Differentiation Portfolio

Note: All faces have been covered in images for legal reasons

DIFFERENTIATION PORFOLIO

By Jessica Ottewell

 ——————————————————————————————————————–

1
DEFINITIONS OF DIFFERENTIATION AND INCLUSION

——————————————————————————————————————–

Inclusion is to include all students in every activity no matter what the task and what level the students are at, because every single classroom has different ability levels and every student will learn in a different way no matter how vast or small the difference is. So to be inclusive of all students you have to differentiate. Differentiation can be seen in many different forms, whether it is different delivery of instructions, different activities to reach the same or similar goal or whether it is extra support for the students that need it. As well as different activities or extra support you can also provide students with suitable extension activities, closing activities to reinforce that lesson or another option for them to record their work (e.g. typing on computer or voice recognition in iPad instead of handwriting).

 ——————————————————————————————————————–

2
A SCHOOL ‘DIVERSITY AND INCLUSION PROFILE’

——————————————————————————————————————–

SCHOOL INFORMATION

St John’s is a Non-Government school which runs from Early Learning Centre to Year Six and it is a co-educational primary school of the Lutheran Church of Australia. It is metropolitan based located in Highgate SA 5063, 5kms from the CBD. As of 2012 the number of students enrolled was 477 (212 Girls and 265 Boys) and 9% of these students has a language background other than English (MySchool.com).  St John’s school has a partnership with Concordia College, a Year 7 to 12 school which works under a single governing body (St John’s Website). St. Johns is an IB school authorised to run the Primary Year Program (PYP) with a strong focus on inquiry based learning. St. Johns has specialist areas, these include Visual Arts; Sports; LOTE (German); Music and Science as well as a full time librarian. Close by on the same street there is Highgate Primary school (Public) as well as a Kindergarten. St John’s also has a partnership with school in the Siassi Islands in Papua New Guinea; a commitment officially being made through the Lutheran Church of Australia and the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Papua New Guinea.

 [[ This information was found at ]]
My School
St John’s Lutheran
(Click on the links above and you will be taken to the websites)

SCHOOL/CLASSROOM DIFFERENTIATION

The school has a 9 page document on the school server of accommodations and strategies for supporting students. This is available for all teachers and lists ways of which teachers can support their students; information follows un these headings: teacher, environment, tests and assessment, organisation, assignments, written language, spelling, reading, mathematics, attention difficulties, health needs and LSO’s. Under these heading many ways are listed in ways to which you can support students in certain learning areas or in general. Below I have chosen just a few of these headings with a few examples of what is listed underneath them.

 Teacher

Provide visual instructions
Use peer scribing, reading and modelling
Use explicit teaching methods (Modelling, guided listening, problem solving, investigation, joint composition, use technology)
Simplify and repeat instructions
Use variety of modes and styles (Auditory; visual, tactile, kinaesthetic, global, sequential)
Provide classroom scaffolds (wall charts, regular routines, visual timetable)

Environment

Consider ventilation, temperature and sound dynamics
Provide additional work space (for LSO or quiet working space)
Provide access to computer
Provide move-n-sit cushion

Organisation

Map of School
Daily Schedule on the board
Display class calendar
Provide specific locations for handing up books etc.
Colour coding
Teach students to monitor and use positive self-talk
Daily check lists

Written Language

Develop word banks
Teach how to plan
Daily Journaling
Develop visualisation skills
Vary size, shape, texture, colour of paper to increase motivation
Encourage use of word processors
Voice activated software and spell checkers

This document will be a great addition to my ever growing documents, and I know this will come in very handy in the future.

DISCUSSIONS WITH MENTOR TEACHER

I discussed with my mentor teacher the different ways that she supports her students. One of the basic ones is every student has a table chart. This consists of the alphabet lower and upper case (To help students with letter formation), Number chart (To help with order and formation) and all sight words listed in the specific colours (Used for revision, sight word writing and are used for general writing). One boy in my class struggled with writing and it stressed him out, he also had some problems with verbalising his thoughts unless personal to him. Within my placement  the receptions were undertaking a fairytale unit, as this boy could not convey his thoughts easily onto paper or verbalise settings etc of the story, the classroom teacher had created some felt boards which this boy could use to recreate the settings that we in that story.

Here are a few other ways that the students were supported in the classroom:
Providing small group and pair discussions/activities (Weekly)
‘Have a go’ booklets (Used for all writing tasks apart from dictation)
Individualised handwriting booklets that are sent home for extra practice.
Pencil Grips and specialised scissors for the students with poor fine motor skills.

STUDENT DISCUSSIONS

The types of discussion that I had with students were along the lines of me asking then if they wanted extra support. There were times when there was a few students who needed guiding in their learning (e.g. learning addition) so I took them down to the floor (4 students) and modelled what they were to be doing and helping them when needed. This also allowed me to keep a close on these students as well as watching the rest of the class.

DISCUSSION WITH STAFF MEMBERS

One Tuesday our staff meeting was based our learning support plans; this was great as I got to see how my teacher and others supported the students who were struggling and what sort of support was in place for them, whether it was classroom based, out of school support or a whole school approach.

