Differentiation in the classroom is providing instruction in a variety of ways that can appeal to different types of learners. This can be a difficult task for many teachers because of the variety of different learning styles. The ways that you can teach every child maybe different. A teacher needs to plan a variety of methods to help students learn. Differentiation might be hard to do but if teachers would strive to do the best they can then learning will become easier for students. Differentiation requires teachers to look at a lesson with multiple approaches. Depending on the students ability level and interests shows how the student learns best. There are three aspects of instruction:
Content- information that is taught
Process- how a student understands the content
Product- demonstrates what the student has learned
These different aspects should be differentiated to fit a students needs and to help them show their best effort. The instruction should allow a student to think for himself or herself. This allows the students to learn at their own pace. Lessons should also be mixed with a variety of independent and group activities to help the students learn to build people skills and to make the classroom feel like a community.
With special education students diversity in the classroom is a major part of the job. These teachers will have a small group of students at a time who are all on different learning levels. For these students it is important to look at different ways to teach a lesson. For example students who are hearing impaired need to have a hearing-aid or the teacher needs to wear a microphone to help that student understand the content. Another example is students who have a hard time learning by lecture. Providing hands on activities for these students will help them become more interested in the content and will make it easier to understand. There are many ways to help students learn in a special education diverse classroom. Visual aids are a great way to engage students. Some children do better seeing a picture with a word problem because it helps them understand if they are visual learners. Vocabulary flashcards. sight words, and safety signs are great for visual learners. Peer coaching is a great way for students to work in collaborative groups. This type of coaching has students partner up a couple time a week. They will work with one another with school activities such as reading, writing, and math.
Teachers today rely too much on lectures and note taking when teaching their students. Many feel like programs such as PowerPoint are the only way to give students the information that they need to learn about a certain subject. A multi-sensory approach is the best way for appeal to all learning types. Many students are creative and can use that to their advantage when learning. For example some students like to draw, or create stories. By providing these activities for students to do it lets the student have fun but, they also learn about the topic as well. Another example would be if the subject was on a country's history. A teacher could bring in items from that country and show what they wear and maybe even bring in food for the class to eat or show recipes from that country. Another great tool to use is movement. Having students demonstrate a certain part of the water cycle by acting it out would be a fun and memorable way to learn. Many teachers like to use song and dance as well. Differentiation is becoming the new way to teach students of all learning abilities. Wether they are visual, kinesthetic, or auditory each teacher should try to accommodate all the styles when they can. There are many different methods that a teacher can take to make a classroom fit the needs of all students such as more visual aids, multi-sensory learning, and accommodating students with disabilities. Having a differentiated classroom is hard but if it is achieved it helps make learning more enjoyable for students.
Collaboration between teachers is very important in todays education. The video Algebra Team: Teacher Collaboration shows how two high school math teachers, even though their teaching styles are different, work together and teach the same material at the same time. They even use the same examples. Collaborating when teaching a lesson is a great way to figure out what ideas work and what does not work. It is also a great way to reflect on a certain teaching strategy. In the video the two teachers talk about different strategies that they have to make sure that students succeed. They are:
Confusion leads to learning.
Building confidence when discussing topics.
Push for a deeper conceptual understanding.
Having students work in groups.
In this video one of the teachers named Ms. Warburton believes that confusion leads to learning. What she means is that if students are unsure of how to learn to do something, when they become confused and it forces them to work to find a better understanding of that particular problem. Eventually they will be able to work to find out the answer and therefore they have a much better understanding. An article by Quantum Progressexpands this idea further by saying; “studying something in the presence of an answer, whether it’s conscious or not, influences how you interpret the question,” Dr. Bjork said. “You don’t appreciate all of the other things that would have come to mind if the answer weren’t there" ( Quantum Progress, 2011). This quote basically explains that when the answer is given, the brain does not have to work as hard, and then there is no problem solving strategies used. In the article it also explains that the "confusion" should only be given in moderation because to much could discourage the student to try. In Ms. Warburton's classroom she expects her students to try hard and not to expect things to come easily to them which is not only a great school lesson, but life lesson as well. She also states that with this method it shows how much students are willing to do to try new things. Ms. Jones whose teaching style is very upbeat, believes that discussion about a particular subject helps build confidence. She shows this in the collaboration video by having her students discuss the problems that they are doing with their peers to figure out answers and to help others. If the students work together to find an answer they are much more likely to understand. She tells her students that even if they have a wrong answer that it is okay to share and to learn from it. Teaching students collaboration is vital for students as they continue into adulthood. If the students value teamwork then they are much more likely to become successful. Building the confidence with students will make them more likely to take risks and work to do their best. Another point that Ms. Jones points out in the collaboration video is how important it is for students to have deeper conceptual understanding of what they are doing in class. Conceptual understanding for students mean that not only do the students know what they did to get a certain answer but to also understand why. This is a hard point to get across to students. The reason why this type of learning is hard to understand for students is that it requires knowledge of how the brain works and the ability to build on prior knowledge. This type of learning is vital for anyone wanting to go into an math or science field. Deeper conceptual learning takes a lot of time and and work from a teacher to help the students understand why the material they cover in class is important. The importance of working in groups is another great way for students to learn as well as gain some life skills. Ms. Warburton, in the collaboration video, explains that first she tries to let the students figure out problems on their own and then they work together. She has come to the realization that many students performed better when with a group than alone. Collaboration in a group is a vital life skill that all students must be able to become accustom to. For example many jobs require group work in order to achieve a certain goal. If teachers can build up students team working skills then they are more likely to succeed in a work environment. In the video above it explains some of the difficulties that comes along with teamwork and how rise above them. For example one big issue is team leadership. Many students do not like to have a leadership role because it takes aways from everyone being seen as equal. Just with a simple change of name from leader to producer gives everyone in the group a sense of power while still have leadership. In this video their are also some great tips for teachers to use to make them more successful. A couple of important topics they covered were:
Working in a teacher team provides all students a consistent learning environment.
