This chapter examines the role that teachers have when leading a differentiated classroom. Three metaphors are used to help illustrate the concept of the differentiating teacher 1) Orchestra Director 2) Coach 3) Jazz Musician. All three of them bring to light a different aspect of differentiated instruction (DI). An orchestra has many different parts and instruments just as a DI classroom will have people doing different tasks, but all working toward the same harmonizing goal. A coach is a motivator! Few people absolutely love to get sweaty on their own; most people require some form of motivation for a workout. Likewise, few students will willing give their brains a workout (we have already learned many advanced learners become mentally lazy) without motivation.The coach DI teacher finds out what motivates students and keeps them racing toward the learning goals. Also, coaches give constant feedback. I guarantee there is no NFL coach that says absolutely nothing through out the game and has a successful team (or a paycheck for that matter). Feedback lets students know what is expected, helps find mistakes, motivates, and cements learning. The third metaphor of a jazz musician emphasizes flexibility. Jazz is a the feel of music. Yes, maybe a few things are written on paper, but most of what a jazz musician does is go with the flow of the music, they listen and change. A DI teacher should listen to their students and change their lessons accordingly. That doesn't mean having an unlimited amount of time. Students have to be made responsible for their own learning, but it does mean deviating from lesson plans if needed. Sometimes teachers need to spend more time on something they have spent a week on already and through out an activity (even a favorite) if learners have already acquired the skill taught by that activity.
Which one of these metaphors most closely resembles your view of DI? Do you have your own metaphor?
Chapter Three (pg 17) gives skills a DI teacher has such as: streamlining curriculum to focus on the main idea, reflecting, erasing stereotypes, giving students a voice, being flexible, using a variety of resources, presenting multiple pathways to success,etc.
Which one of these skill(s) do you feel you have a strong grasp of? Which one of these skill(s) do you feel you need to incorporate more into your lessons?
Finally, Chapter Three provides "Rules of Thumb" for DI. The author suggests that teachers should be clear on objectives, assessment should be a road map, all students should be given opportunities for critical thinking, lessons should be engaging, and there should be a balance between teacher and student chosen work.
What are ways, besides stating the CSO's, that you can/do make it clear to students what objectives are?
Besides testing, what other ways you do student assessments? What could you do to improve your assessment activities and/or do what are you doing right?
What are the repercussions for designing curriculum that does not engage all students?
What, in your opinion, are the methods used in your best lesson that engaged most of the learners.
How can we balance teacher-assigned work with student choice?
In regards to which best highlights my DI classroom idea, I like all three but I would point to the Orchestra Director as more idea as he has several members of doing several things toward a common goal. I like to try several types of learning styles to reach the common goal of realization. Allowing students to choose which way they want to accomplish is somewhat a double edged sword. On one hand they will choose one they may best learn at and can succeed at, but on the other hand it is possible that they will choose one that is not challenging and in doing so not learn as productively as they could.
ReplyDeleteI would say I best give students a voice. I try to run the classroom in a way that they can give me feedback both positive and negative and they can help shape the way we do instruction in the classroom. This gives them more of a feeling they have input and gives them more responsibility. I need to work more on streamlining instruction.
To better state objectives you can clearly state the exact points you want them to learn. I sometimes highlight key topics and just try to make sure they get the main concept of what we are learning.
To assess I try to continually check for understanding during instruction, and a lot of times have them do a presentation showing their understanding of the concept.
The problem with designing instruction that does not cover everyone is that you risk leaving students behind and if you fall behind it becomes very hard to catch up.
Allowing the students to be creative and allow flexibility is how the best way to engage I feel because it gives them more say in what they do and they can be proud of.
I try to incorporate student choice into my teacher assigned work by using feedback to mold my instruction.
I am obviously the coach. I try to motivate, inspire, and I do the activity WITH them, as all good coaches should. That's how I coach, and that's how I teach. However, like a sport, some kids don't have it in them and should never go out for the sport. Sadly, I feel some kids are not made for school and will quit - not that I want them to quit. I do my best, but for some, that isn't enough.
ReplyDeleteI try to be flexible - I don't mind letting students "SAY" their essay to me as I type it. I try to get them to record their essay and then type, but I have some phonetic learners and that doesn't help them. They can express their ideas, they just can't write/type them. As much as this helps for the assignment, it doesn't help for state standardized tests and the real world.
Adding CSOs into tasks and projects is sometimes like added vegetables into food so people will eat it. Sometimes I state simply that it is a CSO; other times I make a cool project that hides a bunch of CSOs. Many students approach it the same way either time. I think it's a dream to think we engage ALL students - I did think that at one time - some won't get excited even if you do a tap and dance. As a rookie teacher I thought I could engage them all, but now I think differently. The best of the best assignments will flop with some. I try to focus on the majority. If the majority of kids are sucessful, then I consider it a worthwhile assignment. I don't always use student choice, except on a rubric when we decide together what they should be graded on.
April- I agree that we can't engage them all 100% of the time. Even though I feel that is what the general public thinks that we should be doing. It is impossible. What we can do is what you said, try to engage as many as possible with interesting activities. Also, I agree with your point on differentiating, sometimes it does not prepare students better for the real world as it is currently practiced in many cases. Rather DI in some ways just waters things down and gets students graduated. So I would respond the system needs to be differentiated more just as the classroom does. Students who will quit school might stay in a program if it was focused on things that would help them in the real world. DI will work wonders, but the idea that all leaners are not the same needs to be seen by the legislator and by the public in order for its potential to be fully realized.
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