Meeting Diverse Needs

About Meeting Diverse Needs

Meeting diverse needs allows for different types of learners to excel in the classroom. The three main types of learners are auditory, visual, and kinesthetic. Auditory learners excel best when they hear how to complete problems, whereas visual learners learn best when they see how to complete them. Kinesthetic learners learn best by trying problems themselves – they work best with “hands on” learning. Practices that help kinesthetic learners excel are already included in most math classrooms, as example problems are one of the main practices in a math classroom. In order to allow all students to be successful, it is important to address all types of learners during lessons.

How I Met Diverse Needs

As mentioned in Well-Structured Lessons, I was very traditional in the way I structured my lessons at the beginning of my practicum. While I was traditional, I made sure that I wrote notes on the board and verbally conveyed information to address all types of learners in my classroom. I would say what I was doing as I solved each problem as well as write the steps down to the side of the problem. This helped auditory and visual learners, as well as those on IEPs and with 504s. Some of the students with accommodations required visual reinforcements. As mentioned in the Well-Structured Lessons section, I post the notes from lessons on Google Classroom. This accommodates those students who require copies of the notes to meet individual accommodations outlined in an IEP or 504.

As my practicum progressed, I added different types of activities that would help different types of learners succeed. In the beginning, I typically had the students complete worksheets, practice on whiteboards, and Edulastic practice. Edulastic is an online tool that can be used to give assignments; there are questions already on Edulastic based on certain standards, or teachers can create their own. The students’ midterm exam will take place on Edulastic (in preparation for the MCAS, which is also online). As I continued teaching, I used Delta Math several times (the students must get a certain number of questions correct before the assignment is finished), textbook resources, and online materials such as Kahoot! to engage students. Another fun activity I incorporated into the classroom was a version of Battleship with graphing equations in slope-intercept form. Students plotted points that represented their ships and would take turns with a partner guessing different lines in slope-intercept form to try and intersect the points. If all the points of a ship were intersected by lines, that ship sunk (see High Expectations).

As a part of my culturally responsive teaching goal, I had the students complete a project during Unit 3. The students were paired in groups of 2-4 (depending on the class section) to come up with a material that they would present to the class that reviews one section of Unit 3, Graphing Linear Functions (Functions, Linear Functions, Function Notation, Graphing Linear Equations in Standard Form, Graphing Linear Equations in Slope-Intercept Form, Transformations of Graphs of Linear Functions, Graphing Absolute Value Functions). This could have been a poster presentation explaining key points, a video, a PowerPoint presentation, etc. By giving the students the freedom to choose how they presented their material, they could use the way that they were most comfortable using. The students had some class time to work on this and the opportunity to work together outside of school to complete it (Appendix D: Unit 3 Project Example).

Sheltered English Immersion

As a part of the Teacher Preparation Program, I became endorsed in Sheltered English Immersion (SEI) teaching (Appendix E: SEI Lesson Plan). English Language Learners (ELLs) have different needs than other students when it comes to learning in the classroom. ELLs are facing the challenge of learning a content area while simultaneously learning the English Language. They also have the challenge of learning about a new culture – often these students come from cultures with different values than those in America. For example, the American education system promotes individualism whereas other cultures promote collectivism (Gorodnichenko). This may require an adjustment for ELLs now in an American education system, which is why SEI teaching is so important.

I did not have any ELL students at my time at WRHS. However, I did have the opportunity to observe another teacher, Mrs. Bailey, who had ELLs in her class. One takeaway I gained from my observation experience is that the techniques to help ELL students help all students. The strategies Mrs. Bailey uses includes personal dictionaries, repetition, visuals, and relationship building that helps all of her students succeed. By practicing these strategies even when there are no ELL students in the classroom, a teacher can promote an engaging learning environment for all. My third take away from my observation experience is that sometimes it is necessary for an ELL student to move to another class. An ELL from Puerto Rico in Mrs. Bailey’s class was having a hard time, but not from a language barrier. It seems that he had a gap in his math education and was missing key background knowledge that was necessary for him to succeed in her class (number sense, operations, etc.). While she was trying to work with him to catch him up to speed, she could not give him the time he needed to do so while still being there for the rest of her students. While the student has not moved to another class yet (due to district/politics), Mrs. Bailey continues to work with him pending his new placement. As a teacher, I will need to be able to understand the abilities my students have that are solely content based (where language is not a hindrance). Often times ELL can be placed into the wrong classroom (whether it be in a level too high or too low) and I will need to be able to recognize and help that student be in the right place for he or she to succeed.