Introducing differentiation in the CCB's middle years programme
INVESTIGATION AND PROGRESS
Differentiation in the Classroom and School
25/11/2015
student differentiation: this concept is as defined by the Training and Development Agency for Schools as ‘the process by which differences between learners are accommodated so that all students in a group have the best possible chance of learning". The differences make reference to 3 subdivisions within the learners’ abilities, these being:
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Readiness to learn
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Learning needs
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Interest
Differentiation can be made within one classroom with multi-leveled students; however, the teacher is then obliged to decide weather to make a fully tailored lesson for some students or a general lesson for everybody to cope with as they can, they can also aim for the middle and try to help everyone out as the class moves along, this appears to be ineffective. In a class of 24 students, a teacher might have to do 24 unique courses or a general class which is very broad for everyone.
We have two ways of arranging students within learning institutions: age and skill. One can divide a group into grades according to their age with mixed abilities, or into a grade with the same level of understanding and various ages. Each has their own benefits, for example a level arranged classroom can advance at the same pace but the different ages might affect the maturity or the correct development of the students. On the other hand, a class arranged by age groups experiences the opposite, a similar way of development but an uneven pace and understanding of the topics viewed.
Reflection:
In this source I could find answers to inquiries 3 and 4 in my second plan segment, giving me an idea of how can students be divided, and the possible benefits in doing so. However, I found out that these divisions are too extreme for the CCB, as an age group system is already stablished, therefore I must find a way to implement skilled learning within our age divisions.
skills:
Reflection skills:
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Being aware of perceived areas of limitation, i worked on this skill as I had to evaluate the limitations in these systems and this lead me to plan a different course of action.
Thinking skills:
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seeing possibilities, problems and challendes positevely. I did not stop when I found out there were only two basic divisions in educational systems, instead i thought about different ways in which i could use the three main areas of division to change the current system.
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consider ideas from other perspectives and points of view, I made use of this skill as I needed to find out both sides of the argument, meaning that I looked for both benefits and negative effects in both systems.
Research skills:
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use and interpret a range of content-specific terminology, I had to use this skill in this segment as I learned and defined the terms of differentiation, and sub divisions in learning.
How Personalized Learning Can Benefit Students:
10/01/2016
Benefits of personalized learning: personalized learning is learning through a pace-adjusted and tailored instruction, depending on skills, needs, and interest. It differs from regular learning as the traditional methods have a mass production system, which makes the student adjust to the system, regardless of the students specific weaknesses or strengths. Personalized learning is customized, it adjusts to the students needs, interests, and skills, with the goal of equity; in other words, the goal is for all students to succeed, and to learn topics instead of viewing them as a part of a stablished curriculum. The differences and benefits are better explained in the following image:
Image taken from source 3
Reflection:
whilst researching this I could answer inqury 3 in my second inquiry question. I could find out the benefits of this type of instruction; furthermore, I found out how it differs from other systems, giving me a better idea of how it works and how I can change the current system used in the CCB.
skills:
Thinking skills:
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practise flexible thinking - arguing both sides of an idea or issue; I could work on these skills as I compared both systems, their advantages and disadvantages, I viewed opposites and I could compare statistics and cyphers giving me a more accurate idea of which system gives better results, and why this might be so.
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identify gaps in knowledge and formulate key questions. When I researched about this my main objective was solving a gap in my knowledge concerning student differentiation, its bennefits, how it worke, amongst other thingsI tried to find out about during my investigation.
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make connections between learning gained in different subject areas. This research block was strictly connected to the previous entry and so i had to use the previous entry's information to understand this new topic; furthermore, I combined the knowledge in both areas to create a better system and have a more detailed understanding of how learning is more efective.
Research skills:
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collect and analyse data to identify solutions and/or make informed decisions. This was the segment's main objective, learning all that was necessary to exploit the system's and programmes' maximum potential.
Personalized Learning
13/01/2016
Personalized learning can also be called student centered learning, meaning that the student is the most important piece when learning, in other words the class should adapt to the student’s need for optimum learning instead of the student doing the opposite. Usually this takes type of learning is taught both online and in a classroom, which means the system fits in perfectly with the advancements in technology and employing said tools to improve the learning experience. The idea of personalized learning may sound simple; however, it covers an extensive assortment of systems and teaching techniques.
Some techniques we already employ in our school:
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advisories: we have tutors which are supposed to give us a secondary education in which we can discuss social, academic and planning concerns. This helps the student organize and identify his/her interests and the subjects in which these may be developed, in addition to the improvement in the student teacher relation, by which the student acquires experience and can plan out the course to take academically to achieve career goal more wisely.
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Portfolios: by keeping track of academic progress the student can identify strong and weak subjects; consequently, teachers and students can create strategies and plans to improve weak subjects and elevate to full potential strong subjects.
The effectivity and usage of personalized learning has been debated; however, this occurs most frequently because of the misconception of what this teaching philosophy really is. In the 70’s it was described as a learning program tailored for one individual only; however, nowadays it is defined as the collection of various teaching methods in which the student’s skills, interests and needs can be exploited and worked upon to teach more efficiently, and optimize the student’s learning and understanding.
Reflection:
In this part of my investigation I could find out various techniques which involve student differentiation, and which of these are already implemented in the ccb. Furthermore, I could find out new adjustments to the programmes related to the teaching philosophy, for instance the usage of technology to improve the student’s learning experience and understanding. I resolved both inquiries presented in inquiry question 2; in addition to this, i could observe the necessity of a classroom where students are not all assessed equally, I believe that instead of assessment to divide classes there should be a trial week, due to this I’ll be making changes in the pilot program.
skills:
self management skills:
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Making informed choices on behaviour and course of action. I considered I worked on this the most in this stage as I informed myself on the different ways in which student differentiation could take place in separated classrooms when dividing students based on their skill and interest.
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implement and measure the effectiveness of different learning strategies. I have used this all over my project, but I believe that this specific block of research has helped me understand this skill better and which learning strategies we currently use which are more effective tha we believe they are.
thinking skills:
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inquire in ifferent contexts to gain a different perspective. I used this skill here as I looked at the oppinion of researcher's now and four decades ago, this helped me gain a different perspective, maybe one that could be shared by many parents and teacher raised in that time.
research skills:
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collect and verify data. I made use of this skill during my process as the recollected data showed some examples of differentiation and its techniques, then I confirmed this when looking at the school's current activities and seeing some of the ones in the list being used today.
