Reflection: Final Blog Post - 6714

Throughout my past Walden University course, we have been exploring many of the techniques and strategies that can be used to reach and engage all learners through the support of technology. The main focus of the class revolved around how critical it is for today’s educators to differentiate instruction. One of the techniques that I have already started using is flexible grouping. According to Smith & Throne (2007), flexible groups are important because they mimic some of the social and work relationships that students will someday have to negotiate, and allow them to practice future job-related skills (p. 113). My students are organized into heterogeneous groups. This provides them with several opportunities throughout the day to support each other’s needs and share their diverse learning abilities.

Another resource that I would like to include is GoogleDocs. GoogleDocs provides students with the capability to collaborate both within the classroom and from their own personal computers outside of the classroom hours. I would also like to begin posting a discussion thread to our class website so students can discuss topics outside of the classroom walls. This will provide some of the more introvert type of students with an opportunity to clearly/confidently express their thoughts. Wikis and Webquests are some additional tools that will help to give my students the types of 21st century skills and differentiated instruction they need to be successful.

A final teaching method that I have taken away from this course is applying many of the universal design for learning (UDL) techniques we explored. The CAST website has several great teaching resources that I definitely plan to implement into my own classroom. Overall, the learning experience I have had in this course has helped me to gain a much stronger understanding of how to effectively differentiate instruction to help create stronger connections for my students.

References:

Laureate Education, Inc. (Executive Producer). (2009). Reaching and Engaging All Learners Through Technology. Baltimore: Author.

Smith, G., & Throne, S. (2007). Differentiating Instruction with Technology in K-5 Classrooms. Belmont, CA: International Society for Technology in Education.
Retrieved from Education Research Complete database.