Welcome!!
Welcome!!
Reading Endorsement - Competency 4/5
Foundations and Applications of Differentiated Instruction
In this course, teachers will have a broad knowledge of students from different profiles in order to understand and apply research-based instructional practices by differentiating process, product, and context. Teachers will engage in the systematic problem solving process: use data to accurately identify problems, analyze those problems, design and implement interventions, and intensify instruction based on individual student needs.
One new thing I learned was the formal definition of differentiation. It feels to me that everyone has their own definition of differentiation. Although all of these definitions may have a common denominator, this becomes a problem with the implementation. I plan to use this information when planning activities in the classroom. This will help me keep the learner in mind. One of the many questions I have is how grading by learning goals work in the classroom. I can see how it works with informal assessments but how does it work with other types of assessments. I can learn more from my colleagues and reading about it.
ReplyDeleteOne thing I learned in our first session is the importance of differentiated instruction. Sometimes, as a teacher, we can confuse lack of interest from our students as a sign of not wanting to learn; when in fact it might just be that they do not understand what we are teaching them. Having a full understanding of the definition of differentiated instruction and how to implement it in our classroom will certainly make us more efficient teachers. I plan to use this in my classroom when planning and teaching my lessons. Questions I might have. Can we learn how to use differentiated instruction in a way that the students do not feel "singled out"? I can certainly learn better if I see lessons being modeled.
ReplyDeleteThis session emphasized the great importance of using differentiated instruction in the classroom to reach all students. I would like to work on FORMALLY including the use of differentiated instruction in all subject areas. I hope to learn as much as possible from Ms. Concepcion, as well as from my fellow teachers' experiences.
ReplyDeleteWhat I learn in this first session is that differentiated instructions is an essential tool to reach each student in the classroom. I plan to use this information to help my students achieve their goals and to obtain better results. I think I would learn more about differentiated instructions if I see a lesson being taught and by working with colleagues.
ReplyDeleteAs most of us, I had already heard of DI. However, after learning more about what DI is and how it should be used, I realized that DI is not just a "buzz" word. In reality I feel that it is not as new as it seems. Some of the examples of DI that we saw are strategies that we have been using for some years. Now we are really zeroing in on these strategies to meet the needs of our students. I plan to use this information to reflect on my teaching style and incorporate DI as much as possible. A question taht I have is: We use DI to vary the implementation and the delivery of our instruction, but how do we assess in the same way? Participating in this class is going to help me grow as a professional and become more knowledgeable about how students best learn to read and process what they read/learn.
ReplyDeleteIn the first session I learned how important it is to scaffold the classroom assignments to ensure the active engagement of each and every student.I definitively plan to use this information make decisions about future instruction as well as provide feedback to students.A question I have is:How do we know when the student is ready to go ahead without external support?
ReplyDeleteBeing a rather traditional teacher,this class will help modify my instructional practices.
In Session 1 I learned that a successful application of differentiated instruction greatly depends on planning and organization.This information has made realize that I am not spending sufficient time in the preparation of the instructional practices.A question I still have is:How do we grade in a differentiated classroom?
ReplyDeleteI am positive that this course will help me learn more about differentiation.
Session 1 helped to refresh my memory on the formal definition of differentiated instruction. I feel as though my classroom operates as a fully differentiated classroom however reviewing the actual definition has allowed me to take a more critical eye to my classroom operations and assess whether I have truly been operating in a differentiated manner. One question I have similar to that of one of my colleagues is when do you know if the time is right to release students on to independent practice. I often find that students have very limited time during whole group to grasp a sufficient enough understanding of the concept and when they get to small group they are often missing the concept and with such a large number of students its practically impossible to see everyone and ensure that they are all doing the assignment to the best of their ability... So I guess it’s more of a "releasing students/time management question". I am sure that this is one of the areas we will address during the course of our sessions together.
ReplyDelete- I learned a new way to have my students introduce each other at the begining of the school year without being ashamed to talk; I learn that differenciated instruction is a big plus in the learning pracess.
ReplyDelete- I plan to be more careful when grouping my students.
- I would like to know what tecniques of differenciation we can use with special need students.
- I think I can learn more by practicing, researching and sharing with my colegues.
Based on my background and experience in Special Education, I can relate this concept; theory; approach to the methodology we apply to diagnose, teach, instruct, assess, etc, people with especial education needs. Therefore, this first session made me transfer and review certain previous knowledge that also will be applied in teaching/assessing "Reading" to regular student population from K-12.
ReplyDeleteI think it's always an extremely valuable process to reflect. In discussing differentiated instruction and the basics, it made me reflect on what I was doing in my class and how valuable it was. I understand what differentiated instruction is but sometimes implementing it effectively is a whole different animal. I am really interested to see how others approach. Though I teach at the high school level, I think hearing how everyone approaches it at different levels is extremely important. I truly believe I can learn more by listening and evaluating what would work for my students and what wouldn't - and maybe, just by being brave and trying new approaches and we are exposed to them.
ReplyDeleteSince I have been teaching I have been using the D-I techniques. Before, I didn't know the names of the different techniques of D-I. Now I learned the names of them, and the different types. I would like to learn what techniques to use for different situations. For example, what technique would I use for a student that has a problem controlling their behavior? What technique would I use with a student that has problems with focusing and paying attention? I hope, and believe the course will teach me these things so I can be extremely effective in the classroom. Furthermore,I believe he only way of learning more is finishing the course, and paying close attention in all the classes.
ReplyDeleteIn the first class session, I learned that Differentiated Instruction has a place outside of just the elementary school setting. Middle and senior high schools must also provide students with DI. Providing appropriate DI to meet the needs of all students is a challenge. I plan to use this information by informing the teachers I work with about the importance of providing appropriate DI for all students. A question I have is what DI strategies work best for students labeled as "flat liners"? I plan to learn more through this course and by reading and researching effective ways of implementing DI.
