Practice P. 1-14

A Brief Primer on Differentiation

p.1 'Effective teachers, like effective parents, work from a coherent but ever evolving set of beliefs and principles about teaching and learning'

I love the idea that an effective teacher is one that continually learns. I know that sounds obvious, but it seems there are a lot of teachers out there who quit learning, almost as if they say, I know how to teach, I don't need to know anything else. First of all, our society is changing everyday. It is ludacris to think that you can teach the same way you did 1o years ago and still be effective. I hope to continually expand my knowledge of education.?


p.2) Differentiated teaching is responsive teaching.

I really like this definition. What this definition says to me what I need to do is to be a defender in a basketball game (not that we don't want our students to learn) however a good defender is always watching the one dribbling the ball and making moves based on the moves made by the ball handler. If they dribble with their left hand you move your right hand to defend the ball etc. You have to be aware of every move or they will pull a move and they score a basket. We need to know the skills of effective teaching and be constantly aware of our students to pull out those moves and help them to succeed.

p.5 The more fully she understands who she teaches, the more aware she is that she MUST adapt what she teaches to serve individual learners well.

I bolded MUST because when you are now entrusted with more knowledge and with greater knowledge comes a greater responsiblity. In order to be great teachers, we need to use the knowledge that we can from getting to know our students to benefit them, not just to be friends.


p.14) 'A primary goal in life, baseball camp, and school is to do the best you can with what you bring. It's the job of the coach and the teacher to support that effort"

I love sports analogies. I really enjoyed playing sports in high school. I played football. I wasn't very good, unlike my brother who got a scholarship to play at USU. He brought with him raw talent. I had none. However, I played my guts out. I tried my hardest. It was because my coach believed in me. He didn't care if I wasn't as strong as my brother, he didn't care that I wasn't as quick as my brother. He just wanted me to play the best football I could. I hope I can inspire my students in the same way. To not compare themselves to others but do the best job they possibly can.