Supporting the Implementation of Differentiation

During an earlier course in this graduate program, I was introduced to blogging and most importantly social networking. I realized quickly that I had missing out on a whole world of resources and support that had been available to me with just a simple key stroke. The Ning group that I set up for this class has become, and will remain, an invaluable resource as I continue my journey towards differentiated instruction and Universal Design for Learning. Because of our group effort, we each have doubled the amount of resources now cataloged on our site. As we move forward beyond this course, and even beyond our advanced degree, this information will still exist in cyberspace for us to access. We can continue to share resources and use each other as a support group as we move forward integrating technology to diversify our classrooms. I find it much easier to look through a Ning site for information I need, then to flip back through mountains of hand written notes. The site keeps it organized and accessible.,

From this course I have learned that what I considered differentiation in my classroom was not fulfilling the needs of my students. Even though my implementation of Choice-based art education differentiated instruction for product, interest, and learning profile, I have continued to see some students still struggling with grasping the standards in class. I knew I had a gap somewhere to fill but I couldn't quite put my finger on it. This course has allowed me to analyze my situation and locate where my instruction has been not meeting the needs of these students. I plan to immediately make modifications to how I deliver my instruction by using more technology to provide alternative access to the information and practice that is matched to readiness, and intelligence preferences. Of course this is going to take some leg work on my part to gain more computers in my classroom, but this time of year (post-testing) will provide a more open schedule for me to do this. As I practice my new lessons along with my students, I hope to begin to establish some new routines and procedures so that we can start out next year hitting the ground running. I have always viewed technology as a alternative production tool but now I view it as an invaluable instructional tool as well. I am very glad my eyes have been opened.