Teacher Training Institute (Dnieper, Ukraine)
Adaptation refers to
both a process and its outcome, leading to many interpretations and much
debate. The origin of this semantic duality is related to the epistemological
rupture that occurred during the 19th century when it collided with the
emerging Theory of Evolution and established Creationism. The temporal scale of
Evolution is an abstract concept that is outside the realm of immediate human
perception, which makes the adaptation debate all the more complex. However,
adaptation became a central concept in several major social disciplines, such
as psychology, anthropology and geography, as well as in many fields of pedagogy.
This article is not only important, the term
"adaptation", but the term "pedagogy".
"Pedagogy" is a broad term that
may be defined in many ways; thus, we provide our definition and explanation of
pedagogy as a way of demonstrating CIDER's commitment to student learning and
teaching efficacy. "Pedagogy"
represents the creation of environments designed to foster learning. "Learner-centered"
pedagogy represents the creation of environments designed to foster
learning through the application of tenets of cognitive processing, social
engagement, and behavioral adaptation that align with learners' natural
dispositions. "Scholary" learner-centered pedagogy
represents the conscious creation of environments designed to foster
learning through the application of tenets of cognitive processing, social
engagement, and behavioral adaptation that align with learners' natural
dispositions based on principles of teaching and learning developed
through theoretical and empirical research.
Throughout
its transdisciplinary polysemy, the concept of adaptation consists of pertinent
viewpoints for clarifying adaptation to climate change or even for the environment
sciences in general as environment, interdisciplinarity and adaptation can be
easily linked.
Indeed, today the notion of adaptation capacity includes numerous
interdisciplinary aspects of the theme of the environment. It is because of
this interdisciplinarity that the concept of adaptation becomes a means for
reflecting upon the link between the environment and society in a systemic
perspective of reciprocal actions (Reghezza, 2007). There is, therefore, a
growing interest in the study and research of solutions to the problem of
multifactorial origins descended from actual acceleration of global
environmental and socio-economic changes[1].
The pedagogy of
adaptation is seen as a system. A system with adaptation usually
comprises three subsystems (Brusilovsky, 2001):
1)
domain model,
which includes the main entities in the reference framework, the concepts that
define the system and their relations. The domain model determines the
theoretical structure of the system and it is the basis for data modeling;
2)
user model,
which describes properties that characterize users and enrich the services
offered to them;
3)
adaptation
model, which defines a set of rules to properly satisfy the requirements of the
user model and facilitate content adaptation [2].
In a number of the concepts [3]
presented nine Types of Adaptions in
pedagogy: input; output; time; difficulty; level
of Support; size; degree of
Participation; alternate
Input. Adapt the way instruction is delivered to the
learner. For example: Use different
visual aids; plan more concrete examples; provide hands-on activities; place
students in cooperative groups.
Output. Adapt how the learner can respond to
instruction. For example: Allow a verbal
vs. written response; use a communication book for students; allow students to
show knowledge with hands-on materials.
Time. Adapt the time
allotted and allowed for learning, task completion or testing. For example: Individualize a timeline
for completing a task; pace learning differently (increase or decrease) for
some learners.
Difficulty. Adapt the skill level, problem type, or the
rules on how the learner may approach the work. For example: Allow a calculator for math problems; simplify task
directions; change rules to accommodate learner needs.
Level
of Support. Increase the amount of personal assistance
with specific learner. For example:
Assign peer buddies, teaching assistants, peer tutors or crossage tutors.
Size. Adapt
the number of items that the learner is expected to learn or compete. For example: Reduce the number of social
studies terms a learner must learn at any one time.
Degree
of Participation. Adapt
the extent to which a learner is actively involved in the task. For example: In geography, have a
student hold the globe, while others point out the locations.
Alternate Goals. Adapt the goals or outcome expectations while
using the same materials. For example:
In social studies, expect one student to be able to locate just the states
while others learn to locate capitals as well.
Substitute
Curriculum. Provide the
different instruction and materials to meet a learner’s individual goals. For example: Individualize a timeline
for completing a task; pace learning differently (increase or decrease) for
some learners.
