Differentiation As A Teaching Strategy

In response to the varied student learning needs, differentiation will be a key component of this classroom. It is “designed to improve access to the general education curriculum by adapting instruction to each student’s diverse learning needs” (Smith, 2007). “Differentiation instruction means changing the pace, level, or kind of instruction you provide in response to individual learners’ needs, styles, or interest” (Heacox, 2012). Because each student comes to this 6th grade classroom with unique needs, differentiation will implemented frequently to ensure that each student receives the rigor needed to master the 6th grade curriculum. It will be relevant to your student and his/her needs. It will provide an appropriate level of challenge. It will be engaging and at times, it will offer choices. Delivery of differentiated instruction will frequently involve centered based learning activities and small group instruction. A list and description of some of the centers will be distributed to parents and is attached as Appendix

Differentiating instruction is a valuable instructional management and delivery tool, which can be used to assist teachers in meeting the needs of the diverse populations of students which they now find in their classrooms. In using these strategies, a teacher may use pre-assessments to determine the learning styles, interests and readiness of the students, prior to the introduction of a lesson or unit. After developing a learner profile, the teacher may then differentiate according to the readiness of the student, by process of delivery, and by the product which the student may produce to

Differentiated instruction in a type of teaching approach in which the teacher makes changes to lesson plans or unit curriculum so that students of all levels achieve the same level of learning. The whole lesson might not have to be changed, usually they just will make changes to the content, process or product of a given lesson.

In order to fully explain differentiation it is important to turn to The National Curriculum and look at what has become known as the ‘general inclusion statement’. This statement contains a statement that defines inclusion as “a demand on teachers not to ignore the three principles of inclusion (below) in their planning” Session 1 / Inclusion, the individual and the environment. In short, these three principals are: To set suitable learning challenges, to respond to pupil’s diverse learning needs, and overcoming potential barriers to learning and assessment for individuals and groups. In other words teachers are expected to develop lessons

Mrs .Sikkema said she has foyr high achiever students and two students who are on behavioral plans (Sikkema,2015,personal communication). She also said it is important to document and observe the students so you can understand their needs. I like how Mrs. Sikkema meet the learning needs of all the children in her classroom. Mrs.Sikkema help me to do my lesson plan in a timely manner. When I observe the classroom I was shock that the students was well behaved and attentive to the students. I have a lot of expereiences implementing different leson plans which was time consumer but it help me to do be able to implemnent a lesson plan in the future. Differentiated Instruction for Exceptional Learners provides an introduction to children and youth with a wide range of exceptional educational needs. There are five learning style auditory, visual, tactile, kinesthetic, and tactile/ kinesthetic (Differeitate Instructional

After reviewing my self evaluation and working with both groups of fifth graders, I have determined a need to provide a wider range of differentiated instruction. I have worked in the past to try groupings that benefited the students, but I am seeing that this is not working as well with this group. These students communicate and respond well to each other and are willing to help each other but some of the learning gaps between them are significant.

Prior taking this RETELL class I thought differentiating meant “dummying down” work. I struggled with the concept of differentiating strategies because I thought it help students to be all they can be. Taking the class have given a clear understanding the meaning and the usage of differentiating teaching, matter of fact, some the strategies I use in class are similar to some of the strategies taught in the RETELL class. I realized that Differentiated instruction is about using teaching strategies that connect with individual student's learning strategies. The ultimate goal is to provide a learning environment that will maximize the potential for student success. The important thing to remember is to hold on to the effective teaching strategies that lead students to positive learning outcomes and to make adjustments when necessary. It's about being flexible and open to change. It's also about taking risks and trying teaching and learning strategies that you would have otherwise ignored. It's about managing instructional time in a way that meets the standards and also provides motivating, challenging, and meaningful experiences for school age

According to UNESCO (2004), teachers around the world are exerting efforts in trying out innovative teaching strategies. There were dedicated and committed teachers who make a difference to the students’ lives and even providing important learning opportunities in their communities. To meet the students’ diverse learning needs, teachers cater variety of learning opportunities and experiences. In an interview of Carol Ann Tomlinson, an American author and educator known for her works with techniques of differentiation in education, she described differentiation as shaking up the classroom to be more appropriate for the learners. Regarding the methods of instruction, there should be a variety of techniques for collecting and presenting the lesson considering the students’ needs, abilities, interests, and backgrounds of experience.

The main objective of differentiation is to promote inclusive learning environment, by identifying and addressing the individual needs of all learners and working towards removing any barriers they may have.

Diversity encompasses numerous characteristics including socio-economic background, ethnicity, special needs, gender, and giftedness (Cazden, 2001). Today, classrooms are getting more varied and diverse with students from diverse linguistic and cultural backgrounds, and students with a disability. It appears that teachers must meet the needs of all students successfully and individually to effectively teach a classroom of diverse students. This paper will first identify three challenges involved with ensuring that teaching strategies are

Within my practicum classroom there are several students who have been coded or diagnosed. In fact, there are even a couple of students who just require a little extra help. In order to cater to those students i had templates created. These templates consisted of sentence starters such as; “My most magnificent thing would be….” and “one time i was really frustrated when….”. These students were asked to complete the sentences and glue the sheet into their journals. In addition, because it is a grade two classroom i had words students may have difficulty spelling written on the smartboard.

All in all, differentiated instruction is a method used by teachers to accommodate all the different learning modalities, levels of learning, cultural and language barriers and special needs often integrated in one classroom with one lesson plan.

During the ten years that I have worked in primary education inclusivity has played an increasingly important part when considering how the curriculum can be delivered and how a classroom can be managed to ensure that it is accessed by all children. Experience of working within a primary classroom has shown that the accommodation of students with Special Educational Needs (SEN) and the delivery of inclusive lessons have had a vital part to play when determining classroom

Differentiated instruction is matching instruction to meet the different needs of the diverse learners in their learning environment. Most learning environments are structured to operate under the principles that learners must demonstrate and perform to a certain level, which is specified, by whatever mandating entity the learners are either employed by or learning within. This entity sets the standard that will signify achieved learning or academic growth. Therefore it is important as an instructional designer we engage our adult learners, whether it be in the classroom or in the workforce. One way to do this is to encourage them to become actively involved in their learning experience. Adult learners need to feel that they have a

When teachers develop differentiated instruction strategies for students they provide several different avenues for the student to achieve the same learning goal regardless of which path they choose. Student choice in which avenue they ultimately select creates a sense of ownership with the students and actively engages them in the lesson. The different avenues all lead to the same learning goal just as many roads might lead to one destination. Differentiated thinking empowers teachers to be responsive rather than reactive to the unique and individual personalities,