Claim: I had the opportunity to share with teacher candidates from our local Miami University the value of differentiation and how it poses success in a unique environment.
Support: Email correspondence between Miami professor, teacher candidate and myself.
Support: Email correspondence between Miami professor, teacher candidate and myself.
One important aspect that I learned from my action research project, was that differentiated instruction is one of the key benefits for using technology in the classroom. A curriculum that is rich in technology allows students the ability to be accountable for individual learning progress and offers teachers a more effective way of monitoring individual academic progress. Student-driven learning enables students with the framework for life-long learning that continues beyond the classroom. Differentiated instruction coupled with technology addresses the diverse student population of individual cultures differences and needs represented in the classroom. Based on conversations that I have had with other teachers (and my own teaching experiences) technology is a substantial resource for learning, but it is very difficult to compete with in regards to teacher-student direct instruction. Smith and Throne (2007) suggests that “technology improves performance when the application is integrated into the typical instructional day.” Another common theme that was found among the articles researched for my project was that the most common types of technology used in the classroom are the handheld devices and online tools that are easy for students to transport and/or access between the classroom and home. The use of Ipads, Netbooks, E-readers and digital textbooks, offer students a wider variety of interests and the opportunity for learning connections in and out of the classroom. According to Deidra Hughey (Wylie, 2013)“Students with learning disabilities benefit greatly from mobile learning, as such opportunities allow them to feel more like their peers, and foster a sense of normalcy,” and students with disabilities need opportunities that connect them with their peers. That is why I chose to combine the idea of direct instruction within a technology driven learning environment.
When I was given the opportunity to house future teacher candidates as volunteers in my classroom for a semester, I felt that our unit had a lot to offer. I knew that our unique situation with the new sensory unit would give them an experience that they had not encountered before and possibly may not again until their own personal teaching experience. We were able to serve two different teacher candidates during the second semester and the first initial response of panicked-stricken expression was a little comical. However, I was very empathetic, knowing that they had not received such an authentic representation of an elementary classroom in a college classroom. We quickly assured them that this was a unique setting and that they, too, would be able to handle the many demands that a classroom presents. Needless to say each one of the candidates was able to rise to the occasion with great success, and they appreciated the experience of seeing differentiation utilized in a real life setting that was much understandable compared to the way it was described in a textbook.
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When I was given the opportunity to house future teacher candidates as volunteers in my classroom for a semester, I felt that our unit had a lot to offer. I knew that our unique situation with the new sensory unit would give them an experience that they had not encountered before and possibly may not again until their own personal teaching experience. We were able to serve two different teacher candidates during the second semester and the first initial response of panicked-stricken expression was a little comical. However, I was very empathetic, knowing that they had not received such an authentic representation of an elementary classroom in a college classroom. We quickly assured them that this was a unique setting and that they, too, would be able to handle the many demands that a classroom presents. Needless to say each one of the candidates was able to rise to the occasion with great success, and they appreciated the experience of seeing differentiation utilized in a real life setting that was much understandable compared to the way it was described in a textbook.
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Artifact 2
References
Smith, G. E., & Throne, S. (2007). Differentiating Instruction with Technology in K-5 Classrooms. Retrieved November 15, 2013, from http://www.iste.org/docs/excerpts/DIFFK5-excerpt.pdf
Wylie, J. (2013). Mobile Learning Technologies for 21st Century Classrooms/Scholastic.com. Retrieved November 15, 2013, from http://www.scholastic.com/browse/article.jsp?id=3754742
Smith, G. E., & Throne, S. (2007). Differentiating Instruction with Technology in K-5 Classrooms. Retrieved November 15, 2013, from http://www.iste.org/docs/excerpts/DIFFK5-excerpt.pdf
Wylie, J. (2013). Mobile Learning Technologies for 21st Century Classrooms/Scholastic.com. Retrieved November 15, 2013, from http://www.scholastic.com/browse/article.jsp?id=3754742