I have found that planning for different levels of differentiation makes a huge impact on engagement and understanding. I differentiated my warm-up, where it had three levels that students could work through. Here is the succession:
Warm-up + activity Find v2
Ptot = 15kg*m/s
P1 = 12kg*m/s 6kg Thumbs up Thumbs down Thumbs down if youre stuck.
Thumbs up if you know how to solve. Thumbs down - HINTS Ptot = P1 + P2 Ptot = P1 + m2*v2 If you are still stuck come to Melissas table If you have finished, describe what this equation means: m1v1 + m2v2 = m1f*v1f + m2f*v2f What does the f stand for? What do you think this means? Reflection on Personal Growth Compare my differentiated warm-up to this warm-up from the beginning of the year.
Warm up: Explain how to add & subtract vectors on the same line (1D, 1 dimension) If you get stuck, write an example and explain it. Reflection on Personal Growth. I learned very quickly that well written directions are worth the time it takes to develop them. I had to step away from my college experience to explain ideas/directions fully. The warm-up in the beginning of the year was not bad but it was definitely NOT a three tiered differentiated warm-up that provided extra support to struggling learners and opportunities to expand and apply concepts for advanced learners. Thank you I would like to thank Rachel, Marcia, and Chris for being amazing mentors and creating an environment where I feel that everyone of you are family to me. You have helped us to grow and to come into our own with a patience and ease that made us feel safe to make mistakes but brave enough to make them. Thank you Whats Next? I plan to further evaluate and analyze my own teaching practices to meet students needs and address the new standards. I saw a really cool educational system of common core with a focus on ELD that met elementary standards and that inspired me to develop a stronger curriculum for ELD. I plan to solicit feedback and use it to reflect on and enhance my teaching practices. I also plan to develop master questioning skills. Next Steps Develop stronger skills for formative and summative assessments. Find more ways to connect to students specific backgrounds. For example: I know that a student comes from a single parent home, where their parent is employed as a cleaning service workerhow can I relate that to physics.