Student Grouping and Differentiation

When I think of student grouping, I think about group work to solving a problem. For me, student grouping isn’t just putting students in groups according to their learning styles but grouping them together to be successful. When I group students, one student is strong in the subject and the other is SPED. The stronger student is aware of the partnership and agrees to work with that student. I’ve observed several classes where teachers have grouped students based on learning styles. In my eyes, this way doesn’t work. My stronger students form a friendship when they work with lower students. Most teachers wouldn’t see this as a positive but for me it is. Stronger advanced students normally don’t socialize with lower students but getting them to talk and interact makes them form a friendship. Stronger students are helping and guiding the lower student to the correct answer which boost both student’s confidence in the subject.

I’m not saying that my way is perfect because I nothing is perfect about teaching. I’ve learned in my two years, that you learn from mistakes and feedback. I do have some stronger students who will become impatient and just do all the work. They look for the answers, pretend that they’re reading together and give the answers without actually helping the lower students. If this is done, no one in the group benefits. This is where you build a rapport with your students. I know my students. I can look at them and see when something is not right. This is the situation that you would pull that rapport into effect. However, I am saying that grouping students who will genuinely help each other will benefit social skills and confidence.

Before becoming a teacher, I’ve always liked student grouping. When I was in middle school, those days of group work meant the most. I learned from my friends what I couldn’t learn from the teacher. I’ve always been told that students learn from their friends faster than their teachers and it’s true. The light bulb went off when a friend explained and because I know this by experience group work for my class is mandatory. For both classes, language arts and science, I have my students conducting labs or writer workshops.

Student grouping is just another form of differentiation for me. I modify a lot of my instructional time to meet every need. What I’ve observed the most is music. My students love music. So I’ve add music to everything. I added music to my power-points, I play Kids Bop during class work, and I play educational raps for them. These raps are not only entertaining but they comprehend the information. Modifying lessons can be hard especially if you’re limited on time but the outcome is greater. "All students need to reach the same goals, some will take more time and others will take less time to do so" (Slavin, 2014, p.224).

What makes an effective lesson?

    What defines an effective lesson?  Is it the engaging strategies that leave the students asking for more?  Is it the building background segment or intense discussions?  How about the fun creative review games right before a test?  I would like to think that an effective lesson contains all of those elements plus more.

    When I think of effective lessons, I think of great discussions and student interaction. I think of my middle school days and the lessons that stood out to me.  Mrs. Renfrow was my favorite teacher.  She taught Language Arts and Reading and every day in her class was different.  Of course we did morning work, homework review, and silent reading but the actual lesson was different.  Book discussions reeled us in and kept our interest in each chapter.  From the time the lesson started, she had our attention.  We left her class wondering why, researching why, and creating questions for the next day.

    What defines an effective lesson?  Your student’s involvement!  Teaching is not all about giving tests and grading papers.  It’s about making your students feel welcome and comfortable enough to open up.  Effective lessons are the ones that take a couple of days to plan.  It builds off of background knowledge and allows students to investigate indefinite possibilities.  It includes different strategies that targets different learning styles.  Direct instruction, modeling examples, and independent practice are all major elements in an effective lesson.

    For me, an effective lesson is getting my students involved throughout the entire lesson.  A great introduction explaining the lesson’s objective, reviewing previous skills, introducing the new materials, and checking for understanding.  I know that’s probably the layout for every lesson but an effective lesson makes a personal connection with each student.  “Conducting effective lessons is at the heart of the teacher’s craft (Slavin, 2014, p.162). 

Information Processing Theory

    Getting 6th graders to process information is like pulling teeth for the Toothfairy. Everyone needs to do it but it can be a headache at times. Reading this chapter, I've learned that in order to get my students learning I have to introduce material into their working memory. This is the active part of their brain where they link any background knowledge and make sense of anything new. 

    Going through the different stages, I can see what subjects go with what stages. For example, I teach Earth Science and one concept that I teach is the different types of minerals. During this section, we introduce the Mohs Hardness Scale. This scale tells the students how hard a mineral is compared to another. When I am teaching this, students are using the sensory register part of their memory. Along with receiving the new information, they are using their sense of smell, touch, sight, and sometimes taste to understand the difference in minerals. In order to get this information to stick, I have to be conscious of how much information I give them at one time. If my students aren't told this is important, they will not remember it.

    Another very important detail I got out of chapter five is the way I introduce my lessons. Even though, I know my students will not remember everything I teach them if they remember 75% of the information I will be just as happy. When you introduce something new, you should always try to include a couple of things. First, you should build background. See, if your students already know something about the subject. When I open a discussion, I listen to my students to see if they know or if they know of by family members. "Instructional strategies that actively involve students in lessons contribute to long-term retention (Slavin, 2014, p.132). 

    Second, grab their attention. Every lesson should open with an attention grabber. Once you have their interest, it is hard for them to take the attention off of you. They are like little fishes hooked on your every word then. For me, every day is a different introduction. I can introduce one concept five different ways just so I reach all of my students. One day, I may introduce with Mr. Lee's Rock Cycle Rap. The next day I may introduce with Bill Nye and then I may introduce with Science Bob. As I'm introducing these lessons, I sit with my students and do the work with them. When we take notes, I have them think about what is important and lead the way to success. This way students are learning and putting their own work into their long term memory bank. I'm not forcing the learning but we are doing the learning together. The information processing theory will help any teacher be more effective throughout the year. A good teacher should always remember learning new information is not always easy but getting the students involved can help any information transfer over to their long term memory.