Week 10 class was simply great :) I gain a lot not only academically but it was also a great to have a nice chat with my colleagues and instructors after class.
The topic was very interesting as we talked about differentiation. We talk about streaming the students, so that the weak study with the weak and the top guys study only with top students. We discussed some pros and cons of streaming (grouping), who benefits, who loses and whether the benefits make up for the loses.
Applications: 1. As a teacher, make sure that all the students in a class are given a chance to reach their full potential. As a teacher I should remember that there are students of mix abilities in pretty much every classroom and I should make sure I help each and every of them. 2. As an administrator I should avoid streaming. I mean in some cases it is unavoidable, but I should avoid it if possible. It will benefit all the students, and even though the top students might lose a bit academically, they will gain socially. Mix ability classes benefit pretty much everyone and therefore if the range of abilities is not too much, as an admin I would encourage my school to have mix ability classes. 3. Dr. Andy made a good point - if you want to change something do not change more than 10%. If you want to change your class, the rules, etc. make sure that you do it gradually, not all at once. Introducing too many things at once will only confuse the students and nothing will really change. (Dr. Andy gave us a good example with Ford introducing a totally new, packed with the latest technology car - it flopped as it was too different from what people were used to). 4. Buy a boat and become a boatman :) 5. As a restaurant owner I should make sure I have most of the food that is on the menu, otherwise I will lose money. You never know when a bunch of students will show up, so be ready all the time :)
Week 10 class was simply amazing...we discussed about:
-ability grouping can work well if you have a curriculum targeting on something -track the students with problems -students who's new in the country and comfortable with the language -homogeneous- ability is limited -heterogeneous- ability (makes an assumption)- the gap is not too big -Characteristics of effective teacher -peer-to-peer learning -when a student helps another student, the student being help doesn't lose face -responsibility to community -sharing what they know -destructive students should be taken out of the classroom -do what you can, wherever you are -QRF- Quick Reaction Force
Applications: 1) As a teacher we must figure out how are we going to help our students. 2) I will introduce peer-to-peer learning because it really helps in their learning process. 3) As a teacher we must be able to track down the students with problems and somehow help. 4) Each of our students has their own comfort zone, let us train them to use the ideas one by one, so it would have a good result. Any idea shouldn't be more than 10% or it will lead to failure. Why? Because it has so many new things all at once.
Differentiated teaching becomes quite easy with small classes and the help of an assistant or co-teacher. Most schools in Thailand have assistants for only elementary students but in my opinion it is beneficial for students at all levels as most classes have students of different achievement levels and learning styles. With the help of a co-teacher or assistant it is easier to help the lower achieving students without slowing down the pace of the classroom. This leaves time for activities that evoke thinking and greater understanding of the topic being taught.
Applications
1. Providing extra materials to challenge the higher achieving students and to keep them motivated. It can also be beneficial for the average students who want to practice and improve. This provides an opportunity for teachers to encourage creative and critical thinking and self-learning outside the classroom. It can be done easily by providing optional worksheets, online links to challenging problems, extra assignments, and extra research or even by letting students point out your mistakes by providing certain proof as was talked about in the last reading.
2. Use of Vygotsky’s ZPD to help student reach the next level of achievement through peer support and cooperative learning. It benefits both the learner and the teacher as teaching someone else provides a better and deeper understanding. Students also understand better when certain things are taught to them at their level by their own friends.
3. Use of blogs where students can share their ideas on various topics with their friends and teachers. Our class blog for example has brought about various ideas and interesting comments. I’m sure the blog benefits each and every one of us.
The Class this week was very different and good. This class was as expected to be quite and in the same environment like any other class. However, with the black out caused due to rain, I learnt the importance of flexibility and the spontaneity. The situation was handled without much difficulty by Dr. Andy. He had shifted the class to a restaurant where we could actually conduct a class in a proper manner. But the situation is a bit different when you deal with primary and elementary students. Even a black out during the day creates a lot of excitement and they start looking around. In the case of primary school it is even more difficult to actually shift them to a different location for class as they are small and have to be monitored all the time. You cannot expect them to sit quietly and concentrate for very long because they are distracted in a different environment. Thus, the teacher at this moment is required to switch to something beyond the textbook to engross the students.
