Adaptive Teaching in PE

Introduction

Adaptive teaching in PE is the process of adjusting the activities students participate in during physical education lessons, the teaching style or the curriculum to meet the individual needs of all students.

What is the difference between differentiation and adaptive teaching?

Differentiation and adaptive teaching are approaches that can be used to meet the individual needs of all learners. However, there are some key differences between the two.

• Differentiation is a more traditional approach that focuses on providing different activities or resources for different groups of students. For example, a teacher might provide a simpler activity for students who are struggling, and a more challenging activity for students who are further ahead. This approach has traditionally been used in PE to support pupils learning. However, it has recently been criticised for maintaining or extending the gap between previous higher and lower-attaining pupils. Providing different activities for those who might be struggling to those who are proficient widens the gap and may not enable all learners to make good progress over time.

• Adaptive teaching is a newer approach that focuses on providing all students with the same learning objectives, but teachers will provide different levels of support as needed. This is done by monitoring student progress and adjusting instruction accordingly. For example, a teacher might provide more scaffolding or support to students who are struggling, and more challenging tasks to students who are ahead.

In other words, differentiation is more about providing different experiences, while adaptive teaching is more about providing the same experiences with different levels of support.

Here is a table that summarises the key differences between differentiation and adaptive teaching:

Here are some examples of how adaptive teaching might be used in PE:

• A teacher might provide all students with the same learning goal of dribbling a ball through cones, but provide different levels of support depending on their skill level. For example, students who are struggling might have a larger space between cones, or those who are proficient dribble the ball at a faster pace.
• A teacher might change the rules of a game to make it more accessible to all students. For example, a game of football/soccer might be modified to overload the attack or to only intercept the ball (no tackling) to facilitate success.
• A teacher might modify how they question pupils to check for understanding by providing additional thinking time or peer support (think-pair-share).

Adaptive teaching is an important tool for creating inclusive PE classrooms where all students can learn and develop physical, cognitive and social skills.

Adaptive Teaching Strategies

There are many adaptive teaching strategies out there including the STEP, TREE, CHANGE IT and SMILES frameworks. Many of these frameworks have overlapping ideas for how lessons could be adapted to support the learning of students.

ASPECT

In a practical lecture this year with my PE PGCE trainees I also invented my own framework. The ASPECT framework was conceptualised to enable teachers to think about “what ASPECTs of my teaching do I need to consider to enhance the learning and engagement of all students?”.

• Activities – Can you vary the activity to increase or decrease the level of challenge/support to facilitate success?
• Space – Can you change the size of the playing area or space to increase or decrease the level of challenge/support to facilitate success?
• People – Can you change the group to increase or decrease the level of challenge/support to facilitate success?
• Equipment – Can you change the equipment to increase or decrease the level of challenge/support to facilitate success?
• Conditions – Can you place conditions on the game or activity to increase or decrease the level of challenge/support to facilitate success?
• Time – Can you adjust the length of time or speed to increase or decrease the level of challenge/support to facilitate success?

You can also add an additional S for the Scaffold if required to provide further information or considerations for the specific scaffolds and support you will put in place for pupils.

STEP

The STEP principle is a very well know and widely used principle to adapt your practice.

• Space – Can you change the size of the playing area or space to increase or decrease the level of challenge/support to facilitate success?
• Task – Can you vary the activity to increase or decrease the level of challenge/support to facilitate success?
• Equipment – Can you change the equipment to increase or decrease the level of challenge/support to facilitate success?
• People – Can you change the group to increase or decrease the level of challenge/support to facilitate success?

TREE

Tree was introduced by the Australian Sports Commission.

• Teaching Style – Can you adapt your communication and delivery strategies to increase or decrease the level of challenge/support to facilitate success?
• Rules – Can you simplify or change the rules to increase or decrease the level of challenge/support to facilitate success?
• Equipment – Can you change the equipment to increase or decrease the level of challenge/support to facilitate success?
• Environment – Can you change the size of the playing area or space to increase or decrease the level of challenge/support to facilitate success?