ENTRY:
25/01/2016
I talked to Mrs. Patricia Escobar, the school's academic coordinator and head of bach section. we discussed the implementation of differentiation in the CCB, she told me that she had wanted to implement new ways of differentiation in the school for a long time, and that my project could help her accomplish this. I told her I would like to present to her my ideas, to which she agreed, I will have a meeting with her starting february. She recommended me to look into tearing and differentiation in the classroom.
skills:
thinking skills:
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Transfer current knowledge to learning of new technologies. I believe that i used this skill here because i had some knowledge on what differentiation was and i used it here to my advantage, meaning that I was able to talk to her about differentiation and that ultimatel lead me to find a new type of differentiation: tiering.
research skills:
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Make connections between a variety of souces. I think that during this specific piece of research i connected what i knew about group division and differntiated learning to sart understanding what this new system was.
self management skills:
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set appropriate management goal and plan strengths to achieve them. In this case i set a metting with Mrs. Patricia, meaning I had to increase my knowledge and get my ideas sorted by a specific date.
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plan and manage activities to develop a solution or complete a project. I planned for an event to occur which was my meeting with Mrs. Patricia, the meeting will help me achieve m principal target, which is introducing a new type of differentiation in the school.
APPLYING DIFFERENTIATION IN THE CLASSROOM:
Rethinking the role of the teacher
27/01/2015
All texts indicate that in order for any kind of differentiation to occur it is imperative to rethink the current concept of what the teacher is and what (s)he is there for. To summarize what the text says about this, the teacher is not supposed to teach the standard course of study. The teacher’s job is to ensure that the standard course of study is mastered. By considering this is the correct definition of what a teacher is we have to understand that not all students will learn the same. By ignoring this definition and endorsing the former one we eliminate the needs of fifty to 70 percent of the students receiving the course, these cipher includes students who have already mastered the standard course or those haven’t in the time in which the course is taught.
skills:
Thinking skills:
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Make logical, reasonable judgements and create arguments to support them. I believe I used this ablit here because i had to justify why people don't identify what the role of a teacher is, then I propose a way which is believed to be more effective than previous ones.
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praacise flexible thinking- arguing both sides of an idea or issue. As one may observe I use statistics amongst other corroborative elements to argue both sides of an idea.
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Challenge one's own and others' assumptions. Over here I go against what the typical perspective and asssumption of what a teacher is and does, which I consider as a misconception.
self-management skills:
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Practise dealing with change. I used to have another conception of what a teacher was, by understanding what the new conception of what a teacher should be I had to deal with change.
Pros and Cons in differentiation:
28/01/2016
Pros
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There is research which proves that differentiation is indicated and fruitful when dealing highly capable and skilful students as well as those who are unskilful or have difficulties in grasping knowledge.
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Students take more responsibility on their learning, as they are forced to learn through various methods which fit their level of understanding.
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Disciplinary issues are reduced as students feel engaged to their learning process.
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Knowledge retention and acquisition become easier for students, as they are constantly pushed to learn in a manner which fits them in most aspects.
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It narrows the gap in knowledge within a group of students and ensures all students master all the viewed topics.
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It simulates best what the real world is and how you can use your strengths in your favour whilst working on your weaknesses.
Cons
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It requires more planning, consequently teachers must spend more time planning lessons and this can become complicated in some cases.
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There is a lack of trained personnel and resources which are crucial for differentiation to be successful.
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Many critics argue that there is not enough research on differentiated instruction that will prove it surpasses added homework or study hours.
skills:
Thinking skills:
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practise flexible thinking- arguing both sides of an idea or issue. I pose here arguments which evidence the negative and possitive of using a differentiated learning course.
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inquire in different contexts to gain different perspectives. To create this list I had to research both sides of the issue, people who were against differentiated learning and why, as well as people who were highly devoted to it.
self-management skills:
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structure information appropriately in written, oral or visual work. I used bullet points to summarize and cut large pieces of research and information.
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Be aware of areas of perceived limitation. I worked on this when I looked at the cons, it had to do with seeing what were the limitations and issues with this system instead of idolatrising it.
THE METHOD I CHOSE:
02/02/2016
I chose tearing as the method i will use to implement differentiation in the ccb. I previously had the idea of using the British system but after my meeting with Mrs. Patricia i decided tearing was the best method to implement in the ccb. Tiering is very similar to what i had in mind before, but it does not go against the school's pedagogical goal of equality, which means that it is the most appropriate way of differentiation to narrow the gap in knowledge. I also believe that this system fits perfectly to the CCB's ways of evaluation, which means that programmes and classes can be planned based on specific goals which lie within the four assesement criterias.
skills:
thinking skills:
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make decisions. I made the decision to choose this as my programme's axis, everyhting I do will be based on tiered instruction and on similar types of differentiation.
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consider all alternatives. When I decided to choose this as my main differentiation technique
INQUIRY QUESTION 1 (QUESTIONS 1 & 2)
INQUIRY QUESTION 2 (QUESTIONS 3 & 4)
INQUIRY QUESTION 3 (QUESTIONS 5,6, & 7)
Colombian Laws which encourage this programme
20/12/2015
MINISTERIO DE EDUCACIÓN NACIONAL DECRETO No. 1290
ARTÍCULO 3. Propósitos de la evaluación institucional de los estudiantes. Son propósitos de la evaluación de los estudiantes en el ámbito institucional:
1. Identificar las características personales, intereses, ritmos de desarrollo y estilos de aprendizaje del estudiante para valorar sus avances.
2. Proporcionar información básica para consolidar o reorientar los procesos educativos relacionados con el desarrollo integral del estudiante.
3. Suministrar información que permita implementar estrategias pedagógicas para apoyar a los estudiantes que presenten debilidades y desempeños superiores en su proceso formativo.
4. Determinar la promoción de estudiantes.
5. Aportar información para el ajuste e implementación del plan de mejoramiento institucional.
6. ARTÍCULO 6. Promoción escolar. Cada establecimiento educativo determinará los criterios de promoción escolar de acuerdo con el sistema institucional de evaluación de los estudiantes. Así mismo, el establecimiento educativo definirá el porcentaje de asistencia que incida en la promoción del estudiante.
Cuando un establecimiento educativo determine que un estudiante no puede ser promovido al grado siguiente, debe garantizarle en todos los casos, el cupo para que continúe con su proceso formativo
ARTÍCULO 7. Promoción anticipada de grado. Durante el primer período del año escolar el consejo académico, previo consentimiento de los padres de familia, recomendará ante el consejo directivo la promoción anticipada al grado siguiente del estudiante que demuestre un rendimiento superior en el desarrollo cognitivo, personal y social en el marco de las competencias básicas del grado que cursa. La decisión será consignada en el acta del consejo directivo y, si es positiva en el registro escolar.
ARTÍCULO 12. Derechos del estudiante. El estudiante, para el mejor desarrollo de su proceso formativo, tiene derecho a:
1. Ser evaluado de manera integral en todos los aspectos académicos, personales y sociales
2. Conocer el sistema institucional de evaluación de los estudiantes: criterios, procedimientos e
instrumentos de evaluación y promoción desde el inicio de año escolar.