Applications
1. Story Telling: Students at this age love stories, the use of story telling can work very well in this situation.
2. In case the class was held outdoor, or it was trip to an educational place then with the sudden rain and storm, the kids would feel scared and this is where a teacher is looked up to. the teacher would have to be spontaneous and come up with something to calm the students.
3. Playing Games: Playing classroom interactive games could help students to get closer to each other and feel a little better as they can feel the presence of other class mates.
Week ten class was very good because we ate some food and drank beer happily during disscusing our lesson in the fantastic place. Different place give different learning feeling. We talk about students' differentiation. Moreover, Dr.Andy explained us the lesson with understandable example. i got a lot from week ten class discussion.
Applications, 1) As a teachedr, i should know students' differentiation and let them learn, teach and help each other to enhance and improve their skill because they got different competency and skill. Therefore, i have to group students in mix-abilities group in class when i put stuents in group. 2)As a teacher, i have to give them difficult goal but they can get and reach because i have to teach and guide them to be qualified and good students. 3)As a administrator, i have to give right duty to right people or teachers. Furthermore, i have to realise whole-school-strategy very well.
bWeek 10 class so great .we discuss differentiation of schooling and pedagogy: 1 mix group students ,when u teach ,what they can gain ? Depend on class size Depend on motivation Self steam Responsible the community 2 face to a big size class with group students ,how can we deal with ? Different strategy for different situation . Different curriculum and assignment for different level students Applications: 1, as a teacher , understand the student's ability fully is the basic for mix group students .every students’ component not same ,we must to teach students according to their aptitude. make them to gain more, whatever top level students, mid level students or bottom level students .for example ,choose appropriate curriculum for students ,and give assignments according to different component. Not too hard and not too easy ,just fit to their ability ,and have to some little challenge . 2, Appropriate strategy for teaching face to mix group students top-top combination, top students work together .can make them more confident challenge harder problems . top –low combination, top students can help low students ,this like peer tutoring .but we have to avoid the behavior gap can’t too big . avoid low –low work together .because this combination depressed low students ,make them lack confidence to deal with problem. 3,different goals get different result .as a teacher , establishing teaching goals and help students make their own goals .and engage in work to achieve the goal.
we learnt differentiation on week 10. In my point of view, mixed-ability of students is tremendously effective for slow students and school achievement. In my country, most of the government high schools practice the system of unmixed-ability of students. For instance, teachers gather talented students in classroom A, less talented students for classroom B, and slow students for classroom C and so on. The outcome in this situation is beyond the school's expectation because only the talented students passed the exam.
Applications; 1. Teachers should practice mixed-ability of students in their classrooms and schools in order to benefit all students in the class. 2. In mixed-ability classroom, teachers should encourage all students to discuss or debate on a certain topic. 3. Teachers should realize that peers approaching and cooperative learning are the best strategies for slow and shy students in their learning.
Week 10 class was interesting for me.Again I gain a lot from this week.We talk about grouping students. That is, make group weak students together and strong students together. So that, for strong students their achievement will be higher than before and they will feel better. Lower students see what their peer doing will motivated them. They don't need to lose face by repeating by teacher for them in the classroom. Application 1.As a teacher, I need to know students level and ability. So that I can make group according to students' weakness. 2.Dr. Andy said good one. As a administrator, if u want to change new idea don't bring too much. Too much is not good. Make limitations and bring little by little to change. 3. Peer to peer learning is very good for students learning. As a teacher I will use that in my classroom. thanks. K, Hkawn San Mai
Week ten was so great because I enjoyed different atmosphere. Topic was differentiation of schooling and pedagogy. We, as educational field, have to handle and deal with it but the important is to help student succeed whatever their background or abilities.
In school - Different level of curriculum, policy and regulation.
In the class - Different class size, group student and ability of student.
My application: 1. To use appropriate curriculum based on different level. For example in early year level. We must understand that the important play has in children learning so we can support children’s learning through planned play activity. We can extend and support children’s spontaneous play and extend develop children’s language and communication it in their play -Key stage 1 and 2 this level will develop their literacy and reading skill. They will be independently, Teacher need to encourage student to reflect their learning to be independent learners. -Key stage 3 and 4 need to teach by specialist teacher in order to prepare students for entering the university.
