techniques for use with students requiring adaptations, teachers are referred to the document Student Evaluation: A Teacher Handbook (Saskatchewan Education, 1991).
Networking, consultation, and collaboration with parents/guardians and professional colleagues are important ways to enhance the teacher's decision-making effectiveness. Shared responsibility for decision making and delivery of appropriate programming invites classroom teachers, special education teachers, school administrators, other professionals, and support staff to contribute to the formulation of an effective adaptation plan. Once the classroom teacher has accumulated sufficient information about the learner’s abilities, aptitudes, interests, and performance baseline, the appropriate consultation and collaboration with parents/guardians, colleagues, and others can occur. With input from others, the teacher can then exercise professional judgment in determining the best course of action.
It is the teacher who is the facilitator of learning. First, the strengths, interests, and the needs of the learners are assessed. The teacher makes the adaptations that are deemed necessary in order to maximize the learning potential of each student. The professional judgment of the teacher is the critical factor in decision making with respect to adaptations. The authority and the responsibility to make the curricular, instructional, and reaming environment adaptations that will assist students to achieve established curriculum objectives in Saskatchewan schools rests with the teacher.