Week 6 - Differentiation With Technology

In my initial 3-day Unit Plan, I felt that I did a fairly good job of incorporating technology into the lesson. My school has been 1:1 with technology for the past four years, so we are quite familiar with how to use technology in the classroom on a daily basis. My mentor really liked how I incorporated technology and provided several options for differentiation. I already had students using Google Slides to collaborate on a shared activity about text features. Also on each of the days, students were practicing with SBAC vocabulary using Quizlet and Blooket. 

On the others days, students are practicing SBAC-like questions using different texts. The first one is a literary text and the second one is an informational text. My mentor suggested I find text options that were more culturally diverse. I decided to use NewsELA to find an article for the assignment. I found several options that were both culturally-diverse and recent (relevant) that would interest the students. 

I was a bit stumped with changing up the literary text. I almost went with a text that we'd read earlier in the year in class from our textbook. But then my mentor reminded me of a website we'd learned about in a professional development training. The resource was called CommonLit and it is a website that has both informational and literary texts that are listed by Lexile and grade level. I chose a story from the website called "Taco Head" by Viola Canales (Canales, 1956). This story was similar to one we'd read earlier in the year so I felt that they students would have the context to understand it. Although CommonLit does not offer leveled texts, the Lexile on this story is a mid-range of all the students in my class (Botula, 2020). I also found an Youtube link of an audio version that I will offer students who need to listen to the story (Clark, 2020). I then created questions for both texts. 

My students are already familiar with using these technologies on a daily basis. Because of this, it is much easier to ensure that the technology will be accessed appropriately. That is why it is so important to incorporate regular technology use into daily instruction. The new resources I chose not only allow me to explore different technology, they also allow students to have more diverse text options and still practice the same skills. I look forward to having students try out these lessons in the near future. 

References:

Botula, A. (April 2020). CommonLit Review. Common Sense Media. https://www.commonsense.org/education/website/commonlit.

Canales, V. (1956). Taco Head. CommonLit. https://www.commonlit.org/en/texts/taco-head.

Clark, L. (11 November 2020). Taco Head Read-Aloud [Video]. Accessed via Youtube on 4 April 2022. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o8FEMysdENA.

Lesson Plans and Differentiation - Sad Animal Stories Edition

This lesson is a bit of a tear-jerker...especially for the first text of the unit.  

I always start off this lesson by watching the trailer of Marley and Me. Usually my students are somewhat familiar with the movie, so I wonder about that familiarity this year since it came out one to two years before many of them were born. The movie trailer piques their interest and it is funny so they are usually laughing. 

Then they read the tear-jerker of a text called "Saying Farewell to a Faithful Pal" by the author John Grogan. He was the owner of Marley and writes about the end of Marley's life. It's a beautiful reflection and students often bring up their experiences with their own pets. 

Instructional Strategies

When considering instructional strategies, I realized that this lesson is more about introducing a new content than introducing a new skill. I decided to have students read through the essay once without doing anything to it because I just want them to experience it. Then we can go back and analyze it. 

We are continuing to talk about finding the best evidence to support a writing prompt, so I created an easy way for students to collect evidence. This will help students of all ability levels because they are able to keep their ideas organized for their essay in the future. 

I use sentence stems for writing, especially for the students who have writing goals on their IEP, but I also offer them to other students if they need them. 

This text will foster some strong discussions, so I plan to have students discuss in groups before they share out. This way, I can ensure that there is equity of voice in the small groups even if not everyone talks in front of the class. I plan to have students jigsaw the discussion questions because that helps them practice talking with their peers in an organized manner. Each student will have something to share this way. 

Another strategy that isn’t necessarily new to my students is collecting text evidence and writing an explanation of what the evidence shows and why it’s important. They did this already with our last novel study unit, so the only difference is the topic. 

Addressing Specific Goals

This class only has one student on an IEP. He has a reading and writing goal. We are reading through the story once independently. I will offer him the opportunity to listen to an audio of the text (Perez, 2019). For his writing accommodations, I always offer him a template to write his paragraph. 

