Oct. 29

One thing that I am kinda bugged about is that when I was in elementary school I did not witness a lot of differentiation. Sometimes I fear that because strait direct instruction or drill and kill was what I am most familiar with, those methods will be what I fall back on. I recognize the huge importance of differentiation and i will strive to make a conscious effort to do it. I just wish that i could have seen more examples of this amazing teaching practice in my own elementary school experience.

Oct. 22

I am so excited to have all the resources found in the "toolbox" of this book! I was especially impressed with the large variety of resources. I feel that it is extremely important to constantly be changing the style of teaching and assessment in order to reach all types of learners. Looking through these resources I realized how important they are to plan differentiated lessons. Many of the resources are directly related to assessing students readiness, learning profile or interest and some indirectly assess, through they all tell you as the teacher something about the individual student. I am learning more and more that differentiation does not always have to be based on strict assessments or anecdotal notes, but can be based on any type of student response that is provided to the teacher. Our students are telling us what they need all the time, we as teachers need to be open and aware to receive and implement that information!

I wish that I would remember to read this chapter each month for the rest of my teaching career. I felt that it was so realistic and empowering! I loved how it simply summed up the main method that we have been learning in the bullets at the beginning. I hope that I can remember to be aware of the points on that list because I know that is what my students deserve. I also really enjoyed how the rest of the chapter basically told it like it is. Teaching is going to be hard and there are going to be students that you have a hard time with. Integrating differentiation perfectly all the time may not be feasible, but it is worth the effort it takes to try. We, as teachers have the opportunity to and an obligation to give each student what they need, though this may not always be completely possible, it remains our obligation and quest!