Notes on Adaptive Teaching and Tailored Instruction

Session Aims

  • Adapting Teaching: Increasing pupil success through targeted support for struggling pupils (CCF 5.3).

  • Distinction in Tasks: Adaptive teaching loses value if it creates distinct tasks or lowers expectations for certain pupils (CCF 5.4).

  • Learning Styles Misconception: No evidence supports distinct learning styles; tailoring lessons to them is generally unhelpful (CCF 5.6).

  • Support for SEND: Additional support required for pupils with special educational needs or disabilities; collaboration is key (CCF 5.7).

Definition of Adaptive Teaching

  • Adaptive Teaching: A teaching method that customizes lessons according to individual students' needs, recognizing that students have diverse learning pathways and starting points.

Key Components of Adaptive Teaching

  • Personalisation: Customize instruction based on unique student needs and abilities.

  • Ongoing Assessment: Continuously assess student progress to inform instructions and make necessary adjustments.

  • Flexibility: Ability to adjust teaching methods as per the evolving needs of the students.

  • Collaboration: Work with teachers, students, and parents to foster student learning.

  • Differentiation: Employ various instructional strategies/materials to cater to diverse learning needs.

  • Self-directed Learning: Encourage students to engage actively in their own learning and set personal goals.

Anticipating Barriers to Learning

  • Barriers: Recognize specific challenges like different prior knowledge levels, vocabulary issues, special educational needs, decoding difficulties, cultural experiences, misconceptions, and more.

  • Planning to Address Barriers:

  • Provide background knowledge and context (e.g., visuals, videos).

  • Teach clear vocabulary related to the lessons.

  • Scaffold learning and promote accessibility (e.g., clarity, proximity, visibility).

  • Prepare models and provide targeted support.

Adapted Teaching Plan - Structure

  • Pupil/Group: Identify the students involved.

  • Lesson Objective: Clearly state goals.

  • Barriers to Learning: Specify challenges that students face.

  • Adaptations Required: Detail adjustments in teaching strategies or materials.

  • Resources Needed: List any necessary resources.

  • Adult Support Required: Identify any additional support required from teaching staff.

In-the-Moment Adaptations

  • Adjust difficulty and challenge

  • Change language for clarity

  • Clarify tasks or provide structured steps

  • Highlight essential content

  • Use peer tutoring or group work for enhanced understanding

  • Re-explain concepts in diverse ways

Significant Adaptations for SEND

  • Microadaptations: Minor adjustments throughout lessons, responding to immediate learning needs (e.g., flexible grouping).

  • Significant Adaptations: More substantial changes for students with learning difficulties, ensuring adjustments meet their needs.

Inclusion vs. Segregation

  • Discuss various concepts: Exclusion, segregation, integration, and inclusion based on the context of teaching and supporting diverse learners.

Real-life Teacher Scenario

  • Importance of understanding both the general curriculum expectations and the specific capabilities of individual students with SEND to make appropriate adjustments.

  • Practical adaptations include establishing workstations, utilizing supportive materials and technology, and creating a conducive learning environment to enhance engagement and self-esteem.

Things to Try in Class

  1. Identify Barriers: Regularly build opportunities to pinpoint barriers in lessons.

  2. Review Adaptations: Consistently evaluate the effectiveness of current adaptations and strive for improvement.

  3. Flexibility: Maintain openness to adjustments based on ongoing assessments of student readiness.

  4. Expectation of Adaptation: Acknowledge that not all challenges can be planned for in advance.

Understanding adaptive teaching principles can greatly enhance your practice as a teacher by allowing you to customize your lessons for diverse student needs. Key impacts include:

  • Targeted Support: You'll be better equipped to identify and address barriers that different students face, thereby increasing their success and engagement.

  • Flexibility in Teaching: The ability to adapt your teaching methods and strategies in real-time according to student responses will improve overall classroom dynamics.

  • Collaborative Teaching Approaches: Emphasizing collaboration with other educators, parents, and specialists can help in providing more comprehensive support for students, particularly those with special educational needs or disabilities.

  • Continuous Assessment: Ongoing assessment will inform your instructional practices, helping you to recognize when and how to adjust instruction to meet the evolving needs of your students.

  • Promotion of Self-Directed Learning: Encouraging students to actively participate in their own learning fosters independence and goal-setting skills.

  • Inclusion Focus: Knowing how to implement both micro and significant adaptations ensures that all students, including those with SEND, are included and supported within the learning environment.