TIFFANY SEACE
10/07/14
EDU 737
Assignment 5C

1.
• “Differentiated instruction is not about adjusting your teaching to meet the needs of children receiving special education. It’s about meeting the needs of everyone in your class- regardless of their individual situation.”
i. This idea was also seen in the UDL video. The idea is to adapt the curriculum instruction to the needs of the class, rather than the other way around. This allows every student to access information, become engaged, and be challenged appropriately. It is important to push those who are talented or gifted, or continue to push those who understand certain topics already, as well as be nurturing to those who are struggling or have specific disabilities. In order to have a classroom that meets this standard, I will be sure to learn as much as I can about the students (from the students themselves) in the beginning of the school year.
• “Differentiated instruction is about giving students multiple options for taking in information and making sense of ideas.”
i. All students learn differently. Even those who seem to pick up information quickly, or paced with the curriculum, obtain information in different ways from each other. In order to nurture these different ways of obtaining skills and information, we need to give students different ways to explore what we are teaching. In my classroom, I would give the instruction of the ideas, but then allow practice of skills, or exploration of information through written, verbal, visual, and hands-on experiences.
• “Classroom management is largely keeping children busily engaged in completing important work.”
i. The management of a classroom is one of the things that I worry about when becoming a teacher. It is important to remember as a teacher that if the information you are presenting is engaging, then the classroom will be under control. If the classroom is under control, than it should also be a sign that the students are engaged and therefore learning. If my classroom was uncontrollable during a lesson, I would either redirect the lesson, or switch to a different lesson plan for the day, and adapt the original one to something more engaging.
• “The focus is on ensuring students can access content- this means you need to think of possible barriers.”
i. This idea would go hand in hand with knowing your students. If you are able to predict obstacles that may prevent an individual student from learning, you can design lessons that will help break down these barriers.
• “Adapt the practices slowly- one content area at a time, one lesson at a time. Don’t recreate the wheel-look at what already exists online and in other resources.”
i. It is important to remember that this type of teaching requires a lot of research about teaching methods, as well as knowledge of your students as individuals. Even if you predict problems your students may encounter, there will always be more that you have not predicted. It is important to take lesson planning day by day, building off of the methods and information used previously within the classroom.
2. A. The under served population of students are those for whom the mainstream curriculum and teaching methods are creating struggles, or are not being challenged to their full potential. Students who struggle, English language learners, students with disabilities, and gifted and talented students all fall under the under served category. The illusory “average student” is the student which mainstream curricula focus on as their audience/pupil. Cognitive neuroscience teaches us that this student actually does not exist, hence the “illusory” part.

B. UDL means Universal Design for Learning which is teaching designed for under served students, and all students, who could be neglected by the mainstream curricula. The main purpose of UDL is to make sure everyone is a successful learner and reaches the expert learner level.

C. The three principles of UDL are to provide multiple means of representation, provide multiple means of action and expression, and provide multiple means of encouragement. This breaks down the major points of flexibility that are needed for a universally designed teaching approach. Knowing these principles allows for teachers to better plan their lessons and units to adapt to their students needs within the classroom. I am creative person, which sometimes make organizing a little difficult if I don’t have things set in specific groups. This will help me plan my lessons varying one or all of the principles. Not every lesson will be ideal for every child within the classroom, but if you vary the different materials and methods that are used, you could meet ideals for each student within a unit. If you do find a student is struggling, knowing the ways in which they learn will allow you to approach the lesson in a more effective way for them.