For our application day, we prepared to teach a lesson using the different models of teaching we discussed earlier in the week. Our group planned to teach our classmates how to braid hair. It was easy for us to think of way to differentiate this lesson because of the many varieties of braiding hair. This can translate into other subjects I teach my future students. If I need to differentiate my lesson, I need to be knowledgeable across the whole span of the subject, not just surface level understanding.
For those who didn't know how to braid at all, we had a teacher specifically set up to take that group of students. As the braids advanced, our teachers needed to know more and more skills about braiding. I liked dividing the students this way so that everyone could learn something new and if we would have had more time, it would have been beneficial for the students that acquired a new braiding skill to teach one of their classmates.
To pre-assess our group, we found out which braids people were familiar with and which ones they could learn how to do. Then we divided everyone into the appropriate group with an instructor at each group. After the instruction and demonstration, each student was able to practice the new skill. For the assessment, they needed to pass off a braid by their instructor.
Co-teaching makes it possible to focus more on individual needs instead of throwing blanket statements at students. I like the idea of having the students teach each other so they can have a deeper understanding of the concepts they are learning as they put things into their own words. This can range from having students give each other their spelling tests (so that each spelling test can have words specific to that childs needs) to teaching in homogeneous groups and then switching half of the groups to have the students talk about what they experienced in their section.
Differentiation is such a big idea because with out it, students aren't able to reach their potential. As a future educator, I need to be knowledgeable in all subjects and stay current with new curriculum. This will help students to not reach the point of frustration in their learning.
I loved how you guys split the more advanced braided and the students that didn't really know how to braid up. Another idea could of been to have the more advanced braiders help the students that were struggling. They could of learned how to not only know how to braid but how to teach to braid. I believe one of the best ways to learn something is to teach it.
ReplyDeleteI like what you said about co-teaching. At first I wasn't sure I would like the idea of having to teach with someone else, but seeing that more students can get better help when there are co-teachers has made me re-evaluate what I initially thought. Thank you for your comments this week!
ReplyDeleteI love that you mentioned that co-teaching makes it possible to focus more on individual needs. I believe that this is important in everything we are all involved in our entire lives. We need constructive criticism to improve. Thanks for sharing
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