Claim: I have changed my teaching practice to incorporate more independence and individual learning.
Support: The success of the new sensory unit.
Support: The success of the new sensory unit.
My classroom population is primarily made up of high-functioning Autistic/Asperger's students, and LD students with sensory deficits. The level of ability varies from Kindergarten to 2nd grade and also varies according to level of cognitive ability. The biggest challenge that I have in my classroom is to implement instruction for multiple levels of ability. Abilities among my students are also affected by focus and attention span. I take these concerns into great consideration when I plan any lesson; making sure that each lesson is engaging and interesting to my students. It is important that I use methods that differentiate instruction on an exclusive individualized plan. My classroom techniques are centered on the TEACCH (Treatment and Education of Autistic and Related Communication-Handicapped Children) work stations (see artifact 1) that were created to enable Autistic students to work based on individual needs, and develop more independence (Mesibov, Shea, & Shopler, 2006). However, I have found that the work stations are very successful for all of my students, which includes students diagnosed with ADHD, Learning Disabilities, and mild autism. Not only do the students have the opportunity to work on curriculum regardless of individual skills, it also implements a normative assessment that is measured daily in the finished bin. The daily assessment feedback offers almost instant reciprocation for each student which is important for students who need a lot of repetitive learning. The only drawback that I have experienced using the TEACCH work stations is that it is sometimes very difficult to create learning tasks that are realistic to the student to compliment the "personalized" world in which they live (Tomlinson & Imbeau, 2010, p. 4).
Another way that I try to continue differentiation strategies in my classroom is to conference more with my students on a one on one basis to ensure that they “Know” what is expected from the goals for each unit that we are learning; that they will “Understand” how the content applies to everyday life; “and be able to” make everyday connections with the material that they read, stories that they write, and share what they have learned with others as suggested by Heacox (Heacox, 2009, pp. 6-9). In my lessons, I use the techniques of a Multiple Intelligence approach as often as possible. Students are more likely to retain information that is presented in various forms of Multiple Intelligence, such as, “Visual/spatial or Bodily/kinesthetic approach based on their individual learning preferences” (Heacox 2009, p. 93). My students are young so it is not always appropriate for them to be responsible for taking ownership of what they learn, but they can take ownership for how well they apply themselves. In order to help my students perform their best I offer them a clear understanding of what I expect from them in this particular learning situation.
Since my classroom consists of students with sensory deficiencies, it it important that I create an atmosphere that allows for flexibility and movement during my small group lessons. As recognized in Leading and Managing a Differentiated Classroom (Tomlinson & Imbeau, 2010, p. 74) “some students need to move around more than others” and some also “have difficulty concentrating during whole-group instruction and perform much better in small-group instruction.” Each student has such a different way of grasping the information and each have such different individual needs. For example, some students need to cut out ovals around the ice-cream cone, and some cut out the ice-cream cone itself. I don’t always realize how much I differentiate when I teach a lesson because I am so accustomed to doing it. When differentiating lessons, I also consider the students who have higher levels of ability and make sure that I am challenging them at the same time. Even though most of my students are functioning below grade level, I do have a couple of students who above grade level in their ability to perform and understand analytical levels of thinking. The most important part of my lesson delivery is how I group my students due to the diverse levels of ability. To accommodate the gaps, I group my higher students with lower students using a buddy system. For this system to be effective it is important to model the appropriate way to challenge your partner, rather than the student with higher abilities doing all the work for the student with less abilities.
As an Intervention Specialist, I am learning how to incorporate a method of instruction that will help my students to focus more on the purpose of learning a concept by developing the understanding of skills needed to master a concept, instead of just covering the basic ideas of a concept. According to Wiggins and McTighe (2004), “developing the ability to transfer one's learning is key to a good education” (2005, p. 40). I want to help my students make the transfer of learning to connect what they have learned to other areas of their lives.
Another way that I try to continue differentiation strategies in my classroom is to conference more with my students on a one on one basis to ensure that they “Know” what is expected from the goals for each unit that we are learning; that they will “Understand” how the content applies to everyday life; “and be able to” make everyday connections with the material that they read, stories that they write, and share what they have learned with others as suggested by Heacox (Heacox, 2009, pp. 6-9). In my lessons, I use the techniques of a Multiple Intelligence approach as often as possible. Students are more likely to retain information that is presented in various forms of Multiple Intelligence, such as, “Visual/spatial or Bodily/kinesthetic approach based on their individual learning preferences” (Heacox 2009, p. 93). My students are young so it is not always appropriate for them to be responsible for taking ownership of what they learn, but they can take ownership for how well they apply themselves. In order to help my students perform their best I offer them a clear understanding of what I expect from them in this particular learning situation.
Since my classroom consists of students with sensory deficiencies, it it important that I create an atmosphere that allows for flexibility and movement during my small group lessons. As recognized in Leading and Managing a Differentiated Classroom (Tomlinson & Imbeau, 2010, p. 74) “some students need to move around more than others” and some also “have difficulty concentrating during whole-group instruction and perform much better in small-group instruction.” Each student has such a different way of grasping the information and each have such different individual needs. For example, some students need to cut out ovals around the ice-cream cone, and some cut out the ice-cream cone itself. I don’t always realize how much I differentiate when I teach a lesson because I am so accustomed to doing it. When differentiating lessons, I also consider the students who have higher levels of ability and make sure that I am challenging them at the same time. Even though most of my students are functioning below grade level, I do have a couple of students who above grade level in their ability to perform and understand analytical levels of thinking. The most important part of my lesson delivery is how I group my students due to the diverse levels of ability. To accommodate the gaps, I group my higher students with lower students using a buddy system. For this system to be effective it is important to model the appropriate way to challenge your partner, rather than the student with higher abilities doing all the work for the student with less abilities.
As an Intervention Specialist, I am learning how to incorporate a method of instruction that will help my students to focus more on the purpose of learning a concept by developing the understanding of skills needed to master a concept, instead of just covering the basic ideas of a concept. According to Wiggins and McTighe (2004), “developing the ability to transfer one's learning is key to a good education” (2005, p. 40). I want to help my students make the transfer of learning to connect what they have learned to other areas of their lives.
References
Heacox, D. (2009). Making Differentiation a Habit. Minneapolis, MN: Free Spirit Publishing, Inc.
Mesibov, G., Shea, V., & Shopler E. (2004). The TEACCH Approach to Autism Spectrum Disorders. New York, New York: Springer Science-Business Media, Inc.
Tomlinson C., Imbeau M. B. (2010). Leading and Managing A Differentiated Classroom. Alexandria VA: ASCD.
McTighe, Jay, and Grant P. Wiggins. (2004). Understanding by Design: Professional Development Workbook. Alexandria, VA: Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development.
Heacox, D. (2009). Making Differentiation a Habit. Minneapolis, MN: Free Spirit Publishing, Inc.
Mesibov, G., Shea, V., & Shopler E. (2004). The TEACCH Approach to Autism Spectrum Disorders. New York, New York: Springer Science-Business Media, Inc.
Tomlinson C., Imbeau M. B. (2010). Leading and Managing A Differentiated Classroom. Alexandria VA: ASCD.
McTighe, Jay, and Grant P. Wiggins. (2004). Understanding by Design: Professional Development Workbook. Alexandria, VA: Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development.