2. I should find the techniques teaching with mixed ability class. It wouldn’t fair to give the same assignment between low level students and top level students. I might assign them different homework tasks with different student’s abilities.
3. If we want to change something. We need to do step by step because people will not accustomed with it.
I missed catching up with the class by 5 minutes. Anyhow I had read the reading and read all your reflections and comments about the different methods of differentiation. It amazed me how education have change throughout the centuries in the world. Looking back to my elementary school years of experiences, yes, I remember that some school have grouped children according to abilities but now most school are more adopted toward homogeneous or mixed-group school. Personally, I prefer to mixed-groups: abilities and intelligence. It encourages a cooperative learning, scafffolding, group work... helping one another and encourage learning from one another. Applications: 1. Have mixed-group of students in my class so they could contributed and have chance to use their abilities and talents. For example: some extrovert to guide the discussion, an artist, and time keeper, secretary (recorder) and etc that encourage cooperative learning. 2. As a teacher, I need to remind myself not to focus on one group of students but encourage and acknowledgment individual students potential and challenge them to reach. 3. I agree with Manpreet learning could take place anywhere, yes, even in pick-dark or at the restaurant. I am glad that Dr. Andy and you all did not give up learning even in this special circumstance. That's give us an experience to be flexible and learn how to do the same with my students. Allowing students to experience learning even outside of school like e-learning when they cannot be at school or learning in action on field trips (school without wall). Blessings, Sr. Rose
The class last week was great. We discussed about differentiation in school and setting the class by students’ ability. I personally don’t believe in setting the class by students’ ability because most of the time students’ ability are determined by the results of the test scores. I believe that through a single assessment such as standardized test we can’t determine the ability of the students; in fact, there are many factors to consider to decide the ability of the students. As teachers we need to recognize each student as different individual with different learning styles, and just because one student doesn’t perform well in Math doesn’t mean that that student has lower ability than another student who has a higher test score in Math. Although we argue about the idea for and against ability grouping, the only relevant issue educators need to keep in mind is that what is the best for the students. 1) I don’t like setting the class by student’s ability, but differentiation is the important concept in order to have a variety of teaching approaches to accommodate the different learning styles in the classroom. 2) I will ask able students to model their thinking by explaining how to solve a problem to a neighbor. 3) I will provide different ways for my students to respond what they have learned other than writing: display work, role play, presentation etc. Zarni Lwin
Week 10 class was simply different, with a new location cuz of d electircity blackout. It was nice that everyone was flexible and adjusted easily however the class settings in a resturant was very distracting. The topic we discussed about was differentiating teaching and students grouping. Reflecting from Dennis disucssion and the readings im not sure if im for ability grouping is a good idea. Weak students would learn from brighter students, brighter students would share their knowledge in form of peer learning and expertise in the topic. However, do they really benefit doing so? Is it recommended to seperate classroom in accordance to their academic level? We also talked about avoiding the big gap which would not be useful for the majority of the students. - Study the level of my students and differentiate their lesson plan. - Using lots of peer learning and cooperative learning whenever possible. - Having an appropriate learning environment with the least disturance inorder to aviod distractions.
In this week, we learned about the ability group and differentiation curriculum. Application 1.If we mix academically at the top group and other level, there is something can get the benefit from that 1. students are more challenging which make them motivate. 2. can learn more because of individual differences 3. students will have more responsibility to the community how to cooperate or to be a good citizen. 4. there will be peer couching when the weak ones have a difficulties in their learning, other students can help and explain them. 2. we have to teach our students to learn how to improve what they are weak at. give them a group work and learn each other and also different people have different kinds of learning styles, so we can use multiple intelligences. 3. if we have to teach the class which has a big difference in the ability of the students, we can find out the middle group and prepare for that level so that the higher ability group and the lower level can catch up.
Differentiation to me dilutes and to some extend goes against the whole essence of cooperative learning, which has in the recent past been touted as one of the best learning/teaching techniques.Yes it can be looked at as one way of cooperative learning but one which has more negative effects than positive ones.
