Differentiation in Urban Schools

Introduction

Through my training into the educational profession the most essential aspect about creating lessons and an effective curriculum I have learned is not every student learns the same because they are not the same. This idea stretches across all forms of instruction and circumstances. In any given classroom different groups of students can be observed intently writing every spoken word from their teachers mouth, doodling across pages of notebook paper, catching up on other assignments, and trying to nonchalantly nap. I am a kinesthetic and visual-spatial learner. I make connections to information through doing and seeing. If I were to make my entire lesson plan with deeply rooted models and examples that would suit my own learning style, students with other intelligences would drift off as I do in lectures.

Learning is not listening and retaining. Learning is creative, meaningful, unconfined, lively, and passionate. The classroom needs to extend beyond the four walls of the school and become a safe community for students to dwell in. I believe that regardless of where a school is located or the reputation it is harnessed by, a teacher should be able to offer the same extraordinary learning experience to his or her students. The majority of students attending urban schools are minorities and come from a low-income family. A sad but relevant truth about the education system is that attending an urban school creates a handicap for student’s education. In order to bridge this education gap, students needs need to be addressed with a high-quality education that acts on student’s strengths and further develops their weaknesses. Differentiated instruction maximizes learning for all students at every level.

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...I hope to illuminate the diversity rather than suppress the differences in students. I also hope to use the resources available in the placed community. It is essential to incorporate service projects and local community projects into the curriculum in order to create a civil responsibility within students.

Differentiated Instruction is specifically tailored to meet individual students needs. This includes classroom management, student grouping, the environment, assessments, adjustments, and all other aspects of a student’s life. To be successful, total involvement from the teacher is needed to proactively plan varied approaches to satisfy the way students learn. Every student will feel valued and become more engaged in the class. Differentiating instruction for students who feel a connection to the material will create even more enthusiasm about learning.