The most useful things I have learned from Differentiation

This next week will be the last week of my differentiation class. I feel I have learned so much about differentiation and why we differentiate in our classroom. In class this semester I have learned about morning meetings, dimensions of differentiation, contracts, cubing/think dice, think-tac-toe, learning menus, etc. All of these tool boxes go hand in hand especially with instruction. I want to incorporate so many things into my instruction to differentiate my classroom. Although differentiation can seem daunting and overwhelming, I have learned it is vital to differentiate if you want your students to succeed. I think about my elementary experiences and why I struggled learning concepts and I feel if my teachers would have differentiated I would've enjoyed school more. I want to be a teacher where learning can occur because I differentiated to meet the needs of my students.

Morning Meetings with Gentry

This week we had the chance to have a teacher come to our class and teach us about Morning Meetings. We have been taught a lot about morning meetings throughout the semester and how they help students learn and succeed. Gentry has been a teacher here in Utah for 3 years and it was incredible to hear how successful morning meetings were for him. One thing I learned from him is to make morning meetings fun and engaging for the students. He said to not always do the same thing because it causes the students to be bored. I feel it is vital to change things up because not only does it keep instruction active and engaging but it allows you to differentiate to meet the needs of your students. Gentry said the most important thing in morning meetings is the share. When I first learned about morning meetings I felt the activity would be the most important, my thinking change.  I have learned that the share is the most important part of morning meetings because it allows students to talk. It helps students feel comfortable talking and sharing their opinion on things happening in their lives. I feel the share in morning meetings will help you build a classroom community of love and respect... this is why your students will succeed; they have support from people around them.

Classroom Community

How do you as a teacher build a classroom community?  

When I first heard the term “classroom community” I thought about all the things you do as a teacher to create a positive atmosphere within your classroom. While this is true to an extent, I feel you have to do more than create a positive environment. In classroom management we talked about how to create this community for our students but I was still lost on how to effectively do it within my own classroom. After taking this class, I feel I learned the things I want to do in my classroom to create community. The three things I want to incorporate in my classroom are safety for students, respect for students, and understand what my students are capable of by differentiate my instruction to teach to their needs.

To create a safe place for my students to learn, I need to be someone they can talk to about their concerns.  After being in the classroom for three semesters now I can understand why people say what they do about school being the safest place for a child to be. I feel as I create this safe environment in my classroom the students will be able to feel they can open up to me and other students in the class. One thing I really like and want to incorporate in my classroom are morning meetings. I feel as I incorporate these into my classroom our classroom community will grow because students will be able help one another overcome the challenges they have.

In order to create classroom community I feel it is vital to respect one another. One thing I really liked from field this semester was how my teacher expected her students to respect one another. She taught at the beginning of the semester the importance of listening when others are speaking. I felt because she had established clear expectations for her students, her students were able to respect each other’s ideas and opinions. I felt because of her expectations she was able to have a classroom community of respect. After seeing this example, I want to share with my students the importance of respecting each other because it helps create community in the classroom.

The third thing I feel will help build classroom community is to understand what my students are capable of achieving by differentiating my instruction. I feel some teachers think a student can’t achieve greatness because they never have or they are compared to another family member who didn’t do well in their classroom. I feel it is important for teachers to get rid of these judgments and think about the best way to help their students reach their full potential regardless of the student’s past. I feel morning meetings are one way to understand what our students’ are capable of achieving. In morning meetings you create an environment for learning to occur and for students to share what they know. After learning about the hallmarks I want to teach using these because I feel as I incorporate them into my instruction I will be able to teach to the needs of my student by placing them in groups, giving clear directions, etc.
For me to become a good teacher I feel it starts by creating a safe community within my classroom. It seems simple to create this classroom community but I feel a lot of teachers struggle to have a community within their class where the students feel safe, secure, and can share their opinion. I thought about what I was going to do to ensure my students felt safe in my classroom. The things I want to do in my classroom to create community include the three things already addressed: safety for my students, respect for my students, and understand what my students are capable of by differentiate my instruction to teach to their needs. Not only will this kind of teaching help differentiate my instruction it will be a safe and fun environment for learning. 

Why I want to be a Teacher!!!

