How Can Instruction be Differentiated for Diverse Learners?
Equality in the classroom is absolutely crucial. Some students may have disabilities that interfere with their work and some may not, what is important however is to know how to teach a classroom that brings out the strengths of each learner. An educator must not assume that all students are capable of learning if something is being taught in just one way. As educators we have to be prepared for instruction to be differentiated to meet the needs of every student.
One way to meet the needs of every student is to not only have one teacher present in the classroom. Having one general education teacher and one special education teacher present in the classroom makes the options endless for how to properly teach a subject to all students. However, it is important to make the student's believe both teachers are the same and not to speak to them as if they're different. Treat them and speak to them the same as you would any other student, the only thing that is different is how you approach a subject when teaching it to them.
Another way to differentiate learning for all learners is to provide multiple means of representation, expression and engagement. This means to present information in different ways for students to better understand, have students demonstrate what they learn in a variety of way and create an environment that gives students different ways to engage in the materials being taught.
As I said before, equality is key. It's important to understand every student and what their needs are in the classroom so as educators we can adjust and teach our students the same materials but in ways that meet their every needs without them feeling different from their peers.
Hi Alyssa! I loved your post and the focus around equality, it is truly inspiring to see future educators so passionate about giving their students a high quality education. I really enjoyed you mentioning how beneficial it is to have two teachers in the classroom, I feel like this is important because some students that have learning disabilities may need material taught differently, or at a different pace than their peers, so having this extra teacher to work with those students would prevent taking away from the rest of the class. Using a variety of student engagement methods as you mentioned also seems like a wonderful idea, so you can provide freedom and choice within the class. By providing different methods of teaching or even variation in hands on materials used to demonstrate problem solving is a very inclusive way to make sure every student is grasping the concepts you are attempting to teach. Great post!
ReplyDeleteHi Alyssa! I like how you started this blog post by mentioning that teachers should not exclude anyone in the classroom when it comes to learning. Like you said, we as teachers have to understand and accommodate those that learn in different ways. I also appreciate that you follow it up with examples on how we can meet the needs of every single student in the classroom. The one that caught my attention is the first one where you said that not only one teacher should teach the entire class. I remember I learned this when I took SPED at Texas State University. From what I learned from that class is that the general teacher should not feel completely entitled to the classroom because then we have teachers like the special education who come in once in a while to help accommodate. I think that having as many perspectives from different instructors is a very helpful tool, especially when they come together as a team. Don’t you agree?
ReplyDeleteHi Alyssa! The starting point of your blog included how equality is crucial in school classrooms, and I totally agree with you. Equality in classrooms make it super hard on students trying to fit in, that's when you mentioned that teachers should not exclude their students in the classrooms. Another point you stated was how as us teachers should understand the importance of our future students having different types of learning abilities. It is super important to provide multiple means of representation and engagement in teaching. I love how passionate you are in the future of education.
ReplyDeleteHey Alyssa! After reading just your first paragraph, the sentence that stuck out to me was that teachers need to know how to teach a classroom that brings out the strengths of each learner. As students we are expected to listen and complete the work given to us even if we did not actually absorb the information. Sometimes I think teachers believe everyone learns the same way and does not try to introduce different methods. As a result some students could be failing while others succeed. Part of learning should be determining our strengths and how to use our strengths to our advantage. My favorite example you mentioned was having more than just one teacher in the classroom. Having more than one teacher can be very beneficial to diverse learned because it could lead to more personal time with students. When it is just one teacher in charge, it is easy for the students to feel like numbers and not be recognized by their individuality. So by having another teacher in the classroom to help students, who learn better with one on one learning, could allow instruction to be differentiated.
ReplyDeleteHey Alyssa! After reading your blog post my favorite thing that you mentioned was how teachers need to know how to teach a classroom that brings out the strengths of each learner. For me growing up I wasn’t at all good in math. I hated doing math at any point that all I began to see were numbers. I wasn’t at all learning anything it just ended up being a routine. Until about 6th grade I had a great math teacher named Mr. Arce. He developed thinking strategies for everyone’s knowledge that I remember one day I was having trouble with this one problem. He goes “ Rose… what is the best way you learn?” I didn’t even know how to respond because even at this age I didn’t even know the strategies that worked for me . So after that day when I didn’t know how to respond he showed pop videos every beginning of class. It hyped the students to want to learn , and by the time we were trying to learn a concept he gave instruction through his basic life knowledge. He told us stories about what he thought when he was learning about the concepts we were currently learning about. He not just taught us through the way of the book , but what he knew best . We didn’t have to just listen in his class , we had to participate, so it could determine if it was getting reciprocated. After 6th grade was when I noticed that even slowing down the material helped reciprocate what was needed to be learned. It wasn’t that I was slow, it was just that everyone’s going at a different pace of learning. Learning should be determining our strengths but not keeping us from learning more than what we know. My favorite example you mentioned was how “educators we have to be prepared for instruction to be differentiated to meet the needs of every student” which is true. Educators need to be revolving around the students knowledge not there own. We need to make sure as future educators that we are holding the student not tearing them down with not knowing.
ReplyDeleteHi Alyssa, I think it is definetly important to make sure that students get as much understanding on the material as they can. I remember we had a second teacher in my elementary classrooms where they serve as an aid to all students but made sure to help those who were struggling. I think having a second teacher definetly influenced my elementary experience in a positive way.
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