So far throughout the first block I have added many knowledge tools to the tool belt that is my brain. One of the more recent additions to my belt-brain is that of differentiated learning and UDLs (universal designs for learning) and wow! I knew that learning to be an educator would be exciting and chalk full of information but I have to be honest.. I did not know I would be learning so much so soon. This all hit me when I was reading about differentiated learning and UDLs because while they seem so obviously necessary as I am learning it, I had not known that such methods and resources existed prior to my accessing the information.
Differentiated learning happens when a student (or students) in a classroom require additional support or alternative lesson plans/activities due to a lack of understanding of the learning at hand. These alternative assignments for the student to do are usually designed after the student has undergone some sort of formative assessment and it has been determined by the teacher that the student will benefit from work in class more suitable to their current level of learning.
I like the idea of differentiated learning, and it is without a doubt a vital element to being a teacher. If a teacher does not comply with differentiated learning then they are likely structuring their lesson plans to educate the ‘average’ or ‘majority’ of the class rather than aiming to teach all students. Ways to differentiate learning in the classroom involve quite a lot of reading and writing activities, as I have seen throughout the readings for EDUC 394. Reading and writing activities allow room for all students to be developing their reading and critical thinking skills whilst being able to work at their own speed and a level in which they are comfortable. I really like the idea of encouraging my students to think creatively and read at their own level versus rushing them to read or write at particular grade level because that way such activities can still be enjoyable for the student. And if it is enjoyable, they will make an effort to do them more, and practice makes perfect! I think it is important to remember that differentiated learning is an ongoing process which follows formative assessments and therefore as students learn and grow the teacher must alter their learning path to suit the students’ needs.
UDLs, on the other hand, are a variety of teaching methods meant to educate the teacher and provide them resources on how to include all learners within a class without having the students struggle through classwork until formative assessment takes place. I think that UDLs are a magical thing because as teachers, nothing pleases me more than to have students feel competent and willing to learn right off the bat. The main point about UDLs that I have learned so far is that it is imperative that we offer our students a wide variety of materials to learn with as well as ways to represent their learning.
A way that I would like to use these teaching methods in my future classrooms could be through some sort of a story-telling production (whether it be a play or short film does not matter). My lesson plan would consist of having my students choose roles to play for this assignment, the roles would go all the way from writer to director to actor and everything in between. Then, the students would work in their production groups to create and manage their portion of the assignment, and ultimately as a collective class we would eventually have a full-blown play or short film! This may seem like a larger task, and it is one that I will likely not tackle for my first few years of teaching, however I see many elements of UDL in this idea and I am excited to construct it. A UDL benefit that I see would be that my students will be able to choose the role in the assignment that speaks to them, therefore making it an exciting and interesting task. Then, working in small groups will enable the students who may be at a lower grade level to be able to work with students who have a better understanding of the goal, thus making all students feel included and giving the students who need extra help in the classroom another resource to better their learning. Working collectively as a group would allow for all students to see the work that each other group did so that everyone can begin to see the final product take place.
Overall, this learning has given me a lot to think about as well as many more ideas as to how I can better help my future students learn. I’m in shock that this is only Block 1 of 5 but am incredibly excited to see just how full my belt can get.