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Post by Cynthia on Sept 24, 2015 2:33:06 GMT
Answer the following questions and respond to two colleagues.
1. Reflect on what you've learned about differentiation so far. What practical challenges do you see to implementing differentiated approaches? What supports might you need and where do might you find resources?
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Post by maryroman on Oct 13, 2015 18:33:46 GMT
Goal: Creating a classroom that aims to work for everyone.
Looking at these "real" lessons makes me KNOW that yes, I, the teacher will have to do most of the work in the classroom. I do not believe that students ALWAYS need to have skills differentiated. Usually good teaching works for most. We are not supposed to tell them what or how to do something, but we are to be concise....hmmm. Thoughts? Making informed class choices reduces greatly the number of students who are truly "unhappy" with your choices. Some learning HAS to be rote. What is the order of the alphabet? Rote is occasionally necessary as a pre-skill to the real deal. I worry that we have made huge student decisions based on year old data. I worry that in many classes, the entire class uses the same textbook regardless of skill level.
Having been in the game a long time and having seen many educational practices, that were ALL here to stay according to the authors, I know that good teaching is good teaching. I do not believe that spending all the time (aka $) to eventually differentiate each and every lesson is a great use of that time. Moderation in all things, especially educational strategies.
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don
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Post by don on Oct 14, 2015 16:37:53 GMT
I want to break this down from class to class to show how I have differentiated my classroom for each of my classes. I still am most comfortable with the students doing a worksheet on the material and then we discussing the material at hand. We try to compare and contrast things, past, present and future, we make inferences. we do Venn diagrams, we research many topics in class and discuss many issues.
Civics- We did research on Presidential candidates and made posters of their candidate. We watched the first debate in class. We did a followup with a 100 word paper on their candidate and where are they campaigning and what their numbers look like at this time. We start every day with the news and we look how what's happening in the news is going to affect us. We discussed three Current Events magazines as they are heavy laden with Common Core principles and I put them in groups as they mulled over the facts given and did the 30 questions at the end. Again, this is more student driven than teacher driven. I know there is MUCH MORE I can do with this and I am trying to be more flexible in the methods used in class. So much is in this book is for large schools, with one prep for the teacher and they can try and experiment with a lot of these ideas. At the end of the day did I teach them or did I guide them to grasp the material? To me this is the most important thing.
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Post by brenda on Oct 19, 2015 5:29:59 GMT
Answer the following questions and respond to two colleagues. 1. Reflect on what you've learned about differentiation so far. What practical challenges do you see to implementing differentiated approaches? What supports might you need and where do might you find resources? Chapter 9 1. What I have learned about differentiation has been great! Both the quality and quantity has been great! It can seem a bit overwhelming thinking I need to be differentiating all of the time. Well, two things from Chapter 2 have stuck with me. They are on p. 21: "It makes sense to modify a curricular element only when (1) there is a student need for doing so and (2) you have reason to believe the modification increases the likelihood that learners will understand important ideas and use important sills more thoroughly." There are certain tasks that I have students do that I know some will have major problems with even before we start. Those are the tasks with which I should logically differentiate. However, how does a teacher know who is going to struggle? That is probably my biggest "hangup" with differentiation. I know that is where a lot of time is needed to assess readiness and interest, and to also look at the student learning profiles. Once a teacher identifies the need for differentiation, she must then decide how to differentiate for each individual student. It takes a lot of time, effort, and organization to do it well! I also think the many strategies presented are great, but they, also, seem very time consuming. In one of my answers to a previous question I stated that I was going to try to differentiate with a particular task I have the students to with the novel Shiloh. I spent some time deciding what I would ask each students to do based on their reading levels. I, also, spent some time redoing the task sheets for the students. I felt good about it going into the task, but when the task was completed I did not have quite the same feeling. I did not feel right about assuming that certain students would have difficulties with the task. I gave them an easier task. As I am trying to implement differentiated approaches into my classroom I see myself "getting into it" surely but slowly. Each year I would like to find more and more opportunities to differentiate. The book was really clear in explaining all of the different strategies and in presenting examples. I really think my biggest challenge is finding time to plan and organize for differentiation. I think identifying the need for differentiation is much easier. Just like I stated earlier. There are always those tasks that I know students will have problems with. Each time one of those tasks comes up I need to think about a differentiation strategy that would be appropriate to use. Even if the differentiation is not a perfect process like many of the examples from the book, I would at least like to do something to differentiate with the task. I can always continue to make it better with each successive year. I do not feel I need any specific supports at this time. However, as I begin the process of trying to implement differentiation into my classroom that might change. My greatest resource right now is the book I have been reading. I have also been looking online. I needed to get some other opinions and ideas about differentiation. There are many out there! I think differentiation will be like anything else. The more I try it, the easier it will be, and the more I will know just exactly when to use it. |
