Janice+B

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Monday, October 19, 2009

Differentiated Instruction means know that each of your students is unique, learns in a unique way, and may be at a different developmental level than a peer. As a teacher, it is part of my responsibility to plan according to the levels and learning styles of my students so that they may each experience success in my classroom.

[|Carol Ann Tomlinson]


 * Knowing the Learner....My AHA! Moment**

It is very interesting to me that so many different people have researched the ways that we think and that the researchers have come to very similar conclusions regarding the ways that we think and learn. I found the 4 symbols (beachball, puppy, clipboard, and microscope) to be useful in describing the 4 types of learners. I could see students in my class as having characteristics from certain profiles.

As I was thinking about what I read in Chapter 3, I realized that the way I teach often is the way that I learn best and what feels comfortable to me. I want to try to plan activities that might be outside of what feels comfortable to me, but might be best for my students who learn in a different way than I do.

Over the last month, I have tried to be more aware of how my students learn so that I could try to determine their learning style. As I was reflecting on this, it became very obvious to me that some students' personalities and learning styles came through loud and clear while others left me guessing. My question is how can I try to determine how a very young student (K/1/2) learns best if they are not yet able to verbalize that to me?

We discussed this morning that it is important, especially with young children, to give opportunities to try activities and strategies that incorporate a variety of learning styles. Young children are just beginning to develop and discover how they learn so it is not always best to slot them into a category of the way they learn "best." Learning in different ways can stretch our students and allow them to try things that might not be in their comfort zone.

**My Plan**
I plan to create a kid-friendly learning inventory using appropriate language and faces that my Kindergarten, Grade 1 and Grade 2 students can use. I plan to have my students complete this inventory and then create the index cards. This will help me in creating groupings and knowing more about my students and will serve as a starting point in determining individual learning styles.

January 26th, 2010


 * Action Research**

My understanding of planning has changed a lot this year. I am beginning to use the UbD planning model to plan my units and to understand what it is that I am to be teaching my students. At first it was really diffficult to change my thinking and to let go of how I had planned in the past to embrace new ideas and new ways of planning. I am finding that when have really looked at the outcomes for that unit that I understand better what it is that I am teaching and I am more confident in what I am teaching. I think it is really important for my students to know why exactly it is that I am teaching what I am and how it relates to their lives. I am going to continue to work through the UbD process.


 * March 30th**

I believe that teachers can make positive differences in our schools and in the lives of our students. I believe that Differentiating instruction can assist teachers in helping children to learn. I believe that all children can learn and be successful.


 * May 11th**

At the beginning of the school year, I decided to create my Professional Growth plan around DI. I thought that this simply meant adapting the curriculum to the various learning levels in my classroom. Through being involved in the DI committee, I have discovered that DI is a whole lot more than just adapating learning outcomes. It is a shift in mindset and philospohy. The more I read and learned, the more I realized that I needed to learn more and make some changes in my classroom.

I have usually assumed that if you are in Grade 1, then you will need to learn Grade 1 material, end of story. I have discovered the value of pre-testing as I learned about DI. I found that I was not giving my students enough credit, they often already knew more about the material than I would have thought. I now use the insight that I gain from pre-testing to plan accordingly for the students in my classroom.

I feel that I had already been incorporating elements of DI into my classroom, particularily in regards to the supportive learning environment. My goal for the upcoming school year is to learn more about the planning aspects of UBD and its relation to DI. I would also like to practice and learn more about planning for student choice and tasks that suit their individual interests and abilities.


 * The Three Non-negotiables**

__SLE__ SLE refers to the classroom as a safe, comfortable, and welcoming space where each student can take risks and learn in their own way. SLE has many components including: physical environment, teacher/student rapport, and respectful tasks.

I feel that SLE is something that I have incorporated into my classroom and teaching but it is something that I am looking at through a new perspective. I am more aware of the importance of a supportive learning environment.

__QC__ QC refers to the learning outcomes that we teach our students. It also includes considering learning abilities and learning styles when planning for instruction.

I am somewhere in the middle with my comfort level on this non-negotiable. I have planned 2 units using UbD this year (math and science). I feel like I understand the theory behind this practice, but am not as comfortable with it when it comes to actually doing my yearly, unit, and lesson plans. I need more practice at planning multiple activities for different learners in each lesson. I find it difficult to come up with multiple activities for lessons/outcomes that relate to the multiple intelligences.