CHANGE IT

CHANGE IT also has its roots with the Australian Sports Commission.

• Coaching Style – Can you adapt your communication and delivery strategies to increase or decrease the level of challenge/support to facilitate success?
• How you score/win – Can you change the way you score or win to increase or decrease the level of challenge/support to facilitate success?
• Area – Can you change the size of the playing area or space to increase or decrease the level of challenge/support to facilitate success?
• Numbers – Can you change the group to increase or decrease the level of challenge/support to facilitate success?
• Game Rules – Can you simplify or change the rules to increase or decrease the level of challenge/support to facilitate success?
• Equipment – Can you change the equipment to increase or decrease the level of challenge/support to facilitate success?
• Inclusion – Ensure all students are involved and engaged in activities using appropriate modifications to increase or decrease the level of challenge/support to facilitate success
• Time – Can you adjust the length of time or speed to increase or decrease the level of challenge/support to facilitate success?

SMILES

SMILES has its origin with Sport Wales.

• Safe – Ensure that the learning environment is both physically and emotionally safe.
• Maximum participation – Ensure that participation is maximised for all students.
• Involved – Involve students in their learning and encourage autonomy.
• Learning – Ensure learning is accessible for all students and that all learners make good progress.
• Enjoyment – Design enjoyable experiences that allow students to have autonomy and experience just the right level of challenge.
• Success – Facilitate success by pitching activities at the appropriate level and providing appropriate support when required.

Potential Challenges in Implementing Adaptive Teaching

Adaptive teaching is a powerful tool for meeting the needs of all learners, but it can also be challenging to implement. After all meeting the needs of 30 pupils in a highly dynamic and changing learning environment is a challenge even for the most experienced of teachers. Here are some some potential challenges you might face:

• Lack of training and resources. Many teachers have not received training in adaptive teaching, and they may not have access to the resources or equipment they need to implement it.
• Time constraints. It can be difficult to find the time to plan and implement adaptive teaching strategies, especially for large classes.
• Assessment challenges. It can be difficult to assess student progress and identify their individual needs, especially when students have a wide range of abilities.
• Relationships. Effective adaptive teaching strategies often develop overtime. If you have a new class you often you have to put in the groundwork first, building positive relationships, setting behaviour expectations and creating a supportive learning environment only then will adaptive practice thrive.

Top tips for adaptive teaching

Despite these challenges, there are a number of things that teachers can do to successfully implement adaptive teaching in their PE lessons. Here are a few tips:

• Start small. Don’t try to implement all of the strategies at once. Start by focusing on one or two areas, or three or four pupils. Build up your strategies and reflect upon what is working for in what areas and for whom.
• Collaborate with other teachers. Talk to other PE teachers to see what strategies they are using and to get support. Often the best ideas are shared between colleagues especially as they will be teaching in the same context as you.
• Seek out training and resources. There are a number of organisations that offer training and resources on adaptive teaching. The better your content and pedagogical knowledge in a range of activities the easier it will be to make adaptations. Also don’t forget to support your teaching assistants in helping your students in their learning.
• Reflect on your practice with the students. Reflect on what is working by asking students how they think your lessons are going? Could they suggest better or further ways for them to engage and make progress in your lessons?

Adaptive teaching is an essential part of inclusive PE. By overcoming the potential challenges, teachers can create a learning environment where all students can learn, develop, and enjoy PE.

Further Reading on Adaptive Teaching

• Newton, F. (2023) Inclusive PE for SEND Children. FB3 Publishing. Available Online: https://www.pescholar.com/insight/inclusive-pe-for-send-children/
• Eaton, J. (2022) Moving from “differentiation” to “adaptive teaching”. Education Endowment Foundation. Available Online: https://educationendowmentfoundation.org.uk/news/moving-from-differentiation-to-adaptive-teaching

If you would like to access the infographics they can be accessed via the download below: