How does differentiation support or hinder pupils’ progress in writing? A study examining a school in Brent.
Abstract:
“We used to teach subjects and classes – now we teach students (Petty, 2004).”
Differentiation is recognised as a key part of effective teaching in writing but there seems to be a little general agreement about what it implies, or what it might look like in the classroom. Experienced teachers too can find it difficult to cater for the needs of a class which is likely to include pupils across a wide spectrum of abilities, from students with learning difficulties through to gifted children.
The intention of this research project is to remain practical and focused upon investigating a school in Brent and examine how teachers’
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Show MoreIn the short story “I Just Wanna Be Average”, Mike Rose talks about the boundaries between the “average” and special education students. He first talks about how the teachers don’t strive to push their students to engage in education. He describes one teacher saying, “He had little training in English, so his lesson plan of the day work had us reading the district’s required text, Julius Caesar, aloud for the semester.” (315) Another great example where he saw the dissimilarity between classes is when he was put at a regular classroom. Rose was struggling to keep up with everyone because he got used to the leniency before.
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After reading the article “Deciding to Teach Them All” by Carol Ann Tomlinson, I was presented with many opportunities to reflect on what my teaching beliefs are, and on how the teacher discussed in the article was described by her colleague. To start, I have many thoughts regarding how the teacher rose to the challenge of teaching a truly diverse classroom that included students that had “identified special education needs, students who could not yet read in any meaningful way, students who were learning to speak English, students who were working at grade level, and students who were more capable [...]” (Tomlinson, 2003, pg. 7). It surprised me how the teacher wanted to go back to teaching in a general education classroom, rather than in
Tyne uses statistics to prove her point that traditional teaching methods are ineffective (Tyne). Whereas LSSU’s article is a short and simple introduction to the three learning styles without any additional commentary on the effectiveness of any particular teaching method. Different formatting accomplishes different goals when writing to an audience and can be analyzed to determine what those goals
Video Response 3 Addressing a student’s needs plays a vital part in the student’s academic success. Understanding one’s needs requires that a teacher take the steps to understanding the child’s personality traits, interests, abilities, disabilities, and so forth. Students are more likely to grasp the interest of learning a specific subject if they feel that the teacher is kind and understanding, just as Trisha and Brittany’s teachers is. Brittany’s mother mentions that a significant change is notable in Brittany’s self-esteem and grades (Kirk, Gallagher, & Coleman, 2015). Trisha certainly associates her good grades to her relationship with her science teacher and identifies her teacher as helpful (Kirk, Gallagher, & Coleman, 2015).
The most important idea that I extracted from “Major theories of Teaching Writing” was the concept of truth and that writing is learned. “One of the key features of the expressivist movement is the goal of quieting the unproductive influences that have castigated students when they have used their own unique voice.” (Collins, 2013). Truth is accessed during the writing process and this is a pure expression that for a suspended period of time needs to be arrested against assessment. “Truth, for the expressivist, is discovered through an internal apprehension, a private vision of a world that transcends the physical…[Truth] is conceived as the result of a private vision that must be constantly consulted in writing” (Berlin, 1982, pp.771-772).
Lucille Parkinson McCarthy, author of the article, “A Stranger in Strange Lands: A College Student Writing Across the Curriculum”, conducted an experiment that followed one student over a twenty-one month period, through three separate college classes to record his behavioral changes in response to each of the class’s differences in their writing expectations. The purpose was to provide both student and professor a better understanding of the difficulties a student faces while adjusting to the different social and academic settings of each class. McCarthy chose to enter her study without any sort of hypothesis, therefore allowing herself an opportunity to better understand how each writing assignment related to the class specifically and “what
Inclusion is vital in helping to provide quality education for SEN pupils. “above all, inclusion is about a philosophy of acceptance where all pupils are valued and treated with respect” (Carrington & Elkins, 2002). Inclusion is often thought to be the location of your education but is more often than not about the quality of one’s education. The location has little to do with inclusion but more to do with where you feel you belong, some SEN children feel they cannot truly belong in a large mainstream school (Campbell, 2005). Sociological perspectives of inclusion often emphasis equality, respect, participation in decision making, rights, and collective belonging.
Issues such as racism and xenophobia consistently surface and there is a mutual distrust and resentment of other races amongst the pupils. This results in the teachers struggling to do their jobs in a tense environment and having to tackle complex issues such as discrimination. They are forced to attempt to unite students of differing ethnicities who are completely unaccustomed to co-existing with each
The purpose of this essay is to identify how important it is to have a diverse classroom setting. Students from all over the world enter the 21st century classrooms bringing a little bit of home with them. It is crucial that teachers are aware of what is happening and educate themselves in how to reach a student. Children are similar but different at the same time. Students learn in many different ways like for example observing, listening, demonstration, speaking and etc.
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.
Teachers may profit from having a varied population of students as teachers get a chance to improve their teaching skills and ability to distinguish lessons and activities when such different children are in their class. Regular teachers need to work closely with other teachers and specialists to meet the needs of diverse children, thus enhancing their collaboration skills. It also allows to develop an awareness and appreciation of students’ individual difference (National Center on Inclusive Education 2001). Besides, children with disabilities can motivate regular teachers to be more imaginative with their teaching methods, skills and come up with up-to-date methods of delivering lesson that fits all learners. Regular teachers may realize that all pupils have potencies, which can be useful and vital to their entire classroom, and these potencies can be fostered to produce a profound school experience (Kinza 2008).
This has enhanced and further developed my perspective and understanding of different teaching pedagogies. As a teaching assistant I supported two boys with autism from year 2 to year 4. During this time I would regularly have to adapt class lesson plans to cater to their specific needs, and use a variety of multi-sensory techniques, for them to access the lesson and enhance their learning further. At present I’m working as an outreach inclusions co-ordinator for the Greenwich Support Team for Education in Primary and Secondary schools (STEPS). As an outreach co-ordinator I support 15 schools within Greenwich offering support, advice and resources to teaching staff.
I believe that all children are individuals, unique in their abilities, from a wide diversity of backgrounds and cultures, and they also have the right to be treated with dignity and respect. Educators are observers and designers who have to observe children’s abilities, interests and learning styles for designing a curriculum that fulfill everyone’s needs. Observers also play an important role on noticing individual differences and offering help to children who have lower ability to improve
The transition from primary to post-primary education is one of the most drastic of those changes, and schools need to be equipped to accommodate that transition. For special educational needs, many steps need to be taken in order to familiarize both parties with the conditions they live with and how success can be met. In order for students to feel comfortable and make the transition as smooth as possible, there are many things that schools can do to ensure this success. In order for special education pupils to succeed, schools need to create inclusion in the classrooms and with peers, so that SEN pupils can interact with other students and experience real world classroom time. For students with disabilities, schools need to take some necessary steps in order for a beneficial transition to take place.