Each school year children enter classrooms with different abilities, learning styles, and personalities. Educators are required to see that all students meet the standards of their district using Common Core Standards. Through the use of differentiated instruction strategies, many educators can meet the needs of all students and help them to meet and exceed the established standards. In this case study, this author gives practical examples of how to differentiate content, process, and product for Destiny Shamrock, a new ELL student assigned to my caseload. This is the first week of school at Cordova High School. I have been informed I will be working with a high school general education teacher name Mr. Jones (Mr. Jones wonders what he can do to help the new student in instruction). We are collaborating together on a plan that requires instruction from Mr. Jones, but differentiating Destiny’s instructions from me.
Destiny is currently enrolled as an 11st grade English learning student, who struggles with academic vocabulary. Destiny does not know multiplication or division facts and her current IEP indicated the student works best with manipulatives. Destiny’s
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It is an important responsibility of all teachers, either general special education educators, is ensuring that the instruction they deliver is measurably effective in meeting the needs of their students. Using Differentiated Instruction is a way of teaching; it asks educators to know their student’s well, so they can offer each student a good education with a lifetime of experiences and tasks progress learning. Differentiation also means tailoring instruction to meet each individual needs. Whether teachers differentiate content, process, products, or the learning environment, the use of ongoing assessment and flexible grouping makes this a successful approach to
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
Differentiated Instruction • Special Needs: Students will receive extra time to complete the task. They will do fewer descriptive details. • ADHD: When the story is read allow this student to sit near the educator. Redirection may be needed in order to keep the student on track with the rest of the students.
As classrooms become more diverse, and with the push-in model being implemented for special education, this can be a difficult task. There are many things to consider when deciding upon a teaching format for each lesson. The most important is the student’s instructional level or Zone of Proximal Development. There is a fine line between independent, instructional, and frustration level. Lessons should be differentiated so that all students are challenged. To meet the needs of all students it may be necessary to collaborate with the special education teachers and the ESOL teachers. Teachers should be facilitators to student learning. It is helpful to connect the learning to a student’s prior experience. Teachers also need to consider the role of technology in their
This discussion reminds me of the time that I helped my niece with her homework after her mother would get frustrated that she did not understand how to solve First grade math problems. This is where differentiated instruction and DAP come into action as each child learning differently and where a teacher or parent should remain composed even if you get frustrated. Differentiated instruction provides children with numerous options when learning fresh information, while Developmental Appropriate Practices is where we use the knowledge about how children develop to construct learning programs that are suitable for both their age and mental development.
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).
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.
The students in our classrooms, both special education and general education classrooms, require individualized education to reach their full potential. Each child’s potential is different just as each child’s road to reach it is different. Our job as teachers is to be there for the student’s to help them reach their potential through their own unique way.
Students with learning disabilities in the regular classroom may have challenges that require special attention. If the teacher is able to identify the disabilities and the features associated with them then the teacher can tailor the lessons to meet the needs of the students. These may include differentiated instruction and facilitating an inclusive classroom which will see inclusive strategies employed that will cater to the needs of students with learning disabilities. These inclusive strategies can range from individualized learning programs to team and co-teaching. In some cases, the teacher can arrange for a special education teacher or arrange for a pull out program to assist students who have learning disabilities. Strategies that will also cater to learning disabilities may also include the use of technology. According to Ford 2013 ‘In some situations it may be best for students with LD to be taught in separate pull out classrooms with a teacher who can provide targeted skill instruction in areas where a student is struggling.’ ‘When provided appropriate support within this setting, many of these students can achieve academically and develop positive self-esteem and social skills. (American Speech-Language-Hearing Association 1991). They also recommend that schools should ‘require in-service programs for all school personnel to give them the knowledge and skills necessary to provide education for students with learning disabilities in the regular education classroom.’ Schools should include activities to help participants learn strategies to meet individual needs of students, foster attitudes conductive to educating students with learning disabilities in the regular education classroom, and promote
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 ...
Instruction. These two strategies are approaches that address classroom diversity in general education settings, and inclusion classroom settings. The idea of UDL is that instructional lessons, strategies, and assessments are planned with supports, which are more likely to be well-suited for students with special needs. The supports minimize the need for adaptations at a later time. Properly designed classrooms require fewer adaptations for students with special needs, is an ass...
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
A teacher today needs to have an ability to relate to and create partnerships not with their students, but also families, administrators and other professionals. This ensures that all persons involved with the education of the student are on the same page. All involved then work in harmony and help each other achieve the common goal of educating the student in the best possible way for the best possible result. (Wesley, 1998, p 80)
Lawerence-Brown, D. (2004). Differentiated instruction: inclusive stragies for standards-based learning that benefit the whole class. American Secondary Education , 34-62.
Identification of a child with a learning disability can be a challenging issue, especially for parents who invest heavily on a child to ensure that he/she becomes a better person in life. The story of Ryan is one such narrative that took all involved parties some time before arriving at the conclusion that Ryan was a special child.
This standard requires a teacher to really understand his/her students especially through the ways they grow and develop. It is important for them to understand that every student is different and therefore, will learn in their own ways. The teacher then learns to meet the needs of all students specifically by creating learning experiences for all to comprehend. Differentiated instruction would be helpful in a classroom in order for the teacher to meet the needs of students who have differences when it comes to interests, readiness and learning needs.