The combined purposeful writing (they were expected to write a project proposal of what they wanted and how they would build it), and math concepts (area, perimeter, 3-D design and thinking, hands on construction) that were part of this year-long project extended the children’s mathematical thinking, and reading and writing skills. The impact of this project on the class and individual children was multi-faceted. The students of a self-contained special education class, who had only experienced an “I can’t” feeling at school, were given an area in which they could demonstrate thinking and learning in which they excelled. The children’s self-esteem was elevated, and one of the children, a boy who had not had a bump in reading over three years, suddenly went up a reading level. The children developed a strong skill set in cardboard carpentry and design. The girl who received the chairs (one was made for her use in the cafeteria, and one for the classroom) scored the first 100 on a test in her life! Two students from this class were moved from the self-contained 12:1:1 class to an Integrated Collaborative Team taught class. This is a less restrictive class that combines general education students with Special Education students, and requires a higher level of academic performance. The fact that two children were moved from a self-contained environment to an ICT class is testimony to the impact that the work with Adaptive Design had on the children. The class as a whole learned to believe in themselves and their abilities. All the children made gains in their academic work that was spearheaded by their interest in the ongoing work with Adaptive Design.
Adaptive Design Association. In The Classroom