Anita's Goal

Last fall I took a course on differentiated instruction, and it is the inspiration for my professional goal this year. The class began with an overview of topics I was familiar with: brain-based learning, Bloom’s Taxonomy, multiple intelligences, and learning profiles. Even though the content was not new, I found it beneficial because these concepts are central to planning and teaching (and a little reminder never hurt anyone). As the course progressed, I realized that differentiation based on readiness was already taking place in my classroom. As a language arts teacher, it was common practice for me to provide reading materials at a variety of levels so that all of my students could access content. I even differentiated based on product, allowing students to choose how they would demonstrate their learning. While I was patting myself on the back for using DI strategies, I started to notice that most of the strategies I used were low-prep. So my goal for this year is utilize one high-prep strategy (tiered activity, centers, stations, etc.) in each ancient civilization unit I teach. I‘ve seen how these activities can benefit students in the classroom, and that is my motivation. My ultimate goal is to have units of study that are entirely differentiated, but it will take several years to get to that level. Adding a few differentiated pieces each year is a manageable goal that I look forward to pursuing. First up- ancient Mesopotamia! I’ll let you all know what my first DI lesson is and how it goes.