Did you miss the live training? Click this link to watch a recording of the training before responding to the reflection questions below!
- How do you / will you differentiate the content scholars learn?
- How do you / will you differentiate the process which your scholars learn new information?
- How do you / will you differentiate the product that scholars create to show their knowledge?
Deborah Godwin-Starks
ReplyDelete5th Grade Teacher
Timothy L. Johnson Academy
Fort Wayne, IN
I certainly enjoyed the training on Differentiation Strategies. I was most impressed with the Student Engagement Wheel and its use in classroom planning. I would like to use it to assist me in my organizational skills. I know how important it is to make sure that you cover the intended content in class. I believe that the Student Engagement Wheel helps with that piece, and I appreciate the opportunity to learn about it and how to use it.
Charlene Long
ReplyDeleteKindergarten-Trix Academy
Detroit Michigan
How do you / will you differentiate the content scholars learn?
In my room we have whole group, independent work time and small group time. When I have a second person in the room we create two groups and teach lessons based on scholar need. Small groups are run based on nwea scores, ESGI and in class data. We use a variety of tools to deliver content such as whole group lessons, creating anchor charts, tech based whole group, nearpod, hands on activites and much more.
How do you / will you differentiate the process which your scholars learn new information?
We are using a variety of strategies such as exit tickets, projects, turn and talk, nearpod, whole group, small group.
I would love to try to cubing activity that was discussed during the training.
How do you / will you differentiate the product that scholars create to show their knowledge?
I would love to give scholars more choices. I think a choice board would be great for my scholars during this time of the year. I believe this will take some training and a great deal of step by step visuals and strong classroom management/expectations.
I would also love to use the student engagement wheel to plan my lessons as well as to complete while I teach. I love the opportunity to reflect and grown on my skills as a teacher while teaching the scholars the skills they need.
Grace Munoz, Trix Academy 5th Grade
ReplyDeleteDifferentiation is something I have reflected on a lot this year and find that I can tend to really struggle with. There are not a ton of ways in which I already do this, but I desire to see each scholar find their own successes, and to help them get there. I think it could be great to try the cubing activity to help differentiate what students are learning or practicing. Teaching fifth grade, students easily figure out who is more “ahead” or “behind” in their learning, and I think this technique could be helpful to those outliers without calling them out or embarrassing them. I want to be able to push those who are ready for the next level without shaming the rest of the class, as well as help those who need it to catch up. I believe this activity is a step in that direction.
I am planning to use the wheel of engagement to create experiences in as many lessons as possible that can grab the attention and understanding of different types of learners. I forget that little minds often need a lot of repetition to get things to stick, and I need to accept that presenting a new concept can be taught by the teacher, practiced with models, and even explained peer-to-peer before some scholars truly start to understand. These ideas and many others from the wheel are parts of why I really want to hone in on the ways I’m delivering new information.
I would really like to start designing activities in which I can vary the ways that students can show their understanding of concepts. I have some students who still really struggle to read and write, and in subjects such as Social Studies or Science, I’m learning to accept that a verbal response to demonstrate knowledge can be more effective for those scholars. This is not to neglect their reading and writing practice, but giving them a portion of the day in which they feel that they can really “win”, especially if they come to school and often feel that they’re so behind and that they will never catch up. This differentiation will help give those scholars a confidence boost and increase the amount of positive experiences they have at school.
Rachel Schaffner, 7th grade at Thea Bowman Leadership Academy
ReplyDeleteThe way I differentiate the content so by small groups and I meet with each group and go over any information that groups might not understand. One way I would like to try on differentiating content is cubing as that seems like a more level way to access what they know but still being able to differentiate content, not all students could have the same task or questions.
The way I differentiate the process is small groups but also collaboration and technology integration. Collaboration as I want my student to always share and help each other grow and technology integrations as not all students will learn the information the same way. Some can learn by reading, listening or viewing information. So I try to always provide at least two of the three so the students can have a different process to learn the information. What I would like to try for process is choice board as it will give the students a hand in the process of their leaning.
I would like to try a choice board for my Social Studies as the students can choose what they would like to use for a product. It wont all be the same as each student could choose a different product. I have used this in my science classes the student need to choose a product to show that they know the information they were taught. The student will be proud of their work as they got to choose their product. But o noticed at least with my class that some chose what they considered the easy product, not all but some. There will be some who will chose what they will find engaging.