Chapter 1

Abstract:
The first chapter of this book talks about what differentiated instruction is. According to the book, differentiated instruction “is doing what’s fair for students. It’s a collection of best practices strategically employed to maximize students learning…” By employing differentiated instruction, we create competent students that are accepting of other learners and who understand that each student has their strengths and weaknesses, but they are all on the same path. The book then goes on to describe that contrary to some parents and educators beliefs, differentiated instruction is not something that students will become reliant on in the real world. The chapter explains of how differentiated instruction is the most effective method and then gives specific examples of how it is used in the real world.

Reflection:
The part I could really relate to, as well as my other group members, was the student who had their glasses removed so he couldn’t see the chalk board. By taking away the student’s glasses, he wasn’t able to see the material being taught; therefore he was given an excuse or cop out for not doing the work. This situation is a lot similar to students who need the “glasses” or differentiated instruction to learn the material, but don’t get it. In my years of education, I have experience a situation like this one. I was never great in math, so when I got a teacher in calculus that wasn’t willing to teach the material in any other way than he had in previous years, I struggled and was left with an excuse to not learn the material, and I never did. I feel like if this math teacher had given me a “crutch” or scaffolding, I would have not only been able to learn the material, but master the type of problems we were being taught.
In the long run our students benefit way more from differentiation because they can actually grasp what is being taught, even if instruction is not the same. If we only teach one way, and in a way that some students don’t understand, they have that cop out that prevents them from learning. However, if we give them the differentiation they need, they can not only grasp the knowledge but also synthesize and think about it in more complex ways.

Posted by Katie ;)