3. Conocer los resultados de los procesos de evaluación y recibir oportunamente las respuestas a las
inquietudes y solicitudes presentadas respecto a estas.
4. Recibir la asesoría y acompañamiento de los docentes para superar sus debilidades en el
aprendizaje.
According to this official document we may find that the program can facilitate the accomplishment of the goals set by the Colombian government and constitution. Furthermore, according to the documents students should be given the opportunity to exploit their maximum potential, if a student is limited by the classroom or its grade he or she can be promoted to the next grade; however, in the CCB this rarely, or never, occurs. Therefore, in an unwanted manner the school is going against the ministry of education. This program Is a solution as it would give students the opportunity to excel whilst being in their same age group. The rest is specified clearly in the document.
Reflection: whilst revising this decree made by the Colombian ministry of education I found how my project could work along with the parameters set by the government. I will be sure to mention this when presenting the project to the academic board and to Mrs. Patricia. Also I need to take into account these laws when developing my project, in order to make a fully functional project whcih is still respecting the country's laws.
skills:
thinking skills:
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Seeing possibilities, problems and challenges positively. This due to my new understanding of Colombian educational system, and its laws, I had to work with these laws in order to think about a system which would work with the stablished parameters. Instead of feeling opressed by what the government dictates, I tried to work around it or through it.
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identify obstacles and challenges. I had to identify which parts of the project would have to be eliminated or cut out if the project was to be followed by the Colombian government.
Research skills:
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Collect and analyse data to identify solutions and/or make informed decisions, because I had to work and design my product in accordance to Colombian educational laws.
Research on tiering's success rate
23/01/2016
The majority of research on tearing has been conducted by Sharon Vaughn and her colleagues in the Ontario ministry of education. Her research conducted on the year 2003 has proven that in language tiered instruction helps the student improve his/her ability to decode words, fluency, vocabulary, and comprehension. On the same year she looked at how students to teacher ratio influenced learning, she found out that when students learned in smaller groups their understanding and ability to grasp knowledge increased, this was seen by comparing a 1:3 to a 1:1 teacher ratio. Which means if students are divided by their level of understanding into smaller groups, learning becomes easier, especially with kids having reading or writing disabilities.
Further investigations conducted by other researchers confirmed that LD’s (learning diseases) are not reduced by tiering or RTI; however, even if the majority of studies have been focused towards language usage, studies such as: Fuchs, Fuchs, & Prentice, 2004; Fuchs et. Al., 2005 there is proof that the learning environment created by the tiered approach to students helps in teaching word problems, mathematical operations and number sense.
Tiering shows exceptional results as shown above, thes results will help me when I present my programme to Mrs. Patricia; furthermore, these results and evidence on tiering's effectiveness are key when presenting my programme. However, this research made me realise that bach is only the beggining, there is plenty of research on tiering on pre-primary, primary and kindergarden, this may enable me or the school to introduce tiered activities in all of the school's sections, and even the whole country.
skills:
Thinking skills:
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consider the seemingly impossible. In this section i consider introducing ths type of teaching not only in the bach section, but the whole school, even the whole couuntry, something which would usually be considered impossible.
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demonstrate personal responsibility for lifelong learning. This is seen here as I propose a project which would take me more than one year to do, it might as well take a considerable time to permanently introduce this into the whole school.
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make logical, reasonable judgements and create arguments to justify them. I prove that this type of differentiation is effective and justify my previous argument.
self-management skills:
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demonstrate a preparedeness to make changes to ineffective learning strategies. This is what the project is all about, and this specific piece of research serves as proof of the bennefits of a new system instead of the past faulty ones.
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make informed courses on behaviours and course of action. I used this ability here because I had to decide whether this system was or was not effective based on research and previous evidence.
Research skills:
collect research from a variety of pront and digital resources. I used this ability here by looking into articles and academic papers released with research and evidence on the topics.
Meeting with Mrs. Patricia
01/02/16
I met with Mrs. Patricia Escobar today, we disscussed various topics on my project, this meeting was a turning point in what my investigation and project would be and what it could accomplish. We disscussed various topics during this meeting, these were the following:
my current ideas:
When we met I talked about some ideas I was developing at the moment. the first one was dividing all classrooms into the three sets, and viewing subjects Separately, my idea was to make two classrooms have their maths or English lessons simultaneously, in the CCB there are four classes per year, with the exception of eight grade that has five, the classes they are organized by: grade_ class letter (C,O,B,R). Say 9B and 9C have maths simultaneously in three classrooms, each class counts with one teacher, one class is destined for the low set, the other for the standard set, and the last one for the superior set and in each classroom the students learn the course of study objective on the level which suits their abilities, like this everyone could exploit their abilities to the maximum. To this Mrs. Patricia had a lot to say, she told me that even though high set students would be able to advance a lot, low set and standard set students could only work to a certain limit, and this would ultimately increase the gap in knowledge between students, moreover, she told me that research made in the seventies and nineties confirmed that differentiation inside the classroom with multileveled students narrowed the gap in knowledge, and increased cooperation amongst students. Furthermore, I realized that it would mean a bigger investment for the school as they would have to pay for an extra teacher, and the current facilities wouldn’t suffice if there were two classes having the same subject simultaneously. Above all, she informed me that dividing the classrooms so radically went against the school’s pedagogical ideology; Thereby this idea was discarded by both of us.
My second idea had to do with tiering, the type of differentiation she told me about. I had done some research on tiering and it was the equivalent of my first idea if implemented within the classroom. I had thought about implementing a system which would work with the CCB’s current achievement indicators and evaluation methods; tiering could do that perfectly, but I hadn’t realized how perfect it was until I talked about it with Mrs. Patricia. Our school assesses students using four criteria A, B, C, and D, each evaluates a skill or ability the student must show in their work, and a class can be tiered based on the student’s ability on a specific criterion, not the overall subject; consequently, everything the students work on in class will enable them to master all four criteria separately, which will ultimately improve their learning process in that subject. We decided that this would be the best differentiation method to implement in our classrooms. We discussed which teachers could be ideal for the job, and concluded that for English we would use Mrs. Louise Giron and for maths Mr. Luigi Alejandro Lasso, this came to be as Mrs. Giron is my Personal Project supervisor and she is very interested in how differentiation can help students learn and master the topics; furthermore, she is new in the school which makes her teaching something new and fresh which can be modified from scratch. On the other hand Mr Luigi Lasso is the only maths teacher who knows English in bach section, he is new to the school, and very liberal when it comes to teaching; he also teaches for eight and eleventh grade, this gives him first-hand experience in teaching students of all levels, all of these things make him perfect for the pilot programme. After discussing what I had to do and in what grade we were implementing the pilot programme, I had to come up with a system to plan everything thoroughly and solve my third inquiry question; furthermore, I had to plan classes and make evaluations to record progress after implementing my project.
skills:
thinking skills:
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Identify problems, develop aims, goals and objectives. I found out that i could not tier in groups as big as classes for specific subjects, this is because the school's pedagogy doesn't contemplate this practice as something viable.
