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Differentiated instruction seems to be a philosophy that has captured the attention of many over a long period of time. Yet, when speaking to teachers about differentiated instruction, many don’t know what it entails. According to Carol Ann Tomlinson, differentiated instruction is a teacher’s response to learner’s needs. The differentiated instruction is guided by principals such as respectful tasks, flexible grouping, and ongoing assessment and adjustment. Teachers can differentiate the content, process, or product according to student’s readiness, interests, and learning profile through a range of instructional and management strategies (Tomlinson & Allen, 2000).
Many teachers struggle to differentiate instruction for a number of reasons.
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A teacher who is differentiating understands a student’s needs to express humor, or work with a group, or have additional teaching on a particular skill, or delve more deeply into a particular topic, or have guided help with reading passage-and the teacher responds actively and positively to that need. Differentiation is simply attending to the learning needs of particular student or small group of students rather than the more typical pattern of teaching the class as though all individuals in it basically alike.” (Tomlinson & Allen, 2000, pg.4). The whole point of the differentiating philosophy is to achieve maximum learning gains, and to have the ability to close the learning gaps that students have. In education, we have struggled for a very long time with meeting the needs of all …show more content…
In part, I believe our schedule allows teachers to differentiate. For example, teachers are given time for whole group, small group and intervention instructional time. Other than during whole group time, teachers are asked to hone in on six students at a time. The small group instructional periods are to meet students where they are while providing instruction according to their grade level standards. This year teachers are feeling defeated due to some changes in their evaluation system. When a principal comes in to observe, it the lesson being taught is not according to the grade level standard, that teacher automatically receives a Beginning for their rating. Teachers have expressed disappointment and anger over this. Many feel that they can’t teach at their grade level due to the student’s deficiencies. For this reason, I think it is crucial for teachers to be provided with tools and concrete examples of how they can differentiate, while staying true to the rigor of their grade level standard. Our teachers are caring and passionate. I really don’t think they refuse to differentiate as much as I think they are just unsure of how to
For this lesson I still need to learn how to analyze instructional goals and differentiated instructional strategies. When I transfer to a university to further my education; in my educational classes I will learn about this. In addition to student teaching, I will be learning how to handle future situations with the appropriate grade level. Lastly, I will ask for advice from art teachers and teachers in general to find out more information on differentiated instructional strategies.
While differentiating instruction and being able to design lessons geared towards the needs of diverse learners are currently highly prized skills for teachers, this has not always been the case. The history of education in the United States is a history of segregation. Even today, schools and curriculum are designed to meet the needs of a core group of students, which does not include students with disabilities (Hitchcock, Meyer, Rose, & Jackson, 2002). In the past, learners who were different, out of the mainstream, or did not fit into the mold to which teachers taught (were not part of the core) learned how or lost out on learning. This is not to say that teachers of the past did not care about their students, about being effective teachers, or about student learning. However, as schools are mirrors reflecting mainstream societal norms (Chartock, 2010; Delpit, 2006)—and, given that our society has not always valued diversity in people, be it due to disability, class, culture, or race—teachers in the past have largely focused their efforts where they could earn the largest return on their investment: the average student .
Differentiation must be a refinement of, not a substitute for, high-quality curriculum and instruction. Expert or distinguished teaching focuses on the understandings and skills of a discipline, causes students to wrestle with profound ideas, calls on students to use what they learn in important ways, helps students organize and make sense of ideas and information, and aids students in connecting the classroom with a wider world (Brandt, 1998; Danielson, 1996; Schlechty, 1997; Wiggins & McTighe, 1998).
Is differentiated instruction necessary to meet the needs of all levels of learners within the environment based on learning styles, interests, and readiness levels? Differentiated instruction involves daily assessment, either formal or informal, lots of planning, and a classroom of learners working together as a community (Tilton, 2001). Differentiated instruction is a learner-centered instructional design model that acknowledges that students have individual learning styles, motivations, abilities, and, therefore, readiness to learn.
Personalizing learning for students takes the idea of differentiating instruction to fit the needs of your students is vitally important to fostering an environment that makes ...
