EDU6133 Differentiation article reflection

This article makes a case for differentiating instruction and suggests how to do so.  The characteristics of a differentiated classroom that I found especially useful for me are: a strong link between assessment and instruction, clarity of learning goals, student involvement in making the classroom work for everyone, and being proactive in differentiating.

Suggestions for planning differentiated instruction include evaluating students’ readiness, interests, and learning profile.

What can be diffentiated are content (although this should be the last resort), process (learning activities the student is asked to perform), and product (the evidence that a student provides for demonstrating what he or she has learned).

The article addresses the fact that teachers in training are not taught to differentiate their training, and that many key voices in teacher preparation programs actively advocate NOT differentiating.   To put it simply, we’re told to try not to bite off too much and to just learn how to teach to one group by trying to keep everyone together.

In my school, most of the teachers teach in a non-differentiated way.  Only students with IEP’s have anything different from the group.  I believe the primary reasons for this are: 1. it is easier for teachers to feel fair by saying that everyone is being treated the same;  2. preparing multiple lesson plans can be a daunting task if different students are in different stages.   3. There are few examples to follow.

I have one example in my school of a math teacher who says he differentiates his students.  Each student and parent has been told that their student will not learn the same things as the next student.  So far, (I’ve been visiting his classes for the past 2 weeks), I’ve seen him give each group a different part of the chapter to focus on.  I will need to visit for a longer period to see more examples, but I do believe that he has a greater percentage of engaged students than other (more traditional) math classes.

Last week, my mentor teacher and I differentiated our instruction by having students self-select into a group that needed a refresher on a certain idea, and a group that did not need the refresher.  Some students were redirected if we thought they needed the refresher.  It was helpful for some of the students to have the material presented a different way by a different instructor.

I’ve been wondering how I’ll be differentiating my instruction.  Of course, I want to help each student where they need it.  Of course, I don’t want students bored in my class… I think of it as precious hours of their life that they could be getting much more out of.   Of course I don’t want students discouraged or giving up because the material seems out of their reach.

So far, I’ve come across a couple of students that I think we will reduce the number of problems they have to do.  They are trying but they are slow, and incomplete work is losing them points and discouraging to them.

I think of differentiated instruction as the holy grail of teaching.  It will require me to be crystal clear in my answer to “what is it that these students need to understand and be able to do by the end of this unit?”   I know the EALR’s are a guide—and they really are helpful, but it does feel like there aren’t enough hours in the day to really do this well when I’m teaching 150 students.

EDTC6535 Educational Technology Creed

My name is Mary Eun and I am a high school math teacher.  This is my Educational Technology Creed for use by me as a guide and for use by my students, their parents, and my administration to understand my philosophy.

I believe our students must be prepared to continuously learn and innovate in order to stay competitive in a highly connected international economy and to help create new types of jobs that do not yet exist. (Education, 2006)

Our students’ futures require skills to quickly adapt new technologies, the understanding and skills to use the technology ethically, and the understanding and practice of responsible social online behavior.

I believe that through the use of technology, teachers have offer more authentic learning experiences because our students currently use digital information and technology extensively and many enjoy using digital information and technology outside the classroom.

I believe teachers can better address the diverse needs of our students by using technology and providing equitable access to digital tools and resources.  I believe that because internet access is available at public libraries, and because more and more homes have internet access, teachers can and should offer additional opportunities to learn using the internet.

I believe teachers can, and should, help students learn to safely, legally and ethically use digital information, including respect for copyright, intellectual property, and the appropriate documentation of sources.  We can do this by modeling responsible use, by fostering the understanding of positive and negative consequences through examples, discussion and online resources, by providing opportunities for students to practice ethical use, and by providing individual feedback.

I believe students’ online social interactions are powerful and can potentially do great good and great harm.  (Willard) Because of this, I believe students should be taught digital etiquette and responsible digital social interactions.  I believe teachers can foster this development by creating opportunities for students to understand potential negative and positive consequences.  This can be done through research and class discussions of case studies.  Teachers can provide online and in-person resources to address damage that has been already done, and can provide resources to model responsible online social interactions.  Teachers can emphasize the importance of avoidance of harm to others and enforce moral values and social expectations in all class interactions, whether in person or on a class website.

I believe there is tremendous potential for student growth and satisfaction by collaborating with each other.  I believe teachers can create opportunities for global awareness and cultural understanding by facilitating online collaboration using technology.  I believe teachers can help students develop collaboration skills through discussions of case studies, opportunities to collaborate, group feedback, self reflection, and individual feedback.