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consider all alternatives. Instead of just fixing myself on one idea, I was felxible and open minded about this.
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seeing possibilities, problems and challenges possitively. I worked on this because instead of getting blovked i just changed my original plans and decided to modify them in accordance to what was needed.
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recognizing when an original idea has value and pursuing it. I had the idea to base tiers around certain subjects' assesement criteria as a way to divide the classroom.
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playing with ideas and experimenting. In this meeting we came up with great ideas and innovative endeavours which means that i could actually experiment with my past ideas.
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use your knowledge, understanding and skills across subjects to create products or solutions. Using my previous knowledge on the topics combined with her knowledge and experience we were able to develop aa basic idea of a product which would help students by taking into account their level of learning.
self-management skills:
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demonstrate persistance and perseverance. I showed these attributes here when I persevered even if my original ideas were not accepted, i modified them until they were suitable to the school's ideology and my own.
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seek out criticism and feedback from others and make informed choices about including it in one's work. I worked on this skill a lot during this event, when I asked Mrs. Patricia about my topic she gave me a lot of feedabck and we worked in order to achieve a common goal.
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practice dealing with dissapointment and unmet expectations. I had to deal with both of these things when I was told that I could not implement my original idea in the school.
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practise dealing with change. I had to deal with change in my original system to fit the school's pedagogical ideology.
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Be aware of areas of perceived limitation. This was very prominent in this case, as I had to come to understand that if I wanted to make this happen in my school there were certain rules and parameter i would have to abide to.
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seek out constructive criticism. appart from presenting the idea to Mrs. Patricia i asked her for her opinion and what she thought would help me acomplish a good project.
research skills:
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make connections between a variety of sources. I had to connect the information i had altogether to understand and talk about the project with Mrs. Patricia.
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communicate ideas effectively to multiple audiences using a variety of media and formats. Druing the meeting I prsented my information both orally and visually by using my computer and diagrams.
social skills:
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consider, respect and analyse different opinions, points of view, ideas and preferences. In this case I had to understand the rreasons why the school did not allow my original system to be and respect their decision.
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understand when and how to build consensus. In this case we came to a middle ground where the both of us were satisfied and we would both win with my project's new course, we reached a consensus.
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negotiate goals and limitations with peers and teachers. I negotiated my goals and my current boundaries with Mrs. Patricia, who is a teacher if not a higher figure of authority.
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Make decisions based on fairness and equality. I understood that this was the reason why my first idea was not accepted, then I took decisions based on this realisation.
communication skills:
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negotiate ideas and knowledge with peers and teachers. This was the main purpose of the meeting and I believe I could accomplish it.
How should a tiered class feel like for students?
02/03/2016
GCSEs (U.K. system)
20/11/2015
In the United Kingdom the GCSE course is divided in sets or tiers, these tiers divide students into classes, you have tier 1 and tier 2 these are difficulty levels in the subjects; nonetheless, not all subjects are tiered. At the end of the course students take the GCSE examinations depending on their tier, if they are in a high set, then they will take corresponding high difficulty exam, the opposite would happen if the student was in a low set, then he or she would take the foundation examination. Grades range from letter U as the worst score and A* as the highest possible grade. If the student takes a higher exam he or she would be able to get a grade of B and beyond, while students who take foundation are only allowed to achieve grades below C. this system was changed last year, and now all students take the same tests, and the examinations are presented after the completion of the two years. This is one system that uses sets in its main subjects (English, math, and all sciences). However, the gap in knowledge and grades has increased over the past years, reaching its peak on the most recent examinations with 26.5% of girls achieving top grades in all subjects contrasting the boys with 19.8%.
reflection: The united kingdom is counted amongst the most educated countries in the world, i believe that my finala product could be bennefited by using some of the ideas and the structure used in teh GCSE course. I'd say that this could be a good system in which I could base my educational programme.
skills:
thinking skills:
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Playing with ideas and experimenting, i used this skill as i thought on how i could implement this programme's structure and ideology into my own.
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Practise imitation of works with afocus on the creative process. i Thought about how I could do a similar project in the ccb based on the GcSE course system.
Research skills:
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collect and analyse data to identify solutions and/or make informed decisions, i used this skill as i was looking for a way in which i could use the information and the rechniques used in the GCSE course to improve my own and implent them into my system.
Which subjects are learned at different speeds
05/01/2016
All students have strengths and weaknesses; some students are gifted for mathematics while others prefer language or humanities. Math can be understood in multiple ways, some students have a very good abstract reasoning and sense of logic, these students tend to understand the processes behind mathematical operations and numbers faster and more easily than those who opt for writing and solving problems through processes. Other students have an affinity towards language, they have high reading comprehension levels and are good at producing texts. All human beings are different, and even if some individuals understand and master both areas of knowledge, others struggle with one or
both disciplines. Learning speed depends on interest, skill and readiness to learn. This will be explained more thoroughly in inquiry question number 2, see “ differentiation in the classroom and school" to understand this better.
skills:
communication skills:
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use active listening techniques to understand others. During this piece of research i talked to many people and sat down quietly in certain subjects considering the issue at hand, at the end i could collect and understand opinnions and information from anecdotes and complications told by other people.
research:
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find information in different media, this type of research is very uncommon, i had firsthand experience and talked directly with those affected in a passive and subtle wy to obtain the information, which means that I had both direct and indirect research on the topic.
Research/work
reflection
skills
Education in the CCB (survey)
15/02/2016
This survey was created by me, and then answered by the CCB comunity (parents, students, and teachers) with this information I can understand which are the differences and gaps in knowledge in the four most important subjects to our school; keeping in mind the information is only meant to create a programme within the two most affected subjects.
skills:
research skills:
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collect and verify data.
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collect and analyze data to identify solutions and/or make informed decisions.
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process data and report results.
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evaluate and select information sources and digital tools based on their appropriateness to specific tasks.
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use a variety of technologies and media platforms to source information including social media and online networks.
communication skills:
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interact, collaborate and publish media with peers, experts or others employing a variety of digital environments and media.
thinking skills:
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identify trends and forecast possibilities.
THE SURVEY
CLICK ME
which subjects do you believe depend on the student's skill?
In which of these subjects do you feel you are ahead or behind your classmates in terms of knowledge?
In your opinion which of the following statements on what school should be like is the most appropriate one?
which subjects do you believe depend on the student's skill?