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Post by brenda on Oct 25, 2015 6:04:54 GMT
Goal: Creating a classroom that aims to work for everyone. Looking at these "real" lessons makes me KNOW that yes, I, the teacher will have to do most of the work in the classroom. I do not believe that students ALWAYS need to have skills differentiated. Usually good teaching works for most. We are not supposed to tell them what or how to do something, but we are to be concise....hmmm. Thoughts? Making informed class choices reduces greatly the number of students who are truly "unhappy" with your choices. Some learning HAS to be rote. What is the order of the alphabet? Rote is occasionally necessary as a pre-skill to the real deal. I worry that we have made huge student decisions based on year old data. I worry that in many classes, the entire class uses the same textbook regardless of skill level. Having been in the game a long time and having seen many educational practices, that were ALL here to stay according to the authors, I know that good teaching is good teaching. I do not believe that spending all the time (aka $) to eventually differentiate each and every lesson is a great use of that time. Moderation in all things, especially educational strategies. Yes, Mary, you are right that we should not differentiate each and every lesson! Even the author of our book stated in Ch. 2, on page 19, that "... teachers need not differentiate all elements in all possible ways in every unit." That is a relief!! She writes that a teacher should differentiate only when she sees a need and only when she has "... reason to believe the modification increases the likelihood that learners will understand important ideas and use important skills more thoroughly." |
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Post by brenda on Oct 25, 2015 6:11:18 GMT
I want to break this down from class to class to show how I have differentiated my classroom for each of my classes. I still am most comfortable with the students doing a worksheet on the material and then we discussing the material at hand. We try to compare and contrast things, past, present and future, we make inferences. we do Venn diagrams, we research many topics in class and discuss many issues. Civics- We did research on Presidential candidates and made posters of their candidate. We watched the first debate in class. We did a followup with a 100 word paper on their candidate and where are they campaigning and what their numbers look like at this time. We start every day with the news and we look how what's happening in the news is going to affect us. We discussed three Current Events magazines as they are heavy laden with Common Core principles and I put them in groups as they mulled over the facts given and did the 30 questions at the end. Again, this is more student driven than teacher driven. I know there is MUCH MORE I can do with this and I am trying to be more flexible in the methods used in class. So much is in this book is for large schools, with one prep for the teacher and they can try and experiment with a lot of these ideas. At the end of the day did I teach them or did I guide them to grasp the material? To me this is the most important thing. Sounds to me, Don, that you are off to a good start! I definitely agree that implementing differentiation would be most ideal for a teacher with only one prep. That is the case for some teachers! Imagine that! |
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Post by maryroman on Oct 26, 2015 17:38:37 GMT
These are all wonderful ideas, Don! How do you differentiate the lessons for the varying ability levels of the students?
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Post by maryroman on Oct 26, 2015 17:40:20 GMT
You do a great job, and I know how many hours you put in, meeting the needs of all your students no matter WHERE they are at!
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markw
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Posts: 34
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Post by markw on Oct 27, 2015 14:03:09 GMT
Differentiation. What an all inclusive educational term, and how do teachers make it all work? What I have learned so far, and made much more aware of is that differentiation certainly has its place in education and teachers that make an effort throughout the years "to reach" their students have used various forms of the process without even knowing they have been employing such a strategy. Strategies, various approaches, adaptations, etc, whatever it takes to make everything more meaningful and having a purpose is all related to differentiation. So far, what I have also found out is that most of the time teachers for far too long have been doing the "lions's share" of the work, and really activities should and must include more student driven processes. On that note though, I feel somewhat apprehensive on where we are going with all of this. Teachers still need to be the chief facilitators in the classroom. No doubt, lots of positives that I have been made more aware of, but practicality wise "Good Luck" in implementing all of it in a school where an instructor is responsible for 5-6 even 7 different classes daily. Throw in a couple of extra curricular duties with those classes, and time is the biggest factor to contend with. Finding time to plan and organize a whole lot of differentiation will be a major practical challenge to contend with involving multiple class preps. A school will also need a very understanding and open-minded administration to support consistent differentiation in the classroom to support all of the various educational strategies being employed. Not saying it doesn't have its place, because it certainly does. Especially in situations where an instructor may teach 4 sections of Earth Science for example Are the small schools all in accordance to make that leap of faith?
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markw
New Member
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Post by markw on Oct 27, 2015 14:09:13 GMT
Brenda, You state so many good points. I agree with you in that all lessons don't need to be differentiated. Also, I believe a gradual and slow implementation process of differentiation to make sure the content and knowledge is being included , and only modify when it is needed. Any method that does increase the likelihood of learners understanding at a better clip is also well worth it.
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markw
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Post by markw on Oct 27, 2015 14:11:47 GMT
Don, I like your point of "Did I guide them or did I teach them"? I still use the worksheets as well to reinforce and fortify what is being done in class for review.