Use of Technology

My school is 1:1 with iPads, so we use a large amount of technology. The students have a hard copy of the textbook, but I will offer an audio version of the text. They will use a Google Slides template to record text evidence for the end of unit summative essay prompt. Their summative paragraph for this lesson will be completed on a Google Doc. I will post the link to the assignment in Canvas and students will be forced to make their own copy. These are skills that my students already know how to do at this point in the school year. 

This highly engaging text usually encourages students to read and discuss. Our goal is to find text evidence, which is a skill that students have been mastering very well so far. 

Next step…perfecting how to explain the evidence and connect it to the thesis statement—all while reading heartwarming stories about how animals impact humans.

References:

Perez, K. (24 May 2019). Differentiating Reading Instruction: Multiple Pathways to Success. Solution Tree. https://www.solutiontree.com/blog/differentiated-reading-instruction/.

The College Board. (2021). Springboard English Language Arts: Grade 6. College Board.

Interpreting Student Data - EDU 551

 

While this student survey did ask students questions that could help me understand their preferred Learning Styles, I had a hard time using only this data to understand what my students need. Next time, I will use a more extensive survey if I want more clear information about their learning preferences. 

There have been multiple studies and articles that have suggested that Learning Styles are an outdated concept and can cause more harm than good because they potentially limit the possibilities of how people learn (Soiferman, 2019). Learning happens in a variety of ways, and it can be harmful to label people as only one type. I think it is better to frame these as Learning Preferences  because they might be the most efficient way to learn information, instead of the only way to learn (Soiferman, 2019). 

Interconnectedness of Learning Styles and Development

With only this data, there is not enough information to see the connection between the learning styles and the cognitive, linguistics, social, emotions and physical development of these students. For this, I needed to look at the individual student responses and make inferences about what these tell me about the student. For example, one of the questions asks students how they best understand student directions. Of the three options, 66% of the students chose "seeing them written on the board.", which lends itself to visual learning. This tells me that when I verbalize directions, I must also put them in writing somewhere students can reference. This will cater to multiple learning styles. I think that framing these as "learning preferences" is more helpful because students might benefit from different styles of learning in different situations. 

One example of how these survey results should a student's emotional and social development would be the question of the first thing students do when they meet someone. All students selected the option of "say hello" rather than just smiling or shaking their hands. Technically, this choice was labeled as an "auditory learner", but I think it's a sign of social development. My 6th graders show that in a social situation, the polite thing to do is to say hello. 

How Learning Preferences Influence Lesson Planning

It is better to design lessons that will offer different options for all students. Universal Design for Learning provides accommodations for all students that improves equity because students can choose how they will access or share their learning (CAST, 2018). I have begun to incorporate UDL in several ways. Below are some examples: 

1. Reading a Text - Students can choose to read by themselves silently, reading the text aloud (either by themselves or with a peer, or even listen to an audio). 
2. Sharing their Learning - UDL allows for creative options. My students could write a paragraph, create a drawing or 3-D image, or even make a video. These options would support all three types of Learning (visual, auditory, and kinesthetic). 

I think the most important aspect of using learning preferences is that I know my students and that I provide options that will be most beneficial to them. When I plan lessons, I must think about how my specific students might learn best. Incorporating Universal Design for Learning will help address all three learning styles. 

How Students' Strengths, Interests, and Needs Influence Instruction

Knowing one's students is the best way to influence instruction. This will occur over time, but it is necessary to intentionally plan for this. Create opportunities to build community and talk with your students. One strategy I saw recently was to use the first 5-10 minutes of class as community circle time, instead of jumping right into content (Education World, 2012). Doing this can help you gauge how students are doing mentally and emotionally for the day. Also, it can help teachers gather information about students' strengths and interests. Teachers can use this information to design instruction. Strong positive relationships can benefit motivation and engagement (Kaufman, [n.d.]). When students are motivated to learn, they are more likely to be engaged. Planning for a variety of learning styles can help keep students motivated.  