Cloran (n.d.) suggest teachers need to have a broad understanding of giftedness and learning disabilities, a variety of identification measures and the ability to modify the curriculum and implement differentiated teaching strategies to meet the unique needs of all students. A graduate teacher recognises that students learn in their own way and should understand and be able to identify a number of teaching strategies to differentiate and meet the learning needs of all students. They may create groups based on previous assessment results and set clear or modified instructions for each group based on ability or learning styles. To address the specific learning needs of all student abilities, multi-sensory strategies using charts, diagrams, outside lessons and videos, as well as posters around the room or information on the desk could be used. Tomlinson (1999) suggests that differentiated instruction aims to build on student’s strengths and maximize their learning by adjusting instructional tasks to suit their individual needs. Ensuring teaching and instructions are clear, revising and prompting students during lessons and providing templates and assisting student in breaking down tasks into achievable, systematic chunks are some additional examples. Lucas, (2008) suggests highlighting key vocabulary within the text to focus students on the central concepts within the text. Quick finishing students should be provided with the opportunity to extend themselves with extension tasks that have a specific purpose and
This essay will discuss the terms differentiated learnnig and personalised learning as well as highlight how these two forms of learning can be implemented in the classroom. Differentiated learning can be defined as an instruction that is an individualised process of teaching and learning that is based on the learners’ prior knowledge, abilities, development readiness, interests and learning styles (Grierson & Woloshyn, 2012). On the other hand personalised learning involves creating an individual learning plan to meet the needs of a particular student. In addition personalised learning does not mean teaching each child individually but trying to cater in several ways for the variety of children you have in the class (Dean, 2006).
In this interview I conducted with my host teacher at Benton STEM Elementary, I talked about the various ways that she explores strategies inside her classroom for how students are provided access to mathematical learning experiences. My host teacher has been teaching elementary education for eleven years now and is currently teaching 2nd grade. Talking with her about the various methods that she uses in the classroom really informed me of how I want to teach as a future educator. When conducting the interview, we talked from the differentiation practices that she uses in her classroom when teaching mathematics. I will be connecting this interview to chapter 5 by Jo Boaler that I read on tracking in the mainstream classroom and how students mathematical abilities are affected by this.
Similarly, the readings also provide relevant insights about the associated roles and responsibilities that educators have to fulfill in order to create a differentiated classroom. Specifically, it may involve addressing key issues such as communication, assessment, instruction, standards, and other related principles that influence the acquisition of information and learning (Tomlinson, 1999). These elements act altogether to create a classroom that is conducive to change and recognizes the value and potential of differentiated classroom to the needs of students today.
...ualized plan due to time constraints, it is reasonable to treat each student as they do have an individualized education. Teachers should know their students well enough to individualize the classroom activities so all students have strengths in each lesson. Through collaborative efforts, teachers can gain knowledge about the students and new ways to teach according to different learning styles. Working together, each student can receive an individualized education where their full potential is used.
Lawerence-Brown, D. (2004). Differentiated instruction: inclusive stragies for standards-based learning that benefit the whole class. American Secondary Education , 34-62.
When teachers differentiate their lesson, the students are more engaged to learn. Students have some choice in their learning activities, which motivates students to want to learn and also puts more learning responsibility on the students. Some students may prefer to work alone or in groups and some students like to be hands-on. By differentiating the lesson, all students’ needs are being met. “Differentiated Instruction gives students a range of ways to access curriculum, instruction and assessment. DI engages students to interact and participate in the classroom in a richer way. It is based on the assumption that all students differ in their learning styles, strengths, needs and abilities and that classroom activities should be adapted to meet these differences
IEP stands for Individualized Education Program. An IEP is a written document required for each child who is eligible to receive special education services. It is provided to a student who has been determined first to have a disability, and second, to need special education services because of that disability. An IEP is very important and should never be overlooked by anyone. The purpose of an IEP is to make sure that only students whose educational performance is affected by a disability receive special services. An individual program plan is designed to make sure that students get the kind of educational experience that they deserve; an experience that results in success. The end goals for students who are on an IEP are to be involved in
In this course I experienced an important change in my beliefs about teaching; I came to understand that there are many different theories and methods that can be tailored to suit the teacher and the needs of the student. The readings, especially those from Lyons, G., Ford, M., & Arthur-Kelly, M. (2011), Groundwater-Smith, S., Ewing, R., & Le Cornu, R. (2007), and Whitton, D., Barker, K., Nosworthy, M., Sinclair, C., Nanlohy, P. (2010), have helped me to understand this in particular. In composing my essay about teaching methods and other themes, my learning was solidified, my knowledge deepened by my research and my writing skills honed.
Overall, I feel that the objectives of the lesson was met as the children were able to sort the animals according to two different attributes and describe how they were sorted. This was achieved by asking the children questions to gauge their understanding and by scaffolding their learning as they attempted to sort the animals both individually and in small groups.