Bibliography

Education, T. A. (2006, January). Reinventing the American High School for the 21st Century. Retrieved October 23, 2009, from The Association for Career and Technical Education: http://www.acteonline.org/uploadedFiles/Issues_and_Advocacy/files/ACTEHSReform_Full.pdf

Willard, N. (n.d.). I can’t see you – you can’t see me. Retrieved 2009, from Center for Safe and Responsible Internet Use: http://csrui.org

11-1-09 Preparing for the week ahead

Starting next week, I’ll be the teacher of record for 3 new math sections that my school is adding due to our high enrollment.  The two geometry and one algebra 1 classes will have 9^th and 10^th graders.

I am anxious about the transition.  The students will be coming from several teachers, all different in their styles and all in different places in the book.  Because one teacher is piloting a new textbook, there’s a chance I’ll get a few students who will be changing textbooks.  My mentor teacher often explained poor classroom behavior with “students don’t do well with change.”  There is truth to that.  None of us really like change.  Even if it’s something we wanted, it’s still hard to change.

I think my strategy for the transition will be to be: be gentle to the students and to myself; do a lot of communicating (listening more than talking) so that each side knows about the other and we can reduce the fear of the unknown as much as we can; focus on learning (and hopefully learning math).

I’ve run through a few different ways to run the first weeks in my mind.  I can start by hitting the curriculum and making that the focus, which is how my mentor teacher started.  I can start by getting to know the students, and make that the focus, which is what I’ve only read about, but not yet lived through.   I am considering the latter, with emphasis on understanding the concepts.  When I look at the curriculum, I want the students to grasp the concepts before diving into the skills practice, something that I haven’t seen a lot of.  I am considering adapting what I’ve seen one of the other teachers do well:  get the kids talking about math.

I am nervous because I’m considering something very different than what I’ve seen my mentor do.  I’m considering a more democratic classroom, where I give recognition that some of the control is in the hands of the students.  It’s so easy as a novice to stick to the tried and true, which is mimicking my mentor and being, in her words, a “benevolent monarch.”  I recognize I’ll fall into that pattern if I’m not careful.  But I also know that I need a participatory and engaging classroom to be effective for the students and rewarding for me, and I think that happens best when the students recognize they own part of the process.

Aside from HOW my classes will work, I want to focus on the students UNDERSTANDING the big ideas, the key concepts.  I haven’t seen a lot of this happening, and when it does, it’s usually been during one-on-one conversation, something that’s hard in a large classroom.  Because I want my students to focus on understanding the concepts, I want to have them talking and writing about math, something very different than I’ve seen so far.  Is this a great idea for a novice teacher?  I question myself because it would be less risky to learn how everyone else does it before fiddling around with something so different.  However, I remind myself that it’s risky to lose half the students by boring them with worksheets and skills practice when they don’t get the concepts behind the skills.

That brings me to this week’s blackboard prompt: “identify the ten most important skills, attitudes, or behaviors a teacher must possess in order to instruct 9^th and 10^th graders effectively. Self-assess your ability and attitudes against this list.”  I’ll be better prepared to answer this more thoroughly after I get to know my students.  Meanwhile, here’s a start:

1. Create opportunities to reflect.  I learned last summer that learning happens when we reflect over the event. I found writing prompts were effective in forcing me to reflect. I’ll be giving my students chances to learn to write about math and reflect.
2. Practice procedures.  Especially because of transitioning, my students will need to practice how we do things in the new class.  And because many will have short attention spans and selective memory, we will probably be practicing procedures many times.

classroom community

Looking at my algebra-geometry classes, some of the students don’t know each others names in this class.  We haven’t taken any active steps to build a community where they get to know each other.  We’ve assumed that they know how to work with each other, but haven’t taken steps to ensure this. 

Reading about others’ experiences, I was impressed with one teacher who didn’t cover the rules until after the class got to know each other and the teacher.  I can see how this investment has a high chance of paying off during the year, and would like to kick off my classes with this type of community building. 

Some of what I’d want to establish are: behavior expectations are by having the students demonstrate it (what listening looks and sounds like, what participation looks like); I’d want to have the students practice working together (what it looks like to ask for help, when to ask, how to help another student).

Textbooks and teachers

In reviewing the textbooks and curriculum resources that my mentor teacher has to support her teaching, I see how important it is for the teacher to recognize the students’ needs and have the tools and skills to supplement the text.  This fits with my philosophy that each student is unique with needs that are different than the next student, and therefore one book or method cannot be best for all students. 

One course that we’re co-teaching is Algebra-Geometry. This remedial class is for 11^th and 12^th grade students who have not passed the WASL and were promoted from algebra to geometry whether they were ready or not.  Because of the district decision to not offer pre-algebra in high school, many of these students have been over their heads over the past 2-3 years, if not longer.  We are using old textbooks that my mentor teacher stored years ago when the district adopted new textbooks.  The Algebra 1 in 2 years books are in good shape and come with supplemental worksheets and tests.  My mentor’s careful explanations, gradual conceptual development and plenty of skills practice seem to be what these students need.  

