Differentiation Class

EDEL 4620

 

 

I have thoroughly enjoyed blogging this semester for my differentiation class. I have never blogged before, and I can see how it can become addicting. As I continued to add to ideas for differentiating with my students, I also added thoughts about my classroom set up and classroom management. The blog has developed into a great resource for me and perhaps for other teachers to use. 

Not only did I learn more about differentiating for my students and the benefits of doing so, but I learned how to become an effective teacher. I really like how my blog turned out and plan to continue to use it as I start my first year of teaching this fall.

CLASSROOM SET UP

Classroom Set-up Tool

http://teacher.scholastic.com/tools/class_setup/

Classroom Architect

http://classroom.4teachers.org/

Room Setup

http://www.theschoolsupplyaddict.com/room-setup.html

Setting Up Your Classroom

http://www.eduplace.com/rdg/res/classroom.html

Twelve Rules for Arranging Your Classroom

http://www.learnnc.org/lp/editions/firstyear/252

Classroom Set-up Ideas on Pinterest

http://www.pinterest.com/janauma/classroom-set-up-ideas/

 Differentiating Instruction 

 

“ In order to differentiate teaching, changes must occur in lesson content and selection of curricula and activities to ensure instruction and practice are aligned to student skills and needs.”

Differentiating Instruction: Making It Happen in Classrooms 

Key Principles of a 

Differentiated Classroom 

The teacher is clear about what matters in the content area. 

The teacher understands, appreciates, and builds upon student differences. 

Assessment and instruction are inseparable. 

The teacher adjusts content, process, and product in response to student readiness, interests, and learning profiles. 

All students participate in respectful work. 

Students and teachers are collaborators in learning. 

Goals are maximum growth and continued success. 

Flexibility is the hallmark of a differentiated classroom.

http://www.nldontario.org/articles/DifferentiatedClassroom.html 

Differentiating Instruction: 

Meeting Students Where They Are

1. Get to know your students.
2. Identify areas of your curriculum that could be adapted to
    differentiated instruction.
3. Examine your role as teacher in the differentiated classroom. 

http://www.glencoe.com/sec/teachingtoday/subject/di_meeting.phtml 

 

Examples of Differentiated Instruction

Changes to the Learning Environment

Assessment Variations

Modifying Content

Varying Support

http://education.cu-portland.edu/blog/teaching-strategies/examples-of-differentiated-instruction/ 

 

BACK TO SCHOOL

Take Charge on the First Day of School:

• Outline the discipline plan and code of conduct expected of students on the first day of school.  You should send a copy of the disciplinary code home to parents on the first day of school, so it can be signed and return the following day.
• You should setup ground rules for class discussion.
• On the first day of school, you should discuss with your class the policy for late homework or being absent for quizzes/tests.

Planning is crucial:

• First year teachers should organize their rooms before the first day of school.
• You should prepare lesson plans in advance, so you will have adequate time to integrate interesting activities and examples into the lesson.
• First year teachers should try to plan for the unexpected on the first day of school.  This will help to alleviate stressful situations on the first day of school.  What will your students think of the lesson?  What type of questions are expected?

Peer Support:

• First year teachers should find a mentor before school begins or on the first day of school.  A mentor will provide valuable information to first year teachers and help them transition into the classroom.
• A mentor will help a first year teacher when they need advice or have questions regarding curriculum.
• Mentors will help first year teachers clear the hurdle of first day jitters.
• Don’t be afraid to ask questions from veteran teachers – remember, they were once first time teachers.

Get Parental Support:

• You should have each child take home the disciplinary code on the first day of school.  Make sure each parent signs the disciplinary code and the student returns it the following day.
• You should encourage parents to get involved in their child’s education.  Invite parents to help out with field trips or school dances.

Have Fun:

• Beginning with the first day of school, first year teachers should plan their curriculum around fun activities and try to involve the class in thought provoking discussions. 
• Always try to reward your class by offering incentives for good behavior or high test scores.  A pizza party or field trip will inspire any child.
• After reading a novel, try and show the movie coinciding with the novel to give each student a visual representation of the novel they just finished reading. 

http://www.online-distance-learning-education.com/first-day-of-school.html#.UyPbd4WgyRI 

You cannot over emphasis the importance of the first day of school. Students are out of the habit of going to school and need to be gently directed back to the expectations required of them. Students need to feel that the school is going to be fun and enjoyable, and understand the importance of following class rules. As a teacher it is beneficial to be both firm and interesting.

Classroom Management Tips

 

 

1. Start the year tough.
2. Be fair to all students

3. Be prepared for disruptions---and don’t let them phase you

4. Instill high expectations

5. Incentivize good behavior

6. Overplan

7. Have a clearly expressed disciplinary plan…with consequences! 

8. Focus on relationships

9. Be careful about confrontation

10. Be patient and keep practicing

http://blog.ampli.com/2011/11/classroom-managment-tips-for-teachers.html

CLASSROOM COMMUNITY

My classroom will be a community where everyone feels safe, respected, and valued. Where students feel like their successes are applauded and their mistakes are an important part of the learning process.

 

 

 

EFFECTIVE TEACHING

 

 

 

           

 

 

"Through cultivated passion for whom we teach and what we teach, we become what we can be, even as we accept the quixotic challenge of helping every learner we encounter become what they can be." 