APPLICATIONS 1. Be really careful when putting up students for group work so that they don't look at it as if it is differentiation. 2. Encourage weaker students to work with more stronger students so that they can catch up if possible. 3. Will try to stretch the sharp students so that they don't get lost in the process of helping others.
In Last class we talked about the ability grouping and mix ability grouping of the students and also about the differentiation curriculum and also group work. In ability grouping students can challenge to their own level of peers which gives them motivation ,but in the other side doing this group ability less able students feel themselves more week .In my view mixed group ability is more appropriate in the classrooms. In this group there will be a wide social mix in the classroom ,student self esteem and motivation are promoted .Good student can be a role model , they can develop the leadership ability ,there will be a peers teaching which helps low skills students a lot . In group work, interaction between the groups enhances the cooperative learning which encourage social and communication skills to the students. Here are some applications which we can use in the class room while teaching the mix ability groups. 1. While doing the mix ability grouping we have to know the strength and weakness of each student and we have to the mix group. For example some students are good in writing and some are in reading and some are in speaking (presentation ).We have to mix them all in one group so that the student will get chance to learn from the group member in the area where they are week . 2. In group work we have set the competition among the groups or give prizes for the best group to motivate them in the group works. 3.Group work always enhance in learning but as a teacher always we have to support eh groups and always have to monitor them .
David, there is a large difference conceptually between differentiation practices and grouping decisions, though both should support each other. For instance, you may be grouping students heterogeneously (as with mixed ability groupings) to take advantage of the varied strengths and needs in the group, but this should not stop you from targeting certain instructional practices (such as remedial teaching, tutoring, foundation skill building, or even pullout for teaching basic skills when some students are far behind) at specific students or groups of students according to thier needs.
this class we have learned group study.there are two styles to discussion,ability grouping and mix ability grouping.I think both of they have advantage and disadvantage.ability group will guide more competition,but mix ability group will guide the cooperation , good relationship ,harmonious study environment. application: 1.In the middle of term,I will use mix ability group to help the weak students,help everyone to get progress. 2,In the end of term,I will use ability group to motivate everyone study hard.competition will stimulate the students potential.
Differentiation can be described as a process of 'matching' tasks to students' differing abilities and needs. But the difficult part is to match them correctly,as better learning will result from achieving a better 'match'. Also according to my understanding, the outcomes of mixed ability groups are better than the groups formed according to their abilities. Cause in the mixed ability groups students learn a lot from each other.
My applications are as follows:
1)Try to teach my students using different strategies as their learning styles might differ and make sure to use every style that they might need to learn.
2)Especially about the assignments give students a chance to pick between different kinds of assignments according to their personal interests so that they can work on what they are really interested in.
3)While preparing worksheets, set them in 2 different difficulty level and get the smart students do the harder one after completing the first one.
This week is about the differentiation in the class. Well, frankly to say , I must admit that I tried to concentrate in the class but even I tried , because of the heavy rain today , got wet and felt sneezy at this moment , I didn't remember well about the lesson after class. So I would like to explain only detail about differentiation as I simply understand.
Application :
1) As I am IT teacher , it's not really easy to control more than 30 students in my class and no assistant means I have a problem in the class somtimes. So I tried to use some tricks and first , I told them to use books and computer together when I teach them. I choose the one topic and I decide to show them cartoons that similar to weekly lesson. I just trying to bring their mind into cartoon and they are happy to discuss with me about why I show this cartoon to them. And I tell them to write down the facts why I am showing this cartoon and they write all the facts seriously! Now I get test score from them and It's really work out well.
2) I feels it's so boring to teach only lesson in the class. So I give them a chance to play Educational games in the class in front of everyone. I play and laugh with them together and get the score sheet for each one. And I tell this is their presentation and they are happy that they can get the points from this kind of presentation.
3) I use the online lesson too. I give them online assigment to find one software and let them write to me detail , how we use this software and why we need to use it? Since , I use this kind of tricks in the class , I got the good relationship with students and make me feel like I enjoy teaching! :)
22 comments:
Week 10 class was simply great :) I gain a lot not only academically but it was also a great to have a nice chat with my colleagues and instructors after class.
The topic was very interesting as we talked about differentiation. We talk about streaming the students, so that the weak study with the weak and the top guys study only with top students. We discussed some pros and cons of streaming (grouping), who benefits, who loses and whether the benefits make up for the loses.
