Standard Three | Planning for Differentiated Instruction
The competent teacher plans and designs instruction based on content area knowledge, diverse student characteristics, student performance data, curriculum goals, and the community context. The teacher plans for ongoing student growth and achievement.
Artifacts
Spring 2011 | UDL Lesson Plan
Knowledge Indicator E: The competent teacher understands how diverse student characteristics and abilities affect processes of inquiry and influence patterns of learning.
lesson_plan_1_revised_udl.docx | |
File Size: | 27 kb |
File Type: | docx |
Fall 2011 | Multimedia Stations Lesson Plan
Knowledge Indicator E: The competent teacher understands the appropriate role of technology, including assistive technology, to address student needs, as well as how to incorporate contemporary tools and resources to maximize student learning.
Performance Indicator J: The competent teacher develops or selects relevant instructional content, materials, resources, and strategies (e.g., project-based learning) for differentiating instruction.
Performance Indicator J: The competent teacher develops or selects relevant instructional content, materials, resources, and strategies (e.g., project-based learning) for differentiating instruction.
lpa3multimediastations.docx | |
File Size: | 163 kb |
File Type: | docx |
Reflections
Spring 2011 | UDL Lesson Plan
This artifact shows my understanding of Standard Three, Planning for Differentiated Instruction, because it demonstrates that I can widen my teaching style to encompass a wide variety of learners. This is a lesson plan I initially developed with a group in one of my Education (Curriculum & Instruction) courses, and then revised on my own to better incorporate the principles behind the Universal Design for Learning (a concept centered on meeting the needs of diverse learners).
The instructional problem in this lesson plan is a lack of concreteness in student understanding of these historical and cultural differences between the songs/poems that the teacher wants them to see and discuss. Using a SmartBoard to show Google Earth images of the very different geographical regions where the works originate will grab students’ interest and allow them to make connections between their own world, what they’ve heard about these other places, and the actual appearance of and facts about these other places. Therefore, the themes the teacher is indicating have particular geographical and cultural significance will also seem more real (and applicable to real life) to the students. (Working on the VoiceThread artifact as a class will make these ideas even more concrete to the students, as they will be getting to use technology to create something tangible that they themselves are invested in. Working online will also foster digital citizenship and responsibility.)
The UDL principles that best fit the inclusion of this technology are multiple means of representation and engagement. First, as the teacher shows the Google Earth images, he/she is giving students another way in which to look at the material being taught (the differences and similarities between the works’ themes) – a broader way of representing them. Then, as the VoiceThread is worked on, students have the opportunity to engage with the material in different ways (leaving an opinion as a text comment on a slide, for example, or looking up facts and responding to their peers’ queries).
The instructional problem in this lesson plan is a lack of concreteness in student understanding of these historical and cultural differences between the songs/poems that the teacher wants them to see and discuss. Using a SmartBoard to show Google Earth images of the very different geographical regions where the works originate will grab students’ interest and allow them to make connections between their own world, what they’ve heard about these other places, and the actual appearance of and facts about these other places. Therefore, the themes the teacher is indicating have particular geographical and cultural significance will also seem more real (and applicable to real life) to the students. (Working on the VoiceThread artifact as a class will make these ideas even more concrete to the students, as they will be getting to use technology to create something tangible that they themselves are invested in. Working online will also foster digital citizenship and responsibility.)
The UDL principles that best fit the inclusion of this technology are multiple means of representation and engagement. First, as the teacher shows the Google Earth images, he/she is giving students another way in which to look at the material being taught (the differences and similarities between the works’ themes) – a broader way of representing them. Then, as the VoiceThread is worked on, students have the opportunity to engage with the material in different ways (leaving an opinion as a text comment on a slide, for example, or looking up facts and responding to their peers’ queries).
Fall 2011 | Multimedia Stations Lesson Plan
This Multimedia Stations lesson plan that I created showcases my skills at differentiating instruction for my students, making my material accessible for everyone. This plan incorporates a lot of differentiation via technology resources, as well as also requiring students to engage with the information given in different ways (sometimes whole-group discussion, sometimes individual journaling). All of this work is aimed at the goal of helping students become more aware of a myriad of perspectives of the Rwandan genocide. Understanding these different perspectives – for example, the global community, the U.S., and various observers within Rwanda – broadens the scope of the novel Left To Tell, which gives the personal experience of one survivor of the genocide.
Students will go around to each station in groups, examine and discuss the artifacts together, and then answer questions either individually or together that really focus on illuminating the specific perspective present, and how that perspective helps us understand the events making up the Rwandan genocide in a more clear way. At the first station, students will watch a clip from the movie Hotel Rwanda and consider Hollywood’s interpretation of the genocide. The second station is a timeline slideshow of the events of the genocide, giving a more overarching, present-day “history book” perspective, as well as other countries’ reactions to the events. The third station is an online interview with a British journalist who was in Rwanda at the time of the genocide, showcasing the reaction of an “outsider” who was able to comment firsthand on the events and the responses of the other countries he was connected with. Finally, the fourth station is a collection of pictures taken of Rwanda and its inhabitants at various times. Students will respond individually to the photo and take the perspective of someone/something in it, imagining his/her/its reaction to the genocide and the present circumstances of the country.
Being exposed to these myriad perspectives will help students better understand the Rwandan genocide, and the differentiated way in which I am teaching these perspectives ensures that each student will be able to connect with and understand the material using his/her own learning style.
Students will go around to each station in groups, examine and discuss the artifacts together, and then answer questions either individually or together that really focus on illuminating the specific perspective present, and how that perspective helps us understand the events making up the Rwandan genocide in a more clear way. At the first station, students will watch a clip from the movie Hotel Rwanda and consider Hollywood’s interpretation of the genocide. The second station is a timeline slideshow of the events of the genocide, giving a more overarching, present-day “history book” perspective, as well as other countries’ reactions to the events. The third station is an online interview with a British journalist who was in Rwanda at the time of the genocide, showcasing the reaction of an “outsider” who was able to comment firsthand on the events and the responses of the other countries he was connected with. Finally, the fourth station is a collection of pictures taken of Rwanda and its inhabitants at various times. Students will respond individually to the photo and take the perspective of someone/something in it, imagining his/her/its reaction to the genocide and the present circumstances of the country.
Being exposed to these myriad perspectives will help students better understand the Rwandan genocide, and the differentiated way in which I am teaching these perspectives ensures that each student will be able to connect with and understand the material using his/her own learning style.