While talking with my CT about differentiated instruction in her classroom, I learned a lot about how she does it and how the school does it. The school has one classroom where most of the students are ESE. In this classroom, the head teacher is given a co-teacher to help out. All of the gifted students are spread out between four of the fourth grade classes. Each teacher has a different tier when it comes to RTI. There are three levels and my CT has quite a few in her classroom. Two students are considered tier 3 and six are considered tier 2. All eight of these students get pulled out of class two or three times a week in order to get the extra help they need. Some of the students in tier 2 do iStation in the computer lab once a week as part of their RTI process.
Differentiation is not an easy thing to do in every classroom but it is something that every teacher does. My CT does not change any of the content. She told me that all the students in her class know how to read and at the beginning of the year she works with them on decoding skills. This is something that I plan on using in my future classroom. I know that not all students are reading on grade level but they should know how to figure out what new words are and what they mean. The students are in table groups based on their level. She told me that students who are high or above level do not like to sit with students who are low or below level. I am not sure how I feel about this. I would like to believe as future teacher, I would put students together who can help one another such as a medium/ low with a student who is high. That way the high students are there to help when I cannot get to them. When students need extra help, she either pulls them back into a small group at her desk or works one on one if there is time. While in the classroom with her, I pull back the students that are low/low and work with them one on one during bellwork or if they are working with partners. Sometimes there is an odd number of students. There are some students in her classroom that need extra help with things like handwriting. With those students she sends home extra handwriting homework. I learned that this mostly happens most with boys because the muscle that helps with handwriting is the last to develop in boys because they like to play outside, unlike most girls who love to color and cut. She is also in the process of writing a mini grant with the PTA to get the materials to have a handwriting station in her classroom. This was all new to me and something I need to think about as a preservice teacher. When it comes to assessments, all students get the same assessment. Some, however, receive extra time or get the assessment read aloud to them, such as students with a 504 plan or ELL students. I have not witnessed the students receiving any type of assessment in the classroom so I do not know what the teacher wants of me in regards to the assessments. I am also not sure if for assessments, such as the FSA, if these students get pulled out of the classroom or if they stay.
Talking with my CT I learned that there are many challenges to differentiate instruction. One that she says in the most challenging is finding the time to work with students who need more help. She says there is just not enough time in the day for all the students who need extra help. She also said that is it hard to determine if the student is just messing around or actually needs the extra help. I can see this being a problem in all grade levels and something as a pre-service teacher I need to know how to determine this. Some students in her class just need extra confidence and it is hard for her to find the time needed to help these students out.
It was really nice talking with my CT about differentiated instruction because I learned a lot of things to use in my future classroom. I also learned how to help her in the classroom with the students who need extra help in the day when I am there. Pulling students back when needed or just walking around the classroom to see who needs help is something that she wants me to be doing when I am in her room.
Differentiation is not an easy thing to do in every classroom but it is something that every teacher does. My CT does not change any of the content. She told me that all the students in her class know how to read and at the beginning of the year she works with them on decoding skills. This is something that I plan on using in my future classroom. I know that not all students are reading on grade level but they should know how to figure out what new words are and what they mean. The students are in table groups based on their level. She told me that students who are high or above level do not like to sit with students who are low or below level. I am not sure how I feel about this. I would like to believe as future teacher, I would put students together who can help one another such as a medium/ low with a student who is high. That way the high students are there to help when I cannot get to them. When students need extra help, she either pulls them back into a small group at her desk or works one on one if there is time. While in the classroom with her, I pull back the students that are low/low and work with them one on one during bellwork or if they are working with partners. Sometimes there is an odd number of students. There are some students in her classroom that need extra help with things like handwriting. With those students she sends home extra handwriting homework. I learned that this mostly happens most with boys because the muscle that helps with handwriting is the last to develop in boys because they like to play outside, unlike most girls who love to color and cut. She is also in the process of writing a mini grant with the PTA to get the materials to have a handwriting station in her classroom. This was all new to me and something I need to think about as a preservice teacher. When it comes to assessments, all students get the same assessment. Some, however, receive extra time or get the assessment read aloud to them, such as students with a 504 plan or ELL students. I have not witnessed the students receiving any type of assessment in the classroom so I do not know what the teacher wants of me in regards to the assessments. I am also not sure if for assessments, such as the FSA, if these students get pulled out of the classroom or if they stay.
Talking with my CT I learned that there are many challenges to differentiate instruction. One that she says in the most challenging is finding the time to work with students who need more help. She says there is just not enough time in the day for all the students who need extra help. She also said that is it hard to determine if the student is just messing around or actually needs the extra help. I can see this being a problem in all grade levels and something as a pre-service teacher I need to know how to determine this. Some students in her class just need extra confidence and it is hard for her to find the time needed to help these students out.
It was really nice talking with my CT about differentiated instruction because I learned a lot of things to use in my future classroom. I also learned how to help her in the classroom with the students who need extra help in the day when I am there. Pulling students back when needed or just walking around the classroom to see who needs help is something that she wants me to be doing when I am in her room.