Introduction
Hello! My name is Rachel Dunn! I have been married for three years and I have a three month old baby girl. I have worked at a middle school for three years as a Special Education Instructional Aide and because of this, decided that I wanted to teach 5th through 8th grade students. Both of my parents are teachers so I have always been used to being in a classroom. They used to tell me that I would make a great teacher to which I continually told them, "no." Eventually, my love for learning and teaching caught up with me and in my last semester of receiving my Bachelor's Degree in Photography, I decided teaching was my calling. I started attending National University in July 2015 and will be completing my student teaching this upcoming spring.
My Experience with Diffentiated Instruction and Learning Activities
Though I have not been the sole teacher within a classroom yet, my experience working with students who have special needs as well as GATE students has helped me learn more about differentiated instruction. While working with students who have various learning disabilities, I learned to differentiate instruction or observe the teachers differentiate instruction. Last year, their were four students who I would assist all day long in their various classes. I had to learn how to read their IEPs and learn how to modify the classroom assignments accordingly. Sometimes students would say, "that's not fair, why does so-and-so get to do that" or "how come he doesn't have to do this?" This was a challenge that got solved early in the year as I watched the teachers explaing to the students that they each had their own educational path that they needed to focus on, and not their peers. One way that I had to modify work was to change the way reading was done for and English Language Learner that I worked with. The students had online textbooks, and his "read to me" feature was activated. This was a great way for him to follow along with the words in the text book while learning about various historical events. Occassionally, I would alternate reading with him as well, asking him to tell me in his own words what we read to make sure he understood. I have done this in small groups too, with other students in the class because it can be helpful for low readers as well, not just EL students. Another way in which I have observed differentiated instruction with in the classroom, is through student choice and accomodating learning styles. I have seen great success when teachers allow students to pick their assignments or projects to show what they have learned. This helps differentiate for all students in the class as students can pick assignments that work best for their own learning style. For example, a teacher once gave the class a tic-tac-toe grid with different activities in each box. The student needed to pick thier own three tasks forming a winning tic-tac-toe. I saw students picking tasks that they truly enjoyed but that also aligned with tasks that challenged them. This was the same for GATE students as well. Not all GATE students are gifted in the same areas so while some may excel in math, others may struggle. Giving the students choices in different areas of study can help students learn in the way that is best for them while also give them the opportunity to become responsible for their own learning.
I am excited to delve into learning more about differentiation and how I can make my future classroom a better place to learn!
