Differentiated
Instruction
One of the greatest challenges educators face today is meeting the academic
needs of all children. Despite the fact that the age of most students in
a classroom are within a year or so from each other, their ability and knowledge
range can vary a number of grade levels. When we were students, a vast majority
of our teachers’ instruction was designed to serve the average student,
aimed right "at the middle". This meant that a percentage of students were
likely lost in confusion while another group became bored. If we back up
100 years, we would find one-room schoolhouses with age gaps as large as
twelve years and an even greater challenge.
Fortunately, teachers are more adept at understanding learning styles
and strengths so that more students are challenged but not lost. We call
this "differentiated instruction" (DI). Teachers take the level that students
are at and move them along an instructional continuum. While we recognize
certain benchmarks that are important for all students, we know that we must
adjust our instruction to maximize the time we have with each child.
Based on our annual district survey, conversations with parents, and
our own analysis, we have established DI as an area needing concentration.
Some ways we are working toward this end:
• Creation of flexible grouping among grade levels. This
provides increased enrichment opportunities for children of different ages.
• Increased attention toward teaching reading comprehension
strategies. We recognize that it is important for students to not just
decode letters and sounds but as their reading becomes more fluent, they
need to establish techniques for comprehending text more effectively. We
have created regular multi-age comprehension groups and provide extensive
professional development for teachers in this area, based on burgeoning
research.
• Increased training in Mathematics. Over the last couple
of years, we have introduced a new math program, Growing With Mathematics,
formally published by Mimosa Publications. While we find certain components
of the program not challenging enough for some children, in general, Growing
With Math challenges student thinking and moves beyond rote computation.
• Development of a new literacy curriculum. The K-6 Literacy
Committee is working on completing a new curriculum by the end of this year.
This will better reflect current research and meet student needs to a greater
degree.
• Enhancement of our volunteer program. More parents are
involved in classrooms and throughout the building, sharing their expertise
with students.
• New computers in classrooms and increased training for staff.
• Developing new report cards. A committee of teachers
and I are working on a revision to the way we communicate student progress.
We hope to have them ready by next Fall. By aligning our report cards with
our curriculum, it will focus us all on individual needs of students.
• Finally, we are developing greater opportunities for after
school enrichment. We have recently developed the program "Reaching
For The Stars", developed by the HMS Enrichment Committee. We also formed
a partnership with the Concord Community Music School to offer music classes
for K-1 beginning April, 2003 here at Harold Martin School.
-Bill Carozza