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This has caused her to devote much of her time on experimenting with different methods of differentiation and student-centered classrooms. Her school is also piloting standards-referenced grading, causing her grade book to look quite different this year! Her husband, Elijah , is also involved in education. Together they have a 1 year old daughter, Paige, and a rescue dog named Dani.
Blended Learning in the 21st Century: What is Blended Learning? Differentiation and Student-Centered Learning Teaching and Learning In my experience, there are two key ideas to creating a successful blended learning classroom: Differentiation Now, most likely every teacher has some form of differentiation in his or her classroom. Here is a quick breakdown of the five main ways I differentiate in my th and th grade ELA courses: In learning centers, the students are rotating through different learning stations, each with a different activity.
This is an easy way to differentiate assignments based on ability, interest, content, etc. It also allows the teacher to provide more or less hands-on guidance in small groups.
Differentiating the Curriculum for Gifted Learners and millions of other books are . Project-Based Learning for Gifted Students: A Handbook for the 21st-Century. So All Can Learn: Differentiation through 21st Century Skills. John McCarthy, EdS David Ross, CEO of Partnership for 21st Century Learning. Twitter: @ davidPBLross .. curriculum to real-world applications.” Differentiation.
This relates to learning centers. You can use many factors to create your groups: Ideally, there are at least two options per meal, giving students choice in who they want to focus their research on for projects. Other times, I get their preference for a book, an article or an assignment and make the final decision myself. For assessments, you can tier them based on complexity and assign them to your students accordingly, as long as they connect to the standards. There are several apps and websites that allow students to work through the material based on their ability at their own speed.
In this process, instruction and assessment begin as a whole group. Then students work individually, in small groups, or with a partner to develop, practice, refine, and extend their learning based on what they already know, understand, and are able to do. Students may be grouped by knowledge, reading ability, language fluency, and interest. Sometimes you will group students by shared ability, at other times, mixed ability will be more useful to the learning process.
Direct instruction should be well scaffolded and even targeted at specific groups of students. Information may also be presented through a variety of mediums — visual, videos, songs, literature, and hands-on activities. Station rotations also make it easier to provide focused instruction to different groups of learners.
In station rotations, students learn and practice skills for a specific learning goal through individual and group work at several different stations, including a station with their teacher for more focused instruction.
The larger tasks students complete should help you assess for understanding and should vary according to the learners in the classroom. Visual learners may thrive best by creating diagrams and illustrations, while kinesthetic learners need to build or create physical models.
Options for student choice that take into consideration both ability and interest are great ways to motivate and engage the learners in your classroom. Technology tools like Wixie have built in options for differentiation, making it easy to assign different work on the same topic to different learners in your classroom. Providing a variety of options for performance gives students a choice and makes them a partner in the learning process. Metacognitive students who are aware of their strengths and weaknesses learn to make choices about how they best gain knowledge and understanding as well as the way they can best demonstrate their learning.
Viewing your students as unique individuals and learners helps you forge stronger relationships and develop more effective methods of teaching and learning. Processing is a student's opportunity to review and evaluate what they know and did not understand based on the direct instruction. Tools for communication, critical thinking, and creativity enable students to make needed connections, and recognize gaps in their understanding.
Journaling, doodling, partner conversations, and questioning the teacher using the Question Formulation Technique are some ways to build success. Learner Environment A successful 21st Century Learning culture is best when students and teachers share a common understanding.
Build common language through anchor charts. Teaching, coaching, and assessing 21st Century Skills becomes possible when the skill is understood in concrete behavioral language. Post anchor charts so students have a guide to reflect on how they measure up to the required skills. Learners can use the charts' language to self-evaluate and provide feedback to peers that is concrete and targeted to constructive behavior.
Teachers use the charts to coach errant students, rather than resorting to disciplinary action as a first response. Ask for help and offer help when needed 2. Listen to others body focused, not multitasking 3.
Participate in thinking and dialog 5. Encourage others to participate. Differentiation through clearly defined 21st Century Skills helps students engage in deeper learning, and how to support each other on related tasks. With large class sizes, empowering learners with these skills can make a difference in their academic progress. Support comes from their peers and their teachers as everyone shares common language.
If students practiced 21st Century skills over years of their school experience, imagine how transformative their learning journey would become. Empowered with skills to self-advocate individually and through teams, there is much that learners can achieve in school and life.
Jim Williams makes this comment. Anne Almli makes this comment. Five Elements for Differentiation of the 21st Century Learner.
Encourage others to participate Critical Thinking 1. Let us know what you think- Leave a Comment! Jim Williams makes this comment Tuesday, March 06, They work together to set and achieve goals. They track personal progress by using split times. Coaches let them know during the run if they are on track to reach weekly goal. They give constant feedback. They evaluate their performance after the run.
What adjustments need to be made. They process the information and write comments.