Class Reflection

Just like one shoe will not fit every person who tries it on, one teaching technique is not appropriate for all learners. A teacher must be able to identify her student’s needs and create lessons and activities that meet these needs. This is not always an easy task. Our students come into our room needing many different things. They come with different levels of readiness, different interests, and different learning styles. In this course, we learned about two different ways to support the differences our learners present. These are the Universal Design for Learning (UDL) and Differentiated Instruction (DI). Both of these strategies call for the acceptance of the different learners we teach and allow us to create the best learning environment possible for them.

This class has taught me that differentiated instruction is a way to reach all learners through modified lessons. The easiest way to modify a lesson is through the use of technology. In the end, we just want all students to succeed. In offering different computer programs or technology related lessons we are tapping into the interest of most students and by differentiating these lessons we are meeting almost all students likes. This class has taught me to be open minded about the way I create lessons, assignments and even assessments.

One thing that really helped me in this class was my Ning group. Not only was this a great place to meet with my peers and discuss the class, but it was also a great place to share resources we may have found. Many resources, that I may have never found on my own, were shared here. Two minds (or more) are really much better than one. I found great ways to modify my lessons and was even able to make friends, with whom I continue to share information and ideas.

This course has helped me see that I need to look at my students more. As a teacher, I need to be able to create surveys or quizzes that allow me to get to know my students on a deeper level. Doing this will allow me to create lessons and assignments that really reach the learners I teach.

I am actually using my differentiation lesson plan this week. I divided the students based on ability and am very surprised by the outcomes. All students are producing and working well together. Students I was worried about completing the project are actually working hard to guide their group in the right direction. Giving assignments based on ability and interest really seems to work. While I believe this all in writing, seeing it work in real life is wonderful!!