ENTRY
20/01/2016
I talked to Mrs. Eleanor Cosh, MYP coordinator in the ccb. I told Mrs. Cosh of my current ideas and my possible product designs. I told her i was thinking on having three teacher per subject, whcih would teach the subject to two classes simultaneously. These classes would be divided into three groups: advanced, standard, and low. One teacher would be in charge of the high level group, rhe other one would be in charge of the standard, and so on. she said that whilst she taught in primary she implemented this system (advanced placement), in both of the subjects i was thinking on implementing it on (maths and engish). I knew something about this, and that it was a working system in primary; in spite of that, i did not know about all the complications whch this system had. First of all, there are obviously more students in the standard set than in the low or high set, meaning that the amount of students divided between all three sets is not equal. consequently the imbalance will force the school to either hire a new teacher or limit itself to two sets only, either high and standard or low and standard, at the end this will not reduce the gap in knowledge; on the contrary, it will make it bigger. in addition to this, the system has another flaw, the investment rrequired to hire two more teachers is high, considering all three or four of them would need a monthly salary; an investement the school can currently not afford. Holding the same line of thought, the infrastructure to have three simultaneous lessons treating the same subject with two classes is unexistant, and to expand the school or plan a schedule which would fittingly distribute all IB diploma students and all the MYP students is extremely complex. having all of these in mind after my conversation with Mrs. Cosh, i decided that separating students into different classes would be extremely complex, if not impossible.
skills:
collaboration skills:
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negotiate goals and limitations with peers and teachers. It is very clear how i used this skill in this piece of investigation, I talked to a person who had experience on the topic and at the same time was the one in charge of the curriculum we currently see, this was extremely helpful.
communication skills:
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negotiate ideas and knowledge with peers and reachers. I talked about my current ideas for the system and how i thought it should work, then we both discussed how this could affect students and the school, possible complications and obstacles, amongst other things.
Research skills:
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identify different points of view. During the time i showed this to Mrs. Cosh I had a very idealistic perspective, she offered me a more feet to the ground and realistic point of view, showing me what happened to her by experience whilst doing something similar. She provided a teacher's point of view.
self-management skills:
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Being aware of areas of perceived limitation. After this meeting I was aware of many possible limitations my project faced, including the school's rules and the student's capapibilities, things I had not taken into consideration before.
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seek out constructive criticism. This is the skill I believe I used the most, as i was looking for advice and flaws my current ideas had, and I found them.
Thinking skills:
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identify obstacles and challenges. The conversation with Mrs Cosh enabled me to identify limitations and challenges i had not seen before.
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seeing possibilities, problems and challenges positively. This was a complication in my progress as i had to reinvent my current programme to try and solve the presented issues, as well as working through or around the limitations.
Interviewing Matthew Bradbury, student in the United Kingdom:
22/01/2016
I used the interview to get a first hand experience and testimonial evidence. I knew matthew in a student exchange to the U.K, and he is a very capable student which is why i asked him. As a student he gave me a unique perspective on how the GCSE system works and its bennefits; however, matthew also told be about the negative effeccts the system has, this helped me to figure out what my final product should be. My original idea was a very similar system to the one used in the united kingdom, but after hearing the repercussions it may have on a student's morale and his desire to learn I feel that the need to reconsider my plan is necessary.
skills:
Thinking skills:
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Make inferences and draw conlusions. During the interview I had to draw conclusions based on what he was saying and infer how that could affect other students different than him.
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Consider consequences of events. I had to consider multiple things after talking to Matthew, for instance i had to view in a more detailed manner the stability and welfare of the student as my priority.
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Make intuitive judgements. When I interviewed Matthew I had to judge what type of student he was and how was he as a person, I could do this based on his answers and the language he used when doing so.
Research skills:
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Access information to be informed and inform others. I talked to Matthew about my project and informed him on my research to date, then he volunteered to tell me his experience and provide information which could help me in my endeavour.
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Find information in different media. The interview changes the common media used to obtain information, as I interviewed a student which is a unique source of information.
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Utilize appropriate multimedia technology to create effective presentation and represenation. To record my interview I decided to record my questions and his answers after we both sent these via Facebook messenger.
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Identify different points of view. I only had teachers, experts and some students as my sources; even if Matthew is a student, he has had experience with a type of education students in the CCB have never been exposed to.
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Evaluate and select information sources and digital tools based on their approptiateness to the task. I used a multimedia player and a recorder to record the interview, whilst Matthew and I communicated through a social network (Facebook Messenger).
Communication skills:
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Use active listening techniques to understand others. In an inteview the most important thing is to listen, because you need to draw conclusions nd form judgementes based on what the other person is saying. Also I had to listen very closely to mkae correct asssumptions and ask coherent questins based on the dialogue.
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Interact, collaborate and publish media with peers, experts or others employing a variety of digital environments and media. I interacted with a person who has hd direct experience and involvement with a different educational system, and by using different media we could share information and augment our knowledge.
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Develop cultural understanding and global awareness by engaging with learners of other cultures. Matthew is British, due to this his education has been received in the UK, his culture is reknown as a disciplined and highly educated one; therefore, this allowed me to interact and develop global understanding of what education is around the globe through a learner of a different community and nation.
How to tier:
05/02/2016
Identify the Standard Course of Study objective: you need to understand and identify which topic or goal is it that you want to achieve. By identifying what your course of study wants to teach, you can find various ways to teach it
Determine which tier’s needs are worked on with the activity: All teachers have a resource to teach the set objective. Then it is key to identify which skills does the objective address; in other words, what level of readiness, experience, or resource is needed for the objective to be achieved (learned). Knowing how proficient and predisposed the students are in a specific classroom is crucial. By understanding the level of readiness of the students, one ensures the level at which each tier will be working. If the classroom has a really high understanding of the presented topics, then only two tiers are necessary (the standard tier and the advanced tier)
Bibliography for inquiry question 2:
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https://resources-for-differentiation.wikispaces.com/Orbital+Study
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http://www.teachhub.com/differentiated-instruction-strategies-using-tiered-assignments
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http://www.dreambox.com/blog/personalized-learning-benefit-students
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http://www.bbcactive.com/BBCActiveIdeasandResources/MethodsofDifferentiationintheClassroom.aspx
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Matthew Bradbury, student in the United Kingdom
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Patricia Escobar, academic coordinator in the CCB and head of bach
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Eleanor Cosh, MYP coordinator in the CCB
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http://education.cu-portland.edu/blog/teaching-strategies/examples-of-differentiated-instruction/
Deciding what will the tiers work on: Define on which modification will the other tiers work with. This means that if the activity is designed for those at the standard tier, then those in the higher tier will base their learning on another activity which suits their need the best, same thing applies to the lower tier. If the activity is designed for the lower tier in the first place, on must do the same thing for the other two tiers. By modifications we mean the way in which our tiers are made and the focus we want each tier to have. The modifications are best explained in the following captures of the article found in link number
TEARING:
What is it?
