"You get to create 3D
models, do research, and exhibitions. You do projects. You come
up with your own topics and problems. You create the questions
and answer them. You write theme, plot, and character essays.
You do visuals. [The teachers] don't want it to be boring for
you." --a student at
Vanguard High School, New York City
"[Flexible scheduling
and small pupil loads mean that] I can use in-depth approaches
and assign college level research projects. For two months,
each morning, we teach students research skills and essay skills
so that they can do a minimum 20-page research paper in history.
They choose the topic. We develop their topic together. We develop
an angle to the topic. I take them to the Donnell Library. First
I call the librarian and she gets books on their topics together.
They browse through different books, take notes, and order their
thoughts in an outline. Then, the kids have to listen to their
teachers and peers criticizing their work. Then they have to
rewrite. They have to cite references, show evidence, and prove
their thesis." --a teacher at Vanguard High School,
New York City
Access to challenging curriculum and assignments does
not automatically translate into student capacity to succeed. High
standards cannot work without high supports. Successful small schools
not only focus on what kids need to learn, but also on how they
learn.
Focus
on Learning The more we know about how people learn,
the more we understand that teaching must take account of individual
differences. Students have different pathways and approaches to
learning that enable them to process information and to make sense
of their experiences. One out of every eight American children today
is identified as having “learning disabilities” –
not because huge numbers of our children are “disabled,”
but because they, like many other children who are not so labeled,
have distinct learning needs (Levine, 2000). We are beginning to
recognize that the traditional classroom, with a teacher in the
front of the room lecturing to rows of students, is often ineffective
if it is the only pathway to learning. Successful schools adjust
their teaching modes to meet students where they are.
Psychologist Robert Glaser (1990) calls this
kind of teaching an adaptive pedagogy. He argues that 21st century
schools must shift from a selective mode – “characterized
by minimal variation in the conditions for learning” in which
“a narrow range of instructional options and a limited number
of ways to succeed are available” – to an adaptive mode
in which “the educational environment can provide for a range
of opportunities for success. Modes of teaching are adjusted to
individuals – their backgrounds, talents, interests, and the
nature of past performance” (pp. 16-17).
Multiple
Instructional Strategies An adaptive pedagogy means using multiple
instructional strategies that support active learning and give students
different entry points to learning, allowing them to use what Howard
Gardner calls their multiple intelligences (1997). In effective
classrooms, teachers use diverse strategies ranging from whole class
lecture and recitation to guided inquiry, small group work, discussions,
independent work, projects, experiments, book and internet research,
constructions of models and products, use of technology and the
arts for accessing and expressing ideas, and teacher interaction
with individuals and small groups. In these classrooms, students
attend to short-term tasks as well as long-term projects and are
engaged in activities aimed at the mastery of facts as well as in-depth
understanding.
Group
Work Small group work is common, but it goes
beyond the kind of self-teaching that often characterizes unstructured
group work in many schools: It is highly structured through activity
guides that provide substantial scaffolding, and it is accompanied
by active teacher coaching and assistance. When groups have authentic,
open-ended tasks to perform that require different kinds of skills
and abilities and rely on roles that support distributed expertise
among the members, they enable what educators Elizabeth Cohen and
Rachel Lotan (1994, 1997) call complex instruction, an approach
that has been found to support increased achievement that is also
more equitably distributed.
Explicit
Teaching of Academic Skills A key element of adaptive pedagogy is
the explicit teaching of academic skills, which is especially important
in high school. Much high school teaching assumes that students
have already mastered advanced skills in reading, writing, and inquiry.
Yet many ninth graders are seriously under-prepared for high school;
some can only read at a basic level, are quickly swamped by the
demands of serious academic texts, and do not know how to conduct
research, synthesize information, or plan and structure a paper,
experiment, or project.
Scaffolding Teachers in effective schools work to
ensure that students are taught the skills they need to develop
and will be expected to apply. Instead of reducing the demands of
the curriculum, the schools construct a curriculum that explicitly
teaches students how to study, how to approach academic tasks, how
to read and write at a college level, and how to evaluate their
own and others’ work. Teachers also provide careful scaffolding
for student tasks: Instead of simply asking students to produce
a polished research paper, for example, they lead students through
a step-by-step process, from framing a question to finding sources
to taking notes to developing a thesis to outlining to writing and
editing, which leads them to a high-quality finished product. Such
instruction requires intense and systematic work on the part of
teachers, but it is essential if all students are to meet high standards.
Culture
of Revision and Redemption Another important characteristic of schools
with an adaptive pedagogy is a learning environment where teachers
are aware of what students are thinking, and where the curriculum
does not move on when students do not learn immediately. Unlike
the traditional “teach, test, and hope for the best”
approach, adaptive pedagogy does not leave students behind. Adaptive
teachers don’t say, “You got a C-” on this assignment
and then move on to the next unit without looking back. Instead,
they give students the opportunity to tackle difficult tasks without
fear of failure by promoting a culture of revision and redemption
that encourages students to attempt challenging work, provides continual
opportunities for practice and revision, and supports students in
developing the courage and confidence to work continuously to improve
in their successive efforts. Within the guidelines of a performance
assessment system, students can revise a piece of work again and
again until it becomes better, and it becomes better still, finally
meeting the standards the school has set. That’s how quality
performances are developed in the real world, whether you think
about an Olympic skater, a musician, an athlete, or an academic
and scholar.
Extra
Support Schools that are successful with all learners
often use after-school time and Saturdays to provide extra support
outside of class. In many cases, schools collaborate with volunteer
programs to secure tutors who can assist students with reading,
writing, and math skills. Others use peer tutoring or faculty assistance
to provide additional help to struggling students. However a school
chooses to provide support, the emphasis in successful schools is
on adding learning opportunities – extra classes, tutoring
sessions, or a resource room staffed by a skilled special educator
where students can come for support on their assignments –
not pulling kids out of class. English language learners and students
with particular learning needs stay in the classroom and get support
there, and then they get additional support outside the classroom.
Strong
Relationships Of course, schools cannot implement an
adaptive pedagogy unless they are already redesigned to promote
strong relationships between teachers and students. A school’s
staffing model and schedule must support this kind of curriculum
by providing lower pupil loads for teachers, smaller class sizes,
longer teaching blocks, and fewer courses for students to take at
a time. The caring relationships that result are just as integral
to students’ success as are more formal interventions.
