While academic achievement gaps may persist as a result of factors both inside and outside the classroom, instructors have worked to offer individualized support that enhances students’ motivation, sense of belonging, and overall success in courses. Andrew Estrada Phuong, an assistant professor in the Department of Education Studies at UC San Diego, has developed strategies that encourage instructors to identify and work to remove obstacles for students.
“What are some barriers to student success you are trying to address in class?” Phuong asked an audience of instructors and academic staff. Following small group discussions, participants shared similar challenges related to varying levels of student preparedness or access to academic support, as well as potentially unclear class expectations. The comments highlighted an interest in integrating pedagogical approaches that directly support student achievement and work to remove various barriers.
Phuong’s talk, “Increasing Student Engagement and Success across Institutions through Adaptive Teaching and AI Strategies,” introduced Adaptive Equity-Oriented Pedagogy (AEP) as a scalable framework to identify student success barriers and enhance engagement across disciplines. The presentation concluded the 2026 academic year’s Educational Innovation and Scholarly Teaching Seminar series, where experts share research-driven insights with UCLA instructors. The series is sponsored by the Vice Provost for Teaching and Learning and hosted by the UCLA Teaching and Learning Center (TLC).
Phuong walked through how the AEP framework prepares instructors to clarify learning outcomes and then explicitly align the class’s formative assessments with those goals. This includes centering project-based assignments that scaffold with clear outcomes and prerequisite steps. AEP also encourages instructors to identify student needs and potential barriers to learning, then adapt class activities to help meet those needs.
By foregrounding active adjustments to coursework meeting students’ strengths and competencies, this framework aims to provide continuous learning support that sustains individualized growth. Phuong encouraged attendees to understand their learners’ perspectives to meet them where they’re at and work to ensure academic success.
Attendees at the presentation appreciated hearing how this new approach expands on existing teaching frameworks.
“Dr. Phuong’s presentation was so inspiring,” shared Shanna Shaked, Senior Associate Director of the UCLA Center for Educational Innovation and Learning in the Sciences (CEILS). “His adaptive, equity-oriented pedagogy approach builds on active learning with an equity-minded lens and he presented compelling data around how that approach resulted in significantly increased student learning.”
A key aspect of Phuong’s pedagogical approach is actively identifying how external factors may impact how learners engage with a course. This may include students’ basic needs access, their social and cultural backgrounds, or their levels of preparedness upon entering the course. AEP is guided by social constructivism, a learning theory developed by psychologist Lev Vygotsky that asserts learning is a social process shaped by the surrounding environment and learner experiences.
Phuong emphasized that actively gathering information through assessments and surveys gives instructors knowledge of their students’ previous educational experiences that can be leveraged to boost motivation and growth.
“Through this framework, we don’t see identities and starting points as deficits dictating an endpoint, but rather as a strength to transform education,” he noted.
Phuong then highlighted the results of incorporating AEP compared to other classroom strategies, like active learning. A recent study compared two data analysis courses where one applied AEP principles through an additional practice and feedback cycle. On average, students from the AEP section outperformed the control group by over a full letter grade on the final assignment.
Attendees left the presentation inspired to share the AEP framework with additional colleagues across the university system.
“I hope to collaborate with Dr. Phuong on either implementation in my own courses or some sort of cross-UC implementation of his workshops for faculty who want to integrate this approach,” said Shaked.
Phuong hopes that the presentation showcased how meeting individualized student needs bolsters students’ confidence and self-efficacy to then meet more rigorous course outcomes.
“Equity is not watering down the curriculum or lowering expectations,” he said. “When we put equity front and center, we can better support students to meet learning standards.”