Final Reflection- Walden Course 6714

The “Waldening” Differentiation Station network that I used over the past eight weeks was a great learning experience as a student and an educator. I am amazed by the possibilities that social networking provides. I was able to get to know my colleagues at Walden University a bit more, when we live so far apart from one another. We were able to share resources, tools, and ideas that would help us with a Differentiated Classroom (DI) and with using Universal Design for Learning (UDL). I believe that this type of social networking tool would work great among colleagues in a school that may not have a lot of time for more meetings.

Dr. Tomlinson suggests that, “Many teachers successfully start differentiating instruction with small, well-organized changes” (Tomlinson, 1999, p.2). The immediate small, organized steps that I will make to my instructional practice are differentiating my instruction with the use of technology. In the past, I naively believed that differentiation meant a different curriculum or program for each student and I could not envision how I could pull it off. Now, I realize that UDL, DI, and technology together are the keys to successful implementation. I know that learning about my student’s interest, readiness, and learning profiles are key to starting the process. I have created an online survey that I plan to have my students take at the beginning of the year to learn about their interests and learning styles. I am armed with new technological tools to engage and excite my students in the learning process. I will also teach my students how to do an “anchor activity” so that they may do purposeful work individually to allow the differentiation process to occur (Tomlinson, 1999, p.2).

My new job this year encompasses the role of some literacy and technology coaching within the school. I am excited about the tools I can share with other teachers, mainly technology tools that can aide in differentiation and literacy learning. I already have a partnership with a few teachers this year who want to share ideas and plan units together around DI and UDL. My first plan is to introduce them to www.cast.org resources. I will also share a Screencast with my staff that I created about UDL and DI.

“It’s better to do a few things well. Set goals for yourself, and stick with them, but make sure they are reasonable goals” (Tomlinson, 1999, p.3). I have picked a few things that I will do immediately and I will see where my plan goes from there. I am excited about the changes that will occur within my classroom this year and cannot wait to see the changes to my student’s achievement.


References:
Tomlinson, C. (1999). Differentiated classroom: Responding to the needs of all learners. Alexandria, VA: Association for Supervision & Curriculum Development. Retrieved from the Walden Library ebrary.