03/02/2016
Tearing is a differentiation method in which the course study’s goal is identified and the topics or classes are taught by dividing the students in three groups 1) Those who struggle with the topic 2) those ready to understand the topic at the required level 3) those students who are ready to go beyond. Tiering is not a singular or specific technique, it is a concept which can be employed in various tasks and activities. The key to succeeding whilst using tiering Is that each tier or level is planned for by the teacher while instructing or working on the course study’s goal.
This system is usually organized in the form of a pyramid, the lowest platform consists of the students that can achieve the course of study, those in the middles are the ones who have difficulties, and those who find themselves at the top are the ones who lack understanding completly.
The usual type of tiering has to do with a pyramid designed for student who don't undersatnd properly. However, I realised there were students who were held back because they were above their peers' level, due to this i decided that in my programme i would use the pyramid in a different way. The base of the Pyramid would be those students who understood the course of study, but the middle and upper tier would change according to the students' understanding of the topic, meaning if there are many students who can go beyond and some who lag behind, the advanced tier would be the middle sector whilst the other students would be the upper tier, this applies the other way around too.
skills:
Thinking:
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utilize old ideas inn new ways and combine parts in new ways. I used this skill when I changed the tiers order to serve my orignal purpose.
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Design improvement to existing machines, media and technology. I changed an existing system to work better (in accordance to my goal that is).
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practise imitation of works with a focus on the creative process. When I changed the existing tiers and copied the pyramid scheme I made use of this skill.
Self-management:
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use different information organizers for different purposes. I used this skill when viewing the system through the diagram of a pyramid.
Research skills:
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locate, organize, analyse, evaluate, synthesize and efficiently use information from a variety of sources an media. This information was found in various sources and it is a summaryy of what the structure of tiering is.
Both of these videos gave me an idea of what differntiated lessons can achieve and why are they so important. moreover, i searched for different types of instruction in two different subjects, these were the subjects which the CCB community said had the most issues.
skills:
thinking skills:
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make connections between learning gained in different subject areas. This is what I tried to achieve with this activity, I could use my previous knowledge on math, Enlgish, differentiation and experience as a students to make connections between my existing knowledge.
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inquire in different contexts to gain different perspectives. I looked at the system in two different contexts, this being two different subjects.
self-management skills:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kDH6RUqrWjY
McGraw-Hill Education
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1ob4eGz04G4
BERStaffDevelopment
Reflection:
In the CCB some teachers already use thes types of tiering in classes, i had not noticed this until I researched further into the topic. However, teraing is not somthing used by all teachers, only some teacher with a new mentallity teach using these methods; also, the type of divisions are usually very evident or monotonous, with this research i encountered new ways to tier a classroom and ways in which students can be divided effectively.
skills:
Thinking skills:
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consider all alternatives. With this research I could consider different ways to divide a classroom, as well as other types of differentiation.
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Make connections between random things. I learned how to connect different methods to random subjects or topics treated in the classroom as a way of tiering for advanced students.
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use multiple processes and diverse perspectives to explore alternative solutions. I used this becaus eI had to review various ways in which a classroom could be tiered to achieve the same goal, that all students learn everythiing they can.
self-management skills:
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consider relationships to people, ideas and concepts. I had o consider what students feel and how they interact amongst themselves to work on improving their learning.
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Analyse one's and others' thought process to think about how one thinks and learns. I had to take into account how people learn differently and how this could I use it to my advantage.
Tiered instruction pyramid
The system:
03/02/2016
To work through this, I have decided to divide the project into areas of focus, these will be taken as sections which will have steps, by doing so I may develop a flexible pilot programme open to changes and suggestions, this is what inquiry 3 is all about. the stages are design, topics and curriculum, schoosing, and repercussions. Furthermore, I can use this system to work with the academic board, creating a programme which fits the school’s needs and keeps my idea intact. Nonetheless, there will be some fixed points which are already built into the project, these pieces are unmovable due to their imperative presence in this system, by fixed points I mean workings of the system or the subjects in which the project will begin.
The stages:
DESIGN:
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Which subjects would be using this system? Why?
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How many sets will there be?
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Logistics planning (schedules and timetables, rotation, division of the grade, class availability)
TOPICS AND CURRICULUM:
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On which grade will the pilot programme be developed?
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What is the current curriculum/ achievement indicators for all students in subjects chosen?
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How can I implement my system using the current achievement indicators?
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How will the topics viewed in the high level set differ from those in the other set(s)/tier(s)
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Will evaluations be the same for students in all sets/tiers?
CHOOSING:
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Teachers, deciding which teachers are to be positioned in specific grades and sets, based on their teaching methods, opinions, interests and students.
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Students, deciding which students belong to certain sets and locating them as such. How will this be done?
REPERCUSIONS:
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Economical aspects, will the school have to spend any monetary resources for the success of this program?
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How will the community feel if this system is chosen?
skills:
Thinking skills:
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identify problems and devlop goals, aims and objectives. I did all these thing when I designed the system to solve question 3.
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Identify gaps in knowledge and formulate key questions. I had to formulate questions which would ultimately help me understand and solve to perfection question 3, which is key to build my product.
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break down large concepts into component parts and combine parts logically as appropriate. I did this when I decided to view m whole inquiry 3 as different sections, the question is solved by answering the smaller inquiries.
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formulate provocative and relevant questions and goals. This is what I meant to do with my system, and it is easy to tell I based y system on answering various questions.
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Brainstorm and map thoughts to create ideas and questions. I had to write down all of the questions which I originally had, to which I proceeded by cuting the unnecesary or redundant questions.
self-management skills:
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plan strategies to guide your personal project inquiry. I made a plan on how i was going to answer a main inquiry in my cproject, which is all the skill is about.
05/02/2016
DESIGN:
1. I have decided that the best subjects to start the programme will be English and mathematics. I chose these subjects as they are two of the school's most important subjects, plus they have some very specific achievment indicators, which means that i can evaluate concretely my system's results. however, the main reason I chose these subjects was because they presented the biggest gaps in knowledge amongst all the CCB subjects.
2. Due to the use of tiering as my chosen system, the classes will be divided in three tiers or sets, as described in inquiry question 2. the tears will be low, standard, and superior. Each student will be placed on the same tier whilst working on that criteria or activity; however, once a period of time decided by the teacher passes, a progress quiz will be made, if all students accomplished the set goal then the teacher will proceed to the next topic to be treated.
3.Classes will be given in the same hours used currently. Rotation between tiers will occur when the teacher decides to work on other criteria, this means that the tiers are not based on the overall ability of the student in the subject as a whole, but in the individual achievment indicators (criteria: A, B, C, D). However, the pilot programme will be based on one specific skill of one criterion in each subject, and it will be viewed once a week (minimum) for one month.
refelction: My design stage was very helpful when introudicing the changes and specifications into my final product. By having a clear plan and layout of what I wanted to do in my fnal product I could reflect and work on these things very straightfowardly and more effectively under the context of time eficency.
skills:
thinking skills:
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make inferences and draw conclusions. I used the data and information i had recollected to decide which subjects i was going to use and how will the tiering work.
