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CHAPTER 1

CREATING AN ADAPTATION-FRIENDLY SYSTEMS THINKING CLASSROOM

The systems thinking that creates Unstoppable Learning is integral to providing adaptations for students. Systems thinking compels educators to see the big picture and make decisions that benefit students as a learning body. Applying this thinking leads educators to the triangle of support and universal design for learning. These two key methods take a broad look at classroom needs and use specific elements within a lesson to build a fortified platform that ensures students comprehend and meet learning targets. To make these elements work together successfully and craft the content, process, and products, educators must commit to systems thinking and use the triangle of support and universal design for learning as guides to help them ensure that students receive what they need.

Systems Thinking

The educator is responsible for detecting patterns, new and recurring, so he or she can strengthen the structures that help a classroom run effectively (Fisher & Frey, 2015). Creating an effective learning environment also is characterized by an educator’s ability to identify the barriers students face and strategize the elements of a lesson to overcome those obstacles. In a systems thinking classroom and school community, all stakeholders understand that it takes a collaborative effort to ensure each student’s learning success. All stakeholders must remain aware that many elements and structures interweave and develop a thriving learning environment that responds to these interactions.

Fisher and Frey (2015) introduce the concept of systems thinking as a way educators “recognize the dynamic nature of the organized groups they operate within and … activate the right elements at the right time to reach the desired outcome” (p. 2). Within a school, a systems thinker views the classroom as a whole and meticulously identifies how various elements influence that system. The four systems thinking principles—(1) relationships, (2) communication, (3) responsiveness, and (4) sustainability—are integral to providing learning adaptations (Fisher & Frey, 2015).

Consider the importance of relationships among students and education team members (including paraprofessionals, related service providers, and families). Open lines of communication in these relationships ensure that educators are responsive to students. A sensibility for developing and maintaining relationships, engaging in ongoing communication, and being responsive brings educators full circle with sustainability as the capstone. These principles, which are discussed in the following sections, are essential to creating a culture amenable to learning adaptations within a systems thinking classroom.

Relationships

Teachers are ideally sensitive to dynamic personalities in their classrooms and strive to nurture positive relationships and maintain a safe learning climate for all students. Jason J. Teven and James C. McCroskey (1997) report that the level to which students believe their teachers care about them affects how those students perceive their own learning. Certainly, through natural human instinct, we understand how critical our interpersonal relationships and communication are to both the teaching and learning processes and the socioemotional development of students (American Psychological Association, Coalition for Psychology in Schools and Education, 2015). This communication embodies many facets of teachers’ relationships with students, since thoughts and feelings become clear with verbal and nonverbal cues. To develop a safe environment, both physically and emotionally, teachers must establish a foundation of clear and genuine communication that continually nurtures a teacher-student relationship. Educators may create an inclusive, supportive culture by greeting all students daily by their first names, touching base with students when they return from an absence, noticing students’ emotional and physical states and addressing them as needed, and getting to know each student’s interests and aspirations. Building supportive relationships with students is impossible without communication.

Communication

Communication applies to all aspects of the learning environment up to and including the classroom’s physical features. Not only do verbal directions and admonitions convey what is important to students, but so do wall posters and daily routines. When engaging in verbal communication, teachers can focus on language that encourages students to see how their learning applies beyond the classroom. Seeing how content relates to their own lives can increase relevance, which deepens understanding and future knowledge application (Roberson, 2013). Presenting concrete personal examples is a common accommodation. For example, while reading Upton Sinclair’s The Jungle, a book that highlights the unsanitary practices in the American meat-packing industry during the early 20th century, the teacher can discuss current restaurant cleanliness grades (A, B, C), since students encounter that food safety language in their community. Both the teacher and student should also prioritize clear and specific academic language. Teachers can support students in using academic language during small-group and whole-group opportunities by modeling; pairing students who will learn from each other; and encouraging repeated oral practice with sentence starters or frames.

Communication evolves between educators and students as relationships form in the classroom. This evolution motivates students to communicate more personally, sharing insights into how life outside school may affect their performance in school. This information can inform the need for and the necessary type of adaptations. In addition, each activity in a classroom will lead a student to interpret the learning in a slightly different manner, which again highlights the constant need for communication regarding both a student’s academic and home life.

Educator-to-educator communication is as important as student-to-educator communication. Some students require more support staff, including related service providers. Whatever the team size, communication about the student’s progress toward learning goals is crucial. Chapter 4 (page 59) lays out potential team members and ideas for successful collaboration. One outcome of this communication is a team’s responsiveness.

Responsiveness

Responsiveness is one of the systems thinking principles that educators can apply to all aspects of the learning environment—especially the critical component of instruction. Systems thinking requires purposeful planning. A teacher’s ability to provide differentiated instruction depends on his or her planning with the full range of abilities in mind before delivering the lesson in the classroom. Hall, Vue, Strangman, and Meyer (2014) explain that “to differentiate instruction is to recognize students’ varying background knowledge, readiness, language, preferences in learning and interests; and to react responsively” (p. 3). Differentiated instruction is therefore a process of adapting learning by using a variety of accommodations and modifications in the following three areas as needed: teaching, learning activities, and student (coursework) requirements (California Services for Technical Assistance and Training, 2013). Tomlinson (2014) suggests that educators ask what it will take to adapt curriculum and instruction so that each learner gains the knowledge and skills required to succeed. A systematic way of providing differentiated instruction for students who are struggling is known as a multitiered system of supports (MTSS). MTSS includes response to instruction and intervention (RTI²), which is a multitiered, data-driven intervention approach to helping students achieve standards.

This differentiation ensures rigor for every student, whatever adaptation is made. These teachers plan contingencies as well. Given students’ dynamism, systems thinkers must respond to their changing needs and their myriad instruction interpretations. These responses are crucial to providing academic support through adaptations. The classroom environment evolves, and each student constantly changes. Therefore, teachers must be ready to adapt their classrooms and instruction. As the year progresses, the systems thinking teacher anticipates and responds to specific student needs by way of the relationships and communication he or she has with students and educational team members.

Sustainability

Sustainability cycles back to the other key principles of a systems thinking approach, where it is evident that building relationships on communication and deliberate responsiveness to students is vital for establishing consistent growth. Therefore, consistent, equitable structure and support for all learners creates sustainability, which is imperative not only within the four walls of a teacher’s domain but within the school system to which all members belong. Adaptations are unsustainable if teachers implement them on the fly or if not all teachers implement them, especially in schools where students travel from class to class.

Staff and funding changes can directly impact supports’ systemic sustainability. Through collaboration with staff and administration, educators must determine how to maintain structured supports as systemic changes occur. Creative planning and forethought allow for proactive planning, such as using readily available resources (like peers) and sharing the responsibilities of adaptations amongst staff to maintain lasting support. Sustainability is key to a systems thinking classroom.

What Adaptations Do I Need to Provide for Specific Students?