Teaching in the Key of Jocelyn: Challenging One-Size-Fits-All Education
By Stephen Hurley
4/10/08
Like many of you, I grew up with a one-size-fits-all approach to school. I remember clearly the few teachers that allowed me to explore things on my own terms -- and, interestingly enough, these were the school experiences that had the greatest impact on me.
Our arts@newman initiative is an attempt to bring that sense of exploration into students' experience of school. Even though we have embarked on something rather creative here, there is still a great deal of room for thinking about our practice in terms of our ability to connect with students.
I had an "A-ha!" moment this month as we were putting finishing touches on a musical production. I had one more solo to assign, and the usual suspects were eager to volunteer. Out of the corner of my eye I noticed that Jocelyn had put her hand up to indicate her willingness to take on the song. Jocelyn was one of those dedicated choir members that, despite her diligence, didn't display the confidence or the vocal range to take on a solo role. At least, that was my initial impression.
Jocelyn didn't want to audition for the piece in front of the others, so I asked her to come back during the afternoon recess break to try the song on for size. The problem was that no matter how hard I tried, I could not get her to reach the opening note. She knew the song but consistently started about four or five notes lower than expected. I didn't know how to tell her that we would need to wait for a song that was a better match for her vocal range.
Then it hit me: Why not transpose the piece so that it matched her range? It took only a moment or two to make the musical adjustment, and we were off and running. Suddenly this young lady was singing in perfect tune. As we rehearsed over the next week, she developed both confidence and style.
The night of the performance marked the first time she had ever sung solo in public, and it was a special evening for Jocelyn and her family. For me, it was one of those moments in which a new insight was revealed about this place we call school: The challenge of differentiated instruction is all about learning to teach in a number of different keys. It's not always about some students being able to meet the expectations, while others fall short. Instead, it's about really believing that all students can succeed, given the right context and environment.
What's your story? Do you have "A-ha!" moments that have caused you to think about your practice in a different way? Do you remember a teacher who "changed the key" so that you could experience success?
One Size Fits all Education
Submitted by Christian (not verified) on September 27, 2008 - 06:11.
This is my first full year of teaching and believe it or not I have had several “A-ha!” moments already. However, there is one “A-ha!” moment that just recently happened this week and it was amazing! I have one student in my multiple disabilities classroom that has several behaviors that constantly are displayed and his behaviors are pretty extreme which disrupts the entire classroom. I was becoming really frustrated with myself because I could not figure out what was triggering these behaviors and why this student was constantly going off.
One of my instructional aides was absent one day this past week and I decided to place the substitute aide with this student. My thinking was that maybe this would be something different and it would give me time to observe this student to see what the trigger might be. To my surprise it worked and I did find what the problem was. This student needs constant attention and that was the reason why the behaviors were being presented. As soon as the student was left to do something independent the behaviors triggered. I also figured out that when I wanted the student to work with me I needed to say something like we are going to play a game together instead of we are going to work now. This made a world of difference and it was like the light bulb finally shined down upon the entire room.
The next day my instructional aide was still absent and there was another subsitute and I thought immediately oh man here we go again because it is another change and I was sure that the behaviors would be presented as any other day. However, I made my mind up and I continued to do the same thing I did with the student yesterday and sure enough having the adult right next to him constantly leaving his side only for short amounts of time actually worked. He was able to do his work and had no incidents. I am hoping that this will work for next week however; I think it might because I was able to observe the situation and the “A-ha!” moment finally happened for me.
Every Child Is Different
Submitted by Kimberly (not verified) on September 24, 2008 - 19:11.
