5) ADAPT Strategy

Rationale:
I have come across many resources throughout other courses, which I am taking to be better prepared in the classroom. These resources will be a great asset during my teaching career and will help me implement my vision of an inclusive classroom. One particular strategy that I would like to include in my portfolio is the ADAPT strategy discussed throughout Nancy Hutchinson’s Inclusion of Exceptional Learners in Canadian Schools:

ADAPT Strategy (Hutchinson, 29-33)

The ADAPT strategy (for adapting teaching to include exceptional learners has the following five steps: Step 1: Accounts of students’ strengths and needs Step 2: Demands of the classroom Step 3: Adaptations Step 4: Perspectives and consequences Step 5: Teach and assess the match

This strategy is something that I can use throughout my career as a teacher. By understanding my students’ strengths and needs (getting to know them as individuals) and the environment and demands of the classroom I will be able to create better adaptations to help them succeed in their learning. Reviewing the perspective of the student and the success of the adaptation is another important component of the ADAPT strategy. As teachers we need to constantly reflect on our own practices, especially when working with students who have exceptionalities. Nancy Hutchinson’s text Teaching Exceptional Children and Adolescents- a Canadian Casebook describes Action Research:

Action Research (Teaching Exceptional Children…, 42)

“Action Research is a way to study your own teaching practice. The intent is to change and improve your practice. Whether you focus on one student or your whole class, the question is, “How can I help my students improve the quality of their learning?”” Identify a concern in your practice. Decide what you will do about this concern. Select the evidence that will allow you to make a judgment about what is happening before, during, and after your action research. Think about how you can validate any claims you might make about the success of your action research. Select evidence to show that you have done what you claim to have done.

Something else that I found really important while learning and participating in discussions is that the exceptional students who we work with are people first. We should be careful not to think of them only their exceptionality. Each one of them is different and unique:

Using Person First Language: Students with Disabilities (Hutchinson, 25)

Do not use or say	Do use or say
The blind Confined to a wheelchair Crippled The deaf The handicapped Mentally diseased/ Mentally retarded Normal Physically challenged	Person who is blind Person who uses a wheelchair/ wheelchair user. Person with a disability Person who is deaf/hard of hearing Person with a disability Person with an intellectual disability, person with schizophrenia…etc Person who is not disabled Person with a physical disability