Thoughtfully adaptive teaching in fourth-grade science instruction

The purpose of this study was to examine teachers' thoughtfully adaptive teaching. Teachers' instructional adaptations made while teaching and during planning when implementing the Full Option Science System "Magnetism and Electricity" unit were identified. This study highlighted teachers' vision-linked adaptations. A multiple case mixed-methods research design was used to document the types and frequencies of teachers' instructional adaptations and the associated rationales for these adaptations. Teachers' vision-linked adaptations were also described and the nature of the relationship between teachers' vision-linked adaptations and students' science learning was investigated. Students' science learning was defined by gain scores on the unit pre- and posttest that accompanied the FOSS curriculum materials.;A goal of this study was to expand and broaden the understanding of thoughtfully adaptive teaching by including teachers' adaptations made during planning for and while teaching science; describing teachers' vision-linked adaptations; and exploring the nature of the relationship between teachers' vision-linked adaptations and students' science learning. This research study built upon existing thoughtfully adaptive teaching studies (Duffy et al., 2006; Parsons et al., 2010). Data consisted of responses to interviews, lesson observations and students' scores from unit pre- and posttests. The findings suggest that teachers' who draw on their vision of teaching to make instructional adaptations may positively impact students' learning.