New Styles of Instruction Essay

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

Grouping of students can be by learning style, interest, readiness, task, or other teacher determined criteria. Flexible grouping is one of the non-negotiables in the differentiated instruction

Differentiation of instruction is the process of teaching in a way to meet the needs of students with differing abilities in the same class, including those with special learning needs. One way to do this is by providing several different avenues by which all students can learn the same material. In differentiating instruction, teachers plan out and implement a variety of approaches to content, process, product, and environment. Differentiated instruction is used to meet the needs of student differences in readiness, interests, and learning needs. Many people in the education field believe differentiation has the potential to transform teaching and learning in a way that raises expectations for all students.

Engaging students in the classroom can be a difficult task. Understanding the process of how students learn can help a teacher adapt the lesson to meet the needs of all students. I will encounter students that are not intrinsically motivated so I will need to find different ways to motivate each and every student. Understanding how my students learn can provide me with insights as to how to help each student learn which will minimize classroom management problems.

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.

The first set of questions were used to see what technology teachers use and how often they use them. The seven different devices that were surveyed are computers, smart boards, mobile devices, tablets/iPads, digital cameras, clickers, and televisions/projectors. Each device was rated based on use either daily, weekly, monthly, yearly, or never. Using this data we can see which devices are used most and least by teachers. These charts also show us which devises teachers and students are most familiar with in the classroom. The most significant statistic from this first set of questions is that 91% of teachers use computers daily and weekly in the classroom (Fig.

Experts and consultants admit that the research on differentiated instruction is limited; however, solid research does corroborate a number of practices that provide a foundation for differentiated instruction. These practices include using effective

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.

According to the article Differentiated Instruction: A Primer, I learned from Sarah Sparks how to evaluate students and come up with strategies with the use of differentiation instruction. Sparks states, “Differentiated instruction is the process of identifying students’ individual learning strengths, needs, and interests and adapting lessons to match them” (Sparks, 2015). Sparks explains how individualization is used by teachers for breaking material down into smaller steps to see which students are on different paces. Teachers use differentiation by giving students a variety of different material covering the same subject to see the students’ strengths, needs, and interests.

Today, Ms. Laura Garner did a professional development on Differentiation. It was amazing! I’ve read professional articles and books on this topic, but never actually saw it up close as a participant. I was not just a participant but I was an active participant. I was engaged in the learning process. In fact, every teacher in the room was actively engaged in the learning process. Everyone was not doing the same activity, but the topic at hand was the same for all participants. Thus, instruction, in a classroom, should not be one size fits all. It should be catered so the needs of each student that enters into a classroom to learn are met and more importantly, students’ weaknesses are not highlighted for everyone in the classroom to

Above-target students will work with other above-target students to improve their research and writing skills, participate in all activities, and all homework. Additionally, these students will have the opportunity during small-group activity to begin working with more intricate research bases. Above-target students will also be allowed to move more quickly through the process, meaning that they could possibly receive teacher-feedback on writing in-class so that they may begin working on other areas outside of class. Students who are engaged in the process will receive individual challenges based on their level of readiness. For example, I may have the engaged students begin constructing their own article in-class that they would have to share with another above-target student to critique.

All learners in one classroom will have differing prior knowledge, skills, and learning rates, as they are all different individuals. Most importantly, as a teacher, I must know my student's skills, abilities, learning rates, and what they know to be able to differentiate instruction. There are different things that I can do while I am teaching, such as checking for the need to provide background knowledge and change the rate of my instruction, that will help meet the needs of each student. Also, it will be important to develop groups for reading and math, separately, that might differ for small group instruction so that students are grouped in similar reading and similar math abilities. Thus, differentiating instruction will be important to be sure that students are engaged and learning at their individual rate and level.

according to Dennis McCafferty in Computers In The Classroom -- Want to learn the abc 's of the mobile computing space? and can carry enormous amounts of data.There are many forms of notebook computers, Laarni Ragaza provides a well developed review of different computers and how they work with educational services in her article “The Best Laptops for College Students.” Integrating PC’s into the school program will allow students to directly connect with their teachers, assignments, textbooks, and notes all on one device, in a much more efficient and organized manner.This negates the need for the cluttered backpacks and lockers students have to scramble through to find their assignments. Having PCS on hand will allow students and teachers to connect instantaneously to transfer assignments and go over lesson plans. The PC’s will also enable students to connect to the internet, allowing them to further research the topic at hand. With PCs students can have a more immersive and orderly learning environment. PC’s should replace

During the last decades, laptops have become standard learning tools in university and college classrooms. Since today’s students’ are high-technology demanding and tech savvy, laptops manufacturers and engineers are constantly thinking of unique ways to design their products. With advanced functions and specifications, laptops can do various activities and educational tasks for students. Also, as technology advances, yesterday’s laptops are less expensive compared to today’s and tomorrow’s which allows every student to afford a laptop. However, educational institutions are concern about whether laptops in class hinder or facilitate students’ learning. Overtime, new technology and devices have been noticed to weaken student performance in

According to Pew Research Center of Internet, Science, and Technology “ Today, 68% of U.S. adults own a smartphone, up from 35% in 2011, and tablet computer ownership has edged up to 45% among adults.” They also say “ 86% of those ages 18-26 have smartphones and 73% of teens have or have access to smartphones.” fIn the last decade the use of technology has grown tremendously and has now reached our schools. Computer labs have been in schools since the early seventies computers began to make themselves known in the education field when schools began having computer labs for reading test and essays. Since then most schools have a computer or each student to take notes on or study with, or whatever they