Classroom Community

Having been homeschooled, I view education differently than most people I know.  As I read the textbook, “Fulfilling the Promise of the Differentiated Classroom,” by Carol Tomlinson, I came across a description of how a new student often feels when they attend school for the first time.  This description resonated with me because I have felt these same feelings.  A child who has never been to school might resent having assignments and homework that take time away from other things that matter more to them. A child in this situation often feels that school is stealing their time, and controlling their life.  This is actually the reason my mother chose to homeschool me. She was tired of feeling like the public school controlled her life, and she was not going to let the school continue to control her life through her children.   

                I believe a foundation of trust is the key for helping students feel welcome and excited to come to class each day.  I will strive to create a classroom community of trust. I desire to have my students trust me to only give assignments that will help them experience joy and satisfaction as they learn and grow.  I want my students to be able to trust that I will be there to help them learn because I believe in them—their capabilities and their potential to achieve and become. I also want my students to trust one another and work together as friends, and not be afraid to share their thoughts and feelings.

                Creating a classroom community of trust seems like a daunting task, but it is worth the effort if every child can feel safe, secure and benefited for having been in my classroom.  In order to create this environment of trust I need to listen to my students; I need to find out their interests, hobbies, and goals.  Utilizing the sharing time portion of morning meetings in my classroom will be a valuable tool for me to use to learn about my students and for my students, to learn about each other.   Sharing in morning meetings will also help my students to feel comfortable, instead of anxious or worried, with me and their fellow classmates.  

                Another useful tool for creating an atmosphere of trust is assessments.  In order for my students to trust that I will work to help them individually, I will use ongoing assessments to help me know where each child is academically.  I will explain to my students the importance of the assessments and how the assessments help me to help them. I will use the assessment results to inform my instruction.  Giving feedback to each child about their assessment results is important—because it will help me ensure that each student knows that their growth is important to me. 

                Meaningful learning activities and tasks are another way to create trust in the classroom.  I need to be clear about what I want my students to know and do.  I need to give each of my students tasks that we both feel will benefit them, and are not just tasks to fill their time while I work with other students.  My students need to experience joy and satisfaction as they learn and spend time at school.   One way to help my students recognize all we accomplish in our class is to take a few minutes at the end of each day to make note of what we did that day.  I will do this by writing a short journal entry, dictated by my students, at the end of every day on a PowerPoint slide.  I will also add pertinent pictures to the slides of various classroom activities.  Every few weeks, as a class, we will review the slides so we can remember the fun, worthwhile things that we have done as a class.   At the end of the year, we will watch our completed PowerPoint slide presentation to see all that we have accomplished together throughout the year. 

                Additionally, I will give my students responsibilities as a means of creating trust in the classroom.  My students need to know that I trust them.  I will create class jobs and explain clearly what my expectations are, so that my students can complete the tasks I give them. I will give my students the responsibility to complete the tasks, and hold them accountable for getting their tasks done by having a system of rewards/consequences.  

                Creating a universal sense of trust in my classroom is the vital foundation required for learning to occur.  When students feel safe and secure it opens the pathway for learning.  If trust is absent, student learning will be hindered by feelings of insecurity and fear.  An atmosphere of trust in my classroom will enable me to help each one of my students reach their full potential.

                

Teachers Are Also Different

Not only is each student different, but each teacher is different and has something different to offer students.  I had the wonderful opportunity to teach my field class for the last three days because my cooperating teacher is at a teachers' conference.  The sub for my class is a retired principal.  I felt so nervous teaching in front of him, wondering what he was thinking.  After the first day of teaching, I asked him what suggestions he had for me.  He said that I needed to find what works for me.  I can try out the other teacher's ways of managing the class, but I need to find what works for me.  He emphasized the point that all teachers do things differently. They need to find what works for them, and while they are trying to figure it out they may not do everything perfectly and that is all right.

Knowing that it is all right to "mess up" and not do everything perfectly the first time helped me to not be so nervous for the next day when I taught.  I learn so much about myself each day I teach and learn what works for me. I hope, as I continue to teach, I can also learn what works for each of my students.

Differentiation in Field

Wow, my field experience started 3 days ago and I have already learned so much about teaching and meeting the needs of individual students.  My field teacher uses assessments to guide her instruction all the time. She is continually assessing and using that knowledge to make her instructional plans.  She does a Running Reading Record on each student every week to check progress and help them progress.  She has reading groups that are based on a student's readiness levels.