I think my mentor’s general belief is that we need to be fair to students and help them where they are, not where we want them to be.  My guess is that she believes the students will learn by working hard and practice will help conceptual understanding.  Students are working and experiencing success with their skills and this approach appears to be a good fit for over 70% of the class at this point.  Their conceptual understanding appears to be improving as well.

While this teacher with this textbook and these students appears effective, it would be interesting to compare this same teacher with a different textbook and this type of student.  There are currently 9^th graders learning Algebra 1 through the Discovering series with another teacher who is a fan of the Discovering series.  It is hard to gauge his effectiveness, partially because I’m not his student teacher, and partially because it will take time to gather the results and compare.  However, one week of observations leads me to think that he would also be effective, because he regularly explains why this approach works for him.  I do wonder if the fit of a teacher and the textbook are more important to the student than the textbook itself?    

Regarding roles, it appears that my mentor is primarily a transmitter of information and a group facilitator.  The students are expected to be attentive listeners, polite participants, and workers.  I want to be primarily a source of intellectual stimulation, and I do see some teachers doing this.

student behavior

I’m amazed at how consistent my mentor seems to be between 2 periods of geometry, and how differently each class responds.  With each, she has the same materials prepared, the same questions are on the board, and she covers the lesson very similarly.  With 3^rd period, half the students were involved in side conversations, and were told several times to be quieter.  Considering they’re having a quiz next Monday, the side conversations made me wonder if some had already given up.  And it’s only the 3^rd week of school!  The 6^th period responded very differently.  Considering it was the last class on a Friday, and an early release day at that, I’d expected this typically social group to be as distracted as the 3^rd period.  Contrary to expectations, they were quiet and attentive, recognizing the importance of the review.  Wow!

My mentor’s style and techniques are very consistent, yet get very different responses class to class. I’ve wondered about various ways I’d try to get attention and quiet with noisy classes, and then observed her using these same techniques, to varying success.   Teaching is a personal thing, and what works with some students does not work with others.  

My mentor teacher had a parent conference with 2 other teachers and a disruptive student and his mom.  The teachers and the mom were all concerned, with the mom stating that she’s out of options and may need to send him to live with his father in another state.  Each of the 3 teachers had called home individually with concerns.  When I take a look at the student and what’s happening inside and outside our classroom, I get a better picture of the student, although still incomplete.  After hearing about the conference, I felt increased compassion toward this young man who’s been making poor choices. While he’s still expected to behave respectfully in class, I felt an increased interest in finding out what he needed to help him be successful.  The day after the conference, I didn’t see much change in him, but I did see a change in me.

Learning to Observe

I’ve taught geometry and segmented math for a semester, and I’m observing my mentor teacher teaching very similar subjects.  I’m very interested in improving my lesson planning and she seems an expert at it.

Drawing from years of experience, she knows what the students will need during the course of the year, as well what they’ll need in preparation for later courses.  She’s teaching the fundamentals, supplementing the book, and taking time to ensure the groundwork is laid.  I can see how this will pay off during the rest of the year.  There are parts of the book that she’s not covering, because  they are peripheral.  The difference between my bumbling semester of teaching and watching my mentor is that I was following the book very closely, without awareness of what they’ll need for later chapters or later courses.   While I’ll be in good shape for teaching geometry and algebra-geometry next year, if I am teaching any other course, I’ll need to go through the book and get input from other experienced teachers on what I have to cover for subsequent courses, and what I can skip if time is tight.  I see that I planned in too much isolation last year.

I feel a strong affinity for the students in the algebra-geometry class.  I remember being aware as a high school student that there was a lot my parents couldn’t teach me because they were not aware themselves.  I suspect this is the case with many of the students in this class.

I expect the majority of the students in this course will not go on to further math and therefore this is the last math class many of them will ever take.   I feel a responsibility to make as many connections to the world as I can, to prepare them the best I can by opening their eyes to the need for math and how to use math.   They’ll need math to survive, to make informed votes, and to not be swindled.  I felt I was able to open a few eyes this week by pointing out a problem in their textbook and bringing it to life.  Instead of having the problem be just another skills practice, I did some role playing and asked them a few thought-provoking questions so that students understood how “average” can refer to 3 different mathematical numbers. 

In debriefing this important point with my mentor teacher, a shortcoming of the book was pointed out:  there was only one problem like it in the book.  Students need more than one example to go on if they are to really grasp a concept.  It was an example of how a teacher can become aware of the need for supplementary materials after teaching out of a book, and how it will influence my lesson planning if I teach out of this book again.