Standard 2

	Standard 2. Understanding all Children in their many Dimensions
2.1	Know students as individuals, as learners, and be able to relate to them in a variety of ways
2.2	Be familiar with the cultures, histories, values of families
2.3	Know attributes of individual children/families with whom they work
2.4	Aware of range of students’ special needs and seek out information concerning strengths/resources to address developmental and learning needs
2.5	Use knowledge of second language acquisition, developmental variations, disabilities to support physical, emotional, social, cognitive, linguistic, intellectual, and creative development

The classroom is often viewed as a community or a group of students that are accompanied by a teacher. However, it is very important to remember not to lose sight of the individual student. Wheelock Education Standard Two speaks to just this. It demands that as a teacher, one gets to know all of his or her students on the individual level. This means connect with student’s families, cultures and backgrounds. Also, the teacher should know what strategies and tools work best when planning for the individual learners in the class.

Within my Teaching Diverse Learners class, I completed a project that was focused on one specific child. Along with completing five submissions about strategies to improve the child’s learning in the classroom, I also constructed an Eco-map. The Eco-map represents all factors that impact a child’s life and thus their learning. Artifact 2A is the Eco-map, I created for my focus child. All items stem from or are connected to her in some way. The straight connect lines represent normal connections, double lines show strong connections, and bumpy lines show a disrupted/weak connection. As a new educator, I found this project particularly interesting and helpful. I could only wish I would have enough time in my own classroom to make a map for every student. I feel that they provide a great insight to the life outside of school one student’s experience.

Knowing the learners in ones class as individuals also can aid in planning lessons. Tomlinson and McTighe, authors of Understanding by Design and Differentiated Instruction provide a template in which the teacher is able to plan for the specific learning needs of individuals. Differentiated instruction states that a teacher is using a variety of instructional strategies and methods to make the information being taught accessible by the majority of students in ones class. When planning my lessons, I would write specifically what I am doing in my lesson to support auditory, visual and kinesthetic learners. Also, the last section of my lesson plan template was entitled Modifications/Accommodations/Extensions. Within this section, I would use a table to outline the specific needs of students in order to make the learning experience successful. Artifact 2B is an excerpt from a lesson plan that captures the Differentiated Instruction and Modifications/Accommodations/Extensions sections. After putting these plans into action, I immediately witnessed how greatly it benefited my lesson and my students understanding. Students who are usually not able focus during a writing assignment were staying on task and completing their work.

In addition, Mission Hill School is widely recognized for its inclusive practices. Within my classroom I had many students with learning disabilities and other special needs. In my practicum seminar class, I constructed a handout that spoke to planning for academic success for all students including those with special needs. Artifact 2C is the handout. The handout contains a summary of strategies I collected. There is also a table that breaks down specific strategies and instructional modifications into two many groups: Teacher: Instructional Modifications and Student Directed Accommodations. As a part of my research I spoke to my cooperating teacher about how to plan for such a variety of learners. The one piece I found critical to take away from the conversation, is the idea that a teacher can teach students to be in charge and advocate for themselves. Thusly, the students know the tools and resources available to them, and take it upon themselves to get them. I believe that this is an absolute brilliant perspective.. It provides all children an opportunity to take responsibility for their own learning. It also alleviates a lot of stress and pressure from the classroom teacher. The teacher is then free to focus on other areas in which they can improve learning experiences.  

After having many experiences individualizing instructional methods and utilizing learning tools, I feel that the next step is to seek out professional development. Eric Jensen, a former teacher who spends much of his time studying the neuroscience behind education. He offers many professional development opportunities for teachers to observe and learn his approach of brain-based learning. Brian-based learning is preparing teachers to understand some basic principles of how the brain works and apply it to their instructional strategies. I think that most importantly he supports the idea of knowing your students on the individual level having a bag of tools to help provide a space for academic success. Even though I am finishing my undergraduate career, the learning is still not over. Through professional development and graduate courses, I plan to stay current on the latest research and developments in the field. After all it is the only way I can truly be the most effective and responsive elementary teacher possible.

References:

Tomlinson & McTighe, J. (2006). Integrating differentiated instruction &

            understanding by design: Connecting content and kids. ASCD.

Jenson, E. Jensen Learning: practical teaching with the brain in mind. http://www.jensenlearning.com/index.php