ReplyDeleteDavid Osborn
In this first session it became very clear to me that there is a lot I need to learn about DI. I came to this realization after trying to complete the survey that had a variety of terminology that I was just not familiar with. I am looking forward to learning how to better serve my students through the effective use of
ReplyDeleteDI.
In the first session of class, it became rather apparent to me that I knew little to nothing about differentiated instruction and realized that I had little DI in my own classroom. The quiz we were given, although somewhat common sense, was riddled with buzz words that I was not familiar with. I had never thought about the way I grouped my students together, assuming that randomly grouping them was just fine. I hope that this class will teach me ways to incorporate multiple types of instruction in the classroom and that I can become a better teacher as a result.
ReplyDeleteI have learn in theory what DI means more in depth, I heard about DI and tried to implement in all my classes ,but the one class I need to DI is my Developmenttal class. I know this course will guide me throughout the process and enhance my knowledge by learning how to incorporate DI in my class. A question I have is how to rotate them from one activity to the other , how long do they have to spend working on each activity when I have a block schedule?
ReplyDeleteAs an ESE major I have learned that DI is at the center of all that we were taught. Students are unique and therefore learning takes place in a unique way. DI simply puts accronyms to the theory. One question that I still have is who foots the required funding bill to retrain and reteach teachers? DI is intensive and extremely time consuming. It is an ongoing practice of the theory that places learner needs at the center of learning. One thing that I have learned is that DI mandates alot out of you.
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteAfter the first class of this course I reflected on how I use differentiated learning in my own class. The one way I Feel I use differentiated learning is by having my student who understand the lesson teach the lesson to the students who do not understand after I am done explaining. I feel students learn best when they are teach material. I have learned different forms of groupings and will try to use this in my class room by having students grouped by different skill levels. I have a question on what are some other strategies on DI?
ReplyDeleteDuring the first session we understood the importance of the differentiated instruction in order to meet the needs of our learners in a context where our classrooms are becoming more academically and culturally diverse. The principles and characteristics of the differentiated classroom were discussed such us the appreciation of multiple forms of intelligences, the need of a diagnostic and ongoing assessments to measure the effectiveness of our instruction and make the necessary adjustments to reach each pupils understanding; variety of assignments and materials, and practice of flexible grouping. I am looking forward to next session for more of this great learning experience.
ReplyDeleteDuring the first lesson I learned how important is to scaffold the instructions of the assignments assigned to the students. The way I am planning to keep these new strategies in mind is at the time I am grouping my students according to their needs. One of the many questions I have is what specific sources exist out there for this specific concept of differentiated instruction for instance websites, books, and tests by levels. I believe I can learn more not only learning the theory if not implementing it.
ReplyDeleteBeing an ESE teacher, I think that we have always had a differentiated classroom because with so many levels within a classroom it is impossible to teach without differentiating, but it is not easy. I have learned to model more classes and do a lot of ongoing oral assessment. I feel like I'm learning how to do it better and it feels a little easier. I still have questions about grading in the differentiated classroom and I would like to learn how to make really good plans for the differentiated classroom. I feel this class and our teacher will help make me a more effective teacher.
ReplyDeleteSomething that I learned was the right definition of scaffolding and how to do it. Also some clarification in the differentiation concept. I think that is something that we have done for so many years but now has a different name. I'm definetely planning to continue training our teachers until we have a 100% of our teachers deeply understanding the concept and until 100% of our classrooms will become effective differentiated classrooms.
ReplyDeleteAs a Reading Interventionist learning DI has confirmed what I've learned that every child can be reached within a mixed classroom with the right training and techniques.I have a good use of varied instruction by using reading and verbal competitions and sharing and writing but I am even more sensitive to the personal struggle that each student is experiencing where t heir weakness is concerned. I plan to look more closely at the FCAT scores I have available to me and see if the lessons can target each more specifically according to the strentgh and weakness.I also am reading more blogs of other teachers online who re using differentiated learning. I can see this is a very creative and interesting process and one that can help to make great gains. I want to learn ways to engage learners/readers who have little confidence in their ability to improve and are only there because they "have to be". I wasn't sure I would see too much difference but the little changes I have tried have made it so much more interesting. Because of this, I feel more accomplished as a teacher.
ReplyDeletei have learned Florida's formula 5+3+ii+iii= no child left behind . I know as a reading teacher you most identify of each students weakness in order to proficiency. i do not have any questions for right.
ReplyDeleteAs an ESE teacher, I implement DI on daily basis to meet the individual needs of my students. Our first session has helped me appreciate the importance of DI in all ESE settings. It is an essential tool that allows us to address our students' needs eventhough I feel so much of our time is invested in preparing them for testing. I would like to improve upon my time management skills.
ReplyDeleteI enjoyed the activity we used in class and how we paired up based on our similarities and differences. I also learned about Carol Ann Tomlinson, well sort of. I actually own a few of her books, but never realized she was the "guru" of differentiated instruction. I completely agree with how she says, "teachers need to make modification in instruction for students rather than assume students must modify themselves to fit the curriculum." We have done this for a long time. It does not work for any level student. The lower students fall behind and continue to lack in the skills they need, widening the gap in their instruction. And the higher students become bored. Although because they are at a higher level, they continue to learn, but imagine how much higher and how much more they could learn if we would tailor the instruction for each individual level.
ReplyDeleteChristine Rodriguez
I really forgot what I learned in this session. I do remember that it was a formula to DI . I DI everyday because I teach kids with special needs. I understand that every child could learn but at a different time. I know that DI is very important and that all teachers should try it.
ReplyDelete