Article Response 4: Accommodating Diversity by Analyzing Practices of Teaching (ADAPT)

I loved this article. In fact, I have loved all the articles I have read. They need to be read, and reread, and shared, and discussed at staff meetings and in PLCs. They will help us continue to move forward.

Lee and Picanco, the authors of this article, use the acronym "ADAPT" to describe their method of improving student achievement: Accommodating Diversity by Analyzing Practices of Teaching. They acknowledge that some schools are slow to implement new instructional approaches, and that for students with special needs the implementation may lag even further behind. (see "Fire and Light" metaphor in Article 3 response!) The power in this article is that the practices they cite are validated by research.

Instructional practices are measured against the four phases of learning:

1. acquisition - initial and explicit exposure to content
2. proficiency or fluency - automaticity through repeated practice
3. maintenance - using the skill without supervision
4. generalization - applying the skills to other situations

Evidence of this, in current initiatives in our province, include the "gradual release of responsibility", balanced literacy (modelled, shared, guided and independent reading and writing), and levels of questioning in math.

The teacher, as careful observer, is continually assessing where each child is in his/her phase of learning, and groups are flexible and changing. This model is akin to the "adjustable seat" Todd Rose spoke of. "... all students are working on a similar concept or skill, but at their appropriate readiness levels within the phases of learning (p. 138)."

The authors go on to advocate for the use of UDL principles, and co-teaching to facilitate differentiation. The potential is there. "Differentiated instruction, UDL, and co-teaching can be used effectively in concert with planning for the phases of learning to create optimal learning experiences for students (p.143)." We only have to A.D.A.P.T.