__CA__ CA refers to assessment for, as and of learning. It mearns that you assess informally and formally throughout a unit, not just with a test at the end of a unit.

I do informal assessment (thumbs up/down etc) regularly with my students, we keep portfolios, math journals etc. I have also started using pre-assessments at the beginning of units. Assessment is something that I do not feel totally comfortable with and would like more practice/information.



I think that my students feel safe and welcomed in my classroom. I think that they feel like they are intelligent and that I am cheering for them in their learning. I think that they feel like our lessons are generally quite focussed and that they know what it is that they are learning. I think that they enjoy learning in my classroom.

__**November 1, 2010**__

I have decided to focus on the area of science this year to implement DI practices within this subject area. I am planning to use pre-assessments to help me to make groupings, plan learning activities, and know my learners. I am planning to incorporate choice into learning activities. I also want to focus on creating deeper understandings with my students this year. For example, I taught a lesson on sorting animals based on common characteristics. I told the students that scientist sort animals, thinking that this would be the deeper understanding. But when I thought about this more, I thought, but why is that important for the students to know. Why is it important that scientists sort animals? Does sorting relate back to other things we've learned in this unit? I am also thinking about the difference between having students regergitate information vs. authentic assessment. I want to challenge my students to show their knowledge and apply it in new and challenging ways. This will be more authentic and will really show if the student understands or not.

I have incorporated anchor activities into my classroom this year. They include journal, writing center, and reading center.


 * Why is DI worth the effort?**

DI us worth the effort when you see a child having an "ah ha!" moment or really being engaged and excited by what they are learning and doing.

__**January 25th, 2011**__
 * Action Research**

-Participation in DI Committee -Reflections on your class and your own teaching values and beliefs
 * Coming to the Question**

Does giving children the opportunity to choose a learning activity that best suits their strengths empower and motivate them to do their best work?
 * Question**

I will learn from Nancy and Joanne and my colleagues in the DI Committee. I will read about this topic and discuss it with other teachers.
 * Reconnaissance**

I am currently teaching a science unit on dinosaurs. One focus of this unit has been the differences and characteristics of herbivores and carnivores. I planned to give my students a choice of respectful tasks to show their knowledge of herbivores and carnivores. I have three Grade One boys and two Grade Two girls in my class.
 * Action and Data Collection**

The criteria for this assignment was that the student must show me a minimum of 2 characteristics or facts for each herbivore and carnivore. I gave the students three choices. They could show me their learning by drawing and writing, creating and presenting a song, or creating a presenting a skit. All three boys chose to create a skit. Both girls chose to write and draw. I observed the skits and recorded data on the information and learning that I observed. I had each girl read their writing and explain their pictures to me.
 * How will I collect data?**

Before giving my students this project we discussed again the fact that each child is different and learns best in a different way. I explained that for this reason, they would be given a choice in their learning activity. I was happy to see that 4/5 children chose the activity that I would think fit their personal learning style best. One grade 1 student chose to act when I believe that he would be better suited to writing and drawing as he is a quiet and reserved student. However, I think it was good for him to take a risk and try something out of his comfort area.
 * Reflection**

I was excited to see how seriously my young students considered their options and tried to choose the activity that would best show their learning. I saw that the students seemed to take pride and time in their efforts and were proud and excited to show the class what they had done. I believe that giving my student's choice in their learning allowed them to actually think about their learning and their own personalities. I think this assignment allowed them to be more creative and to be more engaged and motivated in their learning.

This process was enjoyable for me as well. My ah ha moment was that the students can show the same information to me and I can assess for that information, but they can show that to me in a way that suits their learning style best. I also came to a greater realization that there are a number of ways for a student to show what they know.


 * Reflection for the day...**

A new idea for me today would be that students could be grouped by ability or readiness instead of by age group. I wonder what that would look like and how students would be placed in a group.

As for flexible groupings, I often group students according to their ability and readiness level. I would like to try grouping according to interest and learning style more often. Gender grouping is another area that I would like to try. I was reminded today that groups should be created with a purpose in mind.


 * April 12,**
 * Reflection for the day...**

I found the unwrapping process to be very helpful in understanding exactly what it is that I am teaching the students. Working with my group was helpful because I heard different opinions, ideas, and ways to unwrap. It was nice that we could discuss and work through our ideas and frustrations together. It was a productive morning.