Differentiated Instruction

  

       Within Drake, Reid and Kiloton (2014)'s book, they talk about differentiated instruction within classrooms and it's affects on the students/learners. They define differentiated instruction as a type of instruction where all students are striving to succeed or reach the same goal, but in different, alternative ways (Drake et al., 2014).

Image found here

     Drake et al., 2014 provide a chart within their chapter which states how teachers provide differentiated instruction within their classrooms and how it differs from regular instructions given to the students. They state how teachers provide the general instructions to everyone, but then based on the student and their learning style, the teachers adjust the ways students can do their work/assignments which best suits them and helps them fulfill the tasks needed to be completed (Drake et al., 2014). I think this picture (right) perfectly expressed what differentiated instruction is, a whole bunch of different ways of doing something but all leading to the same final result.

    I truly believe this is one of the best ways for children to learn. This allows students to express themselves through their own ways of learning, allowing them to become more creative and it helps them to succeed, using their strengths in something to be applied to whatever task/assignment is assigned.

Image found here

   I chose this picture (above) as I think it really gets the point across about differentiated instruction. Albert Einstein is saying that we are all smart individuals, but you can't judge everyone on how they do things, as everyone is different and will not do things the same way. 

   When I become a teacher I would want to implement this within my classroom as early as possible. The reason behind this is that when I was in elementary school and high school (for the most part) I was not given differentiated instruction for work or assignments. Most of my teachers made everyone do the work the exact same way, which I did not like as some assignments I had to do were not based around my strengths and we had no choice to show our own way to the assignment sadly. Another reason for this is that i've noticed that since coming to university, they do give you a lot of differentiated instruction and now all the students who have never been exposed to that are stuck with what to do. I constantly hear students say, so we have a free choice for this assignment...what can we do? Are we allowed to do this? How does the professor want us to do this? Students are now unprepared with how to deal with differentiated instruction, so I definitely think this needs to be implemented within schools earlier to help the students with their learning and to prepare them for university.

Video found here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EOPe_cJ67No

   Above is a video which is about differentiated instruction and different ways to implement it within classrooms

   Overall, I strongly believe that differentiated instruction is crucial within classrooms and for students' learning. It allows them to be independent, creative and lets them be flexible with how they display their work. I think more teachers need to implement this within their classrooms to help students show their knowledge and learning through different, alternative ways which can be more beneficial for students, as not every student learns the same.

What do you all think?

Thanks for reading :)

References

Drake, S. M., Reid, J. L., & Kolohon, W. (2014). Interweaving Curriculum and Classroom

     Assessment: Engaging the 21^st Century Learner. Don Mills, ON: Oxford University Press.

Knowing Your Students

     While reading Drake, Reid and Kolohon (2014)'s chapter, I came across a section within the chapter that discussed about teachers knowing their students and how to know their students, which really intrigued me.

     As I read more in depth about teachers knowing their students, it made me realize just how important it is, and how many different fundamental components there are in order for a teacher to actually "know" their students. I found this really interesting to read and think about, especially as I'm studying to become a future teacher. It made me really think of past experiences I've had with a few teachers and the affects it had on me and my learning.

     I have had only one extraordinary teacher that did fulfill all of the components mentioned through Drake et al., (2014)'s chapter. This teacher showed his compassion for each student and their learning/potential. He dedicated a good amount of time to each student, making sure they understood everything, provided differentiated instruction and ways for us to display what we had learned and was a constant motivator for us to push ourselves. He liked knowing what our interests were and observing how we learned and working off of our strengths and weaknesses with each and every one of us. This type of teacher, who genuinely cared about his students and their learning/success truly inspired me to be just like him when I become a teacher, and proved to me that this type of teacher-student relationship is most beneficial and important for the teacher to learn from the students and the students learn from the teacher and also feel important and respected.

https://www.google.ca/url?sa=i&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=images&cd=&cad=rja&uact=8&ved=0CAcQjRxqFQoTCLjGiOPpi8gCFcs4PgodcbIBcA&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ugdsb.on.ca%2Ftevans%2Farticle.aspx%3Fid%3D20056&bvm=bv.103388427,d.cWw&psig=AFQjCNGOHwozxUVK7jt_I0uTdpVGeEZKhw&ust=1443051973400499

     But, with saying that, I have unfortunately had too many teachers in the past who did not seem to care about my peers and I, and you could clearly tell they were just doing their job for the money and benefits (as bad as that sounds)- not to actually help us learn and succeed. They did not care to know anything about us, how we best learned, our strengths and weaknesses or anything that Drake et al., (2014)'s chapter suggested. This made me become not as interested in the class or pushing myself as much, because I felt like the teacher would not have cared if I did a great job or an average job. It definitely put me down.
                                                                                                        https://www.google.ca/url?          sa=i&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=images&cd=&cad=rja&uact=8&ved=0CAcQjRxqFQoTCKbSqpHqi8gCFYN2PgodbjQCTw&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.pinterest.com%2Fpin%2F151715081168600258%2F&psig=AFQjCNEB1KSdtIJs5XUAiWqgP96tvGseqw&ust=1443052101232108

    These past experiences really opened my eyes and justified all of the components that Drake et al., (2014) stated in their chapter about how important it is for teachers to know their students, as it all affects the student and their learning/success.



    Reflecting on another article I read, Reed, Banks and Carlisle (2004) also discussed the importance of teachers knowing their students' learning in terms of knowing their best learning style, and having the teacher recognize that the way they teach/learn may not be the same way their students learn. So with saying this, the teachers need to know/learn about their students in order to provide the best learning style for what best suits them, helping them succeed. 


http://www.google.ca/imgres?imgurl=http://lscomputerlab.weebly.com/uploads/9/8/1/7/9817272/2398983_orig.jpg&imgrefurl=http://lscomputerlab.weebly.com/whats-your-learning-style.html&h=777&w=1100&tbnid=O2saL9nsJSbcjM:&docid=KJJthbDsH3nrgM&ei=TucBVryRAsX3-QGMyIjwDw&tbm=isch&client=safari&ved=0CDMQMygCMAJqFQoTCLzwud3oi8gCFcV7PgodDCQC_g

     Below is a video I found of a student expressing the difference it makes when teachers take the time to actually get to know you and take interest in your interests. 

                                           https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GEu-eQELPOI

     In conclusion, I truly believe that teachers getting to know their students is crucial for their teacher-student relationship and for the students' learning. Students tend to do better in school and their work when they know their teacher takes an interest and cares about them and their education. And with saying this, the more the teacher learns about the student, whether it be their interests, how they learn, their strengths/weaknesses, etc., the more the student will want to learn, work hard and will succeed.


References

Drake, S. M., Reid, J. L., & Kolohon, W. (2014). Interweaving Curriculum and Classroom Assessment: Engaging

           the 21^s Century Learner. Don Mills, ON: Oxford University Press.

Reed, J. A., Banks, A. L., & Carlisle, C.S. (2004). Knowing Me, Knowing Who? Getting to Know Your Students'

         Preferred Learning Style. Teaching Elementary Physical Education, 15(4), 25.

Just Listen: Youth Talk About Learning. (Producer). (2011, August 25). Just Listen: Get to Know Your Students.
         Retrieved from: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GEu-eQELPOI