OUT OF CLASSROOM SUPPORT

I was in a reception class for the 6 weeks and both reception classes had a classroom teacher as well as a learning support officer (LSO) who was in the room from 8:30 till 12:30 (lunch time). This was great because the students who needed it got that extra help when required and had to wait less time than they normally may have. The LSO would also take individual or small groups to the wet area in the classroom or a small quiet room in the building for extra support with less distractions for the students. There was also LSO’s who worked in other classrooms for half a day, few hours or one hour a day to lend support to the teacher; this could involve supporting those students who need it or supporting the teacher.

As well as the LSO there was also a teacher/LSO/Tutor who would take 1-3 students at a time and do some individualised work with them in the area that they struggle in or need extra support or time spent with them. This enabled those students to get close to if not 100% attention and support in the area that they needed it most.

At St. Johns they have an employed community career (or School Counsellor) who works 4 days a week. She is there to support the students in personal or education problems as well as to help all classrooms out with any issues they are having. For example St. Johns runs a program call ‘Circle Time’ and the community career will often join in classroom circle times and even run them. She will even help out a struggling classroom by introducing and implementing other programs. Most programs are based around social issues and problems; by dealing with these in a friendly manner it in turn supports the students in their learning.

 ——————————————————————————————————————–

3
PROFESSIONAL REFLECTIONS

——————————————————————————————————————–

1. What differentiated strategies did you try to implement during your professional teaching experience?

During my placement the main differentiation strategies I used included support for students; extension activities, closing activities, explicit teaching and varying delivery strategies. The type of varied delivery instruction included verbal; visual and kinaesthetic as my main ones. I used the interactive whiteboard, the white board, books and the students themselves to help me instruct and learn.

I used sorting activities where the students had to sort cards they were holding into the correct order. The reason I used these sort of sorting activities was the get the students moving and involved; making learning fun and getting all students involved. The students on the floor were not just waiting their turn either they were involved and were helping the students organising themselves, as a class we would count down the line to see if it was correct.

IMAG1829

[ This was a sorting closing exercise that I had prepared in different colours for the students to develop a concrete understanding of ordinal numbers ]

I also used some students to teach/explain certain things to their peers. Sometimes it can be better heard from someone there age as it may come across a lot simpler. I used the extended students to explain to the other students, I usually used this in mathematics but also in English when narratives were our focus.

I used small group activities for a variety of different exercises including Design and Technology; Visual Arts; Literacy and Maths. These activities were either games (maths) or building/making tasks. I not only did this so that the students would work with different peers it also enabled me to group the students either according to ability or mixed ability.

Fotor0621171157

[ This image shows students working in small groups during an visual arts lesson I ran. Before the lesson proceed we spoke about cooperation and sharing the word load; e.g. is it fair for one person to do all of the work? ]

IMAG1821

[ The image above was taken during Literacy Groups; word sorting activity (related to Goldilocks and the Three Bears).
This activity saw me with 4-6 students. We worked in a quiet room and the students worked in pair or by themselves. I had shown them an example of what to do to scaffold for them. ]

2. What worked well? What factors (personal or environmental) helped you to differentiate effectively?

Being able to professionally communicate ideas and ask for help with my mentor teach really helped me in this process. She gave me new ideas as well as helping me expand other ways. I discovered without realising that I was accommodating differentiation into the classroom without even knowing. Which was great! The little things I was doing such as creating daily routine and expectations, support by me wondering the classroom constantly, referring students to their tables charts and involving the students in their learning so they weren’t simply listening.

Another main point which helped me to differentiate was knowing the students. As simple as this is knowing the students and really knowing them and how they learn makes it a lot easier to teach and construct activities suitable for the students. I knew the students who would struggle and I knew the students who would breeze through a task and need extending; because of this I was able to plan and cater for these students.

The classroom as well as school environment at St. Johns was fantastic, I couldn’t of asked for a better school to complete my professional experience at. It was extremely supportive for the students as well as the teachers and even the parents. Because of this level of support given to the teachers, the teachers themselves were then able to support the students in a successful and safe manner.

3. What factors (personal or environmental) made it challenging to differentiate? 

Upon reflection I didn’t find it too hard to differentiate. I think mainly because of the fact that I was with a Reception class, they are learning the base for all other learning and the basics to help them through schooling. If I was to have an older class where the ability levels were diverse at a higher level I think I would’ve found it a bit harder to differentiate. Although for some lessons I made extra worksheets and/or activities as it was at a reception level the majority of the task only needed minor tweaking to suit a wider range of students and their abilities.

4. What have you learned about yourself as a teacher of diverse learners in a differentiated classroom that you will take into your next teaching experience?

What I take to my next teaching experience I think will depend on the year level that I end up teaching. Of course most of what I have done with the Receptions is transferable to other/older year levels. I think it will mainly be the task variance that will be different.
KNOWING MY STUDENTS will be the key point that I will take away with me. Although I already knew this was an important factor towards being a teacher the level of that importance to me has expanded during this placement; and the impact that me knowing my students has is that is impacts well EVERYTHING! Learning areas; learning styles; personal; support; social I could go on, but when I say everything I mean everything.. Knowing your students enables you to successfully plan for ALL students in your classroom.

Print Friendly, PDF & Email

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *