Students are diverse. They arrive in our classrooms as unique individuals. They come from various cultures, races, religions, and economic backgrounds. They have varying interests, familial situations, life experiences, and motivations to achieve. Recognizing and honoring these differences through “varied approaches to content, process, and product” is the purposeful way a teacher can create a differentiated classroom (Tomlinson, 2001, p. 7). As students interact with content, process it and create products, teachers need to track progress and grade student work. This paper is a review of literature and reflection on grading in a differentiated classroom.
Summaries of Literature
Fair Isn’t Always Equal: Assessing and Grading in the Differentiated Classroom
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One way Tomlinson (2001) suggests that grading should be changed is by implementing a “new grading system based on individual goal setting and progress in reaching those goals, and that students [should] be ‘graded against themselves’ rather than in competition with other students” (p. 93). Tomlinson (2001) offers several ways the system could be changed but concludes with “any system that encourages personal growth in every student should be the goal and may be achieved, at least in part, in a variety of ways” (p. 94). To follow up, Tomlinson (2001) offers five ways to modify traditional record keeping of grades to match a differentiated classroom: rename the columns in the grade book to be less specific, instruct students to keep their work as a record keeping form, teach students to maintain their own record of their learning, don’t formally grade all work, and use goal setting in student-led conferences to communicate
Argumentative/ Persuasive Essay Molly Killen March 29, 2018 “The starting point of all achievement is desire.” – Napoleon Hill. All states have a course standard to follow to set goals for teaching and learning (West, 2018). Teachers use these standards as a guide within their classroom to provide the best learning for their students.
I found it particularly difficult to differentiate a task when I don’t know the students I will be differentiating for and according to Chapter 4 of Teaching Humanities and Social Sciences “Each students learning is monitored through assessment and teacher observation to identify the student’s progress and any problems that might be limiting his or her learning.” (Gilbert, R., & Hoepper, B., 2016). As a result, I think to accommodate diverse learning needs well I will need to know the students I will be altering. However I think one of the best aspects of the humanities is that it is so diverse and is able to cater to different people and learning
A classroom should be filled with a wide variety of languages, experiences, and cultural diversity. An effective teacher understands the importance of culturally responsive teaching, and recognizes the significance of including students ' cultural references in all aspects of learning. Having an enriching classroom that engages all students does not mean making judgments about a student’s culture based on their skin color, gender, or socioeconomic status, rather it means knowing each student in a way that is individualized. According to the authors of The First Day of School: How to be an Effective Teacher Harry Wong, race, gender, religion, financial statue, and skin color is the least important factor determining a student’s achievement. Moreover, demographics and culture are not an excuse for students’ lack of achievement.
The Grading System: Completely Necessary Grades are an important part of the school system. Grades set the extraordinary students apart from the ordinary ones. In Jerry Farber’s essay, “A Young Person’s Guide to the Grading System,” he argues that grades are the only motivation students have in school. Farber even calls it “phony motivation.” He argues that students do not actually learn anything.
In Alfie Kohn’s essay, the argument of grade expectations being too overvalued rests on a chain of assumptions, but can be argued. Alfie Kohn’s essay portrays that he wants students to find a variety of different purposes in school, and questions the idea of grades being too centralized. In detail, Alfie Kohn explains how students go to school not for the right reasons, but for the wrong reasons instead. For example, the author writes, “They’d scan the catalogue for college courses that promised easy A’s, sign up for new extracurricular-activities to round out their resumes, and react with gratitude when a professor told them exactly what they would have to know for the exam so they could ignore everything else” (para. 8).
In Kurt Wiesenfeld’s article “Making the Grade”, he address the issue that students want a higher grade than they deserve. He goes on to prove this be by giving examples of previous students that he has had and what can happen when students get the grades that they want and not what they deserve. In Wiesenfeld’s article he states that about ten percent of students that take his class do not care about their grades until final grades are over. “You might groan and moan, but you accepted it as the outcome of your efforts or lack thereof,” Wiesenfeld stated.
