Thing 5 - Differentiated and Diverse Learning

Differentiated Learning Assignment

There are many things that I already to to promote differentiation within the classroom. One thing that I do with most all Units that I teach is to perform some type of a Pre-Assessment. Sometimes this is through the use of an online quiz or questionnaire and sometimes it is much less formal (informal questioning, surveys, etc.) This pre-assessment is very helpful in gauging what level of experience students have with a given topic.

I also frequently group students in many different ways. I tend to vary the ways in which students are grouped depending on the project. I like to vary the numbers of people in groups, the students in the groups, and often the ability levels of the people in each group. This differentiation often helps to give new experiences and help different students’ learning styles. Ultimately I think it helps me to engage all learners.

Also, I feel like I am very good at using assessments to give feedback to students. I always give verbal or written feedback for all assignments that I give to students. I know that as a student I always appreciated timely feedback. Therefore, I have made it a personal goal of mine to always go over assessments in a prompt fashion.

Diverse Learning Assignment

In reading through the materials about the Diverse Learners, I came across a great website in the Curricular Support area. The website that I found is called Rubistar. Rubistar is a website that contains flexible and pre-built rubrics of all different types. I frequently use rubrics for grading student projects and I am always looking for good pre-made models. This website is great. It has good examples of rubrics for my content area (Technology), but it also has great resources for all different subject areas. I highly recommend this site.

Universal Design for Learning Assignment

In the UDL wiki I found a tool called Dabbleboard. Dabbleboard looks like a tool that can be used sort of like an online whiteboard. This tool can be used as a means of expression with students. In the past I have had students use Word or other similar programs to layout visual diagrams, flowcharts, etc., but I feel like this might be a simpler and more engaging way to accomplish the same task. I find the controls and navigation to be very easy to work with. The only drawback is that students will have to setup an account with Dabbleboard.