To always have students think about the subject you teach as soon as they walk in the room.
There are many good reasons why working in a teacher team can be a positive experience. It gives teachers a chance to compare notes and see what works in a lesson and what does not. Both teachers in this video explain how important it is to share ideas on how to better relate to students. If both teachers have the same ideas about a certain topic, then all students are much more likely to move along in their education at the same rate. One topic that Ms. Jones mentioned was that every student in the school will have one of their classes. This will help the students when they move to a higher grade because they will all have the same background knowledge.
Engaging students the moment they enter a room is one of the hardest things for a teacher to do. Both teachers in the video start their class with a warm up to encourage the students to start thinking about math. Classroom starters are a great idea to engage a students mind. There are many benefits to having students work as soon as they enter the classroom. It helps control bad classroom behavior, engages mind, and it puts students in the right mind frame to learn more content.
Overall, the Algebra Team: Teacher Collaboration video was excellent in showing how a successful teacher team works. They brought up many great teaching strategies that can help students succeed. Confusion leads to learning, discussion builds confidence, build deeper conceptual learning, and importance of group work are just a few ways to help build upon student knowledge. The video also gives teachers some great tips to incorporate in their classroom such as: classroom starters and sharing ideas to other teachers. When teachers work together to create a positive and helpful environment for students then they will be able to better succeed. References: Quatum Progress. (2011, April 22). Embracing confusion as a necessary part of learning. Retrieved from http://quantumprogress.wordpress.com/2011/04/22/embracing-confusion-as-a-necessary-part-of-learning-part-1/
Collaboration is working together with individuals or a group to achieve a common goal. This could not be more important than in education. Everyday teachers are constantly working together with other teachers, school officials, and staff to ensure success for each individual student. When it comes to special education, collaboration is the majority of what the job entails. Special education teachers collaborate with:
General Education Teachers
School administratiors
Parents and guardians
School Psychologist / Therapists
Due to the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) most students with mild disabilities have been included into a regular classroom setting. This has called for special education and general education teachers to work together. The special education teachers' role in a general education classroom is to help teach the curriculum, work with assessing and evaluations, and to help with classroom management. It is important for the special education teacher to bring in a personal set of skills that will help enhance the learning of students. Skills of both teacher should be able to work together to better help a student. With this collaborative help, the teachers should be able to help meet individual learners' needs (Ripley, 1997). As a special education teacher working with school administration is a vital part of the job. Working with these individuals help a special education teacher follow all necessary laws and procedures, work withIndividualized Education Plans (IEP), and making sure that all children with disabilities are put in an appropriate classroom. It is always important to build a strong relationship with these individuals to ensure success with a student (Top-Colleges, 2011).
Working with parents and guardians can be one of the most challenging parts of collaboration as a special education teacher. Making strong and constant contact with parents is necessary. It is a good idea to have parents come and volunteer every so often in the classroom, so that you both can work together to help their child. For many children with disabilities it is required that frequent contact is made with a parent or guardian of a child to alert them of a students' struggles and successes (Wilmhurst & Brue, 2012). Lastly, working with the school psychologist and therapists in another big part of collaboration when you are a special education teacher. With a therapist it is important to know a students limitations and how they can be helped in the classroom. The teacher also needs to be in constant contact with the therapist to be updated on a students progress. Testing for disabilities are also done with therapist which calls for the special education teachers to step in and assist when needed. The same is true with the school psychologist, they are also a major part of testing children for disabilities and maintaining an IEP.
No matter what part of special education, collaboration is a vital part of the job. Wether it is working with other teachers, school administrators, parents, guardians, school psychologist, or therapists working as a team to ensure the success of each child is everyones goal. Without collaboration the job as a special education teacher could not be done. References: *Ripley, S. (1997). Collaboration between general and special education teachers. Retrieved from http://www.teachervision.fen.com/teaching-methods/resource/2941.html *Top-Colleges. (2011). Working with administrators as a special education teacher . Retrieved from http://www.top-colleges.com/blog/2010/02/28/working-with-administrators-as-a-special-education-teacher/ *Wilmshurst, L., & Brue, A. (2012).Parent-teacher collaboration. Retrieved from http://www.education.com/reference/article/parent-teacher-collaboration/
Teachers today rely too much on lectures and note taking when teaching their students. Many feel like programs such as PowerPoint are the only way to give students the information that they need to learn about a certain subject. A multi-sensory approach is the best way for appeal to all learning types. Many students are creative and can use that to their advantage when learning. For example some students like to draw, or create stories. By providing these activities for students to do it lets the student have fun but, they also learn about the topic as well. Another example would be if the subject was on a country's history. A teacher could bring in items from that country and show what they wear and maybe even bring in food for the class to eat or show recipes from that country. Another great tool to use is movement. Having students demonstrate a certain part of the water cycle by acting it out would be a fun and memorable way to learn. Many teachers like to use song and dance as well.
