What if?

What if Annie Sullivan, the teacher of Helen Keller, had not differentiated instruction?

I recently received two wonderful gifts. One is a book titled "Words to Warm a Teacher’s Heart" with a quote from Helen Keller. It goes as follows. “Have you ever been at sea in a dense fog, when it seemed as if a tangible white darkness shut you in and the great ship, tense and anxious, groped her way toward the shore with plummet and sounding-line, and you waited with beating heart for something to happen? I was like that ship before my education began, only I was without compass or sounding line, and no way of knowing how near the harbor was. ‘Light! Give me light!’ was the wordless cry of my soul, and the light of love shone on me in that very hour . . . . I have always thought it would be a blessing if each person could be blind and deaf for a few days during their early adult life. Darkness would make them appreciate sight; silence would teach them the joys of sound” (2009).

What if Helen had never learned to speak? What if Annie had given up? What a great loss that would have been for our world. How many other children struggle to learn because of various challenges? What else do we, as a world, risk losing if we don’t nurture each student in the manner that is best suited for them? That is the value of differentiated instruction as I have come to see it.

The second valuable gift I received (through the Walden University course EDUC 6714) is an understanding and appreciation of the relationship between UDL, technology and differentiated instruction. I was like a ship afloat in a misty fog. I had no idea what DI was, how important it was, and how to accomplish DI in my classroom. I was not familiar with UDL nor did I appreciate how technology could open the door to differentiated instruction. Thanks to Dr. David Rose’s explanation of the recognition, strategic and affective networks of the brain, I understand why differentiated instruction is vital to a student’s learning (Laureate, 2009). In this course I came to ‘recognize’ the components of DI and UDL, I planned DI lessons (strategic) and I am now engaging the affective network. This reflection is placing meaning and purpose onto my plan to differentiate instruction in my classroom. I am experiencing DI.

All of this would not have been possible without the help of my fellow classmates. They provided, through our Ning site and discussion posts, valuable websites and words of suggestion and support. I have learned so much from them. I have visited many of the websites they provided. I have also copied them to a MS Word document. This document will reside on the desktop of my computer. Each week I will concentrate on exploring one of their suggested websites. I predict this will be a busy summer of web surfing. I have already fallen in love with the Discover Education website http://www.discoveryeducation.com/ and http://www.unitedstreaming.com/.

There are some things I will be incorporating immediately into my planning. I have a chart of the elements of differentiated instruction provided via www.lhup.edu/jyoho. That DI model will ‘live’ on my desk at school. Each week as I plan my lessons I will refer to it as a reminder to differentiate the content, product and process according to my student’s learning profiles, interests and readiness. In addition I will use the chart on network-appropriate teaching methods when planning instruction to be sure I support the recognition, strategic and affective networks of my students (Hall, Strangman, & Meyer, 2003, p. 9).

According to Dr. Grace Smith, “Technology empowers the learning environment” (Laureate, 2009). The 28 computers in my classroom will provide the technology to make differentiated instruction a reality. Two years ago when I received the computers I was asked if I wanted headsets/microphones to go with them. I said “What for? The students will never use them!” That was before I began my master’s program at Walden U. Last month, when I prepared the budget requests for next year, I requested headsets and microphones. There is a good chance that request will be filled. I can’t wait to use them to help differentiate instruction.

In closing, let me quote John F. Kennedy who said “Let us think of education as the means of developing our greatest abilities, because in each of us there is a private hope and dream which, fulfilled, can be translated into benefit for everyone and greater strength for our nation” (Garborg & Bethke, 2009). Through this course and the help of my fellow students, the fog has lifted and I can see the shore. Now, slowly but surely, I will find my way to shore; embracing and encouraging the differences in my students.

References

Garborg, J., & Bethke, J. (2009) Words to warm a teacher’s heart. China: Summerside.

Hall, T., Strangman, N., & Meyer, A. (2003). Differentiated instruction and implications for UDL implementation. Retrieved from http://www.cast.org/publications/ncac/ncac_diffinstructudl.html.

Laureate Education, Inc. (Executive Producer). (2009). Reaching and engaging all learners through technology. Baltimore: Author.

www.lhup.edu/jyoho.