Curriculum Adaptations for Diverse Learning Needs and Growth

Adaptation as a process of negotiation and agreement

In the traditional clinical model, curricular adaptation was prescribed unilaterally: the expert diagnosed and decided what content to eliminate or modify, often without consulting the protagonist.

From the perspective of educational coaching, adaptation becomes a negotiation process.

The teacher does not impose help, but asks: [What tools do you need to pass this exam?], [How do you learn this concept better?].

This change of approach empowers the learner, who goes from being a passive subject of the intervention to an active agent who knows and requests the resources that allow him to perform. The star tool of this approach is the Learning Contract.

This is a formal document, signed by both parties, which stipulates the objectives that the student agrees to achieve and the specific aids that the teacher agrees to provide (e.g., previous schemes, extra time or extended print).

This contract establishes a framework of co-responsibility. If the student does his or her part, the system responds.

This eliminates the sense of [favored treatment] and replaces it with a fairness agreement, where the adaptation is seen as an instrumental right to demonstrate real capacity.

Typology and hierarchy of accommodations

In order to apply adaptations in a coherent manner, it is necessary to distinguish their levels of impact on the curriculum.

The most basic are access adaptations, which eliminate physical or sensory barriers without altering the content (use of ramps, adapted computers or specific furniture).

At a second level are methodological adaptations, which modify [how] teaching and eva luation are carried out, but not [what] is learned; for example, allowing a student with dysgraphia to take exams orally.

These measures are inclusive and do not lower the level of demand. Finally, when the difficulty is severe, significant adaptations are used.

Here, the prescriptive elements of the curriculum are modified, eliminating unattainable objectives or prioritizing functional content for the student's daily life.

Coaching seeks to ensure that these adaptations are as unrestrictive as possible and always temporary, revisable and oriented towards maximum autonomy.