Janet+H

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[|elements of supportive learning environments]media type="youtube" key="iG9CE55wbtY" height="344" width="425"[|carol tomlinson]

Oct. 19/09

D.I. is a philosophy that a teacher embraces to reach the unique needs of every student!

Nov. 16/09 I'm excited to learn more details about differentiation (west-oriented). I've not had much opportunity to try out any new ideas. The reading I've done definitely has me thinking about different learning styles and how it affects learning. Question: How do we deal with all of these learning styles and your own unique learning styles as well? How do they work together or do they clash?

Learner profile -Wise owl - Pick an Alien - I plan to use this in my classroom.

Choice in a classroom is very important. Students gain satisfaction in their lives by having each of their five basic needs met. These needs are survival, power, love/belonging, freedom and fun.

What type of a learner am I? After doing the multiple intelligences inventory, I discovered I was a logical/mathematical learner. My learning preference was "clipboard".

DI Action Research

Jan. 26/10

On my journey through the D.I. process, I have learned a lot about supportive learning environments and have gained insights into what I can improve in my classroom.

D.I. is an expectation for all teachers at all levels.

Start small with one or two changes and built from there.

Where is that L.A. curriculum? Takr a look at outcomes and try looking for the big picture.

Mar.30/10

I believe D.I. is a journey.

I believe I still have far to go.

I believe we all do D.I. to a certain extent.

I believe we can learn a lot from others and have much we can share as well.

May 11/10

At the beginning of this process, I was not aware what D.I. was at all. I have learned a tremendous amount of information through the readings and discussions with other teachers in the group. I appreciate the methods of presenting materials that allowed for reflection times and encouraged us to try differentiation in our classrooms.

In my teaching, I have tried to create a more supportive learning environment. I have also done more pre-assessment, which I did very little of in the past. Small groups, different pairing, other flexible groupings are some examples of things I have tried in my classroom. In the future, I hope to explore more student needs and interests when planning units.

The D.I. meetings have directly influenced me in my learning process regarding D.I. This group has given me the confidence to try new things in my classroom and to not feel overwhelmed with trying too many changes at once. The sharing time with colleagues has shown me that we all struggle with doing the best we can for our students.

What is my understanding of the theory and practice of quality curriculum, supportive learning environment and continuous assessment? How comfortable am I with the above three non-negotiables? - My understanding of the above are quite basic. I have always done continuous assessment in my classroom in an informal way. Supportive learning environment is something I have always tried to provide in my classroom, but I am more aware now of the impact this has on my students. The curriculum has always been a part of the planning process when organizing my unit plans. - My comfort level on each of these varies. I am most aware of supportive learning environment and making students feel a part of a classroom and that what they have to say is valid and important. They are an vital part of our classroom "family" and should feel safe and welcome. Continuous assessment is also common practice in day to day life of the classroom. Perhaps I could use more variety in assessment techniques. Quality curriculum is an integral part of the planning process but is often forgotten when the year gets rolling and topics flow and change with students interests and other stresses that occur over the course of the year.

How do my students feel about differentiation? I don't feel I have done enough for the students to see a difference. The pre-assessment I did with the students was confusing to them as to the purpose and needed more explanation. Supportive learning environment has always been an integral part of the classroom. The students loved doing the learning profiles activities. They didn't know why they did it but it was lots of fun.

Nov. 2, 2010.

Reflections on D.I. this year to date: With the renovations this fall, teaching has been a challenge. Without a regular classroom, changing routines,etc., trying to incorporate facets of D.I. have not been a priority. I have been in survival mode. However, in my own classroom, I have been more aware of creating a supportive environment and including all students in all tasks according to their individual needs and abilities. I am looking forward to life at our school getting back to "normal" and then having the time to explore D.I. more fully.

Why is D.I.worth putting all the effort into it? Our students are worth it. They are all important and deserve all the effort we can expend in helping them learn, feel valuable, accepted and successful.

