Project IGEL
Individual Support and Adaptive Learning Environments in Primary School (IGEL)
Schools and teachers are challenged every day to deal with a heterogeneous student population in need of individualized support during classroom instruction. Teachers have to make sure that (a) each child is able to reach his or her full potential as well as that (b) all children meet the common curricular standards. Such successful classrooms have also been called "adaptive learning environments." However, often teachers do not feel sufficiently prepared to meet the instructional goals associated with adaptive teaching. Furthermore, research on the effectiveness of adaptive teaching methods for supporting children's individual learning paths is still lacking.
The IGEL-project is part of the IDeA programmatic area "Individual Adaptive Learning Environments" and it is connected to the programmatic area "Professionalization of Educators".
Aims and questions of the IGEL-project
Apart from enabling all students to meet the intended instructional goals, in the IGEL-project of the IDeA-Research Center, Germany, we analyze adaptive learning environments on two analytical levels of classroom interaction: on the level of broad dimensions of instructional quality (i.e., Classroom Management and Structure, Supportive Climate, and Cognitive Activation) and on the level of characteristics of specific instructional methods. We focus on instructional methods that have been found to be especially effective for children at risk: (a) Cognitive Instructional Support, (b) Peer Learning, and (c) Formative Assessment. Our main research questions are:
- Do trainings on adaptive teaching methods improve teachers' professional knowledge and actions as well as impact their beliefs about adaptive teaching methods?
- Do adaptive learning environments provide more support for children in terms of cognitive and non-cognitive aspects compared to those in regular learning settings?
- Do trainings on adaptive teaching methods render particular support to children at risk?
- How are the dimensions of instructional quality and the instructional methods connected?
The project's results are to be applied to teacher training programs and professional development and thus transferred to educational practice.
Adaptive learning environments
To provide individual support to children, teachers have to make sure that (a) each child is able to reach his or her full potential as well as that (b) all children meet the common curricular standards. Such successful classrooms have also been called "adaptive learning environments." In these environments teachers act flexibly and respond to children according to their individual preconditions and needs. This includes e.g. the implementation of adaptive teaching methods for dealing with the children's heterogeneity, but does not merge with these strategies at all.
Several authors (e.g. Klieme et al., 2009; Pianta & Hamre, 2009) have developed an educational, psychologically founded model of instructional quality. This model contains three basic dimensions that are connected to a positive development of achievement and partly with a positive change in children's motivation. These basic dimensions are: Classroom Management and Structure, Supportive Climate, and Cognitive Activation. According to this model, "adaptive teaching" can be seen as an appropriate balancing of these dimensions. Yet, the empirical relations between adaptive teaching methods and these three basic dimensions of instructional quality are still in the focus of research.
Following Raudenbush (2009, p. 176), we focus on the domain of science education to assess the effectiveness of adaptive teaching methods, because this domain can also foster children's linguistic development. Furthermore, often teachers do not feel sufficiently prepared to meet the instructional goals associated with adaptive teaching in science education.
Adaptive teaching methods
According to our understanding of adaptive learning environments in classroom instruction, several adaptive teaching methods can be outlined. We focus on instructional methods that have been found to be especially effective for children at risk:
Cognitive Instructional Support; this method focuses on the structuring of learning situations via instruction to draw attention to essential content of the curriculum (cf. Reid, 1998). In science education, a special focus lies on visualisation as a structuring tool. To offer adaptive learning environments, teachers have to consider the children's individual connotations.
Peer Learning as a cooperative learning setting means that fellow children (peers) teach one another according to specified interaction rules. From a cognitive-constructivist perspective, social interactions between peers cause an intensive examination of one's own competencies and they are therefore connected to an improved argumentation and to learning success (e.g. O'Donnell & King, 1999; Topping, 2005). Instruction and feedback strategies that support children's perceived competence and autonomy in particular have proven to be conducive to Peer Learning.
Formative Assessment describes frequent assessments of children's understanding that are used to provide children with feedback information about their learning progress and to shape teaching according to their individual learning needs. Meta-analyses prove notably strong effects, if the feedback is not controlling but informative and elaborated, and uses an ipsative frame of reference.
These three adaptive teaching methods are moderated by elements of self-regulated learning. The ability to self-regulated learning is considered a significant factor that affects the children's learning in a positive manner (Carrol, 2008).
Design and Method
We investigate the effectiveness of adaptive learning environments in an intervention study targeting science education in the third grade level of German primary school. The effects of the intervention aiming to shape teachers' instructional approaches, i.e. Cognitive Instructional Support, Peer Learning, and Formative Assessment, will be compared with effects observable in teachers' training for Parent Counselling (treatment control group).
Teachers were randomly assigned to workshops on methods of adaptive teaching (Cognitive Instructional Support, Peer Learning, Formative Assessment, or Parent Counselling (control group), respectively. All teachers also participated in a workshop on the topic of Floating and Sinking. We first focus on the concept of "density". In the second term of the academic year, the teachers apply the learned teaching methods on the topic of Floating and Sinking, concept of density, in their classrooms. Afterwards, teachers participate in a short professional development workshop on the concepts of "buoyancy force & displacement", but without an explicit training in an adaptive teaching method. Teachers also apply the previously trained adaptive teaching method to their regular science classes when introducing this new concept. We thereby investigate the transfer of adaptive teaching methods from one to another concept in science curricula aiming to provide individual support to children––with a special focus on children at risk.
Milestones
More than 50 teachers at primary schools in Hesse, Germany, took part in the IGEL-project. A baseline assessment of students took place in the beginning of the academic year of 2010/2011 involving more than 1000 students at grade level three. The teachers participated in professional development workshops that were held in cooperation with the Goethe-Lehrerakademie (Frankfurt a.M., Germany), and they applied the learned teaching methods on the topic of Floating and Sinking in their classrooms. During this entire phase and until the end of the academic year 2010/2011, the students' progress was assessed by achievement and diagnostic tests and surveys, and selected science lessons were video recorded.
Currently, data are analyzed to evaluate the effects of the employed adaptive teaching methods.
Transferring the project's ideas to educational practice
The project's results on the individual support of students are to be applied to teacher training programs and professional development and thus transferred to educational practice.
Synergies
Project elbe
Project Kosmos
Project Proliefs
Scientific coordinator / responsible project managers
Prof. Dr. Ilonca Hardy
Dr. Jasmin Warwas
Prof. Dr. Gerhard Büttner
Prof. Dr. Silke Hertel
Prof. Dr. Eckhard Klieme
Prof. Dr. Mareike Kunter
Prof. Dr. Arnim Lühken
Contact person
Martin Heußner (project coordinator)
