D187 Task 2

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Western Oregon University *

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D187

Subject

Computer Science

Date

Oct 30, 2023

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pdf

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Uploaded by emilycalcagno

2050.4.2 : Analyzing Students Individual Differences Emily C Calcagno MSCIN Program, Western Governors University D187: DIFFERENTIATED INSTRUCTION Professor: Terrance Siler August 2023

Introduction Analyzing student's individual learning differences was conducted in my kindergarten classroom at a title 1 school in Portland, Oregon. I have 22 students with 12 girls and 12 boys. The age range in my classroom is 5 – 6 years of age. The native languages spoken in our classroom are English, Spanish, Somali, Swahili, and Karen. There is a total of 12 ELD (English language development) students, 4 IEP (Individualized education plan) students, 2 TAG students (Talented and Gifted Program), and 3 students on a BIP (Behavioral intervention plan). The math curriculum used is Bridges in Mathematics (The Math Learning Center, 2005) and the literacy curriculum used is HMH (Houghton Mifflin Harcourt). Determining Student Information Individual students’ learning preferences: At the start of the school year, I will conduct various strategies to identify my students' learning preferences. I will start by involving families by sending home a survey to learn more about my student's interests; both academic and non-academic. This survey will inform me about where my students are at, what they enjoy, and how they prefer to learn from the opinion of the families that know my student best. Another strategy I used to learn more about my student's learning preferences is through observations. During the first month of school, we focused more on rules and expectations, social skills, and building a classroom community. This allowed me to observe students who struggled with certain activities and those engaged in certain activities. Taking these notes, it helps me to understand the following: how students worked in a group vs. working individually, if students had difficulties focusing on certain activities, if students had seating preferences, if students had been overstimulated with certain activities/environments, if students needed to be closer or farther way from the whiteboard, if students needed more visuals/manipulatives to work through activities, if students learn best through oral, visual, or hands on instruction, or if students needed certain sensory items to help them focus (e.g., fidgets, weighted neck wrap, etc.) Intelligences: In Tomlinson’s book How to Differentiate Instruction in Academically Diverse Classrooms , she states, “ when students approach learning in ways that address their intelligence preferences, results are quite positive .” ( Tomlinson, 2017, p. 113) She then goes on to further state, “Teachers should not work from the assumption that a particular student will learn in the same way at different stages of learning, in different content areas, at different times of day, and across other contexts, and teachers should not label students by intelligence preference.” (Tomlinson, 2017, p. 113) With that being said, I will collect data on students' intelligence at the beginning of the year by giving students the options to choose their learning through choice boards. I will then take notes while observing students during literacy and math workplaces, and independent work time that reflect their engagement for certain activities.

I will continue using choice boards throughout the year to give students the opportunity to choose how they express their learning. For example, if we are doing a sight word activity, students have the option to trace sight words, write their sight words, or write a sentence using the sight word. By giving students these options to present their learning, it is providing students with a variety of differentiated strategies to show their learning best. Culture and gender influences: Throughout the school year, I used multiple strategies to help track data regarding culture and gender. One way I like to do so is by sending home a survey at the beginning of the school year that allows families to share more about their culture and gender backgrounds. I will also offer families the opportunity to send their child to school with family picture(s) that represent their cultural backgrounds to be posted in the classroom for students to connect to and feel seen within our classroom community. Another activity I provide students with is the option of volunteering in show and tell. This will allow students to bring item(s) to school that represent their backgrounds and cultures so that I can learn more about them and their peers. By learning more about my students' backgrounds, it gives me insight into my students lives and be culturally responsive to my students' personal and academic needs. Intrestests: At the beginning of the school year, I focused solely on building relationships with students and establishing a positive working environment for all students to thrive in. What I found to be the most successful way in doing so, is through morning meeting, closing circle, recess, and lunch bunch (groups of students that I have lunch within the classroom). I use these opportunities to dig deeper into who my students are, and what they enjoy in life using a casual approach. An example of how I track this data is by asking morning meeting questions that allow me to learn more about student interests. For example, asking students what their favorite animals, color, books, tv shows/movies, and sports/hobbies are. When asking students these questions, it not only builds rapport with one another, but allows me to use these details to motivate student learning. An example of this is if a student is seen to be less engaged and unmotivated to do an activity, I can implement things they enjoy into the lesson to encourage student engagement. If a student loves dinosaurs, and is struggling with addition within 5, I can create an assignment where students are using dinosaur pictures to help solve addition problems. Learner Profile