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make connections between learning gained in different subject areas. I did this when I wrote about what my plan was and the way it was going to be carried out, all of the knowledge and research i had done on the bes ways to tier enabled me to use this skill.
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generate "what if" questions. This is what I used to write and design on this stage, what if I used this in that way... what if I introduced this concept through this method... and so on.
self-management skills:
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create a record of personal learning, chane and improvement. I kept a record of my progress solving the previous plan.
communication skills:
write for different purposes. I wrote down my progress and ideas to have a clear understanding and a defined plan when writing down my final product.
TOPICS AND CURRICULUM
06/02/2016
1. The programme will be developed in Grade 8. Mrs. Patricia and I agreed on this during our meeting, we concluded that it was a grade which wasn't as new to bach as seventh grade, they showed more maturity whilst working in class and at home. In addition to being more experienced and mature, they are still new to the section, they can be molded according to what the teachers want to accomplish with them, they don't have a set mind to what a class should be like; consequently, working with them and implementing this system on their grade would be ideal for their development as students, plus the system could easily be recorded, evaluated, and modified along the way. If the pilot programme woorks on the eight graders, it could be implemented from seventh to tenth grade.
2. The current curriculums/achievment indicators are the following:
3. The tiers will be made based on which criterion the teacher wants to work on, each criterion has specific skills or levels of achievement which are evaluated from 0-8, the teacher will plan a lesson in which he will divide the students based on the level they are currently at when working the that criterion; in other words, if the student is exceedingly good at criteria B, he or she will be placed in the superior set during that activity, the students will be place on the corresponding tier he or she is at a standard or below standard level. This is how students will work in a class meant to improve their ability in that criteria.
However specific skill improvement activities are not the only activities which take place in a classroom. For instance, if there is a project or research assignment which evaluates more than one criterion simultaneously, then the teacher will set out work according to the student’s overall level in the assessed criteria. A better explanation can be found in inquiry 2 “how to tier” entry.
4. The topics viewed in the superior tier will be more complicated and challenging than those viewed by the standard and the lower tier. All Students will revise the same topics, as the teachers will grade all students based on the general achievement indicators; however, they will view these topics in different depth and complexity. The superior set will work with more complex variations of the topics; the standard set will work with challenging, yet basic material; and the lower set will view the course of study objective through more simple activities and explanations which will improve their understanding of the topics. Variations in the activities can be made, which means that the activities for the top set can be based on complexity, while the standard set focuses on applications in real life and the lower set will work on openness of process/product.
5. As said before evaluations will all have the same level. The set level for all evaluations will be at the level proposed by the basic course of study, and it will evaluate the mastery of the topics viewed; more accurately, the assessment will be made at the level in which a student may prove he or she masters and understands the topics. Nonetheless, students who have higher abilities should be able to show these, this is why in some examinations there will be extra questions of a higher difficulty and complexity, these questions or tasks will only serve to get the maximum grade (an eight), and they will be positioned at the end of the evaluative activity.
In this section I talked about which topics should be viewed in the upper tiers and in the lower ones, I am starting to deal with more complex topics right now. I feel that I am currently working on more sophisticated and advanced topics, those which concern logistics and class planning, even if this will be the teachers' job to do. With these things set clear I believe that writing down the booklet will become much easier, and I will have less work to do, meaning my research could be bennefited by it.
skills:
Thinking skills:
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create projects and products using knowledge and skill gained across different subject areas. I began creating a cncrete product based on all the knowledge i'd collected in my investingation process.
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Utilize old ideas in new ways and combine parts in new ways. I had to work through with the ideas I had to change in the first place, those before my meeting with Mrs. Patricia, I combined these ideas to create a new and better project.
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Recognizing when an original idea has value and pursuing it. I believe that in this piece of work I progressed a lot when I truly recognizedthe value of my ideas.
Self-management skills:
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structure information appropriately in written, oral and visual work. I organized this information accordingly to my previous system which i created beforehand.
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Analyse one's own and others' thought process to think about how one thinks and how one learns:. I had to take this into account when building and designing this stage.
CHOOSING
01/02/2016
1. Mrs. Patricia and I discussed this in our meeting, I mentioned the topic briefly in a previous entry where I summarized my meeting with her. The process for choosing a teacher who fitted the profile we desired was not very arduous; even so, we had a debate on who were the most appropriate teachers. We chose Luigi in maths for the reasons stated in my previous entry, but we spent more time in deciding who would be in charge of the English course. Our two candidates were Louise Giron and Rachel Hunt, I knew them both as Mrs. Giron was my supervisor and Mrs. Rachel hunt my English teacher. I decided that Mrs Giron was the chosen one because she was already familiarized with my project and that would spare me a lot of explanation time which I could be using to plan classes with her and Luigi; moreover, Mrs. Giron taught in eight grade and ninth grade, which would give her more time than what Mrs. Hunt could afford to employ in my project. These were the reasons why I chose these teachers for my pilot programme.
07/02/2016
2. To place students into their corresponding tiers I decided the best course of action was to have a mixed assesement period. What I mean by mixed assessment period is the assessing of a student utilizing various methods of assessment in a period of time, in this case two. The first method is the most common method of assessing a student, a written examination, the teacher will prepare an evaluation which has exercises ranging from a very basic level to more complex and challenging ones, those students who can cope with most if not all exercises would be placed in the superior tier, those who could answer only sixty to seventy-five percent of the evaluation would go to the standard tier, any students with a score below 60% would be located in the lower tier. But not everyone is good in written examinations, this is where the mixed assessing process comes into play. As a teacher one should be capable of identifying students which are having difficulties, as well as those who grasp the topics, and those ready to go beyond. When we take this into consideration the teacher can have a trial period which lasts between two days or one week and a half, during this period the teacher will use his or her judgement to select students which need to move to a more advanced or an easier tier. If the results of the exams are not very helpful when deciding the correct placement for students, then this method can help the teacher decide where to place everyone correctly and at which level to set the tiers.
The previous system will be modified for my pilot programme, because the pilot programme will take place on the second term of our school year the teacher already knows his/her students, making step two in the mixed assessment period easier. This is why I will design with both teachers a diagnostic evaluation for the students in which they will show their current abilities, and another evaluation they will take in a month’s time where they will show if differentiated lessons helped them master the course of study objective.
Entry 22/02/2016: I was forced to change this due to the excursion eight graders had recently, meaning tht there is not sufficient time to prove the system's effectiveness right now; however, this will be instituted in the third academic term this year.
skills:
Thinking skills:
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Create original works and ideas and visualize alternatives. I had to create my project and then I had to see an alternative to prove it would work, so I changed the date when the project was supposed to take place.