An interesting point of view is Janney
R., Ph.D., and Snell M., Ph.D. (2000)[4] adaptation of
the structure:
ADAPTATIONS:
Curricular - Adapt
what is taught. Instructional - Adapt how it is taught and how learnign is
demonstrated. Ecological - Adapt the
settingwhere, when and with whom.
Curricular: Supplementary. Add social,
communication, study or processing skills to general curriculum. Simplified. Change level of
difficulty or include fewer objectives. Alternative teach functional skills
plus embedded social, communication and motor skills.
Instructional: Instructional stimulus or input. Difficulty/amount Modality Format/materials. Student response or output.
Difficulty/amount Modality Format/materials.
Ecological: When( Adapt the place).
Where (Adapt
the schedule). Who (Adapt
staffing, grouping).
Most of the teaching
systems adaptation that integrates learning styles is based on the premise that
adapting the teaching strategies with the students’ learning styles will give
better results (Dagger, Wade & Conlan 2003), (Paredes & Rodriguez
2002), (Stern & Woolf 2000), (Triantafillou, Pomportsis & Georgia 2002)[5].
For example:
Learning Styles
and Systems Adaptation Models
Table 1.
|
System |
Learning style |
The adaptation Model |
|
Gilbert & Han, 1999 |
visual-interactive, auditory-lecture and text styles |
The adaptation is achieved by providing different media
representations for each learner. Auditory representation is achieved using
sounds and streaming audio. To appeal to visual and kinesthetic learners
puzzles, animations, drag and drop examples and riddles are used. |
|
Carver, Howard & Lane, 1999 |
Felder-Silverman learning styles model globalsequential,
visual-verbal, sensing-intuitive, inductivedeductive styles (Felder &
Silverman, 1988) |
The adaptation is achieved by providing different media
representations for each learner. Uses |
|
Stern & Woolf, 2000 |
applies preferences for graphic versus textual information |
The adaptation is achieved by providing different media
representations for each learner. Uses graphic and textual information |
|
Grigoriadou, Papanikolaou & Kornilakis,
2001 |
Honey and Mumford categorization of activists,
pragmatists, reflectors and theorists based on Kolb (Honey & Mumford,
1992) |
The Adaptation lies in presenting a different sequence of
alternative contents of the concepts. Concepts can be represented by ‘example’,
‘activity’, ‘theory’, ‘exercise’ |
|
Hong & Kinshuk, 2004 |
Active – Reflective, Sensing – Intuitive, Visual – Verbal,
Sequential - Global dimension from the FelderSilverman learning style model
(Felder & Silverman, 1988) |
The adaptation is achieved by providing different
representations for each learner. Uses different types of resources such as
concepts, theory, colors, text, slideshows, audio, etc. |
So, the entire challenge lies in
the implementation of the theoretical aspects of the concept of adaptation.
This is a delicate stage, in light of adaptation’s complex dual etymological
history that entwines it with other concepts.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
1. Reghezza,
M. (2007). Adaptation (Capacité d’adaptation) ; École de
Géographie de Chicago ; Écologie Humaine ; White, G.F.
(1911-2006) dans Dictionnaire de l’environnement, sous la direction de
Yvette Veyret, Éditions Armand Colin.
2.
Brusilovsky, P. (2001), “Adaptive
hypermedia”, User Modeling and User-Adapted Interaction, Vol. 11 Nos
1/2, pp. 87-110. [CrossRef], [ISI] [Infotrieve]
3. Ebeling, D.G. ,
Ed.D., Deschenes, C., M.Ed., & Sprague, J., Ph.D. (1994). Adapting
curriculum and instruction The Center for School and Community Integration,
Institute for the Study of Developmental Disabilities.// http://www.spannj.org/pti/Curriculum_Modifications_and_Adaptations.pdf
4. Janney, R.,
Ph.D., and Snell, M., Ph.D. (2000) Modifying Schoolwork; Baltimore, MD; Paul H.
Brooks Publishing Company//http://www.spannj.org/pti/Curriculum_Modifications_and_Adaptations.pdf
5. Franzoni A. L.,
& Assar S. (2009). Student Learning Styles Adaptation Method Based on
Teaching Strategies and Electronic Media. Educational Technology & Society,
12 (4), 15–29.