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Synthesis Blog #4

Synthesis Blog


Differentiation in the classroom is something that I know very little about. As a future educator, I think this is one of the hardest things to be able to implement in the classroom. This video did a great job of showing practical ways to reach the needs of all levels of students that we will probably have in the classroom. I especially liked the puzzle activity that the teacher did with her students. In this activity, students from all ranges of abilities were grouped together but the questions that each student answered were catered to the individual needs of the students. I liked how the students weren’t separated based on ability but instead, they all got to collaborate and help one another with the activity. Another thing I thought was a good idea is that the teacher presented vocabulary words with the word and also a picture of what the word was describing. I think it is so important to present information in as many ways as possible to students because students learn in a variety of ways and this is an easy way to reach the levels of all students. I also loved the emphasis on group work in this classroom because, like the science expert said, social interaction is how all students learn and it is so important to allow time for them to learn from one another, not just the teacher.

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Comments

  1. Cody McCanceOctober 17, 2018 at 7:27 PM

    I also did not really know what differentiation in the classroom meant. I also agree that this could potentially be hard to implement in the classroom. For example, knowing what kind of questions to ask at the different cognitive levels, so that each individual student understands what is being asked of them. Also, coming up with activities that meet the needs of all of the students in the class, instead of just most of them. I think the video did show some good activities that can be used to combat that however.

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  2. Jessica SharrettsOctober 17, 2018 at 7:50 PM

    Hey Lillie! I was not familiar with the word differentiation until I watched the video. The practical examples of differentiation that you mention in your blog are clearly modeled by Ms. Maronpot. So, I feel like I was able to grasp the concept of differentiation well. Group work happens often in science classrooms, because of lab activities. Science teachers could use differentiation in the same way that Ms. M it to conduct the puzzle group activity in her class on the video. Science teachers can place students with lab partners or into groups for experiments based on their cognitive level. Great Post!
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