post 15: observations

I am still in the second grade classroom observing this wee. I noticed that the spelling is just given as a list for the students to memorize. I have seen that some of the kids in this class are struggling to just get their sight words down and do not know the basic concepts of decoding and phonics. Some of the students don’t know that an e at the end of a word makes the vowel long or that there are diagraphs that make different sounds. I think this class could benefit  from spelling lists that are differentiated. I really liked how we learned to differentiate spelling by using the words their way book. It has the kids in different groups according to their readiness and to what they know about spelling. Then the students are each given a different spelling list every week. I think this is a great way to teach basic word sounds and spelling concepts. I know that there are quite a few students in the class who are on low reading and spelling levels and I really think that implementing something like this would help them improve. 

post 14

I think I would like to differentiate in my future classroom by coming up with some sort of assignments in math, spelling, and reading that are differentiated to individual students needs. I think this is very important to do this. The classroom I am working now does differentiate the reading by having different groups on the same levels of reading working together. The teacher also differentiates for interest in reading by letting the students choose a book they are interested in but that is still in their reading level. They are also able to choose what center they want to go to next. They have some that are on the computer, some are with a kindle, some are journal writing, and some are reading with the teacher or independent reading. I think this is a great way to differentiate reading activities. 

post 13

I was assigned to do my fieldwork in a second grade class. The are working on subtracting double digit numbers with and without regrouping. I gave a pre-test to all of the students in the class and there were two or three who did not miss any or just missed one question. This surprised me because I was not expecting any of them to get more than a few correct since they had not learned how to do some of the types of problems that were on the pre-test in class yet. This made me see a  real need for differentiation in this class. I think that those three who got all the correct answers need something harder to work on. They don’t seem to be bored in class but they need to be more challenged. There are also quite a few students who missed more than half of the questions and need to have some remediation in math. It was interesting to see how differentiation might help these students learn. I am not sure how I would implement the differentiation because the school and grade teams all use the same books for math and they stick to the program but I can see the need for differentiation in the classroom after watching these students do math. 

post 12

This post sort of goes along with the last one which was about aiming high. I want to talk about involving students in decisions and helping students learn to set their own academic goals. Having students schedule their own assignments and tests or things of that nature can help attitudes in the classroom. This is because they feel like they have some sort of control of their own time and it gives them more responsibility. Students need responsibility to feel validated and important to the classroom community.

helping students set their own goals is also a way to build self-awareness and confidence in themselves. It also helps them see their own development and success over time. I think this is so important for students to feel like they are learning and progressing. I personally often feel like I am not learning much in school but then when I talk to someone who is a teacher I realize how much I actually have learned in my schooling. It is important for young students, as well as adults to see their own growth and accomplishments and see that all the work and effort they are putting in is making a difference in their learning.

post 11

While I was reading the Tomlinson book, I saw a section that addressed the idea that teachers often underestimate students. She says " it is likely that we underestimate what any student can accomplish, often establishing as performance ceilings goals that ought to be planks in the floor." I think this is so true. I even do this with my own children. I am constantly surprised at what they know and are able to do and accomplish. Every child has to potential to learn and succeed in school and in life. The tasks are given to students should REALLY make them think and not just be busywork. I will have to keep this in mind more as I am working with struggling learners or any student. I need to set high expectations so that my lessons don't become a floorboard instead of a ceiling.  I want to create a class full of problem solvers who can think and reason in order to accomplish a task.

teacher responds

The teacher responds is the third cog of the machine of differentiation. it consists of: invitation, opportunity, investment, persistence, and reflection. I have not yet been a teacher but when I am, I imagine that the persistence will be the most challenging part of this cog. I think that students will get frustrated when they are not immediately understanding a lesson. When this happens, there should be a conversation happening that has similar comments- "you are growing, but you are not finished growing", "when one route doesnt work, there are others we will find", let's figure out what works the best", "no excuses only support", "there is no finish line in learning". I have to add that something to that last one though. There are no finish lines but there are big accomplishments that should be recognized. I really liked the all of the other elements of this cog. The main idea of this is that the teacher is always there to support the growth of the students and to assist their learning. The teacher is also there for moral support. I think it is important that the teacher and the students all need each other to make a classroom function.

The student seeks

Last time I blogged about how curriculum and instruction are the vehicle or machine. I did not mention that there are three cogs of differentiation. the curriculum being only the first one of them. The one I want to write about today is what the student seeks. All three cogs work together to create a machine or a functioning classroom of differentiation. The parts of the cog that makes up "the student seeks" are : Affirmation, contribution, power, purpose, challenge. All of these things work together to create what a student wants from their school environment. I think that affirmation is one of the most important and valuable ones. students have a need to feel safe and wanted. This does not only go for kids either. imagine going into a classroom that you did not feel safe or like you mattered or were listened to or accepted in. It would be scary and miserable. I believe this is one of the first things that needs to be addressed in a classroom. the others will all fall into place when true differentiation is happening. I am not saying that affirmation is more important than the others but I do think that without it, the "vehicle or machine" would not function at all. It is just so important that there is trust and respect in the classroom.

post 8

The elements of curriculum instruction should all work together to make a machine that is a total learning experience for each student in the classroom. These are the things that I plan to use as a checklist to make sure that the instruction and activities are differentiated. the activities, tasks, and assignments should be: 

important

focused 

engaging

demanding

and scaffolded. 

I believe that if a lesson is all of these things for each individual student, it really is differentiated. Without all of these elements, or if one of them is "broken," the lesson will not truly be differentiated and will not function as a "machine"

I think this is a great way to check my lessons and evaluate if they are truly differentiated for each individual student. 

Post 7

I recently watched some youtube videos about the ps 22 and what this teacher does for his students is inspiring.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IGpdULugKo4

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ee-WOs1PaHQ

I think this is the definition of what differentiation should be. Every single child who is performing feels like they are good at something and that they are smart. You can just tell that they are so engaged and interested. This does not feel or look like work, it looks more like play. I think that students need to be interested in what they are learning. Learning through music can be an excellent way to differentiate. If I were to differentiate in the classroom with music, I would differentiate for interest and the students who love music could be in the same group for some assingments. After that they could do activities like learn songs that help them remember something or even come up with their own songs.