Surveys and Inventories

Fulfilling the Promise, pp. 100‐103; How might you use the information this would produce, in differentiating? What would you, personally, want to add to or remove from this inventory? Explain.

Well there is a lot of good that comes from simply asking the students what they like and how they learn. The surveys found on pages 100-103 I liked for different reasons. The first one I like because it is simple and quick for those students who have a hard time focusing on these types of tasks. However, I don't think it goes into as much detail as I would like. If I were taking the survey I would want to explain my answer and why one of the statements kind of sounds like me, rather than saying it is or it is not. There's no place for explanations. If I were to give my students this survey I would tweak it a little so they have a place to explain their answers. However, if I'm just looking for a quick idea on my students' personalities then this would work well as it is.


The second survey goes into more detail about the student. I think this can give me more incite on my students' interests and personalities. This is more time consuming for both me and my students, but it goes more into depth and gives a more accurate representation of the student. For younger grades I would probably want to give some examples for some of the questions. They may be too broad for some students to really be able to think of an answer. Like the question, "What are some ways of learning that work for you?" By the question I could write some examples like memorization, visual aids (pictures, objects), writing/taking notes, repeating information, making up songs/poems, reading, etc.


By having my students fill these surveys out I can gather information about how my students learn, their background, and what motivates them. With that information I can then adapt my lessons to fit their needs and personalities. If I utilize the information I will be able to create lessons and assessments that are more meaningful, and where every student has an opportunity to learn and understand what I am teaching. That's my goal in teaching! I want all my students to have the opportunity to succeed, so why wouldn't I adapt my lessons to fit their needs.

What are some relationships you see between this variety of inventory types, and what we are beginning to learn about differentiating content, or process, or product for readiness, or learning profile, or interest?

I loved all these inventories and I'm so glad to now have examples of them! A lot of these inventories are good for students to reflect on how they feel about assignments, how they do them, and if there is anything they can work on. I think it would be very interesting to have my students take a few of these surveys at the beginning of the year and then again at the end, and even perhaps in the middle of the school year just so not only I can see their progress but they will see it as well.

I can use the information provided by these surveys in many other ways such as:

• planning my lessons-discover their learning styles, what areas they are struggling in, what points they have already mastered and I just need to do a brief review.
  
• creating tests or other forms of assessments-Some students do poorly on written tests even if they know the answers. I can find other ways to test my students' knowledge. My assessments should correlate with my lessons. Students should know what I will be testing them on. I can first use what I find from surveys to discover what they don't already know to create an assessment, and then create a unit from my assessment.
  
• designing homework assignments-do my students need assignments that are more interactive, less time-consuming or a little bit easier because they don't have help from home.
  
• placing children in groups-If I notice that several students are missing something, I can create a lesson or unit for the whole class on that issue. If there are a few students who have similar results I'll break them into groups and provide activities for those different groups centered on what they need further instruction.
  Not only can I group students by abilities or needs, I can also group them by interests and common learning styles. Pairing students that struggle in a certain area with others who have mastered the concept, may be good too. Perhaps the student who has mastered the concept can explain it to the struggling student in a different way that makes more sense than I explain in class.
• self reflection- A couple of the inventories would be good for students to have easy access to so they can make personal checks as they are reading or writing to make sure they are making the most of the experience.
  

There are several ways I can use the surveys provided in my classroom. Surveys are a valuable way to learn quickly how I can adapt and create the best possible curriculum for my students. I am so excited to have so many now that I use in my future classroom.

Fulfilling the Promise chapters 1&2

1) Carol Tomlinson mentions "definitions" or partial definitions of differentiation in chapter one. What makes sense to you, in attempting to define differentiation?

To me differentiation means adapting all aspects of the classroom to fit each individual student's needs. Not just lesson plans, but my attitude, interactions with my students, my rules and expectations, my letters home, the environment I create for my classroom, the way I discipline my students, and how I reward and praise them.

In order to adapt in a way that my students need, I will have to do my own research on my students and go beyond the classroom. I need to find out about their families, traditions, cultures, lifestyle, learning strategies, interests, goals, and personalities.

It can be very overwhelming thinking about how to do all that for each individual student when I know they will all be very different. I think that it will take practice and I will need to find a good balance so that I will not be stretched so thin that it puts all my efforts in vain.

In my ESL class we've been discussing this topic. We watched a news segment done on The Freedom Writers. I believe that teacher performed differentiation beautifully with her students. During our discussion someone in our class shared the realization that the teacher was able to find a common starting point where they all could relate. That made it a lot easier for the teacher. Perhaps, I can find something that relates to all the students to start off with and so they all have a common ground. Then I can focus on the individuals within that topic. (I hope that makes sense! )

2b) There are two powerful insights on page 12 of Fulfilling the Promise -- powerful to me, anyway. Are there any statements, quotes or insights that "speak" to YOU, from chapter one and/or chapter two? Explain.

