Jennifer Burroughs

February 14, 2016

EDU225
Mr. M
Video Tutorial: https://youtu.be/gFXbuE-21I4

Part One: Differentiated Instruction Definition

In the video I choose, which is listed above, Forest Lake Elementary

School teachers do an outstanding job showing what Differentiated
Instruction should look like and involve. DI is basically where the teacher
works to find out what level each of her students is on academically and from
there tries to group the students accordingly. The key point of the grouping
of the students is so you can continue to teach them from the level they are
at and move forward. Not having some of the students sitting, essentially
losing out on teaching or learning time while the teacher is teaching
something they might already know. A tool that could be used to identify
where a student is academically would be a Map test. The teacher could use
the data from a previously given test to help them determine the students
level of understanding. Currently teachers who want to see gains from their
students must be comfortable using Differentiated Instruction.
Part Two: Differentiated Instruction Lesson Evaluation
Lesson Plan Chosen: https://youtu.be/I5_WSzDrOgI
In this lesson on finding the Theme the teacher does address different
learning styles and levels. Instead of just reading a story straight forward and
then asking the class what was the Theme of the story read, the teacher
chooses to take a quick assessment of the whole class to see what they
already know about what Theme is. He repeats key pieces of information
numerous times so that all levels of students will not miss the important
information being discovered. Additionally he uses the white board to visually
note the important take always. One of the main pieces of his lesson plan

that show DI is that he uses props, of a vase full of water and rocks to show
what they should be learning from the reading of the story. This helps
tremendously the visual learners. This techniques does address different
learning styles and I would rate it positive for DI. The only thing that I would
do differently is not to assign homework that involved using the Internet at
the end of the lesson. I think that this lesson did such a very well job at
targeting different levels and the homework piece at the end did not. The
teacher using the white board was helpful to some students, however he
could have added a pre written slide show of the information he would be
writing on the white board and that would have given him more time to
observe the class as they were writing, to see if they were actually doing ok
and keeping up.

Part Three: Differentiated Instruction through Technology Blog

In todays classroom there is no reason for any student at any ability to
feel or be left out of a lesson. Lesson making is similar to cooking, the more
you do it the better you will get at it. Creating lessons for your classroom
should be a recipe where everyone gets a part. Within the classroom there
are many different types of learning styles and levels. Creating a lesson plan
that incorporates all levels and styles is the definition of Differentiated
Instruction. Teaching using multiple different technology tools and being able
to adjust the lesson for all types of learning styles and learning levels is the
key to Differentiated Instruction.
Technology to Differentiate Instruction
Teaching to all learning styles and levels is very important to helping
children reach the next level in class. I plan to use some tech tools to help
with my lesson plans so that all students will benefit and learn. Prezi,
YouTube videos, and Weebly are some of the tools that will help me
differentiate my Instruction plans. Using Prezi to make slideshow
presentations ahead of time that show what I will need to highlight or write
on the white board for students that are more visual will allow me more time
as a teacher to monitor what they are taking notes on or filling in for answers
on the accompanying worksheet. This will also allow me to see who needs

more help and who has it and is ready to move forward. (Chicioreanu, 2010)
Weebly an on line web page creature will help me with organization of
students work. I will be able to go to each of their sites, they we will have
created together, and see where there at from the work samples they will
have posted to their page. Weebly will allow me to help each student
individually and privately on their learning level. Lastly using YouTube to find
informational videos on different levels will help me as the teacher explain
material in more of a visual or audio format for my students who do better
learning this way.
Pros and Cons of Differentiated Instruction
Just as there are two sides to every coin, there is another side to DI.
Teaching to every students level is one of the pro or positives to the DI
model. It allows the teacher to access where exactly that child is and zoom in
on that to help guide them to their next learning level so to say. An example
of this might include having a lower level student draw instead of write an
essay. While drawing can be a worthwhile response option when embedded
within a robust literacy lesson, children are not engaging in writing and may
be further marginalized in their writing development because of an
inappropriately differentiated lesson.(Tobin, 2008) Finding the middle
ground where gains are being made by the student can be more difficult
than it seems using DI. As DI has many positives for teachers we are left
with many unanswered questions with it. At what level do we expect more

from a student? Are there or should there be guidelines for DI that define
some type of expectation?
Conclusion
Differentiated Instruction can be very helpful to a teacher or a
students. Shouldnt the number one goal be to teach and help each student
learn the most they can? Todays teacher has so many tools at their disposal.
Learning can really reach unlimited possibilities with todays technology.
However knowing what to require of a student and how much to push them
towards a goal is where the hard work comes in. Differentiated Instruction
can benefit many but also be a downfall to many, it takes a strong teacher to
navigate DI. Students need to be motivated to learn, it is the teachers job to
craft a plan to evoke that. (Tomlinson, 2005)
References
Chicioreanu, T. D. (2010). An Awesome Online Presentation Tool - Prezi.
Petroleum - Gas University Of Ploiesti Bulletin, Educational Sciences
Series, 62(1A), 202-209 Retrieved from:
https://lopes.idm.oclc.org/login?
url=http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?
direct=true&db=a9h&AN=52428359&site=ehost-live&scope=site

Tobin, R. (2008). CONUNDRUMS IN THE DIFFERENTIATED LITERACY

CLASSROOM. Reading Improvement, 45(4), 159-169. Retrieved From:

https://lopes.idm.oclc.org/login?
url=http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?
direct=true&db=a9h&AN=35898333&site=ehost-live&scope=site

Tomlinson, C. (2005). This Issue: Differentiated Instruction. Theory Into

Practice, 44(3), 183-184. doi:10.1207/s15430421tip4403_1 Retrieved
from: https://lopes.idm.oclc.org/login?
url=http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?
direct=true&db=a9h&AN=17539461&site=ehost-live&scope=site