Description:
The focus of reading in EDAT 6115 this week was on utilizing student grouping to improve achievement within the classroom. In addition, there is a focus on strategies teachers can use to differentiate instruction to meet individual student needs. When thinking about effective instruction it is important to think about and reflect upon grouping our students’ and differentiating and personalizing our instruction to meet the needs of our students.
Analyze:
Effective instruction has much more to do with than just teaching a good lesson. Teachers must consider the needs of their students and how they learn best in order to have effective instruction. There are various models of instruction that are used to enhance learning with our students, Slavin focused on using Carroll’s model of school learning to create a model that can be changed based on need. Within the model adopted by Slavin, there is a focus on the quality of instruction, appropriate levels of instruction, incentives, and time. Slavin (2012) argues, “For instruction to be effective, each of these four elements must be adequate. No matter how high the quality of instruction, students will not learn a lesson if they lack the necessary prior skills or information, if they lack the motivation, or if they lack the time they need to learn the lesson” (Slavin, p. 214).
The quality of instruction is the focus on how you choose to present the information to the students. One of the areas that are most difficult for teachers to consider is the appropriate levels of instruction. Students come to us at so many different levels, so it is important to adapt to the individual needs of students. Teachers also need to determine student incentive and consider how they are going to keep their students motivated to learn the material. Some teachers utilize praise and rewards, grades, certificates, and prizes in order to increase student motivation. Lastly, in the model, teachers need to consider the time the instruction is going to take. Time is determined by two factors, how much time is actually allocated or scheduled for you to teach during and engaged time, which is the number of time students are actually paying attention to the lesson.
One of the most important parts of the model was accounting for the appropriate levels of instruction, so teachers must consider grouping students to accommodate for differences. One of the ways teachers accommodate is through ability grouping based on performance, for example, the use of reading groups based on reading level. Within my classroom, I have a mixed-ability class with students who are considered special education, ESOL, TAG, and the in-between students. Because I teach science and social studies, my school decides to group students based on mixed-ability, whereas in their reading and math classes students are grouped based on ability levels. A benefit to mixed-ability is that my students are not placed based on tracking. Slavin (2018) argues, “Perhaps the most damaging effect of tracking is its stigmatizing effect on students who are assigned to the low tracks; the message these students get is that academic success is not within their reach” (Slavin, 219). Based on this knowledge I hold all of my students, regardless of ability level to high standards in my classroom, but I provide accommodations and differentiation for those students in order to help them achieve and reach the standards they are required to meet. One of the solutions to groups based on ability to through utilizing regrouping for reading and math classes. This grouping plan keeps students in mixed-ability classes, but are then assigned to ability classes based on reading and math. This form of grouping allows low achievers to be in classes with their peers and not be stigmatized. Slavin (2018) describes the benefits to regrouping, “…regrouping plans have generally been found to increase student achievement” (Slavin, p. 220).
Another form of grouping discussed by Slavin is within-class ability grouping. This is a common type of grouping utilized in reading classes, however, I use this in my science and social studies class to group students for my guided reading groups. These groups allow for more direct instruction and more group work with teacher guidance. Although it is not desirable to group students based on ability, grouping within the class is more preferable than to group students between classes (Slavin, 2018, p. 220). Aside from grouping students, there are various other ways to differentiate instruction to improve student achievement.
Slavin (2018) defines differentiated instruction, “…tailoring instruction precisely to a student’s needs” (Slavin, p. 222). All students have the potential to reach high standards and differentiation allows each student to be successful in the classroom. One-way schools use differentiation and personalizing learning is through the use of technology. Another way is through peer and teaching tutoring. Peer tutoring is when one student is teaching another. This is beneficial for both students involved because the best way to learn something is to teach it to another person (Slavin, 2018, p. 223). Tutoring by teachers or one-to-one tutoring is one of the most effective instructional strategies and completely solves the problem of leveling instruction.
Another way to accommodate for our students is through providing educational programs for our at-risk students. At-risk students fall into the categories of compensatory education programs, early intervention programs, and special education. Compensatory education programs are utilized to assist low-income communities. The largest program is called Title I which is a federally funded program that provides schools with money to provide student services that come from low-income families. One of the programs my school has is the SLED team. This program is for students who fall in the bottom 30% of students. This is an after-school program that teaches content, homework skills, and social skills to students. It is effective because it is free of cost and offers bus transportation so working parents don’t have to worry about how to get their student home from the program.