Being in field was great and it helped me realize, I love teaching. I knew when I was younger I wanted to be a teacher because I loved working with kids. As I got older I changed my major to nursing because I was interested in medicine. After returning from my LDS mission,  I realized I didn't want to be a nurse but I wanted to become a teacher. I feel one thing that helped me in my decision of becoming a teacher was serving a mission because not only was I able to serve others, I was able to teach them. Another thing that guided my decision in becoming a teacher was my dad's example. My dad has been a teacher my whole life and I wanted to follow his example. The last reason and most important reason why I wanted to become a teacher was because I wanted to change students' lives. Getting an education is so important and so if I can help in the process I will. I want each child to know they are smart and special even if no one ever tells them they are.

Last day of Field :(

Today was my last day with my second graders. :( I was so sad because I feel I was just getting to know them and their learning styles. There were so many kids I was able to meet and each one of them learned in a different way. I had a student who had ADHD and so if you wanted him to work you had to give simple directions and then keep on asking him how the work was coming. Another student who was my favorite has Autism. He is such a smart kid. From these experiences I learned that even if a student has a disability they can still succeed. I feel so many people think that if a student has a learning disability they are dumb; THIS IS NOT THE CASE!!!! Those students who have learning disabilities can achieve greatness if people are willing to teach to their needs. I want to be a teacher who teaches to each students' learning needs, I will DIFFERENTIATE!!

5 DiMenSioNs of dIFFeRenTiaTioN

Above are the 5 dimensions to consider when trying to differentiate in your classroom. As you can see YOU as the teacher are the one who determines how much differentiation will take place. Will you differentiate your classroom to meet the learning needs of your students? Differentiating your classroom is a great way to set you apart from other teachers and create an environment for learning. As you differentiate the content you are able to teach to the learning needs of each student and help them learn and retain  information. The content and instructional strategies go hand in hand because as you differentiate the how you teach the content you will also be changing the way you instruct your students. I think about my teachers growing up and how they differentiated their instruction; honestly I think they should've been told more about the importance of differentiating in the classroom. How YOU differentiate in your classroom will help you receive a finished product. How well do you want your students to do by the end of the school year? If you want them to succeed and enjoy learning I have learned YOU have to differentiate!!!! 

How do you differentiate in a class of 25?

When I first got into the class I would be in for my 3 weeks of field, I was overwhelmed with how to differentiate for 25 very unique students. I wanted to meet their learning needs individually but that seemed like a daunting task. I was very lucky and was placed with a teacher who is great at differentiating and meeting the needs of each individual student. At the beginning of the day Mrs. T has a student who is the "head farmer" which means they get to lead the morning work. After all the morning work is done, she goes over it with her students to make sure they understand what is being taught. She meets so many students' needs by teaching this way. One thing I loved that Mrs. T did was she allowed her students to read each day in front of the other students if they wanted to. This allowed the students to chose when they wanted to read aloud and not be forced to do something they were uncomfortable with. What a great way to DIFFERENTIATE!!!!

Differentiate to meet Students' Needs

Why do we differentiate? From field I have began to see more of the importance of differentiating and teaching to my students' needs. This is one of my favorite posters...

I feel as I take the time to differentiate and teach to my students' needs I will be a successful teacher. I think about the teacher I am working with in field and how much she teaches to the needs of her students. She will use visuals, give simple directions, shorten work, use music in her teaching, repeat things over and over again. She is such a great example of a teacher who differentiates students according to their readiness. I hope I will be able to be a teacher that influences my students educational experience as I differentiate in my classroom. 

Field...So much FuN!!!

It has been my first week in field and I have loved every moment!!! My teacher is incredible and teaches to many learning needs based on students' readiness. Some students in Mrs. T's class really struggled when working alone on an assignment. To meet the needs of her students Mrs. T has her students who struggle work in groups. This allows her students to improve their readiness and improve in their overall learning experience. 

This week has helped me understand the importance of differentiating to meet the needs of my students. I realized that differentiating isn't hard to do especially in your own classroom. I am the one who determines what my students learn and the best way for them to learn. I am going to be a teacher who meets the needs of my students by differentiating.

