Personal Statement : The Teaching Profession

Prior taking this RETELL class I thought differentiating meant “dummying down” work. I struggled with the concept of differentiating strategies because I thought it help students to be all they can be. Taking the class have given a clear understanding the meaning and the usage of differentiating teaching, matter of fact, some the strategies I use in class are similar to some of the strategies taught in the RETELL class. I realized that Differentiated instruction is about using teaching strategies that connect with individual student's learning strategies. The ultimate goal is to provide a learning environment that will maximize the potential for student success. The important thing to remember is to hold on to the effective teaching strategies that lead students to positive learning outcomes and to make adjustments when necessary. It's about being flexible and open to change. It's also about taking risks and trying teaching and learning strategies that you would have otherwise ignored. It's about managing instructional time in a way that meets the standards and also provides motivating, challenging, and meaningful experiences for school age

Chapter one “Defining How Differentiation Looks in Today’s Classroom,” is an outstanding way to introduce this Best Practice book because

With differentiation in mind, I came up with a daily schedule of learning and instruction time for my students. Entry 4 artifact 3 is a copy of my daily schedule and lesson plan format for instructing my students. I begin my day of learning using whole group instruction with a whole group instruction reviewing the calendar, music/movement activity, and read aloud. During these activities, I ask the students question based upon their ability and grade level. The students are really engaged during our introduction. They get to move and meditate to reflect on their day.

Differentiation can be guided by a teaching assistant. The teacher will plan guided reading sessions

A final way differentiated instruction prepares students from the 21st century workplace is through direct instruction. Whether students go to college or enter the workforce, students will be required to receive information directly from one, or many, people and think critically about it. Whether it is sitting through a lecture in college, or a meeting at work, students will need to have the ability to take in information verbally and apply it to their area of study or expertise. In my classroom, I try to begin a lesson and end a lesson with some form of short discussion or lecture. I believe that it helps to either set up, or bring closure to, the information we are covering. For example, at the beginning a lesson this week I spoke for about fifteen minutes introducing the struggle for equality that African-Americans faced in the early 1900s. This short lecture helped lay the groundwork for the next two days and assisted in giving my students context for the upcoming hybrid stations.

My capstone is about education and training. My assignment in front of you is what I want to become. I love working with young children. They always put a smile on my face and watching them grow is amazing. Freshman year I took Mrs. Lynn Davis’s Early Childhood class. Taking her class opened my eyes, when deciding what career I want. The first three years of this pathway involved learning basic educational needs of children of ages from birth to age ten. Now, as a senior at Calhoun High School, I'm still taking Mrs.Davis’s class. Examining Teacher Profession or ETP, teaches us how we should start off our teaching profession. I put into training my teaching skills by volunteering at the Boys and Girls Club in Adairsville every summer. Volunteering at the boys and girls

Most of my direct experience working with curriculum is as an public elementary school teacher. I prided myself for many years in aligning the state curriculum frameworks and objectives with the instruction going on in my classroom, and received praise from administrators for sticking to the “playbook”. As time went on, though, I realized that my mixed ability classes were simply not performing up to my personal expectations. I began to create flexible groups for math and language arts, and differentiate instruction based on group needs and student interests. I saw significant improvements in student engagement, behavior and overall achievement.

Differentiation is the tool used by educators who recognize that all students come to them with different readiness levels and learning styles. It allows us to meet the needs of each individual student while meeting the standards developed by state and national education associations. Additionally, there are many different types of differentiation that can be used in a classroom: teachers can create learning centers, use differentiated assessments, and develop anchor activities, etc. Currently, I utilize differentiated assessments, but my goal for the upcoming school year is to utilize more learning centers and to incorporate anchor activities into my daily classroom routine.

In order to fully explain differentiation it is important to turn to The National Curriculum and look at what has become known as the ‘general inclusion statement’. This statement contains a statement that defines inclusion as “a demand on teachers not to ignore the three principles of inclusion (below) in their planning” Session 1 / Inclusion, the individual and the environment. In short, these three principals are: To set suitable learning challenges, to respond to pupil’s diverse learning needs, and overcoming potential barriers to learning and assessment for individuals and groups. In other words teachers are expected to develop lessons

I see students as the next generations’ heroes in so many fields. In my vision, I have to inspire students and prepare them with confidence, knowledge, experience and skills. Which means I encourage, communicate, guide, teach, and assess students in order to enrich their infrastructures.

My decision to be a teacher did not come easily to me. This choice was dependent on a reflection about what I was passionate about and how I could make a difference. I have chosen to become a teacher, as I believe teachers have the ability to provide future generations the stimulation for one of the most significant roles in life; to become a lifelong learner. Many teachers that I have had during my education have had a positive impact on my decision to grow and develop the skills that are fundamental to pursue a successful teaching career. My aim is to be a part of an honorable profession with the optimism that one day I will become an efficacious teacher who can provide future teachers with inspiration, as my teachers have provided for me. Through personal educational experiences and peer-reviewed academic literature, I am able to shape my approach to my pre-service teaching, as it will influence my future practice. As a teacher, there is not just one singular approach to educating students; there is a need for flexibility, diversity, adaptation and reflection.

According to UNESCO (2004), teachers around the world are exerting efforts in trying out innovative teaching strategies. There were dedicated and committed teachers who make a difference to the students’ lives and even providing important learning opportunities in their communities. To meet the students’ diverse learning needs, teachers cater variety of learning opportunities and experiences. In an interview of Carol Ann Tomlinson, an American author and educator known for her works with techniques of differentiation in education, she described differentiation as shaking up the classroom to be more appropriate for the learners. Regarding the methods of instruction, there should be a variety of techniques for collecting and presenting the lesson considering the students’ needs, abilities, interests, and backgrounds of experience.

Effective differentiated instruction reflects where the students currently are in their educational stage and not where a teacher wishes them to be. This step is important; placing students either too high or too low in the instruction can be adverse to the teacher’s goal of helping all students. Developing lesson strategies for students that are too demanding may have a negative effect on performance and reinforce negative emotions concerning learning. Likewise, developing lesson strategies that do not challenge students to perform at their best can also have a negative effect. Some students that are not engaged by a teacher's instruction are left adrift waiting for new or more stimulating material. Engaging students in the learning strategy is the key ingredient in producing active learners.

In my classroom, I will differentiate learning by offering a variety of methods of instruction such as hands on models, cooperative learning, technology, lectures, group activities, independent learning assignments. I will also adjust delivery based on understanding of concepts. I

Differentiation is a way of teaching; it’s not a program or package of worksheets. It asks teachers to know their students well so they can provide each one with experiences and tasks that will improve learning. A PLE is frequently contrasted with a learning management system in that an LMS tends to be centralized on the coursework, whereas a PLE is centralized on the learner. At the same time, a PLE may or may not intersect with an institutional LMS, and individuals might integrate components of an LMS into the educational environments that they construct for themselves. A typical PLE, for example, might