Well, I'm still around, but haven't been talkative for a while. Sorry about that. I would love to read this book along with someone else. I've been drafted dept chair for the new year AND we are going to small learning communities with High Schools that Work and these are some of the same concepts that I am needing to implement.
Hi, Lynn!! Glad you're still around! We miss you!! It's great to hear you are so involved in school. Of course they were going to grab you and put you in a leadership position; that's what you are good at! Good luck, and you will do a fantastic job!
This will not be a face-to-face discussion/reading; just online. Lynn, what is the population of the students (demographics) at your school?
I skimmed over a few of the chapters in this book and feel that it is a good resource for differentiating. I differentiate extensively in my classroom and find that my students progress more quickly with this teaching style. It's worth the extra effort. I'm especially interested in the chapter on setting up a gradebook to reflect differentiation. Thank you Kelly for inviting me to join your discussion board. Katherine
I don't think we differentiate much in secondary - unfortunately - and it needs to be done. Secondary teachers can learn a lot from elementary teachers. When I got my Master's, I went through with a cohort group and 6 of the 7 were elementary teachers; I learned so much from them!
I've only skimmed it, myself, but am looking forward to this weekend to read it more closely. Thanks for sharing your thoughts!
Kelly
This message has been edited by kfrankum on Jun 22, 2006 3:02 PM
Kelly et al, I agree with you--I have learned so much from elementary teachers and so much from my Early Childhood masters. Secondary is so content driven--I just wish that everyone would make the turn to understanding about how students learn and caring about students as individuals! How People Learn by Bransford is probably the best read on this topic.
I only have read the first chapter so far, but am very impressed. It got me thinking about all the ways that life in general is differientated, and all the ways we adjust to the needs of our students on a daily basis. Isn't that what good teaching is about. Thanks for posting the book, Kelly
I got a chance to take a closer look at this over the weekend. I found it very useful and interesting, also validating. I know that we all differentiate in all sorts of ways; it doesn't have to be so "formal." Meeting the needs of individual students is what we do on a regular basis, and it's good to see ways to help us do that.