Cogs In Differentiation

        To help differentiate in a school classroom some helpful tools to consider are the cogs of differentiation. The cogs of differentiation include: the student seeks, the teacher responds, and the curriculum and instruction are the guidance. As all three of these cogs work together you as a teacher will be differentiating to the students needs.
        The teacher response helps when the student seeks for guidance and in turn it helps guide instruction. I really believe that when all three of these aren't working together your classroom environment suffers. After learning about differentiation I have realized it is vital to differentiate and teach to your students' needs. This is how your students succeed; helping them the way they learn best.

Time for Field!!!!

Tomorrow is my first day of field work which means going into the schools and working with a second grade class for 3 weeks!!!!! I am so excited especially to be able to incorporate differentiation into my instruction. I think one of the biggest things I am going to try to do is teach to the needs of my students. How am I going to do that in such a short amount of time you might ask... I feel it is simple, get to know what your students' like and dislike. Learn their strengths and weaknesses and seek to help them overcome their weaknesses by gaining more confidence in their abilities. I feel in order to be a good teacher I will need to meet the needs of my students to the best of my abilities. I am excited for this adventure I am going to be on for the next 3 weeks. Yahooooooo!!!!!!!!

Sing, Sing, Sing...

Class was great today because we were able to sing and be really involved in the lesson. I am someone who loves to sing and be creative.  Today we were able to do the things I love, maybe Nancy differentiated just for me. :) Music can be such a great tool to help your students learn content material. I feel the biggest "take away" I got from class today is how to incorporate music into your teaching. This is not only helpful for english speaking students but also ESL students. When I was in elementary school I remember we sang songs all the time. We had a state competition where we would memorize composers based on the music the composed. Although I was only in 2nd grade I was able to memorize these composers because of their music I heard. I feel this is the same way for students to retain information, hear it over and over again. What a great way to differentiate in your classroom!!!

3-2-1... BLAST OFF!!!

Yesterday in class we watched Rick Wormeli's, Flexible Grouping Video. One thing I really liked about the video was the number of ways he differentiated in his classroom. I realized it is possible to differentiate and it isn't as exhausting as I thought it would be. :)  Mr. Wormeli adjusted to the needs of the students by dividing the students into two groups: struggling students and advanced students. He didn't tell the students which students were in what groups but the students were able to figure it out on their own. One part of the video I thought was interesting was when a student from the advanced group asked to go to the "lower" group. I feel this taught that even though you are differentiating, students still want to be apart of activities that look or sound fun to them. There were a lot of things I learned from this video but I think the biggest take-away I got from it was the 3-2-1 Exit Slips. I love the exit summaries because I feel they really help you as a teacher understand what needs to be differentiated for your students. In the 3-2-1 Exit Slips students share 3 things they learned, 2 comments about personal reflections and connections, and 1 question about the topic they are studying. Honestly before seeing this approach, I wasn't a big fan of exit slips because I felt they were a waste of time and students didn't share actual concerns. Watching this video changed my opinions and now I want to use them in my class. Differentiating is understanding who your students are and what they need from you as the teacher. 

New Insights...

Today I had the chance to read fellow classmates blogs and their opinions on differentiating instruction. There was one I read about classroom vision and seeking to understand who are students are and what they can become. One thing in this post that really stood out to me was, "our students probably won't remember necessarily what they learned in our classroom, but they will remember how they felt." I had some time to reflect on this statement and I feel it is very true. I have shared in my classes about an experience I had while I was in fifth grade. I wasn't doing well with reading comprehension and instead of the teacher asking me what I needed the most help with they assumed it would be better for me to get easier testing material. This devastated me and made me feel like a failure. I was only in fifth grade and had so many years of school ahead of me. What could've been different in this situation? I feel my teacher could've differentiated and tried to understand what I was feeling. From this experience I learned I want to be a teacher who changes my students for the better and help them see their potential. The best way to do this is differentiate and teach to their needs.

