3. Planning for Differentiated Instruction

The competent teacher plans and designs instruction based on content area knowledge, diverse student characteristics, student performance data, curriculum goals, and the community context. The teacher plans for ongoing student growth and achievement.

Artifact 1

Lesson Plans 1-7 

i. For my EDUC 380 course, we were assigned to create a unit plan consisting of seven lessons. I was teaching U.S. history for a middle school social studies class. I had to make sure all lessons were created that every student in the classroom could complete it, adding in differentiated instruction. There are multiple lessons within this unit plan covering throughout all of U.S. history. 

ii. Standard 3B states that the competent teacher "understands how to develop short- and long-range plans, including transition plans, consistent with curriculum goals, student diversity, and learning theory." This artifact shows understanding of Standard 3B, because it engages within short and long range plans, including transitions, consistent with curriculum goals, student diversity to plan within differentiated instruction, and learning theory. Every lesson is unique and allows for a better understanding within the artifact that has been created. 

iii. Overall, I was able to include scheduling for each lesson and what was to be taught before each lesson so there is a better understanding of prior knowledge. As a future teacher, this gives me the ability to become better at planning for differentiated instruction.

Artifact 2

Greek Unit Test

Greek Unit Test IEP 

i. While student teaching, I had to create a test on the Ancient Greece unit that I had created and taught. These two artifacts show a test that was given to the general education classroom and a test that was given for those with IEPs. Students who had taken the test for those with IEPs are pulled out of the classroom and taken to another room to have the test read to them. So, I was able to create two different unit tests for the two different groups of students.

ii. Standard 3A states that the competent teacher "understands the Illinois Learning Standards (23 Ill. Adm. Code 1. Appendix D), curriculum development process, content, learning theory, assessment, and student development and knows how to incorporate this knowledge in planning differentiated instruction." This standard was stated because it shows my ability to create modified tests and to incorporate that into planning differentiated instruction.

iii. This artifact had shown me that I learned how to modify tests and incorporate differentiated instruction into unit and lesson plans. As a future teacher, this gives me the ability to become better at planning for differentiated instruction.