Assessing Technology-Based Resources for Differentiation

 

 

    According to the research journal “The Effect of the Community of Inquiry (CoI) Learning Model and Learning Style towards social Skills, they discuss how “learners should be given more space and opportunity to explore constructing knowledge, both individually and in groups for learning is very adequate facilities, adapting to characteristics and learning styles,” (Syarifuddin et al., 2019). Knowing the learning style inventory of the student’s teachers work with can allow the teachers to accommodate for those learning styles in the lessons. For verbal learners teachers can have them read out loud to the class (Somji, 2018). This would help the verbal learner and the aural learner. The teacher could also ask the verbal learner to teach another student in class certain material. For kinesthetic learners teachers should use physical movements and hands on experiences in the lesson (Somji, 2018). I remember in my eighth-grade algebra class to learn what a parabola was, our teacher would make us create a U-shape with our arms. This allowed us to become the parabola and in return helped me remember. When looking at different strategies teachers can use to aural readers, one could be to encourage them to problem-solve and think out loud (Somji, 2018). Another thing could have them listen to audio books sometimes instead of them reading themselves (Somji, 2018).

To evaluate a student's strengths teachers can use observations and data. They will both tell the teacher different things about the student's strengths. Talking to the student about what they think are their strengths can give insight that the teacher may not see but the student believes they are good at. All the ideas listed above can be used to find out the student's interests and needs for growth. Sometimes teachers overlook the act of speaking to the student. They want to be involved in their learning and they want to show you what they can do and what they are interested in. If teachers listen and look around, they can find their answers quickly. 

Once I know a student's interests, I try to involve them in conversations and the work they will be doing. It can be as simple as if a student loves cats. Then if they need help with a math problem, I use cats as an example because they are easily pictured, and they have a connection. When the strengths and opportunities to grow are learned by the teacher using those within lessons and seating charts can happen. Having a higher student read to a lower student while that lower student follows along is something that could happen. During writing, pairing a high and a low together for peer editing to help benefit the low students writing. Another way it can impact instruction is I may pull different students to do small group with myself for different lessons. If a student is with me one week for subtraction, they may not be with me the next week for addition. It is constantly changing based on the kid’s current needs. 

When developing assessments, it can be hard to find ways to include all student's learning styles. However, if you take one thing from each of the four learning styles and add it into your test, then all student learning styles could be reached. For example, before math quizzes and tests, I go through and read all the questions for my whole class. Those who want to work ahead can, however, I have many students who need to hear me read it to help them understand the questions being asked. They are my aural learners. Many of the math tests ask students to draw or create models for their answers or to help them explain their answers. The tests also have models and pictures on them to help those students see and visualize their math. This would be helpful for the visual learners. For kinesthetic learners, being able to teach them prior to tests different movements can help them remember concepts and therefore have them do those movements during the test. Lastly, for verbal learners allow them to tell you what they want to say before they write it. Or teaching them how to whisper read/talk so they can tell themselves what they want to say on their paper. 

 

 

References

Dartmouth, U. of M. (n.d.). How to accommodate different learning styles. Center for Access and Success | Student Affairs | UMass Dartmouth. Retrieved February 15, 2023, from https://www.umassd.edu/dss/resources/faculty-staff/how-to-teach-and-accommodate/how-to-accommodate-different-learning-styles/

Somji, R. (2018, April 17). Teaching strategies for the 8 different learning styles. VirtualSpeech. Retrieved February 14, 2023, from https://virtualspeech.com/blog/teaching-strategies-different-learning-styles#:~:text=Strategies%20for%20teaching%20verbal%20learners%3A&text=Ask%20them%20to%20discuss%20or,way%20rather%20than%20in%20monotone.

Syarifuddin, Setyosari, P., Sulton, Kuswandi, D., & Sartika, D. (2019, November 30). Effect of the community of inquiry (COI) learning model and learning style towards social skills. European Journal of Educational Research. Retrieved February 15, 2023, from https://eric.ed.gov/?id=EJ1250385