Issue 28, Pages 18-19: Adaptive Teaching & SLCN

There is a change in approach with how we support children in the classroom. Gone are the days when differentiation was considered best practice, and here heralds a new dawn of adaptive teaching. As said within a recent conference I went to: “Differentiation started with the best intentions – it was never meant to be what it became. It seems we created a monster.” And what a monster it was, a 30-headed one, with a plethora of various worksheets, multiple sets of resources within the same class, so much work and preparation that even the most organised teacher felt like they were running around frantically, pacifying the mayhem by turning the whole shebang into a box-ticking exercise.

Adaptive teaching is the idea that all pupils, no matter their ability, should be involved and engaged in the same learning, helping to build a community where expectations are high, pupils feel included and they learn together. Evidence supports the benefits of inclusive education to academic achievement and social skill development.

Thus, the focus is on accommodation rather than differences. Certainly this is vital for our vast population of students with SLCN, of which there has been a whopping 42% increase since the 2015/16 school year.* The ambitious 90% literacy and numeracy targets, as outlined in the Opportunity for All White Paper, won’t be reached without the correct support for a child to speak and understand verbal language at an age-appropriate level.

So in line with the ‘Teachers’ Standards’, adaptive teaching is fluid, tailored and responsive to all. It should accommodate, not exclude, and should “meet individual needs without creating unnecessary workload”. Taking this into account, alongside the overwhelming prevalence of SLCN, it is therefore apt that we should focus on transient, flexible communication that can be easily adapted to support our pupils to access the curriculum. What I mean here is by using spoken language.

And where better to start than to look at language strategies. We can adapt and shape our language to scaffold learning, to promote understanding of topic matters. The four core strategies are the backbone of communication-related high quality teaching strategies. And they are easy to remember with the acronym: BECK (remember the 90’s singer?)

4 core strategies

B = Break it down

Sometimes we find ourselves talking in long sentences, which even as an adult listener is hard to take in, in one go. These can certainly be overwhelming for many children, especially those whose minds wander, have difficulties moving from one activity to the next or struggle to hold and process information. Children benefit from verbal information being broken down, so explain tasks using short simple sentences and give instructions in manageable bite-sized chunks. For those who struggle to provide a clear narrative when talking, provide prompt questions to support them to break down what they want to say and provide a coherent structure to what they are saying.

E = Explain it clearly

Rushing through an explanation, because – blimey, there isn’t much time left before lunch and the pupils look like they’re flagging – can be counterproductive. Believe me, the feeling you get when looking back at those 30 blank faces is really not worth it. It’s quality first teaching for a reason! When charting less familiar territory, we shouldn’t teach to memorise, rather reach for deeper, ingrained understanding. Be explicit with those tricky to understand terms (new vocabulary, idioms and metaphors). If you say it, explain it. Link the information with children’s past experiences, without forgetting to consider some students may have limited experiences outside of school. This is where your knowledge of those you teach becomes a useful inroad.

C = Check as you go

Rushing through an explanation, because – blimey, there isn’t much time left before lunch and the pupils look like they’re flagging – can be counterproductive. Believe me, the feeling you get when looking back at those 30 blank faces is really not worth it. It’s quality first teaching for a reason! When charting less familiar territory, we shouldn’t teach to memorise, rather reach for deeper, ingrained understanding. Be explicit with those tricky to understand terms (new vocabulary, idioms and metaphors). If you say it, explain it. Link the information with children’s past experiences, without forgetting to consider some students may have limited experiences outside of school. This is where your knowledge of those you teach becomes a useful inroad.

K = Keep it visual

Rushing through an explanation, because – blimey, there isn’t much time left before lunch and the pupils look like they’re flagging – can be counterproductive. Believe me, the feeling you get when looking back at those 30 blank faces is really not worth it. It’s quality first teaching for a reason! When charting less familiar territory, we shouldn’t teach to memorise, rather reach for deeper, ingrained understanding. Be explicit with those tricky to understand terms (new vocabulary, idioms and metaphors). If you say it, explain it. Link the information with children’s past experiences, without forgetting to consider some students may have limited experiences outside of school. This is where your knowledge of those you teach becomes a useful inroad.]

“There has been a whopping 42% increase of students with SLCN, since the 2015/16 school year.”

Indeed, it falls on us, as educators and therapists alike, to relentlessly seek, implement and refine strategies to support adaptive teaching, thus leading to better educational achievement and supporting all students to reach their fullest potential. With great hopes that this approach will not slide down the same slippery slopes as differentiation, let’s wave our “best inclusive teacher of all time” mugs aloft and get in the habit of using these four core strategies to create communication-friendly classrooms.