My field teacher is continually striving to learn her students' interests.  She has one student that she has not yet discovered what motivates him, or what he is interested in.

One idea that I really like for creating classroom community that my field teacher uses is to record, at the end of each day, the highlights of the day on a PowerPoint slide.  She has each slide numbered for the day of school.  The students determine what is written on each slide. The teacher also takes pictures and adds them to the slide.  The class will watch the slide show at the end of the year to remember all the fun things they did together.

Toolbox Strategies

After our class presentations on toolbox strategies I was still a little confused on how the strategies could be used for differentiation.  I looked up some of the strategies and I think I understand better now how to differentiate with them.  To differentiate with graphic organizers you provide different supports within the graphic organizer for different students, or you provide a different graphic organizer for the individual students based on their needs.  For the journal entry strategy you provide different supports.  For learning menus you provide different activities that have different support systems in place.  To differentiate with the toolbox strategies you use tiering and scaffolding.

Metaphors

The textbook contains many metaphors that help me to understand differentiation. I will add here a metaphor that I helped to formulate for a group project in a different class. This metaphor also applies to differentiation just like the metaphor of the mother making gravy for her son, the bread maker becoming an expert bread maker, and the way we learn to ride a bike.  This metaphor is about a gardener and is sung to the tune of "You are My Sunshine."

Teachers are gardeners of little children 
They help them learn and stretch and grow
They may not know it, but they are learning
Please continue to help children grow.

A gardener helps plants grow by nourishing and nurturing the plants. The more the gardener knows about a particular plant the better able the gardener is to differentiate their care for that plant.  Teachers are always learning, even if they do not always realize it.  It is when the teacher applies what they are learning from the individual students that they are able to help children continue to grow and flourish.

Learning About My Students

Our textbook discussed the interaction between the Fox and the Prince in every chapter.  The Fox asked the Prince to tame him.  The last chapter ends with the question, "Can you show me how to tame you?"   If I am willing, I can learn from my students how to teach them and help them achieve.   I feel that learning about my students from my students is the key to differentiating effectively.  To differentiate, teachers must learn about their students, learn from their students, and learn with their students.  Once I know my students, I can differentiate content, process, and products according to student readiness, interest and learning ability by applying the hallmarks of differentiation.

Tiering

As I was reading more on the subject of tiering, I found a website created by Bertie Kingmore that has many articles on the subject of differentiation.  I read the article on tiered instruction. Kingmore explained tiered instruction using the analogy of a staircase.  Students are all at different levels of the staircase, so they need different instruction, activities, or support systems to get them to their highest learning potential.

In class today, it made sense to me that tiered instruction is differentiating for a student's readiness.  The cake analogy and our discussion of how the hallmarks apply to tiered instruction helped me to understand the hallmarks of differentiation a little more deeply.   The one that stood out to me was hallmark 2 (absolute clarity about what the teacher wants the students to know, understand, and be able to do - about what is truly important to learn in this unit).  In tiered instruction the teacher uses the same objective, but differentiates the process, and products to get the students to where they are supposed to be.  I can only succeed with tiered instruction if I know clearly what I want my students to know, understand, and be able to do.

Movie on Differentiation

I was looking for more information on tiered instruction and found this movie on differentiated instruction that reviews a lot of what we have learned so far this semester about differentiation.

Peer Blogs

I read a few posts on some of my peers' blogs about differentiation. It was interesting to see what stood out to different people from the readings for our class.  Brittany mentioned in her blog that she is excited to use learning menus.  When I read through the toolbox strategies I thought that learning menus would be fun to do too.  It will be fun to learn more about them and use them in my future classroom.  Brittany also discussed learning environments and how it is the teacher's responsibility to create a positive learning environment in the classroom.  Differentiating for our students can make our classrooms a learning environment that is welcoming, positive and secure for each one of our students.

Leah discussed how classroom work needs to be important, focused, engaging, demanding, and scaffolded.  Leah shared how her psychology teacher in high school wanted to make sure each one of her students succeeded.   She made the work important, focused, engaging, demanding, and she scaffolded the instruction.  Because of this, Leah can look back at the experiences as a good learning experience and remembers what she was taught.  I want my students to remember what they learn in my classroom.  The whole purpose of me teaching is so that my students can gain more knowledge.  I do not want them learning something just so they can pass a test and then forget about it.  I want to provide learning experiences that are important, focused, engaging, demanding, and scaffolded so my students can retain the information they gain in my classroom.

