Differentiated Instruction in the General Education Classroom - review of literature.

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Richard Chechilo Jr.

Professor Leslie Roth

Research Paper

October 18th, 2011

                           

        In this particular article written by Jerry Webster, the focus is on what a well designed differentiated lesson will include.  Webster breaks a differentiated lesson into different components such as a strong visual component, collaborative activities, peer coaching, a multi sensory approach, and different forms of assessment.  

        When talking about having a strong visual component, Webster mentions how wonderful it is using online image searches and digital cameras to enhance your lesson.  Webster talks about using cards for his autistic students to teach sight words, attributes and evaluate new vocabulary.  He also talked about teaming up children to gather pictures for instruction.  Having a strong visual component is essential in differentiating instruction in the general education classroom.

        Next Webster talks about the importance of having collaborative activities in your classroom.  He mentions that one of the strongest reasons for inclusion is the fact that working across ability groups "pulls up" the lower functioning group.  He talks about the importance of modeling proper collaboration work, as well as evaluating the process.  I agree with his assessment that most students learn better from their peers, so collaboration is an important skill to teach in school to prepare them to be successful later in life.

        Webster also happens to be a big supporter of peer coaching in the classroom.   The role of the peer coaches in the classroom is to help each other with flash cards, with written assignments, and with collaborative activities.  Webster believes in order for peer coaching to be successful you need to spend a good amount of time early in the year training your students to work in partnerships.  It is important for the teacher to model the behavior they expect from their students in order for this to work.

        The last component that Webster discussed in his article is having a multi sensory approach.  This simply means some of the children with IEP's may have strengths in unexpected areas: they may be great illustrators, creative builders and very capable gathering information visually on the internet.  He believes the more sensory avenues you engage as you are introducing new material, the more likely all your students will retain it.

        Lastly Webster is a firm believer in utilizing different forms of assessment with your students.  He thinks it is important to other forms of assessment other than your typical multiple choice test.  You can use detailed rubrics, have students build a portfolio, instead of asking a student to write, you may ask a student to sort or group pictures according to criteria you have learned, name pictures, or have the students answer questions that help them display knowledge of new materials.

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        In conclusion, Webster feels that differentiating instruction is not only going to help your special education students fully participate, it will also enrich and improve the experience of the general education students. He feels that differentiating instruction helps everybody win.  

The basis for this article (which also happens to be the basis for implementing differentiated instruction) is that no two students enter a classroom with the exact same needs, the exact same abilities and experiences, the exact same learning style and proficiencies etc...  Regardless of these differences, all students are expected ...

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