Differentiated Instruction – Part 2 (and more)
Dear Lower School families,
We are so excited to celebrate 100 Days of learning and fun together today! A treat will be presented to each classroom at the 100th minute of the school day.
Valentine’s Day at the Lower School:
We are celebrating Valentine’s Day on Wednesday, February 12 with a Town Meeting, Valentine’s Day card exchange, and festive classroom activities.
Differentiated Instruction – Part 2
I am continuing my focus on Differentiated Instruction (DI) paraphrased from the article “Teach Me, Teach My Brain,” in an edition of Educational Leadership. What actually happens in the classroom is integral in understanding how teachers plan, deliver, and facilitate learning. The following characteristics offer insight into the culture and climate of a DI classroom:
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Students and teachers continually work to understand and appreciate one another’s similarities and differences. There is a mutual respect among all members of the classroom.
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Teachers are hunters and gatherers who energetically continue to find out all they can about students’ current readiness, interests, and learning styles.
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Students use essential skills to address open-ended problems designed to provide opportunities to make sense of key concepts and principles.
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Teachers often present several learning options at different degrees of difficulty to ensure appropriate challenge for students at varied readiness levels.
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Teachers often give students choices about topics of study, ways of learning, modes of expression, and working conditions.
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Students work as collaborators with classmates and teacher so that everyone grows.
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Teachers serve as coaches who attend to individuals as well as to the whole class. The teachers’ goals are to meet students at their starting points and to move each one along a continuum of growth as far and as quickly as possible. Learning has no ceiling.
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Teachers may assign students to groups on a random basis or on the basis of similar readiness, mixed readiness, similar interests, mixed interests, similar multiple intelligence preference, or mixed multiple intelligence groups. Sometimes teachers constitute the groups on the basis of an assessed perception of need; sometimes students themselves select the groups.
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Progress is based on individual growth.
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…and the list goes on!
As you glance over this short list of characteristics, many of the ideas or strategies are different than what you may have experienced as a young learner. Thank goodness that educators know more about the brain than twenty years ago. Creating a brain-friendly learning environment allows the teacher to create an emotionally safe, thought-provoking, and engaging approach to learning. On your next visit to the Lower School, please take a moment to find evidence within our learning environment for the DI characteristics listed above—I think you will be amazed!
I am looking forward to the parenting workshop focused on Family Meeting with many of you on Monday, February 10 at 8:30am in the Campus Center (Sadler).
Thank you,
Angie Crabtree
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