Robert

=Robin Robert= Monday, August 17, 2009

Differentiated Instruction is the practice of using different strategies and approaches to reach all students. It is giving advanced students the opportunity to explore concepts in more depth, average students the opportunity to learn concepts in detail and below average students the knowledge and exposure of the concepts. In DI, all students are being challenged and are engaged in the classroom.

How do we connect district initiatives to our classroom practices? I am unsure what all of the initiatives are and how we can include all of them into our instruction. Perhaps once I know what all of the initiatives mean, I will be better able to incorporate them into my classroom.

How many major understandings should there be for each unit? Is there a limit?

I understand that assessment and instruction are inseparable, but how can you make sure ALL students understand the material?

Tuesday, August 18, 2009

I find it interesting that some standards are so vague, like in Art, while others are very specific, like in Social Studies. One of the complaints Math teachers have is that we do not have time to teach all the material in the allotted time; we feel stressed to get the material completed by the time we have the NYS test, that we feel the students are not receiving an appropriate education. In reading the information in Chapter 3, it is understandable that we feel this way. If all teachers were to be able to reach the benchmarks and standards necessary, we would have to add 9 years to school! That is a lot!.

I like the idea of planning backward. It is difficult for me to do, but I would like be able to accomplish planning backward this year. I really think it will help in the long run.