Applications:
1. As a teacher, make sure that all the students in a class are given a chance to reach their full potential. As a teacher I should remember that there are students of mix abilities in pretty much every classroom and I should make sure I help each and every of them.
2. As an administrator I should avoid streaming. I mean in some cases it is unavoidable, but I should avoid it if possible. It will benefit all the students, and even though the top students might lose a bit academically, they will gain socially. Mix ability classes benefit pretty much everyone and therefore if the range of abilities is not too much, as an admin I would encourage my school to have mix ability classes.
3. Dr. Andy made a good point - if you want to change something do not change more than 10%. If you want to change your class, the rules, etc. make sure that you do it gradually, not all at once. Introducing too many things at once will only confuse the students and nothing will really change. (Dr. Andy gave us a good example with Ford introducing a totally new, packed with the latest technology car - it flopped as it was too different from what people were used to).
4. Buy a boat and become a boatman :)
5. As a restaurant owner I should make sure I have most of the food that is on the menu, otherwise I will lose money. You never know when a bunch of students will show up, so be ready all the time :)
Week 10 class was simply amazing...we discussed about:
-ability grouping can work well if you have a curriculum targeting on something
-track the students with problems
-students who's new in the country and comfortable with the language
-homogeneous- ability is limited
-heterogeneous- ability (makes an assumption)- the gap is not too big
-Characteristics of effective teacher
-peer-to-peer learning
-when a student helps another student, the student being help doesn't lose face
-responsibility to community
-sharing what they know
-destructive students should be taken out of the classroom
-do what you can, wherever you are
-QRF- Quick Reaction Force
Applications:
1) As a teacher we must figure out how are we going to help our students.
2) I will introduce peer-to-peer learning because it really helps in their learning process.
3) As a teacher we must be able to track down the students with problems and somehow help.
4) Each of our students has their own comfort zone, let us train them to use the ideas one by one, so it would have a good result. Any idea shouldn't be more than 10% or it will lead to failure. Why? Because it has so many new things all at once.
Cheers!!! :))))
Ms. Evangeline
LOl love application number 4, Marcin, -Evan, don't worry, QRF will not be on the final exam!!
Differentiated teaching becomes quite easy with small classes and the help of an assistant or co-teacher. Most schools in Thailand have assistants for only elementary students but in my opinion it is beneficial for students at all levels as most classes have students of different achievement levels and learning styles. With the help of a co-teacher or assistant it is easier to help the lower achieving students without slowing down the pace of the classroom. This leaves time for activities that evoke thinking and greater understanding of the topic being taught.
Applications
1. Providing extra materials to challenge the higher achieving students and to keep them motivated. It can also be beneficial for the average students who want to practice and improve. This provides an opportunity for teachers to encourage creative and critical thinking and self-learning outside the classroom. It can be done easily by providing optional worksheets, online links to challenging problems, extra assignments, and extra research or even by letting students point out your mistakes by providing certain proof as was talked about in the last reading.
2. Use of Vygotsky’s ZPD to help student reach the next level of achievement through peer support and cooperative learning. It benefits both the learner and the teacher as teaching someone else provides a better and deeper understanding. Students also understand better when certain things are taught to them at their level by their own friends.
3. Use of blogs where students can share their ideas on various topics with their friends and teachers. Our class blog for example has brought about various ideas and interesting comments. I’m sure the blog benefits each and every one of us.
Reflection # 10
The Class this week was very different and good. This class was as expected to be quite and in the same environment like any other class. However, with the black out caused due to rain, I learnt the importance of flexibility and the spontaneity. The situation was handled without much difficulty by Dr. Andy. He had shifted the class to a restaurant where we could actually conduct a class in a proper manner. But the situation is a bit different when you deal with primary and elementary students. Even a black out during the day creates a lot of excitement and they start looking around. In the case of primary school it is even more difficult to actually shift them to a different location for class as they are small and have to be monitored all the time. You cannot expect them to sit quietly and concentrate for very long because they are distracted in a different environment. Thus, the teacher at this moment is required to switch to something beyond the textbook to engross the students.
