Differentiating Instruction Victoria Gassman Trident University Module 1 Case Assignment

Mapping a route to Differentiating Instruction === In your case assignment, describe your current classroom (or, if you are not teaching, your proposed future classroom), the subject you teach, the audience (Elementary? High School? College? Military?) what type of learners might be found in your particular classroom and their possible learning styles. Based on this information discuss types of teaching strategies that might be most effective in reaching each of the learners in your classroom.
Case Assignment Expectations
In your response to the case, include introductory and concluding paragraphs. Submit by the end of the module. The assignment should be 2-3 pages, not counting the cover sheet and bibliography, double spaced with font size of 12.
Your assignment should include a bibliography that includes at minimum the assigned website. Feel free to use other sources as you deem necessary. For information on how to properly format your bibliography for an APA style paper, refer to Citation Machine
In your response to the case, include introductory and concluding paragraphs. Submit by the end of the module (2-3 pages, including references if you referred; double spaced with font size of 12). Mapping a route to Differentiating Instruction In your case assignment, describe your current classroom (or, if you are not teaching, your proposed future classroom), the subject you teach, the audience (Elementary? High School? College? Military?) what type of learners might be found in your particular classroom and their possible learning styles. Based on this information discuss types of teaching strategies that might be most effective in reaching each of the learners in your classroom.

Introduction: “Thank you Vickie, for letting me complete this assignment in a way I was able to use my talent. This was fun.” This was a recent comment from one of my seniors in response to me allowing him to create a game focused on the process of initiating and following a bill through to it becoming a law. The original options were the typical research paper models however; I have naturally migrated toward allowing students to complete projects in a way they feel engaged with. By doing so, they take full ownership of their learning process via creating a new type of response to an otherwise bland assignment. This is considered to be a part of scaffolding. When I take responsibility for helping my students understand the material being taught, I provide the atmosphere to allow them to take ownership of what they learn. According to Sadhana Puntambekar’s article, Scaffolding, what I do is called intersubjectivity, a strategy within scaffolding and, “Intersubjectivity refers to the combined ownership of the task between the adult and the child, and setting a common goal.” (Puntambekar, 2009) This student did a fantastic job with his project and we now utilize this game as a teaching tool when going over the legislative branch of government and its functions. When working with a class full of individuals and their idiosyncratic capacity to learn, having the flexibility to employ the best strategy to reach most of those students is crucial. Because I have that flexibility, the result has consistently been an overall elevated level of academic success and a significant reduction in absenteeism. Academic success and low absenteeism is a goal of most educators. I teach at a private high school and we have recently seen an increase in academic accomplishments as well as a decrease in students missing class. Personally, I attribute this to the latitude we are afforded when constructing our lesson plans. Our administration encourages us teachers to employ the best overall strategy in order to reach as many students possible. I teach advanced placement classes in History, English, Literature, Political Science, and standardized test preparation classes for the SAT, ACT, and the ASVAB to juniors and seniors. 47% of my students navigate Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder, Attention Deficit Disorder, Dyslexia, and Anxiety. Teaching to these attributes can be challenging under the best of circumstances and having the flexibility to adjust, on a daily basis if needed, in order to teach to as many students as possible is a wonderful support benefit we educators are fortunate to have access to. Another tool I employ when working with any one of my classes is differentiated instruction. Differentiated instruction is an effective tool when working to keep as many in my class engaged as possible. The specific strategy I utilize is tiering activities. Scott Willis and Larry Mann define this in their article, Differentiating Instruction: Finding Manageable Ways to Meet Individual Needs. The definition offered is, “…the teacher keeps the concepts and skills the same for all students but provides ‘"routes of access"’ that vary in terms of complexity, abstractness, and open-endedness.” (Mann, 2000) If any of my classes is having a difficult time focusing, this strategy, typically, brings them back to engagement and most students are productive. There are days when I utilize more than one tool and many work well intermingled. Because my students navigate a variety of complex attributes as well as learn in a variety of ways that range from auditory to solitary, it is necessary to have a variety of strategies in order to keep the majority of any one class engaged. Simply ensuring students are engaged does not guarantee they are learning. As a result, it is crucial to provide them an avenue that highlights their strengths while allowing them to work through their struggles. Utilizing another strategy within scaffolding provides the leverage needed to make it possible for my students to work through the areas they find challenging using their strengths. Puntambekar names this tool, “Ongoing diagnosis and adaptive support.” and states using this tool means, “ The adult needs to have a thorough knowledge of the task and its components, the subgoals that need to be accomplished, as well as knowledge of the child's capabilities as they change throughout the instruction.” (Puntambekar, 2009) When tracking the changes in each student’s growth throughout a lesson, it is possible to afford them the opportunity to be creative, when appropriate, to demonstrate their mastery of this idea in a way they feel they have some ownership of. I have witnessed dramatic growth with students when feeling validated for their talents and held accountable for the occasions they’ve fallen short. Many of my students will boldly state they know they were lazy or they knew what to expect due to how hard they studied. Being as active as possible with each student and expecting their engagement demonstrates a shared responsibility for the overall learning experience.
Conclusion:
The best compliment any educator may receive is when a student tells them their class was challenging but they enjoyed the experience and learned from it. This isn’t reality with many students however, having the ability to adjust teaching strategies in order to provide a challenge to those seeking one while affording those who do not the learning experience they seek is irreplaceable. Scaffolding and differentiated instruction are two of the tools available to reach as many learning styles as possible. Using them can lead to an increase in academic success and a decrease in absenteeism. Having the ability to utilize these tools can be a gift to everyone involved with the education process.

Bibliography
Mann, S. W. (2000). ASCD. Retrieved November 13, 2013, from ASCD.com: http://www.ascd.org/publications/curriculum-update/winter2000/Differentiating-Instruction.aspx
Puntambekar, S. (2009). Classroom Learning. Retrieved November 19, 2013, from Education.com: http://www.education.com/reference/article/scaffolding/