 

The role of educating young minds effectively seems like a daunting task! I feel overwhelmed and uncertain whether I am adequately prepared for the job of a teacher. I read the instructional material, attend classes, study, and learn, yet there are moments I ponder the day I have my own class, my own students, will I be an adequate teacher? The countless roles and and responsibilities of a teacher is a heavy load to bare, although there are great rewards to teaching. I feel a teacher is one of the most influential professions and life changing positions in our society. Although I am nervous, I look forward to the day when I have my own classroom and students. I will respect the role I play in the lives of my students and give my best to be a truly effective teacher. 

 

BROWN BAG

 

Digital Writing

Embracing the New Literacy

Suzy Cox - Associate Professor at UVU School of Education

http://www.drsuzycox.com/

STEPS TO CREATING DIGITAL WRITING

1. Choose a Topic

2. Research the Topic

3. Look Up Words

4. Evaluate Resources

5. Write and Revise

6. Colloborate

7. Peer Review

8. Select Media

9. Make the Movie

This was a very informative workshop! Dr. Cox presented steps listed above to demonstrate how to create digital writing projects. She also gave many different links to aid in making this endeavor successful. I feel students would love to use this format in their writing and would take great pride in their accomplishments and finished projects! 

Here is a list of just a few of the links presented at Brown Bag:

http://www.wordcentral.com/ 

http://www.inspiration.com/Kidspiration

http://www.pics4learning.com/

http://www.studentpublishing.com/

https://storybird.com/

Responding to Student Needs

 

As a teacher I will

• make sure I teach and students will learn what is genuinely of value in a subject matter
• pique students curiosity about what we explore, capture their interest, and help them see daily that learning is inherently satisfying
• call on students consistently to help them become more than they think they can become through dedicated work; and
• be their partner, coach, mentor and taskmaster all along their learning journey

Work is important, focused, and engaging, and I will remember to:

• Focus students products and lessons around their significant problems and issues 
• Use meaningful audiences - Keep in mind the ages of the students, and what interests them? 
• Help students discover how ideas and skills are useful in the world  
• Provide choices that ensure focus and enthusiasm in students learning  
• Look for fresh ways to present and explore ideas. To keep learning fun!  

 

Work is demanding and scaffolded. As a teacher I will:

• Use tiered approaches and differentiate
• Incorporate complex instruction to challenge students
• Use a variety of rubrics to guide quality and assessments
• Provide learning contracts at appropriate times
• Aim high, for myself and my students
• Take a “no excuses” stance. Work hard and play hard!
• Be computer savvy - Have a class website
• Help students realize success is the result of hard work and effort
• Use the new American lecture format
• The lecture is well organized to clearly present key knowledge, understanding, and skill
• Provide students with a blank graphic organizer that follows the flow of the lecture
• Guide students in completion of the organizer as the lecture progresses
• Stop often during the lecture to ask students to review ideas, make predictions about what will come next, and make links with past knowledge or their lives

• Designate a “keeper of the book” or “helper for the day” to record the date, a list of homework or other assignments, and the important knowledge, understandings, and skills explored in class during that period
• Directly teach strategies for working successfully with text
• Use think alouds
• Use small group instruction as a regular part of instructional cycles
• Establish peer networks for learning within a classroom community
• Promote language proficiency for all students
• Team with resource specialists within the school
  
  
   

 BLOGS

Link to Dr. Nancy Peterson’s Blog

and classmates blogs too!

http://inspiretoteach.blogspot.com/

Curriculum and Instruction

The Vehicle for Addressing Student Needs

IMPORTANT, FOCUSED, ENGAGING,

DEMANDING, SCAFFOLDED 

Curriculum that is important will help students know what we study:

• Is essential to the structure of the discipline

• Provides a road map toward expertise in the discipline
• Is essential to building understanding in the discipline
• Balances knowledge, understanding, and skill

Curriculum and instruction that are focused will cause students to understand that whatever we do in class:

• Is unambiguously aligned with stated, essential learning goals
• Is designed to get us where we need to go
• Both the teacher and students know why we are doing what we are doing
• Both the teacher and the students know how the parts of the work contribute to a bigger picture of knowledge, understanding, and skill

Curriculum and instruction that are engaging will help students come to understand that:

• They will most often find meaning in the work
• They will most often find the work intriguing
• They see themselves and their world in the work
• They see value to others in the work
• They find that the work provokes their curiosity
• They find themselves absorbed by the work

Curriculum and instruction that are demanding include the following:

• Guide students in working and thinking like experts
• Place the level of difficulty of work just beyond the reach of the learner
• Make student growth nonnegotiable
• Establish high standards for work and behavior
• Eliminate “loose” time

Curriculum and instruction that are scaffolded include the following:

• The teacher teaches for success
• Criteria for success are clear to students
• Criteria for classroom operation and student behavior are clear to students
• Varied materials support growth of a range of learners
• Varied modes of teaching support a variety of learners
• Varied avenues to learning support a variety of learners
• Small and large group instruction focuses on varied learner needs
• Varied peer support mechanisms are consistently available
• The teacher uses modeling organizers, and other strategies to point out success

The Cogs of Differentiation

Now that I have read and learned about the three cogs to differentiation; what the students seeks, the response of the teacher, and curriculum and instruction, the vehicle to learning, I see the need to incorporate all three elements. In order to differentiate in a classroom, it is vital to have all three cogs working simultaneously with one another. When both the students and teacher have a clear understanding of their responsibilities in the classroom, and where their needs are being met the teaching and instruction can have the attention in which it requires.