Applications
1. Story Telling: Students at this age love stories, the use of story telling can work very well in this situation.
2. In case the class was held outdoor, or it was trip to an educational place then with the sudden rain and storm, the kids would feel scared and this is where a teacher is looked up to. the teacher would have to be spontaneous and come up with something to calm the students.
3. Playing Games: Playing classroom interactive games could help students to get closer to each other and feel a little better as they can feel the presence of other class mates.
Wow not too many people have reflected so far! I wonder if what everybody was drinking and eating during the class has affected their memories.
Week ten reflections and thoughts,
Week ten class was very good because we ate some food and drank beer happily during disscusing our lesson in the fantastic place. Different place give different learning feeling. We talk about students' differentiation. Moreover, Dr.Andy explained us the lesson with understandable example. i got a lot from week ten class discussion.
Applications,
1) As a teachedr, i should know students' differentiation and let them learn, teach and help each other to enhance and improve their skill because they got different competency and skill. Therefore, i have to group students in mix-abilities group in class when i put stuents in group.
2)As a teacher, i have to give them difficult goal but they can get and reach because i have to teach and guide them to be qualified and good students.
3)As a administrator, i have to give right duty to right people or teachers. Furthermore, i have to realise whole-school-strategy very well.
Sure enough it is a great place John! Maybe we could call it differentiation by location!
bWeek 10 class so great .we discuss differentiation of schooling and pedagogy:
1 mix group students ,when u teach ,what they can gain ?
Depend on class size
Depend on motivation
Self steam
Responsible the community
2 face to a big size class with group students ,how can we deal with ?
Different strategy for different situation .
Different curriculum and assignment for different level students
Applications:
1, as a teacher , understand the student's ability fully is the basic for mix group students .every students’ component not same ,we must to teach students according to their aptitude. make them to gain more, whatever top level students, mid level students or bottom level students .for example ,choose appropriate curriculum for students ,and give assignments according to different component. Not too hard and not too easy ,just fit to their ability ,and have to some little challenge .
2, Appropriate strategy for teaching face to mix group students
top-top combination, top students work together .can make them more confident challenge harder problems .
top –low combination, top students can help low students ,this like peer tutoring .but we have to avoid the behavior gap can’t too big .
avoid low –low work together .because this combination depressed low students ,make them lack confidence to deal with problem.
3,different goals get different result .as a teacher , establishing teaching goals and help students make their own goals .and engage in work to achieve the goal.
we learnt differentiation on week 10. In my point of view, mixed-ability of students is tremendously effective for slow students and school achievement. In my country, most of the government high schools practice the system of unmixed-ability of students. For instance, teachers gather talented students in classroom A, less talented students for classroom B, and slow students for classroom C and so on. The outcome in this situation is beyond the school's expectation because only the talented students passed the exam.
Applications;
1. Teachers should practice mixed-ability of students in their classrooms and schools in order to benefit all students in the class.
2. In mixed-ability classroom, teachers should encourage all students to discuss or debate on a certain topic.
3. Teachers should realize that peers approaching and cooperative learning are the best strategies for slow and shy students in their learning.
Week 10 class was interesting for me.Again I gain a lot from this week.We talk about grouping students. That is, make group weak students together and strong students together. So that, for strong students their achievement will be higher than before and they will feel better. Lower students see what their peer doing will motivated them. They don't need to lose face by repeating by teacher for them in the classroom.
Application
1.As a teacher, I need to know students level and ability. So that I can make group according to students' weakness.
2.Dr. Andy said good one. As a administrator, if u want to change new idea don't bring too much. Too much is not good. Make limitations and bring little by little to change.
3. Peer to peer learning is very good for students learning. As a teacher I will use that in my classroom.
thanks.
K, Hkawn San Mai
Week ten was so great because I enjoyed different atmosphere. Topic was differentiation of schooling and pedagogy. We, as educational field, have to handle and deal with it but the important is to help student succeed whatever their background or abilities.
In school
- Different level of curriculum, policy and regulation.
In the class
- Different class size, group student and ability of student.
My application:
1. To use appropriate curriculum based on different level.
For example in early year level. We must understand that the important play has in children learning so we can support children’s learning through planned play activity. We can extend and support children’s spontaneous play and extend develop children’s language and communication it in their play
-Key stage 1 and 2 this level will develop their literacy and reading skill. They will be independently, Teacher need to encourage student to reflect their learning to be independent learners.