Technology-Based Resources for Differentiation - EDU 551

There are so many technology-based resources available, especially after a year plus of online learning. It can be very confusing to find and navigate all of them. Teachers are very busy individuals and need a quick summary of the best resources. We don't have time to examine them all, so the hope with this post is that it will help teachers find resources that they can use in their classrooms tomorrow. 

Edpuzzle - A video resource in which questions and quizzes can be embedded into videos. 

• How to Use: Teachers can create a free account and then create "classes" for their students. To enroll students, teacher are given a link with a class code. Students can "join the class" using the class code. 

• Cost: The account is free (up to 20 videos). The paid version is $11.50 a month and offers unlimited storage space and extra features.

•  Materials: There is a lot of options for materials. Teachers can take existing Youtube videos and create the embedded questions. There is a wide library of existing, pre-made videos with already-embedded questions. It can also support the Flipped Classroom model. 

• Use for Differentiation: Since you can add a variety of questions (multiple-choice, open-ended, short answer) to an Edpuzzle video, it is a great formative assessment tool. You can see which questions students spent more time on, which sections of the video they rewatched (Edpuzzle Staff, 2020). 

• Strategies for Use: I have used Edpuzzle videos as a UDL option for when students can choose how they access the material. For example, they can read an article, or watch a video with the embedded questions. Another strategy that I found was to set up stations for differentiation. One station is an online station (Edpuzzle, for example), one is an off-line station, and the third station is a small group station with the teacher (Edpuzzle Staff, 2020). 

Quizlet - This program is like virtual flashcards that provides students with resources to help them study concepts. Quizlet promotes learning and student achievement because it provides students with the tools to help them learn study strategies. Students are able to track their progress and measure their knowledge about the topic. This creates independent learners. 

• How to Use: Teachers can create a free account and then create "classes" for their students. To enroll students, teacher are given a link with a class code. Students can "join the class" using the class code. 

• Cost: The free version is basic, but the paid version is $48 a year. The paid version has a few more options for students (activities), as well as the ability to track student progress.

• Materials: There are thousands of pre-made study sets, but teachers have the ability to create a study set with terms and definitions. 

• Use for Differentiation: You can track your students data. You can make small groups with study sets for specific skills that students are struggling. This can also be part of a Stations activity, which allows time for differentiation. 

Google Slides - Create interactive slideshows that provide students with the learning material, as well as assessment tools. 

• How to Use: Teachers can create a slideshow that includes the lesson material, links to anything extra, as well as space for questions and activities. The slides can be posted in Canvas or Google Classroom. If you switch out the word "edit" for "copy" in the main URL, it will prompt students to make their own copy of the slides. 

• Make it interactive: Peardeck is a Google add-on that can be added to any slideshow. Teachers can give students a link to the slides and then students will be able to interact with the lesson materials. Teachers can add in questions and formative assessments that will populate on the teacher's slide. This can be used to quickly assess student's learning of a topic before you move to the next slide. There are also options to add in SEL templates to quickly gauge student's emotional and mental well-being (Boyd, 2020). 

• Use for Differentiation: There are Peardeck slides that can be inserted to pre-assess students at the beginning of the lesson. Then, teachers can use that information to create groups for different activities. There are also suggested ways to use Peardeck for station activities (Peardeck, [n.d.]). Websites like Google Slides can account for student differences because it can be modified for specific student needs.Also, it was exceptionally helpful for collaborating in Breakout Rooms during the Pandemic school years, as well as helping to keep track of student work (because the teacher can see what students are doing on a master slideshow). 

References:

• Boyd, L. (August 2020). How to use Peardeck in World Language Classes. Edutopia. https://www.edutopia.org/article/how-use-pear-deck-world-language-classes 

• Edpuzzle Staff. (2020). 5 easy ways to differentiate your teaching. Edpuzzle. https://blog.edpuzzle.com/teaching-today/5-easy-ways-to-differentiate-your-teaching/

• Peardeck. [n.d.]. 5 steps to differentiate stations. Peardeck. https://www.peardeck.com/pear-deck-blog/5-steps-to-differentiated-activity-stations