My first observation was in a Grade 1 classroom and it was lively! While I would really like to ramble on and on about all the amazing things that went on in this classroom, I'm going to do my best to focus specifically on ways in which the teacher differentiated for her students.
- Participation - While participation is an important aspect of any class activity, there is a certain amount of grace given to this particular rule in Grade 1. While most students automatically join in on the activity, there were some that were reluctant for a number of reasons. One student was left to sit for a little while, as it was clear they were not yet ready to "greet the day." Eventually this student was encouraged to join in with a warm smile and a wave over. Another student in the class isn't always forced to participate as authority has to be enforced in a very particular way in order to keep things from escalating. The flexibility seen in this rule was not unique, and it quickly became clear that flexibility is the name of the game in differentiation.
- Acknowledgement and Attention - It is clear in this and any classroom, that some students just need more attention than others. At the same time, it is important to acknowledge those who are on task, or exhibiting the appropriate behaviour a high-five or a pat on the back. In the same way a light touch (a scratch of the head, or back rub) helps students who were off task move into the right activity without any words at all. In fact this particular teacher was doing just that while having a discussion with another student. Talk about multi-tasking! In the same way, you have to find a balance in when to give attention and when not to, particularly for students who become a behavioural concern when given too much attention. There's one particular student who tends to leave the classroom periodically. As the teacher explained to me afterward, sometimes they are looking for a little attention, but more often, they just need a break. The student walks up and down the hallway for a bit and the teacher checks on them periodically. This way the teacher knows that safety isn't a concern, but also doesn't cause a big scene.
I also had the amazing privilege of sitting in on an older, split class. This class takes differentiation to a whole new level! On the one hand, there is almost constant differentiation just because of the grade split. The teacher informed me that, while most instruction is given together, there are occasional times (like during my observation period) when instruction is different from one grade to the other. This class also has a wide variety of learners, ages and abilities. One of the things I found so interesting was that the teacher scribed for several of the students. At first I found this a little odd, but afterwards I discussed it with the teacher. She explained that sometimes the point of the exercise is (obviously) not about writing it down, but communicating the idea. And this is so true! We use writing as a communication tool, but also as an assessment tool all the time. In understanding that some students don't have this skill, or that this skill doesn't match their comprehensive skill, we as teachers become so much more aware of the actual task at hand. To me this was so enlightening.
While I have so many more things to share, I feel like I should leave it there for now. Thanks for reading!