No matter what role I present to the world; mom, teacher, advocate, student, I have trepidation of the truth being revealed. I am insecure. Will everyone realize that I am hanging on by a thread and truly pretending that I am confident in all or anything I do?
There are moments in life that have served as reinforcement that yes I am inept. However, there is a glimmer of "I may just know what I am doing" or maybe it was a serendipitous event that shined in my favor.
My role as educator has turned to take on a non traditional way to teach. I am now a certified trainer with Time To Teach, Inc. I share with fellow educators how to be more effective in the classroom. I also work for iTutor as a teacher online to individual students or with small groups.
One of those moments that brought my two worlds as a trainer and a teacher came together in a moment that helped my new student and I shine. Differentiated Instruction has become a dirty word in education. Teachers cringe when they hear yet another professional development on DI. Let's debunk this myth. DI is not a way to change each lesson to serve each student and meet them at their level. DI is a way to keep your lesson and its rigor but find a way to motivate the unmotivated. Meet each student to how they learn and how they can show what they have learned in your lesson.
I have a new student online who is on the spectrum He is highly intelligent and yet struggles with other areas of life. He enjoys the written word and reading is his favorite past time. However, using the avenue of writing a response to show his comprehension is very difficult for him. He is creative in well spoken in his responses to show his comprehension of any given story.
His previous teacher instructed him to write a short story on a superhero. We discussed this project and it clearly created great anxiety within him. I immediately told him that assignment is no longer in existence and we have 4 days until our next class to brainstorm and come together to think of another assignment. An assignment that will allow him to use words but he doesn't have to write them down. He was intrigued and started to ask questions: "you mean I can use the computer?" " I can make a video?" . His wheels were turning. I am looking forward to Monday to hear what ideas he has come up with for his new assignment.
We are reading The Lightening Thief. This story is perfect for this young man to show his knowledge of Greek Mythology and ability to analyze the written word. Our first lesson together started out rough. He had a 'melt down' 30 seconds into our time together. His mom popped on the webcam to tell me an ant crawled across the computer keyboard. He has a strong aversion to ants or any bugs. Mom and I talked about his level of cognitive ability and what works and doesn't work for him. I was nervous if my planned lesson would keep him engaged and motivated to stay with me for the next 45 minutes.
After he and his mom learned about my son, Scotty and his different learning style and abilities, they both seemed relieved and comforted that I "understood" this life of different abilities and special needs.
He calmed down and came back to the computer for our lesson. We chatted a bit. I tried to get a sense of how he stays engaged and my choice of using minecraft to talk about the map of the Camp of Half Bloods in the story was a win situation. It was a way to meet his creativity and one of his learning styles.
Mom walked behind him with a thumbs up as her way of approval of my approach. In that moment my insecurities subsided as I believe so did Mom's and student's. We are a team. Keeping him engaged and motivated to learn and to teach. Yes, he along with all my students past and present teach me every day. My son, Scotty and my students teach me every day why Differentiated Instruction is critical to enhance one's teaching. It is a way to motivate and engage students and teachers alike.
DI is not a dirty word. It is the key to motivate the unmotivated.
There are moments in life that have served as reinforcement that yes I am inept. However, there is a glimmer of "I may just know what I am doing" or maybe it was a serendipitous event that shined in my favor.
My role as educator has turned to take on a non traditional way to teach. I am now a certified trainer with Time To Teach, Inc. I share with fellow educators how to be more effective in the classroom. I also work for iTutor as a teacher online to individual students or with small groups.
One of those moments that brought my two worlds as a trainer and a teacher came together in a moment that helped my new student and I shine. Differentiated Instruction has become a dirty word in education. Teachers cringe when they hear yet another professional development on DI. Let's debunk this myth. DI is not a way to change each lesson to serve each student and meet them at their level. DI is a way to keep your lesson and its rigor but find a way to motivate the unmotivated. Meet each student to how they learn and how they can show what they have learned in your lesson.
I have a new student online who is on the spectrum He is highly intelligent and yet struggles with other areas of life. He enjoys the written word and reading is his favorite past time. However, using the avenue of writing a response to show his comprehension is very difficult for him. He is creative in well spoken in his responses to show his comprehension of any given story.
His previous teacher instructed him to write a short story on a superhero. We discussed this project and it clearly created great anxiety within him. I immediately told him that assignment is no longer in existence and we have 4 days until our next class to brainstorm and come together to think of another assignment. An assignment that will allow him to use words but he doesn't have to write them down. He was intrigued and started to ask questions: "you mean I can use the computer?" " I can make a video?" . His wheels were turning. I am looking forward to Monday to hear what ideas he has come up with for his new assignment.
We are reading The Lightening Thief. This story is perfect for this young man to show his knowledge of Greek Mythology and ability to analyze the written word. Our first lesson together started out rough. He had a 'melt down' 30 seconds into our time together. His mom popped on the webcam to tell me an ant crawled across the computer keyboard. He has a strong aversion to ants or any bugs. Mom and I talked about his level of cognitive ability and what works and doesn't work for him. I was nervous if my planned lesson would keep him engaged and motivated to stay with me for the next 45 minutes.
After he and his mom learned about my son, Scotty and his different learning style and abilities, they both seemed relieved and comforted that I "understood" this life of different abilities and special needs.
He calmed down and came back to the computer for our lesson. We chatted a bit. I tried to get a sense of how he stays engaged and my choice of using minecraft to talk about the map of the Camp of Half Bloods in the story was a win situation. It was a way to meet his creativity and one of his learning styles.
Mom walked behind him with a thumbs up as her way of approval of my approach. In that moment my insecurities subsided as I believe so did Mom's and student's. We are a team. Keeping him engaged and motivated to learn and to teach. Yes, he along with all my students past and present teach me every day. My son, Scotty and my students teach me every day why Differentiated Instruction is critical to enhance one's teaching. It is a way to motivate and engage students and teachers alike.
DI is not a dirty word. It is the key to motivate the unmotivated.
