Meeting Individual Student Needs - Essay Example

Meeting individual needs Meeting individual needs Differentiated instruction is an effective way of teaching that enables teachers to address the specific needs of every student in class. Students differ in their learning abilities because of their different cultural backgrounds and home settings. As such, it is important for teachers to consider their student’s literacy levels and cultural backgrounds before deciding the teaching methods to use. 1. Explanation of differentiated instruction Differentiation instructions are used due to students’ divergent ways of acquiring information. It involves usage of multiple teaching options based on the needs of individual students. It is based on the teaching theory that holds that teachers should use multiple approaches in a diverse classroom (Tomlinson, 2000). It requires teachers to be flexible by adjusting their ways of teaching in order to meet the needs of individual students instead of expecting students to modify themselves to fit in the curriculum. Many teachers have proved the effectiveness of differentiated instructions in diverse classrooms. The differentiated instructions used in birth- PK should be different from those used in K-3. 2. A discussion of the differentiated instruction strategies you observed and identification of which learners benefited the most. Various differentiated strategies were observed in birth- PK. An example of differentiation strategies used in birth- PK was different reading materials based on the reading abilities of students in class. This strategy was more helpful to students who had lower readability levels. I notice some students could read better than others could. If generalized instruction were used, student with lower readability levels would have difficulties in understanding the concepts taught in class. The second strategy used in this class was the presentation of instructions using auditory and visual means. The strategy helps students with difficulties to understand written instructions. Some students get concepts easily if the instructions are represented with visual elements such as pictures or videos. In addition, others understand more if teachers use auditory means. The strategy is helpful to students with hearing problems in class. The other observed strategy in birth- PK included the use of group lessons. The strategy involves dividing of children based on their learning abilities. For instance, students in this class were divided based on their vocabulary levels and spelling abilities. The strategy mostly benefited learners with lower readiness levels of vocabularies and spellings (White, 2014). Some students can understand more vocabularies compared to others. If general teaching strategy is used, students those with lower vocabulary levels would be left out. The fourth strategy used in this class was the use of reading buddies. The strategy involved asking two or three students to read together. Students with higher reading abilities were asked to pair up with those with lower reading abilities so that they could read aloud to each other in turns. The strategy helped learners with lower confidence and fluency in the language. I noticed the strategy helped in motivating students with lower abilities to read. The fifth strategy used in the class was the use of task cards. The process involved creating tasks based on Bloom’s Taxonomy levels while relating the task to the lesson. In each level, students were expected to perform activities based on their thinking while moving from one task to the next. The strategy is more helpful to those students with lower thinking levels and those who understand the concepts more by moving around instead sitting quietly (Hall, Strangman & Meyer, 2011). One of the strategies used in K-3 was the use of group discussions. The strategy involved putting students in groups based in their learning needs to enable them share information. The discussion questions given to each group depend of their learning abilities. Discussion groups were beneficial to students who had difficulties in recalling information and spot answering. The discussion enabled them to think faster in order to share their answers with their group members. The other strategy used in class was the active participation strategy. The process involved asking individual students questions after introducing new concepts. This enabled teachers to identify the needs of each student class. This strategy was helpful for students with poor learning abilities and those with lower concentration levels in class. This is because it enabled them to pay attention more knowing that they would have to answer questions. The other strategy used in this class included changing of learning environment. The process involved providing flexible learning environments that allow some student to learn alone and others to discuss with their peers. The method was helpful to those who had difficulties learning alone and those who understand more when they read individually. The fourth strategy used in this class included the used of one-on-one interactions after each lesson. This method is meant to help all the students in class. Some students simply get concept during the lesson while others need more support from teachers. One-on-one helped teachers identify the students’ areas of weaknesses by meeting each of them after classes. This helped in addressing the needs of each student effectively. The fifth strategy used in K-3 included the use of interest centers. The process involved setting centers where teachers identify the students learning interest. This helps teachers to selects topic or areas of studies that can motivate students. They can also refer to the students’ learning interest in one area when teaching new concepts to enables them understand easily. Teachers focused on specific concepts such as writing skills while using activities or themes of interest such as movies. 3. A summary explaining how this new information relates to culture and literacy in the PK-3 settings. The observed strategies were connected to the culture and literacy in PK-3 settings. The material and teaching styles reflected their cultures or home settings because student learning needs are determined by their backgrounds. Culture and student’s homes play a great role in shaping their values, attitudes, and behaviors (Johnson, 2009). This means that they also determine how students interpret information. For instance, some students may come from homes that do not speak English. Such students may have difficulties in understanding instructions give in English. Consequently, teachers have to ensure that needs of such students are addressed individually since they are different from other students who speak English. In addition, some student may come from communities that face the effects of racism and prejudice. Prejudice and discrimination may make a child to have negative attitudes towards learning. Such students need learning motivation. Identification of such needs enables teachers to use strategies that can motivate the students to learn. The process explains that culturally connected instruction in among the principles of differentiated teaching. The teaching methods used also depended on the literacy levels of students. For instance, the differentiated strategies used for birth- PK and K-3 were different because of their literacy levels. Students in K-3 have higher levels of vocabularies while most of those in birth-KP still have lower vocabulary levels. Differentiation enables teachers to effectively meet their needs. 4. A reflection on the impact differentiated instruction will have in your classroom. Differentiated instruction will be very beneficial in my classroom. One of the impacts that the strategy will have on my class is enhancing students’ performances because it will enable me identifying the weak areas of each student in class. The step will help in effectively tackling individual needs. Improving the weak areas of each student in class will enhance the performance of the entire class. Apart from helping weaker students in class, differentiated instruction will also help brilliant students to discover more learning skills (Adam, 2008). This strategy of teaching will help in satisfying the learning needs of all the students in class since it will make them understand all the students in class. In addition, differentiated strategy will help create a friendly learning environment for all students because it enables teachers to create learning environment based on the students’ different cultural backgrounds. This is important because it helps in motivating students to learn (Kosanovich, Ladinsky, Nelson et al, 2012). Conclusion Differentiated learning is a modern teaching strategy that enables teachers to help students based on their individual needs. It requires teachers bend to match the curriculum with student skills. Teaching strategies should relate with students cultural backgrounds and home settings because they affect attitudes towards learning and understanding of information presented by instructors. References Adam, C. (2008). Culturally responsive differentiated instructional strategies. Journal of Urban Education. Retrieved from http://steinhardt.nyu.edu/scmsAdmin/uploads/005/120/Culturally%20Responsive%20Dif ferientiated%20Instruction.pdf Johnson, B. (2009). Differentiated Instruction allows students to succeed. Retrieved from http://www.edutopia.org/blog/differentiated-instruction-student-success Tomlinson, C. A. (August, 2000). Differentiation of Instruction in the Elementary Grades. Retrieved from http://www.readingrockets.org/article/263 Hall, T., Strangman, N. & Meyer, A. (2011). Differentiated instructions and implication for UDL implementation. International center for Accessible Instructional Materials. Retrieved from http://aim.cast.org/learn/historyarchive/backgroundpapers/differentiated_instruction_udl# .U7OWM3Ypfhk Kosanovich, M., Ladinsky, K., Nelson, L. et al (2012). Differentiated Reading instruction: Small Group alternative Lesson. Florida Center for Research Reading. Retrieved from http://www.fcrr.org/assessment/pdf/smallgroupalternativelessonstructures.pdf White, J. (2014). 4 proven strategies for differentiating instructions. Retrieved from http://www.scholastic.com/teachers/article/4-proven-strategies-differentiating-instruction Read More