Chapter 2, page 15: "until a human has basic human needs attended to, until that human feels safe, until that human feels a sense of belonging, energies cannot go to learning." I really liked this passage. The first concern a teacher should have for their students is making sure their basic needs are met. If one of those areas is lacking their bodies and minds cannot focus on anything other than that basic need. I also feel very strongly that a classroom should be a safe, friendly environment for everyone. As a teacher I will need to look beyond the surface to make sure I know if one of my students is lacking a basic need.

I also really liked in Chapter 2 how Tomlinson talked about purpose. So many times in school I have wondered, "why are we doing this?". I think that it is important to make the purpose of each assignment clear for the students. If I know I have to report to my class why I am having them do a particular assignment, it will be a good check for me to make sure that there is a clear and good purpose for having them do that activity or assignment. This will get rid of busy work and meaningless activities. Really, I will have very little time for everything that needs to be taught, so I need to make the most of it. If students understand why assignments are given to them, and if it is a legitimate reason, then they will generally put more sincere effort into their work.

And finally, the very end of Chapter 2 gave several scenarios of students whose teacher thinks they are being accommodating, but are not seeing the whole picture. This was an eye opener to me. When the teacher is just looking at the group as a whole, or at the individuals on the surface, they are missing what really may be going on. Sometimes the teacher just does what they think should be done without following up and seeing if it really is working. That was the case for Lee. His teacher put him in groups because she thought it would benefit him and make him feel included, when really it made him very uncomfortable and feel alone. It's not that the teacher wanted him to suffer, it's just she didn't take the time to see if her plan was really working. I need to make sure I am aware of what is really going on and always follow up with my students to see what is working and what is not.

It's Me!

1. What is your favorite book for kids… something you would like to use in your future classroom? Why do you like it? I love all of the Berenstain Bears books. There is pretty much a book for every lesson I would want to teach my students. I remember reading them as a child and loving them, and not even realizing they were all teaching me lessons. They are great books and I enjoy the pictures as well.

2. Name your three favorite T.V. shows, even if you don’t have time to watch them! What can you (or what are you willing to) tell me about your T.V. viewing habits? I’ll tell you mine if you’ll tell me yours!

• I love The Office. I've never watched it on TV. I always have to catch up online or rent a season when I have time. It always makes me laugh and want to watch more!

• I also love watching America's Funniest Home videos. My husband thinks I'm a nerd, but I just love it! It also makes me laugh all the time.

• And third I love watching HGTV. Pretty much any show on that channel I like to watch with my mom when we get together.
  

3. Do you collect anything? Tell about your collections: I've collected movie tickets since I was in 5th grade. Every movie I've been to I have the ticket stub for from 5th grade to about two years ago. I eventually just quite caring. ha, I don't know why I started or stopped. :)
My husband LOVES The Simpsons. Anything Simpsons he loves. Whenever there is a claw game he has to check for Simpsons stuff, and if there is any he is determined to win it. Luckily he is really good at the claw games.

4. Do you keep any kind of a journal (or blog?) besides this one? Tell me about it, and what you like to write about: I have another blog. tylerandkara.blogspot.com I write about the different activities or events Tyler and I participate in. I post pictures and share stories about our lives.

5. If you had to be the sponsor of an after-school group, select your 1st, 2nd & 3rd choices:
_1_ contemporary moral issues _2_peer relationships
__national security __world peace
__career opportunities & choices __art or music appreciation
__gender issues __ethnicity issues
__death & dying _3_sports
__book club __writers group
__ecology __tutoring

6. Have you ever taken art lessons or attended art classes outside of school? Tell about your artistic talent and/or interests: I never attended an art class or received lessons. I enjoy doing crafts to decorate my apartment.

7. Have you ever taken music lessons or belonged to musical groups outside of school? Tell about your musical talent and/or interests: I took a keyboarding class one summer while I was in Elementary school. I took voice lessons for about a year when I was 13. I love to sing, but I'm not very good at it. ha! I love music.

8. Have you ever taken dance lessons or belonged to dance groups? Tell about your dance talent and/or interests:I took two beginner modern dance classes when I was in high school. I loved it!

9. Have you ever taken drama classes or performed in a theater production? Tell about your theater talents and/or interests: In my early teen years I took theater classes at the Hale Center Theater. That was probably my favorite extra curricular activity I did in my teen years along with track. I loved being on stage and being a character. And this unlike the above activities, I actually felt like I was pretty good at it. :)

10. What have I not asked you, that you would like me to know about you? Sports! :D In Jr. high every Tuesday and Thursday I would carpool with three other friends up to Midway for cross-country ski training at Soldier Hollow. Then most Saturdays there would be ski races where we would compete with other x-country ski teams. Doing this really boosted my self esteem. I made long lasting friends, got into amazing shape, and even me my husband on the ski team! It was hard work, but it was a blast at the same time.