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Student Information Name: Jane Doe Age: 5 Grade: Kindergarten Learning Preferences • Student works best independently • Student is shy and does not prefer to participate in group activities • Student leans more towards working through activities that involve pictures and manipulatives, student is a visual learner and does well when given physical examples. Intelligences • My student loves hands-on activities, learning with visuals and examples, and enjoys creating/building to express their learning (playdoh, Legos, unfix cubes, pattern blocks). • My student does well in math and is at grade level but is below grade level in reading/writing. • My students also struggle in activities that do not involve visuals or hands on learning/manipulatives. Cultural and Gender Influences • My student was born in Mexico and speaks little English but is quick to understand when taught with visuals and physically showing examples. • Her family at home involves herself, her twin little sisters, and her mom. Her dad still lives in Mexico along with the rest of her family. • Her mom speaks little to no English, and her sisters at only 1 making it hard for my student to practice her English skills outside of school. • My student is soft spoken, and respectful. • She works hard and is dedicated to her education. • She is eager to make friends but has a challenging time doing so without support. Interests My student loves: • Drawing and coloring • Painting

• Playing with dolls/Barbies, • Dramatic play (puppets, kitchen, dolls, etc.) • Looking at books. Assessing Readiness The diagnostic assessment I will be conducting identifies and measures students' readiness to perform addition problems within 5 . The common core Oregon state standard that aligns with this assessment is: K.OA.1 Represent addition and subtraction with objects, fingers, mental images, drawings (Drawings need not show details, but should show the mathematics in the problem.(This applies wherever drawings are mentioned in the Standards.)), sounds (e.g., claps), acting out situations, verbal explanations, expressions, or equations. (Oregon Department of Education) To assess this standard, I will conduct a pre-assessment that will be administered 1:1 and ask students how to solve addition problems within 5. The questions will involve counting pictures, counting objects, counting using fingers, and using their own drawings to solve addition problems within 5. Purpose of Assessment The purpose of this assessment is to gain insight as to where my students are at, as well as guide me through planning instruction that will support my student's needs. This assessment will also show me my student's readiness for this topic, what skills students can present successfully, and what they may struggle with. By considering all these factors, I can fully grasp what I can do to help my students succeed in their upcoming learning. Design of Assessment for Readiness This math assessment is designed to help me understand students' readiness by for addition within 5. The assessment is created so that I can easily pinpoint what students excel in, as well as what students will need more support with. The design also allows me to determine if students comprehend vocabulary used (addition, sum, addends, add, plus, equals, etc.), understand what the question is asking them to do, and their overall their readiness of how to solve addition problem. After the assessment, I will be more aware of student understanding, and where learning gaps occur, and how I can help my students overcome these learning gaps. Distinguishing Readiness I will distinguish readiness by looking at notes I made during the assessment, and my student's overall score. There are 8 questions (2 questions for each category). The categories included are the following: solving addition problems within 5 using physical objects, using pictures, using fingers, and drawing their own pictures. • Students that score 4 or less correct: These students have little to no foundational knowledge about solving addition problems within 5. These students have learning gaps

regarding comprehension of vocabulary used (addition, sum, addends, etc.), understanding of what they question is asking them to do, and their overall readiness of how to solve additional problems. These students will need to be monitored closely once the addition units begins and will need extra assistance. I plan to help these students through intervention groups, frequent check-ins, and giving them feedback to help them grasp these concepts. • Students that score between 5-6 correct: These students show they have some foundational skills and have a good overall understanding of what is being asked of them. These students will follow along with the upcoming addition unit and will need little support. I will provide these students with check-ins, timely feedback, and potentially time for interventions depending on observations made during whole group, individual, and small group work time. • Students that score between 7-8 correct: These students show that they have the foundational skills and can comprehend the questions being asked. Students can answer questions proficiently and timely. These students have shown readiness to start the addition unit and will need to be challenged throughout the unit. If there are any gaps I noticed during this assessment, I will address these needs throughout the unit by monitoring their learning, giving timely feedback, providing opportunities for higher- level thinking, and engaging students in enrichment groups. References Oregon Department of Education. “Common Core State Standards for Mathematics.” Oregon.gov , Oregon Department of Education, 2010, www.oregon.gov/ode/educator- resources/standards/mathematics/Documents/ccssmk.pdf. Tomlinson, C. A. (2017). How to differentiate instruction in academically diverse classrooms. ASCD.

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