Live (and teach) Deep: Module I - Week 2: Students as Diverse Learners

“If a man does not keep pace with his companions, perhaps it is because he hears a different drummer. Let him step to the music which he hears, however measured or far away.”

- Henry David Thoreau

"You don’t get harmony when everybody sings the same note."

– Doug Floyd

"The fact that students differ may be inconvenient, but it is inescapable. Adapting to that diversity is the inevitable price of productivity, high standards, and fairness to kids."
-Theodore Sizer, Brown University

Note: Before you begin, be sure to check the Canvas message that was sent to you regarding this week.

Module 1 - Week 2:

Welcome to week 2 of module 1! You made it. I hope that you have found our activities and lessons to be informative and valuable thus far. This week we will be concentrating our efforts on understanding exactly how students learn and what teachers can do foster quality learning by appealing to different learning modalities.

I specifically recall a class I had that just didn't seem to want to learn. I tried everything! I put on every circus act that I could think of and still, even when I felt like I was standing in front of them with my clown costume on, they wouldn't break. I have an affinity for technology, as you probably realized, and remember spending one sleepless night after another surfing my favorite educational sites for guidance. The more I read, the more I realized that the dog and pony act that I was putting on had to go.

I decided to focus my efforts on two specific students. I dedicated the next month to learning about them. I looked at their work and wrote down the questions they asked in class. I observed their interactions with others and noted their interests and hobbies. Then, I designed a pared down lesson for them. I took into account all of the data that I had collected and created a simple lesson plan "just to try" the following day.

I followed a Brain-Based Learning lesson about the elements of early civilizations and it worked! My two student "targets" were engaged, smiling, participating, and then - at the end-of-class assessment - proved that they had, in fact, learned! The lesson was simple and fun. It was during this lesson that I realized that I needed to let go of what I thought good teaching was and take more risks to appeal to all different types of learners.

I hope this portion of the unit will encourage you to do the same. Learning is meant to be a connection of minds. Teachers should try to create learning environments where all students can access the material in equitable ways that best suit individuals needs and skills. This, in turn, helps students want to learn.

The following quote is the quote that changed my teaching and my student's learning.

“The word education evolved from the Latin educare, which means to ‘draw out’ or ‘lead
forth.’ The original definition of the word, then, suggests that schooling can facilitate the
expression of what is contained

within one’s mind, heart, and the deepest recesses of being.”

- Linda & Bruce Campbell and Dee Dickinson,
Teaching & Learning Through Multiple Intelligences

Essential Questions:

What is a "learning style"?
What instructional methods can a teacher use to engage all types of learners at one time or another?
How can the Multiple Intelligence Theory be used to guide instructional design?
What other tools and methods can strengthen different intelligences?
What is differentiation and how can it be used to enhance learning?
How can educators attempt to meet the needs of diverse students?

Learning Objectives:

Evaluate multiple ideas of classroom activities and conclude which would be the most effective for a targeted learning style

Compare the multiple ways that students learn and identify specific strategies that can be used to enhance learning based on learning intelligences.

Differentiate instruction to address critical learning issues and scenarios.

Relate the multiple intelligence theory to how students learn, grow and interact.

Analyze the components of a differentiated classroom and determine the most effective ways to support students by using related theory.

Standards Addressed:
RIPTS: 2.7, 3.1, 3.2, 3.3, 4.1, 4.4, 7.1, 8.2

Learning Plan:

1. Read - chapters 9 and chapter 12 in your Slavin text. Be sure to prioritize this reading. It will serve as the basis for the class performance assessment at the end of Module I.

2. Please watch the TED video below:

TED Talk: Temple Grandin - The World Needs All Kinds of Minds (see video below)

3. Discussion Board - Please participate in this week's discussion by signing onto Canvas once on or before Thursday at 11:55 pm and a second time before Sunday at 11:55 pm. This discussion will concern #2 above and #4 below. Please remember: You are required to post twice a week (on or by Thursday and again before the board closes on Sunday evenings). Refer to the Suggested Weekly Schedule (located in the Announcements section of Canvas) for support on how to structure your learning.

4. Articles and Videos: Please choose at least two articles to read from Group A and another two from Group B - then watch the TED video above. The more you read, the more knowledgeable you'll become!

Group A: Learning Styles

Every Educator Needs to Know How the Brain Learns

Multiple Intelligences: What Does the Research Say
30 Surprising and Controversial Ways Students Learn - Edudemic
The Power of "Making" in the Classroom

*Many of our articles are from ASCD, the national educational leadership organization. This site allows access to a certain number of articles per month. Please let me know if you hit your limit at any time. I'm happy to make digital copies of any of the articles you are interested in.

Group B: Differentiation
Differentiation Video: Click HERE by famous education scholar Carol Tomlinson

Harvard School of Education - Scaffolding: The Novice to Expert Shift - The thinking scaffolds that can help students move through deeper levels of learning
Edutopia: 6 Strategies for Differentiated Instruction

Defining: Inclusion
EduWeek: The Stigma of Low Expectations - a well known and referenced article

2020: Why We Need Differentiation Now More Than Ever

What Differentiation Really Means

Differentiation in the 2021 and Beyond Classroom: Content, Process, and Product

Choosing a Method of Differentiation Matrix

5. Differentiation In Practice - Classroom Case Studies: View the following short videos to see differentiation in real classroom as a case study.

Differentiated Instruction at Highlander Institute, RI - A Case Study

Differentiating Instruction: A Guide and Case Study for

Teaching English Language Learners

Differentiation Within the Inclusion Classroom Model - A Case Study

How Differentiated Instruction and Formative Assessment Work at Wake Forest Elementary:

A Case Study

Consider how each video approaches individualized instruction in a different way. And yet, all instructors differentiate to focus on the mastery of learning objectives and actively work to close gaps through creative instructional strategies.

Food for Thought: How does this approach to learning connect to the educational theory regarding child or brain development you've read about thus far?

6. Theorist Spotlight of the Week: Lev Vygotsky
Feel free to browse any of the articles below regarding our Theorist of the Week.
Introduction
Introduction to Vygotsky's Theory: ZPD
Teaching Strategies Using ZPD
6 Scaffolding Strategies to Use with Your Students
Applying Piaget and Vygotsky to the Classroom