Jan.25,2011

DI Action Research

Question: " Do Learning Contracts give a better understanding of student learning?"

Reconnaissance: Checked out the wiki for examples of learning contracts and samples handed out at DI meeting.

Action and Data Collection: What do I experiment with? What action willI take? -The topic the students were studying were Fairy Tales. They were able to choose the Fairy tale they wanted to work with. (I guided the struggling readers to read a tale they could handle.) - I chose a Menu Planner where students must complete all the Main Dish activities ,one of two side dishes and all must complete the Dessert activity (because everyone loves dessert).

How will I collect data? - observed the students at work. - asked the students for feedback. - looked at samples of students' work. - self-observation.

Reflection: - Of the 12 students in my class, all chose the easier task of drawing a picture rather than the more difficult one of comparing two Fairy Tales. - All students were able to choose a tale they could handle. - After asking for feedback, students said they would always pick the easiest thing to do or the most fun when they had a choice.

Aha! - The idea of choice is still quite new to this group of students. I think with more chances to have choice, some would choose something more in line with their learning styles and interests. There is a large group of "clicky" girls that always do the same thing that the leader does. These choice activities would encourage students to be individuals and express themselves uniquely. - Going back to my question, do learning contracts give a better understanding of student learning, at this point in time, my students need more experience with these types of activities before I could comment on the value of learning contracts in evaluating student learning. -The students really enjoyed the activity and asked when they could do it again. I plan to do this in science when studying planets.

Jan. 25, 2011.

The flexible grouping really tweaked my interest today. I do some, but know I should be doing more. Students love working with others and I feel it really stimulates learning.

The idea of working with others, even those you don't particularly like, is a good skill for everyone to develop. Creating groups of like-minded interests encourages students to broaden the scope of their interests. Also working with others they thought didn't have similar interests, may make them realize they have similar interests they did not know about.

March 1, 2011.

DI ACTION RESEARCH

Coming to the Question: Participation in DI and Reflections on my class and my own teaching values and beliefs

Question: "Does flexible grouping promote a feeling of belonging and does it enhance student learning?"

Reconnaissance: Handouts from DI meeting, reading from "Integrating DI and UbD" and discussions with colleagues.

Action and Data Collection: -For one week, I made a more conscious effort to use a variety of flexible groupings and record student feedback at least once a day on if they enjoyed working in groups and if they felt they learned more in this manner. -Grouping included working alone, with a partner the teacher chose, with a partner they chose, small groups according to interest, and small groups teacher chosen according to ability.

-Data collection involved mostly observation and making notes, also used informal interviewing and a thumbs up/down survey.

Reflection: -All students agreed they enjoyed working in groups or pairs better than alone. -A few students liked it when the teacher chose the groups because they felt they were being excluded. -Grouping according to interests also was a preferred method of dividing up into groups or random methods such as what colour they were wearing. -Grouping according to ability was preferred by those of lower ability because they felt they couldn't keep up with the rest, but at other times enjoyed working with others who had higher ability because they were tired if working with the same people.

-Was student learning enhanced? Students felt they learned better this way, but I found they needed to be reminded to return to the task at hand and focus on their required activity. A follow-up debriefing was needed to highlight the points they were to be focusing on. -The students were definitely more engaged and seemed to consider possibilities they hadn't thought of before.

Aha! -Because flexible grouping is still a fairly new concept in my classroom, more needs to be done to develop a feeling of familiarity with this process. -Students enjoy choosing their own groups and partners. -Flexible grouping should be a part of every classroom.

April 12, 2011. -As always, a lot of information and worthwhile ideas have been presented at our meeting. Some time to finish off Stage 2 and start Stage 3 would be very helpful. Having someone to bounce ideas off of is very useful to see if we're on the right track. Then I feel, I need some time on my own to implement these ideas. To be truthful, my year has not been very conducive to exploring and implementing facets of D.I. I feel I've barely scratched the surface and just need more time to be confident in implementing D.I.