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bruce
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Post by bruce on Oct 28, 2015 3:00:14 GMT
9. Things that stand out about the author's differentiated classroom would be (1) the learning environment is seen as the key to success (2) teachers actively attend to student differences (3) curriculum is organized to support learning (4) the teacher modifies content, process, and products based on student readiness, interest, and learning profile (5) there are a variety of strategies that may be used (6) assessment is diagnostic and on-going and (7) educators should be champions of every student who walks through the school house door.
Challenges to implement this would be: (1) it is time intensive (2) need money for training beyond the regular school day (3) need training to integrate new technology (laptops) into the different strategies (4) results in the form of state testing and (5) the staff needs to buy into this.
The author lists four groups that could help lead you to a differentiated classroom. Those four are (1) calling on colleagues (2) making principals partners, (3) bringing parents aboard, and (4) involving the community. This is nothing new. You need this support with the current practices that we are using and anything new that is implemented. You also need to share the controversial side of anything new that is experimented with. There was a good article written in the January, 2015 edition of "Education Week" called "Differentiation Doesn't Work". This is also worth reading.
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steve
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Post by steve on Nov 16, 2015 22:30:02 GMT
Science education has been moving towards an inquisitive approach to education for some time such as STEM programs and flipped classrooms. It's not that the old lecture method has no place because I believe it does, but I've always included labs where students conduct an experiment and then use that experiment to learn more about the science subject they are studying. Just recently, I flipped the order of instruction; instead of doing the lab after all the front loading I had the lab first and then used the lecture to emphasize what was going on. When people see a fireworks display, how many wonder how the pyrotechnic technicians get such pretty colors? In chemistry I had my students examine this through the flame test lab and then referred to the lab while teaching electron configuration. Honestly, I'm not sure how smooth everything went, but I'll try it again.
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steve
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Posts: 30
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Post by steve on Nov 16, 2015 22:33:47 GMT
9. Things that stand out about the author's differentiated classroom would be (1) the learning environment is seen as the key to success (2) teachers actively attend to student differences (3) curriculum is organized to support learning (4) the teacher modifies content, process, and products based on student readiness, interest, and learning profile (5) there are a variety of strategies that may be used (6) assessment is diagnostic and on-going and (7) educators should be champions of every student who walks through the school house door. Challenges to implement this would be: (1) it is time intensive (2) need money for training beyond the regular school day (3) need training to integrate new technology (laptops) into the different strategies (4) results in the form of state testing and (5) the staff needs to buy into this. The author lists four groups that could help lead you to a differentiated classroom. Those four are (1) calling on colleagues (2) making principals partners, (3) bringing parents aboard, and (4) involving the community. This is nothing new. You need this support with the current practices that we are using and anything new that is implemented. You also need to share the controversial side of anything new that is experimented with. There was a good article written in the January, 2015 edition of "Education Week" called "Differentiation Doesn't Work". This is also worth reading. Yep, time is my most major issue, but I agree that training is right up there. And that's all I have because in order for me to buy into all this I need the time to do all this as well as the training. Once in a while just won't cut it, but here's the kicker - I still need time to keep up with my classes. |
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steve
New Member
Posts: 30
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Post by steve on Nov 16, 2015 22:39:40 GMT
Differentiation. What an all inclusive educational term, and how do teachers make it all work? What I have learned so far, and made much more aware of is that differentiation certainly has its place in education and teachers that make an effort throughout the years "to reach" their students have used various forms of the process without even knowing they have been employing such a strategy. Strategies, various approaches, adaptations, etc, whatever it takes to make everything more meaningful and having a purpose is all related to differentiation. So far, what I have also found out is that most of the time teachers for far too long have been doing the "lions's share" of the work, and really activities should and must include more student driven processes. On that note though, I feel somewhat apprehensive on where we are going with all of this. Teachers still need to be the chief facilitators in the classroom. No doubt, lots of positives that I have been made more aware of, but practicality wise "Good Luck" in implementing all of it in a school where an instructor is responsible for 5-6 even 7 different classes daily. Throw in a couple of extra curricular duties with those classes, and time is the biggest factor to contend with. Finding time to plan and organize a whole lot of differentiation will be a major practical challenge to contend with involving multiple class preps. A school will also need a very understanding and open-minded administration to support consistent differentiation in the classroom to support all of the various educational strategies being employed. Not saying it doesn't have its place, because it certainly does. Especially in situations where an instructor may teach 4 sections of Earth Science for example Are the small schools all in accordance to make that leap of faith? I think that is absolutely correct; the teacher does the "lion's" share of the work. I mean, it seems that I'm doing more work for my students education than they are willing to do themselves. If I mention that I get in around 7 am, most students, and some of my hardest workers, exclaim that they aren't even up at 8 much less at school. Now, I don't begrudge them their sleep but it sometimes seems I'm doing most, if not all, the work. A further aside, the student that says she doesn't even get up at 8 has so many things going on it's a wonder she doesn't sleep till 9. I could moan about all the work I put in but there are a few students who overwork themselves. If they would work less and the other work more we'd have perfect balance. |
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