Differentiating instruction

In almost every professional development or inservice training I attend I hear about how we as educators should strive to implement and sustain a classroom that fully plans for differentiated instruction.

When I began teaching I incorrectly thought that meant increasing rigor for those students that needed a challenge. Once I was informed otherwise that I was expected to simultaneously challenge my advanced, reach my on level, and fill in gaps for those behind, I was left in a quandary asking how am I going to accomplish this in 8 hours?

I still don't have a perfect solution and believe that I most likely never will. Every student is unique and has different needs. I read this article and was relieved that differentiated instruction is a necessity and something that we can attain!

The article also discusses teaching with the multiple modalities of learning in mind. Again, this is another very misunderstood aspect of teaching. I was taught that creating and delivering lessons that incorporate the auditory, kinesthetic, and visual aspects were the best for our students. I thought it ironic that studies show most students don't even know which modality they learn best with.

Check out this article, and tell me about your own experience with differentiation and student performance.

http://www.thecollegefix.com/post/20744/

My district just recently hosted a twitter chat (#Haysedchat) about differentiation. Here is the storify link Lots of great resources and suggestions throughout this chat, so please, feel free to check it out and participate with us. 8:00pm central, every other Thursday.

So, how do you plan and implement differentiated instruction into your classroom?

Have you found a great way to differentiate using technology?

in your professional development so far this year or in any previous training have you learned of any good ways to differentiate?

Exit Tickets

Exit tickets

In many of the PLC/department meetings that I attend, my principal will inevitably mention formative assessments- how do we check for understanding. Rightly so, ideally we should not let a single student leave out class without having assessed their understanding. There are many ways that we can do this, and everyone has a technique or strategy that works best for their class.

I used exit tickets a lot last year but for some reason have gotten away from them. i have shifted to kinds of assessments like one on one conferencing (1-2 minutes), small group presentations, and artifacts of authentic learning. Some times I do not leave enough time at the end of class to give my students the opportunity to write an exit ticket.

An article I found gave me a whole bunch of options other than just the small paper written response. Have you heard of an app called Socratic, or quizizz, padlet or kahoot?

Here is the article. I hope you enjoyed as much as I did.

http://www.scholastic.com/teachers/top-teaching/2015/03/using-exit-tickets-assessment-tool

I am curious if you use exit tickets in you classroom?

Do they work? Do you consider them a good source to gauge your student's understanding?

What kind of system do you use to "take the pulse" of your class and their level of mastery?

Strategies for strengthening the brain

Link to article

Do you have a student that has a hard time deciding what to do in certain situations, making decision that should for all intensive purposes be automatic for most people? Well, I was really intrigued to come across this article and thought you might be interested in discovering what I discovered: the student might have underdeveloped executive function.

Executive functions can be defined as the awareness and directive capacities of the mind. By wielding these skills and abilities, students decide where to focus their attention and which tasks to undertake. As a general rule of thumb, when students of any age have difficulty completing developmentally appropriate academic tasks on their own, executive functioning may be at the root of the problem.

This article includes ways that teachers can help a student make connections in the brain that will improve executive functions. Here is a brief excerpt:

incorporating instruction on executive functions into content lessons emphasizes that:

1.  Students are in charge of their learning

2. Honing their use of these skills and abilities will improve their performance in school and beyond.

Here is the link to the article. Again, I hope that you learn how you might be able to better support your students a little more effectively now that you know there is something you can do for those that are not at the level of development that they should be.

Seesaw- An intoduction

Seesaw is a free iOS or web based software program that helps teachers create and maintain a digital portfolio system style collection of student work. Here are the selling points right off the bat:

1) It is free for teachers and parents.

2) Easy to set up classes and enter students

3) Very easy to add artifacts into the portfolio

4) Enables a teacher to generate links to the work that is stored.

5) Supports in app blogging

6) Contains interactive whiteboard capabilities

7) Connects parents and teachers, and increases communication.

This tool is one of the most versital and  yet easy to use apps for students, parents and teachers.

Here is a link to a presentation that I created to introduce Seesaw at a faculty meeting the other day.

Seesaw presentation

TCEA16

When my supervisor mentioned this conference that we would be attending, I had little idea what to expect. I have been to conferences, and have attended events similar, but was not prepared to engage in what I learned would be a week long perpetual infusion of learning. It was, needless to say, a period of fast paced, no holds barred, presentations, key note speakers, exhibitions, and idea sparking innovation.

I took notes furiously and tried to capture everything on my iPad so that once it was over I might be able to digest everything I had taken in. I would like to share with you some of what I was able to glean from the best presentations I attended.

Google Apps Add-ons

 One of the first presentation I attended was "Add-on Some Awesome Sauce" I enjoyed this presentation very much because it gave me a chance to see how some Google add-ons worked.

 This slide shows which add-ons go with which Google Apps

Seesaw

 Seesaw is a tremendously powerful tool for Teachers who are interested in increased communication with parents and building digital portfolios for students. This presentation included a video that described how Seesaw is used and various customizations that are supported through the app/web based version.

Adobe Apps

 Adobe Voice is a tool that captures a student's audio recording as they narrate a picture slide show. Here is an example that I made: https://voice.adobe.com/a/kMjj0/

 Adobe Post is a great resource for digitally presenting research or learning that a student has done in an easy to use graphic creator. Here is an example I made: 

 Adobe Sleight is a great way to make learning visible with a blog style customizations and options. Here is an example of one that I made: https://slate.adobe.com/cp/nRrX5/

TCEA was a great conference where I learned a lot and was able to meet lots of other porfessionals that share my passion for tech integration.