Another program to accommodate our at-risk students is early intervention programs (EIP). EIP is about providing students with prevention, not just remediation. EIP ensures that students don’t fall under our radar and are identified for problems early and are not just automatically placed in special education when other modifications could be used. Lastly, comprehensive school reform programs (CSR). CSR programs are used school-wide to introduce research-based strategies into the classrooms. Teaching our teachers these strategies ensures all teachers have the tools to help all students. In addition to the programs to help at-risk students, schools also offer after-school and summer school programs to help with student achievement. These programs are very beneficial to our at-risk students because they offer extended instructional time using targeted instructional activities and strategies based on student need.
Want a quick and easy way to differentiate and plan for personalization of student need? Implement more technology into your lessons. Teachers can utilize technology to enhance their lessons and to help students learn. Teachers can enhance their lessons by utilizing computers, tablets, interactive whiteboards, and electronic response devices. One of my favorite ways to implement technology in my classroom is through utilizing Kahoot. I use this website to create quick assessments for my students that they take on the iPad. Technology is also proven to help students learn. Technology can be used to teach students through the use of word processing systems, teaching students to utilize spreadsheets to graph data, drill and practice facts, tutorial programs, and instructional games. Our school subscribes to an online instructional program called MobyMax which is used to find and fix gaps in student learning. This program is a wonderful tool because it assesses all content areas. Each area has a pretest student take and then places them based on their scores. Students work through lessons that involve reading, videos, and instructional games. The program is also great because teachers can assign certain lessons and topics to their students based on what students need more remediation on. Technology can also be utilized for students to participate in Web Quests and research-based projects to enhance their learning of a topic.
Although technology is a fantastic tool to utilize in the classroom, like most strategies and tools, challenges are going to arise. Some of the challenges of integrating technology in the classroom involve cyberbullying, the use of technology during class, and the safety and security of students. Our school utilizes a program that teaches students online safety and the importance of being kind online.
Differentiation allows each student to feel successful in your classroom. It is important to utilize various strategies and resources like technology to meet our students where they are and help them achieve and grow. We can group our students, preferably in mixed-grouping, to allow students to work with peers on all ability levels. Teachers can also utilize strategies within their classrooms, such as online programs, small groups, and scaffolding to help our students achieve.
Reflection:
When going through undergrad, there was such a focus on differentiation, I believe I took an entire class on it! It’s also one of those buzzwords that people in the education world like to hear teachers use. To me, differentiation is vital to helping our students succeed. We must offer our students accommodations and tailor our instruction to meet their needs. I think that differentiation can be used with all student, regardless of their ability level. Some students benefit from remediation and others from enrichment. It is our job as teachers to figure out what our students need and to accommodate to their learning.
This concept is significant when I think about the context of my classroom because I serve a wide variety of learners. Within all three of the grade levels I teach, I have students who fall under the category of special education, ESOL, EIP, TAG, and then “average students.” I have students who come from low-income backgrounds, and students who come from families with stay-at-home momagers. Differentiation is important to me because I know I have a variety of learners in my room, and I am responsible for ensuring they all learn the same content. It is my job to figure out the best way for each of the students to learn the information and for me to implement it in my teaching practices.
When I first started teaching, I tried to group students based on ability level in my classroom and I quickly learned that did not work in my content area. Based on my experiences and knowledge, I learned that it is okay to group students who are at different ability levels. Students learn so much more from their peers and through collaboration than we realize. Based on the information I have learned, next year I plan on implementing more mixed-ability groups in my classroom for stations and collaborative activities.
In conclusion, through reading and reflecting on the text this week, my beliefs about differentiation and accommodation have been confirmed. I have always believed that differentiation and accommodation are truly the best way to teach our students. We can’t deliver our lessons to students in the same way and assume that learning is taking place. We must use our knowledge of our students and various instructional strategies to meet the needs of our students.
Reference
Slavin, R. E. (2018). Educational psychology: Theory and practice (12th ed.). Boston, MA: Pearson Education.
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