-Key stage 3 and 4 need to teach by specialist teacher in order to prepare students for entering the university.
2. I should find the techniques teaching with mixed ability class. It wouldn’t fair to give the same assignment between low level students and top level students. I might assign them different homework tasks with different student’s abilities.
3. If we want to change something. We need to do step by step because people will not accustomed with it.
Thank you
Ms. Rossakorn
Week 10
I missed catching up with the class by 5 minutes. Anyhow I had read the reading and read all your reflections and comments about the different methods of differentiation. It amazed me how education have change throughout the centuries in the world. Looking back to my elementary school years of experiences, yes, I remember that some school have grouped children according to abilities but now most school are more adopted toward homogeneous or mixed-group school. Personally, I prefer to mixed-groups: abilities and intelligence. It encourages a cooperative learning, scafffolding, group work... helping one another and encourage learning from one another.
Applications:
1. Have mixed-group of students in my class so they could contributed and have chance to use their abilities and talents. For example: some extrovert to guide the discussion, an artist, and time keeper, secretary (recorder) and etc that encourage cooperative learning.
2. As a teacher, I need to remind myself not to focus on one group of students but encourage and acknowledgment individual students potential and challenge them to reach.
3. I agree with Manpreet learning could take place anywhere, yes, even in pick-dark or at the restaurant. I am glad that Dr. Andy and you all did not give up learning even in this special circumstance. That's give us an experience to be flexible and learn how to do the same with my students. Allowing students to experience learning even outside of school like e-learning when they cannot be at school or learning in action on field trips (school without wall).
Blessings, Sr. Rose
The class last week was great. We discussed about differentiation in school and setting the class by students’ ability. I personally don’t believe in setting the class by students’ ability because most of the time students’ ability are determined by the results of the test scores. I believe that through a single assessment such as standardized test we can’t determine the ability of the students; in fact, there are many factors to consider to decide the ability of the students. As teachers we need to recognize each student as different individual with different learning styles, and just because one student doesn’t perform well in Math doesn’t mean that that student has lower ability than another student who has a higher test score in Math. Although we argue about the idea for and against ability grouping, the only relevant issue educators need to keep in mind is that what is the best for the students.
1) I don’t like setting the class by student’s ability, but differentiation is the important concept in order to have a variety of teaching approaches to accommodate the different learning styles in the classroom.
2) I will ask able students to model their thinking by explaining how to solve a problem to a neighbor.
3) I will provide different ways for my students to respond what they have learned other than writing: display work, role play, presentation etc.
Zarni Lwin
Week 10 class was simply different, with a new location cuz of d electircity blackout. It was nice that everyone was flexible and adjusted easily however the class settings in a resturant was very distracting. The topic we discussed about was differentiating teaching and students grouping.
Reflecting from Dennis disucssion and the readings im not sure if im for ability grouping is a good idea. Weak students would learn from brighter students, brighter students would share their knowledge in form of peer learning and expertise in the topic. However, do they really benefit doing so? Is it recommended to seperate classroom in accordance to their academic level? We also talked about avoiding the big gap which would not be useful for the majority of the students.
- Study the level of my students and differentiate their lesson plan.
- Using lots of peer learning and cooperative learning whenever possible.
- Having an appropriate learning environment with the least disturance inorder to aviod distractions.
In this week, we learned about the ability group and differentiation curriculum.
Application
1.If we mix academically at the top group and other level, there is something can get the benefit from that
1. students are more challenging which make them motivate.
2. can learn more because of individual differences
3. students will have more responsibility to the community how to cooperate or to be a good citizen.
4. there will be peer couching when the weak ones have a difficulties in their learning, other students can help and explain them.
2. we have to teach our students to learn how to improve what they are weak at. give them a group work and learn each other and also different people have different kinds of learning styles, so we can use multiple intelligences.
3. if we have to teach the class which has a big difference in the ability of the students, we can find out the middle group and prepare for that level so that the higher ability group and the lower level can catch up.
Differentiation to me dilutes and to some extend goes against the whole essence of cooperative learning, which has in the recent past been touted as one of the best learning/teaching techniques.Yes it can be looked at as one way of cooperative learning but one which has more negative effects than positive ones.