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Identify obstacles and challenges. I had to identify which were the implications of not being able to present my project on the desired date, more than tis how could i change my final product to make it effective even if I would not be able to prove it with students.
Self-management skills:
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plan and manage activites to devlop a solution or complete a project. I used this in this piece of work as I had to work in planning activities for children and classes, which was finally my project's objective.
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make informed choices ond behaviours and course of actions: There wer complications which lead me to change my course of action in the end.
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Practice positive thinking. Instead of being worried about not being able to use my project thisterm, I told myself it was an opportunity to change it for the best and apply it afterwards.
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Be aware of areas of perceived limitation. I had to work through highly complicated situtations which would have stopped me from conducting a succesfull project in the end, after all I had to recognize there were limitations in the way and I would have to change my project to work along said limitations.
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Practice dealing with dissapointment and unmet expectations. This was the skill I used the most during this part of my process as I had to change my project's date without previous notice.
REPERCUSSIONS
12/02/2016
1. The school will not have to do any type of investement to back the pilot program, but if this attempt is succesful and the school want to expand to other subject then there will be a type of investement. Most teachers are familiarized with student differentiation, but tiering is a whole different story. Thse school would need to invest in workshops or traininning courses for those teachers who are unaware of what tiering is and how it works. Even if my product works, teachers will have to work on their tiering abilities and knowledge meaning that the school will have to consider this as a long-term investement. most training camps are not very expensieve and there are webinars which teach and cover the importance of using this system correctly. An estimate of the amount of money the school would have to invest on this would be a maximum of 500 dollars per teacher.
2. If this system is accepted and the idea proposed before of students not being aware of the differentiation wich is occuring, then the student community will not be hurt emotionally or demoralised by this. However, parents might object, this would require the school to have a formal meeting with them and explain the whole program's goal and the reason behind it. In an overall analisis of what the community might feel like, it is plausible that most members of the community would feel better for understanding subjects and working to the level which fits them to perfection.
Bibliography for inquiry question 3:
I was thinking about how the students should view this system, and on the impact this would have on their learning process. There are two possibilities when tiering, the teacher can either make the tiers invisible or known to the students. Each option has advantages and disadvantages; this is why I decided to write down all advantages and disadvantages, the appropriate course to follow with students depending on each option, and the work this would demand from the teacher.
Making the tiers invisible:
By making the tiers invisible one can ensure that students will not be demoralized, if students feel they are less capable or skilled than other students this may lower their morale; consequently, their academic performance could be affected. To make tiers invisible the teacher should tell all students that the different groups will complete different activities and in the end they will present their results to the class. The teacher must remain neutral when creating the groups and the groups should be named in colours or numbers, another important thing to have in mind is that the teacher should teach all clusters with the same enthusiastic attitude.
Making the tiers visible:
If the teacher makes visible tiers and informs his or her student about it, there can be multiple consequences. Some students might feel comfortable with their current level of intelligence or would feel motivated to understand and improve; nonetheless, there will be some students that might feel it is not fair and that the course of study or the teacher stops them from learning or neglects them. With invisible tiers, one does not have that issue.
Therefore, I believe that the tiers made in the classrooms should remain invisible or very subtle for the students’ sake.
Skills:
Thinking skills:
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Consider all alternatives. I used this skill in this specific reflection as I had to consider both situations and decide which was better,
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Develop contrary arguments. This skill can bee seen in here when I discussed the bennefits and the consequences of doing either one or the other thing; moreover, I discussed which one was better, arguing against the other one.
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Generate"what if" questions. I had to generate a Hypothetical scenario where I analised what might happen in either situation by asking myself what if questions.
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make intuitive judgements. I had to judge which of these options was the best and the worst by using intuition.
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Identify obstacles and challenges. I had to see which were the challenges and possible obstacles if I was going to use this type of instruction in the ccb.
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Consider consequences of events. This I think was the skill I used the most in this segment, the whole reflection lies on trying to find out why students should or should not know about the differentiation occuring in the classroom.
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Make decisions. I had to make a decision on wheather my program was allowing students to know or not if they were being differentiated through this method.
self-management:
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Develop awareness of the process of effective learning. This was what i did by putting myself in the students' possition.
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Pause to reflect at different stages in the learning process. To decide this I had to reflect on all the knowledge I currently had and then come to a decision.
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Analyse one's and others' thought processes to think about ho one thinks and learns. I think that this skill was used in this stage when I reflected on how others might feel and how their learning process might be affected.
Social skills:
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Be empathetic. I had to be very empathetic in this matter by placing myself in others' position, specially teachers, parents, and students.
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Help others: facilitate the success of others. This is what my prject is trying to do, help everyone achieve one goal: to learn.
Bloom's Taxonomy
20/02/2016
In 1965 a psychologist named Benjamin Bloom and other psychologists created a collection of objectives in education. This philosophy has become one of the most recognized and praised theories by American educators. The taxonomy itself consists on a classification of levels of intellectual involvement, in other words how well has a topic imbedded itself within the learners mind. A student of bloom’s, decided to make changes to the taxonomy in the 1990’s and substituted the nouns for verbs in the theory. The taxonomy itself is the following, with changes and before them:
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Knowledge -> Remembering
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Comprehension -> Understanding
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Application -> Applying
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Analysis -> Analysing
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Synthesis -> Synthesising
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Evaluation -> Creating
We may link all types of learning to this taxonomy. Starting from googling something which is remembering, to reverse engineering which would be analysing, or even creating things based on that knowledge.
By knowing this we may understand how differentiated learning may work, and how we can utilize it in our favour, meaning that by understanding the steps of the human acquisition of knowledge we can separate students in accordance to their capabilities, interest and readiness to learn.
skills:
Thinking skills:
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Make connections between learning gained in different subject areas. I used this skill during this piece of investigation as I had to work on which sectors of the theory I would be able to combine and apply to myproduct, as well as differntiation itself.
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Identify trends and forecast possibilities. This was used here as I used the taxonomy to predict possible outcomes with my own system, as well as ways in which I could employ this knowledge to understand other things.
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Use multiple processes and diverse perspectives to explore alternative solutions. I used the process proposed by Bloom to predict students' behaviour and conduct when learning.
Self-management skills:
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Make informed courses on behaviours and course of action. I used this here as this is a very specific analisis on behaviour, meaning that I was able to use it whilst creating my product.
Research skills:
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Access information to be informed and inform others. This skill is used here as i accesed a specific type of information to work with.
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Collect research from a variety of print and digital resources. This skill can be seen in this specific piece of research as I collected information on a specific concept using a variety of resources, both print and web.
Bibliography for inquiry question 1:
Matthew's interview
Math
Tiered classes: maths and English
10/02/2016