How do you see differentiation in your classes?  What have you tried?  What might you try in the future?

Field Experience Connection: I have witnessed my cooperating teacher differentiate in several ways.  For example, she has differentiated the learning environment for students who need it.  There is a table in the back and several students have been placed there if they are having a hard time focusing.  A few students even asked to be moved back there or to another spot in the room in order to remove themselves from a distracting environment when they needed to focus more.  My cooperating teacher also differentiates the process of teaching by scaffolding.  She is great at explaining step-by-step, modeling what the students should be doing, and giving them practice before allowing the students to work independently or in groups.  This particular school district accommodates learners with IEPs by having those students work one-on-one with a tutor.  The tutors at times accompany the student to class but other times will remove the student from the classroom for a class period.

While I was teaching my two-week unit, I was able to differentiate the process using scaffolding just like my mentor.  I still aspire to scaffold as well as she does, but I am hoping that I will improve with each teaching episode.  I tried to use modeling as much as possible.  I used books that the students had previously read and modeled the lesson with that book, so the students had an idea of what to do but I was not giving the students the answers by using the same book.  I also learned that providing a picture on the board of what I would like for the students to do was quite helpful when scaffolding.  It is important to help the students visualize what the assignment looks like as well as to communicate verbally.  This will accommodate students with different learning types.  I also differentiated the product by providing more time for students to get assignments completed.  A few of the blocks needed me to schedule extra time into the lesson plan in order to scaffold more thoroughly and provide more thinking time for independent and group work as well as for answering questions the students might have.  In addition, I also differentiated the process by providing guided notes for explicit writing lessons.  The guided notes format allows the students to focus on what I need to explain during direct instruction and only worry about writing one main word down per important point.  I can better monitor the students' progress during the lesson with this note-taking format.

Text/Research Connection:  McFee & Torrey (1992-1995) outlined five levels of curriculum adaptations, which should be available for use in order to "meet the student's needs as identified on the IEP" rather than "adapting for adaptations sake."  The first level of curriculum adaptation is Curriculum as is.  Educators need to make sure to examine the general curriculum and ask if the "students on the IEPs may gain benefit from participating in the curriculum as is."  If not, then the next step in differentiation should be to develop a different objective within the same activity and curriculum.  The student with the IEP would work with the other students in the classroom, but have a "different learning objective from the other students."  For example, a student with an IEP may have the objective of staying on task for five minutes and expressing his or her thoughts with a visual response rather than a written response.  The next level of differentiation would be to provide material or environmental adaptations.  These material or environmental adaptations enable a student with an IEP to continue to participate in the general education curriculum.  Examples would include reducing the student's spelling list from 20 words to 5 words, using a computer to write an assignment instead of a pencil and paper, listening to a textbook on tape or CD, and/or reading the test to the student.  The next level of differentiation would be to provide physical assistance.  "Assistance from another person may be needed for a student to participate in a classroom activity."  These supports may be in the form of peers, teachers, paraprofessional, or classroom aide.  Examples of physical assistance adaptation would include: guiding a hand during handwriting, pushing a student in a wheelchair to the next activity, or starting a computer for the student with an IEP to use.  The last level of adaptation is an alternative/substitute curriculum.  This type of curriculum usually involves the "acquisition of life skills."  The decision to allow a student to participate in an alternative curriculum must be reflected on the IEP and discussions weighing the pros and cons must have been weighed prior to using the alternative curriculum.  Examples include: community-based instruction, learning job skils in the cafeteria, doing laundry for the athletic department, and learning cooking/grooming skills to be used in the home.

Personal Connection: Looking back on my education throughout K-12, it is amazing how many different things I can pick out as specific teaching strategies that I had no idea were even necessarily important at the time.  For example, when I was in first grade, my teacher allowed our class to view Sesame Street for a little bit every afternoon.  She had provided me and another student an alternative assignment during this time.  My friend and I were allowed to work on some type of enrichment puzzles other than watch Sesame Street like the rest of the class.  I don't know if I ever wondered why I was doing something different other than because I thought Sesame Street was for little kids, but now I know that my teacher was differentiating for accelerated learners.  She continued to push me and my friend rather than keep us at the same level.  It is important for me to remember that differentiation also means making accommodations for exceptional children at both ends of the spectrum - those students who are accelerated learners and those students who need more reinforcement.

Future Teaching/Learning Connection: When I am in my own classroom, reviewing the students' files for IEPs will be the main priority at the beginning of the year.  I will need to make copies of each student's IEP and make sure that I find ways to make accommodations for that student.  I will also want to collaborate closely with the support staff at my school.  We are all important members of a learning team who will advocate for our students with IEPs.  The intervention specialist and tutors will need to be on the same page as to what the assignments are, how we can best modify it for the student, and monitor the student's academic progress.  I am enthusiastic to have the opportunity to work with a knowledgeable intervention specialist and continue to learn more about differentiation as she shares information about her specialty with me as a language arts and science teacher.  Learning this information from a knowledgeable colleague will only enhance the students' learning within my own classroom.

Reference.

McFee, K. & Torrey, Z. (1992-1995). ABCs of inclusion.  A VI-B project awarded to HPEC by the Kansas State Board of Education.