APPLICATIONS
1. Be really careful when putting up students for group work so that they don't look at it as if it is differentiation.
2. Encourage weaker students to work with more stronger students so that they can catch up if possible.
3. Will try to stretch the sharp students so that they don't get lost in the process of helping others.
In Last class we talked about the ability grouping and mix ability grouping of the students and also about the differentiation curriculum and also group work. In ability grouping students can challenge to their own level of peers which gives them motivation ,but in the other side doing this group ability less able students feel themselves more week .In my view mixed group ability is more appropriate in the classrooms. In this group there will be a wide social mix in the classroom ,student self esteem and motivation are promoted .Good student can be a role model , they can develop the leadership ability ,there will be a peers teaching which helps low skills students a lot . In group work, interaction between the groups enhances the cooperative learning which encourage social and communication skills to the students.
Here are some applications which we can use in the class room while teaching the mix ability groups.
1. While doing the mix ability grouping we have to know the strength and weakness of each student and we have to the mix group. For example some students are good in writing and some are in reading and some are in speaking (presentation ).We have to mix them all in one group so that the student will get chance to learn from the group member in the area where they are week .
2. In group work we have set the competition among the groups or give prizes for the best group to motivate them in the group works.
3.Group work always enhance in learning but as a teacher always we have to support eh groups and always have to monitor them .
Anjana
David, there is a large difference conceptually between differentiation practices and grouping decisions, though both should support each other. For instance, you may be grouping students heterogeneously (as with mixed ability groupings) to take advantage of the varied strengths and needs in the group, but this should not stop you from targeting certain instructional practices (such as remedial teaching, tutoring, foundation skill building, or even pullout for teaching basic skills when some students are far behind) at specific students or groups of students according to thier needs.
this class we have learned group study.there are two styles to discussion,ability grouping and mix ability grouping.I think both of they have advantage and disadvantage.ability group will guide more competition,but mix ability group will guide the cooperation , good relationship ,harmonious study environment.
application:
1.In the middle of term,I will use mix ability group to help the weak students,help everyone to get progress.
2,In the end of term,I will use ability group to motivate everyone study hard.competition will stimulate the students potential.
thanks
zhangya
Differentiation can be described as a process of 'matching' tasks to students' differing abilities and needs. But the difficult part is to match them correctly,as better learning will result from achieving a better 'match'. Also according to my understanding, the outcomes of mixed ability groups are better than the groups formed according to their abilities. Cause in the mixed ability groups students learn a lot from each other.
My applications are as follows:
1)Try to teach my students using different strategies as their learning styles might differ and make sure to use every style that they might need to learn.
2)Especially about the assignments give students a chance to pick between different kinds of assignments according to their personal interests so that they can work on what they are really interested in.
3)While preparing worksheets, set them in 2 different difficulty level and get the smart students do the harder one after completing the first one.
Thank you
Gaye Sadic
This week is about the differentiation in the class. Well, frankly to say , I must admit that I tried to concentrate in the class but even I tried , because of the heavy rain today , got wet and felt sneezy at this moment , I didn't remember well about the lesson after class. So I would like to explain only detail about differentiation as I simply understand.
Application :
1) As I am IT teacher , it's not really easy to control more than 30 students in my class and no assistant means I have a problem in the class somtimes. So I tried to use some tricks and first , I told them to use books and computer together when I teach them. I choose the one topic and I decide to show them cartoons that similar to weekly lesson. I just trying to bring their mind into cartoon and they are happy to discuss with me about why I show this cartoon to them. And I tell them to write down the facts why I am showing this cartoon and they write all the facts seriously! Now I get test score from them and It's really work out well.
2) I feels it's so boring to teach only lesson in the class. So I give them a chance to play Educational games in the class in front of everyone. I play and laugh with them together and get the score sheet for each one. And I tell this is their presentation and they are happy that they can get the points from this kind of presentation.
3) I use the online lesson too. I give them online assigment to find one software and let them write to me detail , how we use this software and why we need to use it?
Since , I use this kind of tricks in the class , I got the good relationship with students and make me feel like I enjoy teaching! :)
Regards,
Linn
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