When everyone gets first place, does anyone truly win? “A’s for Everyone!” by Alicia Shepard is a persuasive essay discussing how grade inflation affects professors at a collegiate level. Shepard’s credentials are satisfactory: she is a journalism professor who’s experienced demanding students first-hand. These students believe they are entitled to receive A grades, regardless of their exam scores.
The Open University of Hong Kong Li Ka Shing Institute of Professional and Continuing Education PTD38 Higher Diploma in Early Childhood Education (2014-2015) ASSIGNMENT 1 MY PHILOSOPHY OF EDUCATION Student Number: 11396646 Student: CHENG KA YIU, YOYO Class: U09A Course Code: EDU4017EP Course Title: Introduction to Early Childhood Education Instructor: Ms. Hailey Chan Programme Leader: Dr. Eunice Yim Submission Date: 14 November 2014
The teachers need to understand the instructional designs and how to apply these. In executing this effectively the learning process should expose the utilization of theoretical frameworks, student centered learning, collaboration, culturally fit (diversity), awareness of different learning styles and reflective practices (Tuitt, 2003, p.251- 253). With this we can be sure that every child can learn every child must learn with inclusive pedagogy through accessibility of
2.2.5. Cultural diversity in Classroom: There are various cultural differences that teachers are likely to come across culturally diverse classrooms including Gender, Age, Cognition, Norms, beliefs, Primary language, Exceptionality, Cultural heritage, Socio-economic status, Opinions, ideas, Attitudes, Expectations, Behavioral styles, Geography, Learning styles, Communication Styles, Decision making styles, Ways of Communicating Non-verbally, Ways of Learning, Ways of Dealing with Conflict, Ways of Using Symbols and Approaches to completing tasks etc. According to Pratt-Johnson (2005), there are six basic cultural differences that teachers are likely to encounter in the culturally diverse classroom. Familiarity with these differences will begin
The diversity of student backgrounds, abilities and learning styles makes each person unique in the way he or she reacts to information. The intersection of diverse student backgrounds and active learning needs a comfortable, positive environment in which to take root. Dr. King continues by explaining, “Education which stops with efficiency may prove the greatest menace to society. The most dangerous criminal may be the man gifted with reason, but with no morals.” From back then to today’s society, kids are failing because they lack those morals that they need to succeed.
1. Describe the skills or attributes you believe are necessary to be an outstanding teacher. Being an outstanding teacher goes beyond acquiring the competence and knowledge to deliver rigorous academic instruction to a diverse group of students. Outstanding teachers possess a multitude of qualities making them unique and unforgettable to the children they serve. I believe that outstanding teachers are passionate, inspired, creative, compassionate, patient and understanding.
Essay One: The Dispossessed by Ursula K. LeGuin The extent that grades have on hindering the ability to learn is discussed in Ursula K. LeGuin’s The Dispossessed, in which Shevek a college professor is troubled by the importance placed on the grading system as a mark of understanding of a subject at the university he recently started teaching at. One of the first points to be made is that understanding what you were taught isn’t the point of schools anymore, it’s about memorizing the information for a test or assignment. Second, is that achieving high marks in school doesn’t always equate intelligence or lack of it . Lastly, it’s not how well one is able to memorize what they are taught, but how they’re able to take that information, process and apply it to real world problems that shows the extent of one’s true education.
Differentiation, with respect to instruction, means tailoring it to meet individual needs of the students. Teachers can differentiate content, process, products, or the learning environment, the use of ongoing assessment and flexible grouping makes this a successful approach to instruction. Teachers differentiate the four classroom elements based on student readiness, interest, or learning profile. (Tomlinson 2000). Differentiated instruction can be known as an organizing framework in teaching and learning which calls for a major restructuring in the classroom and syllabus, if done in the proper way, its benefits will transgress the costs.
While issues associated with socio-economic diversity are extremely important in the classroom, this is only one of several elements of diversity which must be considered in order to minimize inequity in students ' experience of education. Another important issue is that of cultural diversity. Australia is a multicultural country. Lawrence et. al.