This is my first full year of teaching. I started teaching a multiple disabilities class in January of 2008. I had my “A-ha” moment last week. One of my students was having behavioral problems; I couldn’t pin point what was causing them. On Wednesday, I took my students to the library and asked each student to pick a book out. One of my students found his book first; therefore, I sat him down to read his book to him. He opened the book and started reading! I was amazed because his IEP (Indivual Educational Plan) had him matching and identifying letters. Nothing on it said he could read! If he was able to read this meant his IEP goals were to low for him. I came to the conclusion his work was to easy for him and this was why he was acting out because he was frustrated with the level of his work. Another observation I made is that this boy is a kinetic learner, which means he has to be moving while learning. I have three aides in my classroom which helps me to be able to meet this child’s needs. I tend to work with more visuals in my classroom since most of my students are visual learners. Therefore, I had to change my method of teaching for this one student so he would gain more information from the material I presented to him. Just changing how I presented the information to this student helped 100% in his learning and behaviors!
The teacher who adapted the material for me when I was a student was Mrs. Sinkovick. She was one of my elementary teachers. She helped me to become successful in my school work! I was a hands-on, visual learner, which wasn’t what the other teachers used to teach their material at the time. They used books, worksheets, and lectured to us daily. Mrs. Sinkovich opened so many doors for me! She taught me spelling words by letting me write in shaving cream and sand. She used hands-on materials to teach me my adding and subtracting facts and she taught me to use a highlighter to highlight important information on worksheets. I still use this technique to this day!
Diverse Students
Submitted by Angela C. (not verified) on July 23, 2008 - 15:53.
Kottler, Zehm, and Kottler (2005) suggest that "Although it takes time to know your students and analyze the learning styles of the students, if you do, you will be rewarded with the relationships you build with your students and their accomplishments" (p. 33). As I enter my third year of teaching, I truly believe that each child is special and each child has the ability to learn. While it is true that each individual student does not learn in the same way, I deem that all children have the ability to grasp knowledge, and apply their understanding. As an educator, one must be dedicated to attaining and utilizing the teaching skills to meet the needs of each individual by differentiating instruction and by making the various concepts and strategies more relevant and meaningful.
Educational professionals are consistently working with a diverse group of students varying in learning style preferences and educational levels. A teacher must be devoted to customizing lessons and differentiating instruction according to students’ distinct abilities. It is crucial that one recognizes and addresses the importance of this diversity, keeping in mind Howard Gardner’s multiple intelligences. Through the application of multiple instructional strategies, an educator truly provides one’s students with the resources they need to become successful and independent learners as they transfer and apply their knowledge and understanding.
Egalitarianism is truly important in a classroom, therefore it is vital that an educator identify the importance of adapting the curriculum to the students’ levels of understanding, giving all student access to the curriculum and treating each child fairly. Teachers should aspire to set high standards, allowing each child to work from his/her individual levels, and commit oneself in doing everything in one’s power to enable him/her to attain those standards. By treating each child as an individual throughout one’s everyday actions, thoughts, and words, one is truly showing compassion and genuine care for one’s students’ learning. Through varied assessment, delivery of instruction, and practice, each child is given the opportunity to grow and develop in responsible and flourishing life long learners. Not only will a teacher increase his/her effectiveness, but one will assist one’s students in building self efficacy and self confidence, valuing one’s uniqueness and appreciating one’s classmates’ individualities.
Kottler, J.A., Zehm, S.T., Kottler, E. (2005). On being a teacher: The human dimension (3rd ed.). Thousand Oaks, California: Corwin Press.
Challenging One Size Fits All Education
Submitted by Stefanie (not verified) on July 22, 2008 - 17:51.
OK, my a-ha moment was in college during one of my math education courses. I was not aware of all the different strategies for teaching math concepts. I was like a kid in a toy store, not to mention it was my first exposure to math manipulatives. I came from the old school of teaching where everything was taught one way. For example, I was told to memorize "my" multiplication facts. Well, I wasn't very good at memorizing something that I didn't understand. That's right, no one had explained how multiplication worked either. This class changed my whole perspective about teaching. It didn't take long for me to realize that my students did not learn the same way, so I had to provide different ways for students to learn. Differentiated instruction is very challenging because of planning and management in the classroom. However, you better believe that my students in third grade are taught many different strategies to solve multiplication facts before I ever mention the word "memorize". It is very important that students can choose the strategy that works best for them whether it means drawing an array, using manipulatives, etc... I find that students show a greater understanding of math when they can choose their own method. It is sad that my report card says "Stefanie needs to memorize those time tables" when that was the only way I was expected to learn them. We must stop expecting all students to learn the same way. We must give them a chance to succeed by finding the best pathway.