Teaching Students Not Lessons

In my LDS Institute class, whenever a student apologizes for asking a question that leads to a long discussion my teacher responds by saying, "Teaching students is more important than teaching lessons."

As teachers we teach students.  We need to not get caught up in teaching lessons.  We use lessons to teach students.  Students are active beings who hunger for knowledge and we should focus on teaching them and helping them learn.  In the textbook, Fulfilling the Promise of the Differentiated Classroom ,by Carol Tomlinson, there is a chapter about using curriculum and instruction to address students' needs.  One quote that I like from the book is, "We rarely succeed in teaching subjects unless we teach human beings as well" (p. 57).  

As I am teaching in my classroom trying to help each student achieve the core standards I need to maintain my focus on the students and not the curriculum. The curriculum is simply a tool for helping students learn and progress.  I want to be a teacher of students, not a teacher of lessons.

Dialogue Journals

In order to differentiate I have to know each one of my students individually.  In order to know each one of my students I have to effectively communicate with them.  Communication is very important in classrooms and all other life settings. One suggestion that the text book, Fulfilling the Promise of the Differentiated Classroom, gave was to use dialogue journals.  The teacher can have the students write specific things in their dialogue journal. Students also have the opportunity to write what they want in the journal.  The teacher can then read the journal and respond to the student's insights, questions, and thoughts. As I was reading about dialogue journals I had an Ah Ha moment.  My blog is a dialogue journal!

Definiation of Differentiation and Flexible Grouping

Differentiation is a teacher's response to student's needs guided by principles of differentiation.  The teacher can differentiate content, process, or products according to student's readiness, interest, or learning profile.

Flexible grouping, the 7th hallmark of differentiation, allows for teachers to group students in a way that will best meet their needs.  The teacher can group students to differentiate content, process, or products.  The teacher groups students according to readiness, interests, or learning profiles.  

Flexible grouping allows me as the teacher to group gifted and talented students together and differentiate the content for them.  I can group struggling students together and differentiate the process of acquiring the information.  I can also differentiate the products or assignments that I have different students complete.  As I am grouping students I should take into consideration readiness, interests and learning profiles.  I may group a gifted and talented student with a struggling student so they can learn and grow from each other's differences.  

For every lesson that I teach my students will be grouped in some way.  I may do whole group instruction or small group instruction, but whichever instruction group size I am using I need to consider my students readiness, interests, and learning profiles.

4th Hallmark of Differentiation

In my last post I reflected on how hard I think it will be to differentiate for all of my students and meet each of their individual needs for growth.  The 4th hallmark states "Individual growth is emphasized as central to classroom success."  My question about how to differentiate for each student was partially answered in class yesterday when my teacher explained that you teach all the students  using whole group instruction, but encourage and give the students support in reaching their own personal best.   It is impossible to do one-on-one instruction with each student to reach personal growth, but I can work with the class as a whole and support and guide individual students in reaching their individual best as needed. I am excited to learn more about how to do this during the course of this semester.

I have been pondering about how important it is for me as a teacher to let each student know that I care about them and want them to feel safe and secure in my classroom and like they can learn and grow.  For my students to be able to grow in my classroom they have to feel welcome and like they have a purpose in coming and participating.   In the reading from chapter 2 of the "Fulfilling the Promise of the Differentiated Classroom" textbook the need for establishing ties with each student was discussed.  For me as a teacher, I have to know my student before I can help that student grow individually.

My Personal Experience with the Hallmarks of Differentiation

This week I have been studying about the hallmarks of a differentiated classroom.  As I have studied these hallmarks, I have pondered the question of how to meet each individual student's needs in a classroom full of children.  This question caused me to think about my own experiences with differentiation in school.

In my own educational experience my individual needs were the focus of my education. I was homeschooled, so I did not have to compete with 30 other students of my same grade level in the classroom to get the attention and instruction I needed.  However, I do have 9 siblings of all different ages and grade levels all requiring their own education needs to be met. The 4th hallmark, "Individual growth is emphasized as central to classroom success," was always a major part of my education. My mother focused on helping each one of her children to grow individually.  In our homeschool we shared the responsibility for the classroom. Each one of us had responsibilities to help each other and ourselves. We had the opportunity of tracking our own growth and were allowed to study topics that interested us.

