STANDARD 1: TEACHING DIVERSE STUDENTS

While working as a one-on-one aide, having a student in fourth grade with a lower cognitive level, it proved to be difficult for the student to learn all the information given to other children. I used a fourth- grade text that was being used to adapt the amount and difficulty of the information taught to the other students to the cognitive level of my student. Doing this allowed him to be able to participate in the class actively.

Diverse characteristics include cognitive differences Standard 1H in the professional teaching standards says analyzes and uses student information to design instruction that meets the diverse needs of students and leads to ongoing growth and achievement. (Illinois State Board of Education, 2013)I spent time analyzing and using him information to design instruction and I was able to see the difference in the student I was working with and create materials that allowed him to access the information and be included in the class discussion by pre-teaching and teaching with the student and making the information simpler. I was also able to make sure I used pictures as I knew that helped him with his comprehension, along with words he could understand.

In this artifact, I learned not only is the information being taught as important but also the inclusivity of the child. Adapting information to the student's cognitive and even cultural level allows students to become a part of the classroom community. This meets their need of safety so that they can learn to the best extent possible.

Reflecting on your own experiences in school is important in order to help you grow. Here you will find two reflections on my own experiences that help will help me understand myself and my students at a deeper level. I understood my own culture as well as how my teachers shaped me in the two artifacts to the left.

In order to relate to my students, I need to know myself and my experiences and use that to help students do their best. If I know my own self- I can work on helping my students and making sure they stay comfortable and that I am really taking their cultural and cognitive differences into account. In this lesson I used performance indicator 1K in the Illinois professional teaching standards where I thought about how to facilitate a community where diversity is respected by thinking about the ways I feel and making sure I use that to guide my own thinking in my lessons and classroom culture in the future. (Illinois State Board of Education, 2013)

In this lesson I realized that the teachers attitude is just as important as their strategies when it comes to culture and diversity in the classroom. Even unintended bias' can effect a child and remembering my experiences just did that.

During covid my student that I work one-on-one with was having trouble attending and concentrating on the work that was sent to them online. Mom was frustrated, so I wanted to find something engaging for the student. I created a PBL activity for the child to do. It featured things that he liked to do and places he like to go with his family. It also got him ready for a trip that he was taking soon to go to his grandparent's house.

Like performance indicator 1K states I used the student's diverse characteristics and individual expiriences like his family and cultural references and typical activities.(Illinois State Board of Education, 2013) This made for an engaging lesson while still hitting the standards that I wanted him to learn. It revitalized his learning for a bit and he did much better with his mom and the learning for that week.

Through this, I learned that linking students' families and habits into a lesson can help them to become more motivated and interested in the task at hand.