What should instruction look like? How does a teacher differentiate instruction in such a way that the needs of the "lowest" and "highest" achieving students are met in a deeply personal and academic way? These questions rose to my mind as I worked in a group during my teaching social studies class; we were given a topic, a framework, and in class we created a lesson for a specific grade level on the spot. Differentiation proved the most challenging area of focus for our group because the activity and assessment already implemented choice as a way for students to use multiple materials in order to express themselves. My group specifically struggled with how to challenge more advanced students without just assigning more work.
Many times I have heard that we should not simply dump more work on students who finish work early, or who show excellent and efficient skills when completed the classwork given; some professionals adamantly claim that these students should also not tutor other students, despite the studies that show this can be beneficial to both parties involved, specifically the research on PALS and other tutor programs (Rafdal, McMaster, McConnell, Fuchs, & Fuchs, 2011; Codding, Chan-Iannetta, George, Ferreira, & Volpe, 2011). Peer Assisted Learning Strategies, or PALS, when implemented with fidelity, benefit both parties involved, and can be done in such a way that students are not privy to which partner is higher or lower because the class is ranked, split in half, then paired off so that the "highest" achieving individual on the "upper level" list is paired with the "highest" ranked individual on the "lower level" list (with exceptions for incompatibility).
As a group we reached a consensus: if all instruction is to be individualized in such a way that each student gains the most from every activity, how can we judge what is fair? If one student can do 30 problems in 20 minutes, and another student takes an hour to complete eight problems, would a teacher be unjust in making sure that these students are challenged yet not frustrated by the amount of work they are assigned?
One parent may complain that their student is having to do too much, while the other parent may complain that their student is falling behind, but why is it unfair to allow students to rise to a challenge? I understand that in America we value equality and fairness. However, we deliberated and reached the decision that equal treatment does not always mean that every student is treated in exactly the same way. If every child received the identical, rigid education, there would be no room for individuality, for personal creativity, for real, substantial growth.
Education needs to continue to move towards individualized instruction for all, instruction that recognizes each students strengths and weaknesses, and allows students to grow in their area of weakness as they also have opportunities to use their strengths. At the end of the lesson we created, our group decided that having students write journals about the activity was a great wrap-up activity, and we decided that some students were given the liberty to write paragraphs while other students were not demanded of more than they could produce. While some may disagree, there were other forms of assessment used, such as the models, drawings, and presentations that students also did during the lesson. We took into consideration that in first grade, the gap between the struggling student and the overachiever may be wide, and that instruction should meet students where they are.
References:
Many times I have heard that we should not simply dump more work on students who finish work early, or who show excellent and efficient skills when completed the classwork given; some professionals adamantly claim that these students should also not tutor other students, despite the studies that show this can be beneficial to both parties involved, specifically the research on PALS and other tutor programs (Rafdal, McMaster, McConnell, Fuchs, & Fuchs, 2011; Codding, Chan-Iannetta, George, Ferreira, & Volpe, 2011). Peer Assisted Learning Strategies, or PALS, when implemented with fidelity, benefit both parties involved, and can be done in such a way that students are not privy to which partner is higher or lower because the class is ranked, split in half, then paired off so that the "highest" achieving individual on the "upper level" list is paired with the "highest" ranked individual on the "lower level" list (with exceptions for incompatibility).
As a group we reached a consensus: if all instruction is to be individualized in such a way that each student gains the most from every activity, how can we judge what is fair? If one student can do 30 problems in 20 minutes, and another student takes an hour to complete eight problems, would a teacher be unjust in making sure that these students are challenged yet not frustrated by the amount of work they are assigned?
One parent may complain that their student is having to do too much, while the other parent may complain that their student is falling behind, but why is it unfair to allow students to rise to a challenge? I understand that in America we value equality and fairness. However, we deliberated and reached the decision that equal treatment does not always mean that every student is treated in exactly the same way. If every child received the identical, rigid education, there would be no room for individuality, for personal creativity, for real, substantial growth.
Education needs to continue to move towards individualized instruction for all, instruction that recognizes each students strengths and weaknesses, and allows students to grow in their area of weakness as they also have opportunities to use their strengths. At the end of the lesson we created, our group decided that having students write journals about the activity was a great wrap-up activity, and we decided that some students were given the liberty to write paragraphs while other students were not demanded of more than they could produce. While some may disagree, there were other forms of assessment used, such as the models, drawings, and presentations that students also did during the lesson. We took into consideration that in first grade, the gap between the struggling student and the overachiever may be wide, and that instruction should meet students where they are.
References:
Codding,
R. S., Chan-Iannetta, L., George, S., Ferreira, K., & Volpe, R. (2011). Early
number skills: Examining the effects of class-wide interventions on
kindergarten performance. School
Psychology Quarterly, 26(1), 85-96.
Rafdal,
B.H., McMaster, K. L., McConnell, S. R., Fuchs, D., & Fuchs, L. S. (2011).
The effectiveness of Kindergarten Peer-Assisted Learning Strategies for
students with disabilities. Exceptional
Children, 77(3), 299-316.
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