Reflection #6 - Accommodating Instruction to Meet Individual Needs

Describe 

This week we completed a reading about differentiated learning as well as grouping.  The reading began with grouping and tracking students, a process that as gone away in high schools in recent years but is making a comeback lately with AP courses etc.  Differentiated instruction was an important part of the reading, it described and than gave ways to differentiate instruction.  One way that caught my interests was using peer tutoring.  The last part of the chapter was about intervention programs as well as after-school or summer school.  The questions to answer for this week focused on ability grouping and the technology we would offer students in our classroom to facilitate differentiated instruction.

Analyze

When looking at ability grouping it is a difficult topic for me.  I believe that all students can learn and can learn at high levels.  The first idea of tracking is especially hard for me.  Tracking was once a tool to allow students at high school to determine their future.  Whether you were tech prep or college prep especially here in Georgia.  However, after attending college and seeing the data about schools and the graduation rates.  Tracking was setting students up very early in their high school careers for failure.  Students not on a college prep track and having a change of heart half way through high school suffered tremendously.  I do not believe in setting students up for failure or restricting their educational options.  Ability grouping is also a tough subject for me.  I understand that we want to separate some students from others in order to help them go further.  I however struggle with this concept when teaching AP courses.  I want to have any student experience a tougher curriculum if they are interested in pushing their academic abilities or learn new skills.  Differentiation is a way to have the best of both or all these worlds.  It allows schools and students to become part of a shared learning community.  I have had many students learn unexpectedly from others no matter what their ability level was or what kind of test scores students have had in the past.

Reflect

Early this summer I was given a promotion at school!  I am moving on to become the Director of Academic Success at Metter High School.  My new job will be to use an online learning platform to help students recovery lost credits as well as to accelerate students that want to take courses not currently offered in the traditional classroom.  I am really excited about this opportunity.  This will allow us to differentiate school curriculum and tailor it more and more to an individual students needs.  Its not the greatest of learning opportunities just yet being that this an online program provided from a corporation.  It does however, allow me to help students in my small rural county to experience courses in video game design, entrepreneurship, AP Human Geography etc.  It is the start of the future of education I believe!

I will also be responsible for the after-school as well as summer school programs we offer.  This is something very new to me and I have been working very hard to develop the protocols and the timeline and activities for this after-school program.  The part of the textbook that talked about after-school programs helped me tremendously to develop my concept of what this needs to accomplish.  The program has time for homework, acceleration/remediation (using the online course platform), and also time for extra-curricular activities through the sports offered at Metter High School.  The best part of it all is that it includes time for dinner for all students!!!