Differentiating Instruction - Meeting the Needs of All Learners

In EdSpeak: A Glossary of Education Terms, Phrases, Buzzwords, and Jargon, Diane Ravitch defines differentiating instruction as instruction that seeks to "maximize each student's growth by recognizing that students have different ways of learning, different interests, and different ways of responding to instruction. What that really means is that teachers need to adapt their teaching strategies to meet the needs of each student in their classroom. Ravitch goes on to explain, "Educators may vary learning activities and materials by difficulty, so as to challenge students at different readiness levels; by topic, in response to students' interests; and by students' preferred ways of learning or expressing themselves".

Differentiated instruction is not a program or package; it is a teaching strategy. Creating something different for each student in your classroom may seem unrealistic, but it is possible to provide a variety of levels as well as different means of delivering content. Additionally, not all students will excel with writing a report to demonstrate their understanding of a topic; however having the option for creating electronic presentations, oral reports, and even artwork will allow for learners of all types to communicate what they have learned effectively.

John McCarthy gives a very practical overview of differentiating instruction in his article, 3 Ways to Plan for Diverse Learners: What Teachers Do. He recommends focusing on three areas for differentiating: content, process, and product. The differentiation of content could include using varied delivery methods such as video, reading, lectures, or audio. According to McCarthy, “process is how students make sense of the content.” Some strategies he recommends for this are: Think-Pair-Share, Journaling, Partner talk, Save the Last Word, and Literature Circles. Differentiation of product is the most common form of differentiated instruction and is allowing a variety of options for the student to use to demonstrate their understanding. Teachers can provide options or choices for the student and then the student can choose to create a product that appeals to their learning style.

So, as you’re working through your next Pepper course, think about how you can differentiate the content, process, and product for your students. Pepper offers a variety of courses to meet the needs of its learners.

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Teaching Math Modeling for Problem Solving

The National Science Foundation has funded a pilot program to help elementary teachers learn to teach Math Modeling to their students. Elementary students learn from the beginning using modeling and manipulatives. But this concept is something greater. According to a recent article in Education Week, this type of mathematical modeling “is something different and more complex: It's the process of taking an open-ended, multifaceted situation, often from life or the workplace, and using math to solve it.” In keeping with new standards, the goal is help students see the relevance and application of math to everyday life. The focus is on critical thinking and problem solving with the outcome being sometimes “messy” - meaning there may not be one definitive right answer. Students are being taught to work logically through a problem and develop a solution that can be justified. 

This pilot program, the IMMERSION project, is part of ongoing efforts to improve student proficiency and critical thinking in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM), project leaders say. The project is designed to provide professional development to teachers from three different districts over three years. According to an article on the project website, “IMMERSION will help K–8 teachers incorporate modeling into their mathematics teaching by providing intensive professional development training during the summer, followed by support and collaboration during the school year as teachers begin to implement mathematical modeling activities in their classrooms—a practice that can have far-reaching effects on how students perceive and use mathematics. The study will focus on increasing the achievement of all students, including special education and advanced students, students with limited English proficiency and economically disadvantaged students.” This focus on differentiating instruction in addition to the math modeling will prepare these teachers to better meet the needs of all students.

You can find a wide variety of professional development options for Math in the Pepper Course Offerings. All of these courses focus on helping teachers teach math in a meaningful and engaging ways. You will also find courses focused on ELL and Special Education.

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Overwhelmed and It's Only September: Managing Teacher Stress

I was working in a school, with teachers, last week and they were tired. It’s only September. We were having teacher training after school on a Tuesday; they’d had Open House on Monday and were at school until 8:30 or 9:00 PM; they had a faculty meeting after school on Wednesday to look forward to. Most teachers I work with LOVE teaching. It’s everything else that overwhelms them - after hours professional development, faculty meetings, parent conferences, grade level/content team meetings...the list goes on and on. And, for many teachers, these “extra” tasks/responsibilities follow them home in the evening. So, how does a teacher who’s a month into the school year make it until Winter Break, let alone May?

An 80-question survey sent out to more than 30,000 respondents by the American Federation of Teachers (AFT) found that “seven out of every 10 respondents said they “often” felt their work is stressful and nearly eight out of 10 indicated they recently felt physically and mentally exhausted at the end of the work day. Three out of four survey participants said they spend at least two hours on school work either before or after school. Most said the typical work day did not leave them any time to pursue hobbies or leisure activities.”

Elena Aguilar, a Transformational Leadership Coach from Oakland, CA, has written two recent blogs on building resilience and managing stress for teachers. In “Ways to Cultivate Your Emotional Resilience this Year”, Aguilar gives 3 tips to teachers:

1. Build Community - "Feeling connected to your colleagues, your students, their families, and the community in which you work is an essential element in building emotional resilience. We need each other." Pepper's online learning community provides a vast network of teachers and educators from across the county. Teachers are encouraged to network and interact with nationwide peers, learn and share from experiences, and promote and support successes and ideas.  Pepper Professional Development Courses provide opportunities for teacher collaboration through peer discussions and sharing course portfolios.
2. Know Yourself - Identify your purpose and mission as an educator. Set personal goals too. “With self-knowledge comes ability to make choices and decisions that will help build resilience.”
3. Create a Plan for Self-Care - Prioritize sleep, exercise, and nutritious eating.

Her follow-up article, “How Educators Can Manage Stress and Build Resilience”, encourages teachers to look for the positive points in their day to inspire hope and inspiration. Aguilar recommends that teachers keep a journal of these observations to keep them focused on the true reasons they chose teaching.
Teaching is a very challenging and rewarding career. We, at Pepper, are thankful for all that you do and the time that you give. Our goal is to provide meaningful professional development that can be done at a time, place, and pace of a teacher's own choosing. Pepper courses are online, self-paced, available 24/7 to accommodate every teacher's unique schedule. Pepper's course content is immediately applicable to the classroom which, hopefully, will cut down on some stress. As you choose professional development, be sure to visit all of our Pepper course offerings on our website for great options with a blended training approach.

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