Flexible grouping and engaging work for all students were also other important elements of my homeschool experience.  We had whole group instruction, small group instruction, and individualized instruction. I worked with my older brothers and younger brothers and sisters in the learning process.  We were all at different grade levels so our school work was individualized to where we were, but we still worked together. I had the opportunity to teach my younger siblings and to be taught by my siblings.

All of the 8 differentiation hallmarks will be important for my future teaching in my home and in the public school.  I think it will be a challenge to differentiate instruction in a classroom with 30 children, but treating each child as a unique individual is important for the success of all my students.  I hope to follow the example of my mother in helping each one of my students to succeed and reach their potential.

Morning Meetings with Sylvia Allan

Today, I learned about a different type of morning meeting. This morning meeting format was introduced to me by Sylvia Allan in my differentiation course.  Allan's morning meeting format includes:

• Class Creed
• Greeting (Monday only)
• Pledge
• Memorization
• Class business
• News
• Share
• Class Cheer

This format of morning meetings appeals to me because it provides many opportunities to build classroom community.

The class creed provides opportunities for discussion and growth. The class creed that Sylvia Allan uses is:

      Now I am the VOICE
      I will LEAD not follow
      I will BELIEVE not doubt
      I will CREATE not destroy
      I am a FORCE for GOOD
      I am a LEADER
      DEFY THE ODDS
      Set a NEW STANDARD
      Step Up! Step Up! Step Up!

Doing greetings once a week saves time while still helping everyone to feel welcome and like they have friends. 

Not only saying the pledge, but discussing its meaning is something that I want to incorporate into my future classroom.

The memorization section of the morning meeting reminds me of my experiences in home-school.  I want to incorporate memorization into my future classroom with discussion so the students have worthwhile things they have memorized to reflect on.  Some of the poems that Sylvia Allan shared with us were: Good Timber by Douglas Malloch, and I Am Important by Virginia A. Braxton.

The class business seems to be a very important part of the morning meeting. In this part of the morning meeting the teacher gives direction to students, telling them what they are doing well and what they can improve. If there is a need to correct problems the teacher uses some of this time to do it. Also, time in the business section is used for introducing a literary term and a quote.

The news section provides a time for discussing current events.

The share section allows students to share with the class in a way that will foster friendships.

The class cheer is a good way to end the meeting with everyone standing in a circle, with their hands in the middle, to do a cheer together.  After the first week, different groups of students can come up with a positive uplifting cheer for the class.

After Sylvia Allan's presentation today I am excited to try out morning meetings in my own future classrooms.  Sylvia Allan has set a wonderful example for me in my future teaching.

Morning Meeting Video

There a lot of YouTube videos with different activities and ideas for morning meetings.  Here is one I found that will be fun to use with spelling.

Morning Meetings

This week in my Differentiation course at Utah Valley University I learned about Morning Meetings. I am excited to try using morning meetings in my future classrooms.  I think they will be a great tool to use to create a good classroom environment of learning and growing.

Morning Meetings are a great way to create a trusting classroom community in your class because they help every student to feel welcome and needed.  The Kreite model of morning meetings has 4 important steps:  Greetings, sharing, group activity, and news and announcements.

Greetings - Help students feel welcome and like they belong in the classroom. There are many different activities that can be used for greetings.  Some ideas include: saying hello in different languages, singing greeting songs, tossing a ball between students as they say hello to each other.

Sharing - Gives students an opportunity to share with the class.  Sharing can be done in a variety of different ways.  You can have students sign up in advance to share and have a few share or you can do a lightning share where every student shares a 1-2 word answer to a question.

Group Activity - Builds community.  The group activity is a fun activity.  It can be linked to what you are studying or it can be used for more of a fun relaxer.

News and Announcements - Transition from morning meeting into the rest of the day.  Students reread the chart together that they read as they entered the classroom at the beginning of the day.  The chart should have some interactive component.

Morning Meetings only take 15-30 minutes out of the day and they have so many lasting benefits!

Morning Meeting Benefits:

• opportunity to practice social skills
• provides a safe environment for risk taking
• students learn active listening skills
• students learn self-control
• students learn cooperation
• inclusive environment
• students learn speaking/presenting skills

Morning meetings can also be theme-based. Ideas include: math, science, spelling, birthday, and character traits (honesty, integrity, respect).

Further Reading/Resources:
https://www.responsiveclassroom.org/article/being-breakfast-table