What I learned today... Differentiation in Learning

At the beginning of the semester Dr. Peterson taught our class about the importance of differentiation. Today in class we discussed more of the importance in doing so. What is differentiation in learning you might ask? I feel differentiation in learning is teaching to the needs of the students. In the last couple of posts, I have shared my feeling on the hallmarks and incorporating them in instruction, as I learned in class today, the hallmarks are important but differentiating your instruction is vital to meet your students' needs. Here are some things you as a teacher can differentiate: content, environment, process, or the product according to the students' interest or readiness. I personally haven't been able to incorporate this into my teaching because I haven't been in the schools much but I know this semester is going to be different as I work in the class for my field work. I feel as I seek to differentiate now as a student, I will be a better teacher because I will know what it means to differentiate.

Hallmarks Continued...

As I mentioned in the last post, Hallmarks in a differentiated classroom help you as the teacher learn how to meet the needs of your students. Here are the last 4 Hallmarks and the things I feel are important for you as a teacher in know in your classroom:

1. "Respectful" and Engaging Work for all students: the best way for me to remember this hallmark is to "go outside of the dotted line"and teach the your students' needs, allowed them to be challenged. So often teacher give students worksheets because they know students need practice but just because you give them worksheets doesn't mean they are going to achieve greatness!! They need good instruction in order to become great!!! 
2. Proactive thinking and planning for differentiated pathways: this is simple: plan ahead in your teaching to meet the needs of individual students. 
3. Flexible Grouping: in order to help meet the needs of our students we as teachers need to be flexible in our grouping of students. I was told, "flexible grouping is a colorful classroom." Let us apply this in our teaching and be flexible with our students: be aware of their needs and interests. 
4. Flexible use of time, space, and materials: we need to be willing to help our students succeed and in order to do that we need to realize there is more than one way to do things: be flexible with materials, time, and space. 

As you apply these hallmarks into your teaching, you will see your students succeed!!! 

Hallmarks of a Differentiated Classroom

What makes a classroom unique... HALLMARKS!!! In class this week we talked about the different hallmarks and the benefits to using them in the classroom. I have learned that hallmarks are key in understanding the needs of your students. Below are the first 5 hallmarks and information about how they can help the classroom:

1. A strong link between assessment and instruction: I was taught earlier this week that assessment and instruction to HAND in HAND, you can't have one without the other. If you don't assess your students, how are you expecting to instruct them to their needs? 
2. Absolute clarity about what the teacher wants the students to know, understand, and be able to do: this is like a road map because the teacher has a clear understanding of what is important by having the end goal in mind. The teacher can go a variety of ways to meet the needs of the students. 
3. Shared responsibility for the classroom is between teachers and students; make things work for everyone: this can be thought of like a staircase, this process is gradual and in order to get to the top you as the teacher need to work with the student and vice versa.
4. Individual growth is emphasized as central to classroom success: I liked this hallmark because it teaches that students shouldn't be compared or have to compete with other students; their learning and growth is due to what they have achieved personally. 
5. A "way up" usually through multiple and varied pathways, and never a "way down": this hallmark is simple, teach up to students and never down. When you teach down to students you aren't allowing them to grow in their learning. 

Morning Meetings!!!

I have often asked myself what the benefit of morning meetings is and if they actually help the students in the classroom. I was under the impression that morning meetings were something you did at the beginning of the day to let students talk while you as the teacher were taking roll. I thought this because this is what I had observed in previous classrooms I have been in. I was wrong in my thinking, after experiencing morning meetings first hand, I have realized they are a key factor to having management in the classroom.  Morning meetings are supposed to be fun for students and help them learn about content, plans for the day, and each other. A typical morning meeting consists of four areas:

1. Greeting: Students and teachers greet one another by asking their name and getting to know them. 
2. Sharing: Students share information about events in their life. After students share they ask students if they have any questions or comments to clarify the shared information. 
3. Group Activity: This interactive activity is for all students to get their "wiggles" out, and build social and academic skills. Some activities include dancing, singing songs, playing games, etc. 
4. Morning Message: The point of the morning message is for students to understand what will be happening throughout the day. Students will read this message from the teacher as a class. 

Although I am not a teacher yet, I plan on using morning meetings in my instruction daily. I feel you as a teacher benefit because you are able to know the needs of your students. Most students don't learn the same way and because of this, it is vital to differentiate in the classroom, starting with Morning Meetings.