Chapters 1 & 2 Fulfilling The Promise of the Differentiated Classroom: Sept 16 Reading

Chapters 1 & 2 Fulfilling The Promise of the Differentiated Classroom: Sept 16 Reading

Favorite parts:
-Both fox and prince listen, both exemplify patience, both anticipate the days they spend together, both are enriched by what they share, both are givers and both are receivers. I liked this because all too often, the teacher is dominating force in the classroom that decides exactly what is taught, how it is taught, with little or no control given to the students. This statement corrects that and says “let’s share the power of learning, let’s explore it together, and lets come up with to the solutions together! We are a united Team!”


Key concepts of the Chapter: 4 student traits that teachers must often address to ensure effective and efficient learning. Those are readiness, interest, learning profile, and affect. A teacher in a differentiated classroom attends to all of these important aspects of each individual student. There are also 4 vitally important classroom elements which include: content, process, product, and learning. Process to me, really had an impact, and I really liked how it said, “Effective process ensures that students grapple with, apply, or otherwise make meaning of the information, ideas, and skills essential to a lesson.
I also agreed with how important the learning environment is the success of your students and it’s important to balance seriousness about the work with celebration of success!
-A distinctive responsibility of schools is to help young people develop the knowledge, skills, and understandings to contribute to society.
-The needs of the learner- Affirmation, Contribution, Power, Purpose and Challenge.
-Same needs, different “spins.” This specifically addresses the needs as a whole classroom but also the individual needs of students that require special modification.

Things to help improve my teaching:
-Teachers use what they learn about their students to modify content, process, product, and the learning environment to ensure maximum learning for each member of the class.
-Students want to feel a personal connection to those who share the classroom with them. ALL students want to be affirmed there!
-The MOST effective teaching does not seek transmission of knowledge isolated from human need, but rather attempts to help young learners discover the power of knowledge to reveal, amplify, and develop the best that is in them.
-If a teacher connects learning to a child’s emotions, she is more likely to learn than if what is being taught remains remote from her emotions.


Ah-Ha Moment:
“If we risk taming the fox, days in school are no longer monotonous. Each day is a revelation.” There is truly a bond that comes with helping another human being and I liked this sentence because it proves that teachers can make a difference and can teach the curriculum in a way that will be interesting and useful to all students.

***Connecting with each child is at the heart of differentiated teaching, because this approach to teaching does not accept learners as interchangeable parts.