Challenging One-Size-Fits-All Education
Submitted by Lauren Seward (not verified) on July 21, 2008 - 10:07.
I just completed my first year of teaching first grade. Every day we had a block of time for writing workshop and I was exhausted after this time every day. After a few stories that we wrote together as a class, using the writing process, it was time for my students to write all on his/her own. I was nervous to see how much they grasped from my teaching and how well they could apply what I taught. I soon found out that some had a horrible time. I had the “A-ha!” moment when I realized that how I write a story might be completely different from how a student might write a story. I observed that some students can not write down ideas and turn these ideas into sentences with a beginning, middle and end. I decided to model different ways on how to pre-write. I had some students draw a picture and then turn that picture into words. Around Halloween time, I had students decorate a pumpkin and write a story about their pumpkin. I learned that not all students can just pick up a pencil and create a story like I can. Once I allowed for students to pre-write in the way that worked well for them, I saw amazing results. Some students decided to add more details to their story after they finished illustrating a picture for their story. It brings tears to my eyes knowing that my students could write along, they just needed to write how they know how to write, not necessarily how I taught them to write.
Washing a dog.....
Submitted by C. Smith (not verified) on May 28, 2008 - 12:34.
Your blog reminded me of a time when I asked my 2nd graders, living in a poor urban area, to write a "how to" story about giving a dog a bath. I realized within 10 minutes of this exercise that the majority of my class did not have any experiences with animals. I quickly realized that I would have to provide the experience for my students. The next day I arranged for my husband to bring our dog to school and as a class, we mastered the art of washing a dog.
That day, many years ago, was my AHA! teaching moment. I realized that adjusting to and providing experiences for my students will always be a top priority for me as a teacher. I applaud your efforts in adjusting your material to your student.
Challenging One-Size-Fits-All Education
Submitted by Tony (not verified) on May 28, 2008 - 06:57.
Being able to alter lessons and activities according to learners' abilities is a very complicated skill that educators only learn with specific experience. In an ideal world, all lessons would be associated with the skills and talents of each student learning the lesson, but it is difficult to alter a lesson 25 different ways.
A teacher must consider the most extreme circumstances when planning lessons. Most students will fall into the category of being able to learn any lesson no matter how it is presented. But there are the select few students that must have lessons and activities changed according to their learning styles for them to succeed as students, which is obviously the most important aspect of education.
Challenging One-Size-Fits-All Education
Submitted by Amy C. (not verified) on May 27, 2008 - 12:30.
I agree that is important for students to have an active role in their education. One way is by allowing them to choose what topic they want to learn/read more about. Another good way to address each child's individual learning needs is by completing projects over one topic, but allow each student to choose the way they would like to complete it: poster, story, song, etc. Activities such as these are when I see the children in my class truly enjoying their learning experience.
One Size Does Not Fit All
Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on May 28, 2008 - 19:13.
I had the opportunity to allow students to choose projects for math (4th grade) that were open ended. It was fun and challenging to the students. They chose to create board games, tests, or power point slides of math fairy tales. It was so much fun watching the creativity spill out of each project. Students took the time to 'test out' their classmate's projects and gave feedback for corrections. The most important piece about this set up was that students worked in groups, collaborating.
Wow! That is all I can
Submitted by Kristyn Copeland (not verified) on May 27, 2008 - 07:03.
Wow! That is all I can really think right now is wow! That was an amazing and an inspiring story. So often, if something doesn't work for one child, we find another child for it to work for, which is probably what most in your position would have done. Differentiated instruction is one of those areas that I constantly find myself striving to do better in. It is the key to success for our students, but it is so difficult to do. I would love to be able to take a workshop on how to better implement this strategy into my classroom.
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