Running head: STUDENT CENTERED AND DIFFERENTIATED INSTRUCTION 1

Student Centered and Differentiated Instruction

Lydia Hicks

Regent University

In partial fulfillment of UED 496 Field Experience E-Portfolio, Fall 2017

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Introduction

Effective teachers have to find a way to make learning and experiencing new knowledge

in the classroom engaging, motivating, and centered around the students use of their prior

knowledge and new knowledge. Every student comes with a different background and

experience; therefore, teachers also have to keep in mind the needs, prior knowledge, and skills

of their students while they are planning, teaching, and facilitating lessons. Students will be more

engaged and less likely to feel overwhelmed if lessons and activities are differentiated to their

needs. Student centered learning is about the students being active participants in the learning

process. This includes discussion, application of new skills, peer tutoring, and teaching others.

Rationale for Selection of Artifacts

Differentiation often happens in small ways. It also happens when teachers change a

whole lesson to meet the need of a group of students. Picking one less confusing activity over a

more independent activity could be differentiating the content for students to better understand it.

Another way to differentiate is in the process. I find that in math there is a lot of practice until the

students get the hang of applying their knowledge correctly and consistently. In order to give my

students the practice they needed, to insure they were all doing the practice, and to make it more

fun for them. I created an Estimation Bingo game that went along with VDOE SOL 2.6 and 2.7

(Actual SOL). This is my first artifact for student centered and differentiated instruction.

The Bingo game had addition and subtraction practice problems and recording sheets on

which to work the problems out. The recording sheet has a place to put the exact numbers, a

place to put the rounded numbers, and a big circle where the answer should go. This supports the

students enough so that they can practice the right way, but they are still accountable to find the
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right answer. Once you find the answer, you put a marker on that answer on your bingo board. I

wanted to differentiate in this way because I found it was good practice for my students to

practice the same content after I taught and modeled it. It also allowed them to work

independently and I could trust that they were engaged because they love when games are

incorporated in learning. This is an example of student centered learning because I was able to

let them do an activity that applied the skills they had been learning without me directing them

every step of the way.

In the same unit of math, I split my class into two groups and taught the math lesson to

each one with a focus on their needs and skills. One of these math lesson plans is my second

artifact. With my lower group, I used visual and manipulative aids such as base ten blocks, a

rounding chart, and number lines to engage them and explain the process of rounding and

estimating in visual and kinesthetic ways. My other group did not need the extra help, so I

stretched them to do the problems without manipulatives. Each group did very well with

understanding and applying the new skills. Once I finished a short time of modeling and

instructional input, I had the students get up and find problems around the room that were

differentiated for their groups. The students had recoding sheets and had to solve all five

problems. I monitored as students were solving problems and was able to help the students in

each group that needed the most help while the other students could do it independently.

As I had a group of students, the other group had an independent or group task to do and

then they got on a program called Reflex Math. Reflex Math is a differentiated interactive fact

fluency program that gauges what facts students know and which they need to practice. My last

artifact for student centered and differentiated learning is my list of independent math stations for

the week I was having small group math lessons. These activities have students using various
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approaches to related knowledge of the skill I was teaching: estimate to find the sum or

difference.

Students had the opportunity to practice rounding with dice as manipulatives. They used

their language and visual skills to create and explain how to solve a problem like the ones they

saw with me in their math journals. They played a game with other students that practiced

rounding and used auditory skills and mental math to see if they had the answer to the question.

They also applied their knowledge and skills in an independent Estimation BINGO game after

doing it in small groups with me. In almost all of these activities I was able to go back and check

that students were actively and accurately practicing their skills. I was glad to see how much

helpful practice the students were able to get and how many different skills they used to do so.

Reflection on Theory and Practice

Students all come to the classroom with different prior knowledge, interests, experiences,

skills, and motivations. It is very important for teachers to realize this and to start inventorying

their class. One will never understand every student completely, however, it is important to take

not of these differences as they become apparent. Differentiation can happen in small ways

throughout the day, and when you have students who have special needs intellectually or

emotionally, it becomes very important for small-in the moment decisions on differentiation to

be made if the student is to actually engage.

Rutherford notes the importance of experience when it comes to the classroom and goes

on to make a list of what teachers must do to differentiate: acknowledge, understand, respect

and respond to the differences in, and needs of, the learners to be taught, choose carefully from

a broad collection of instructional strategies, and use multiple sources of data to inform
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decisions on instruction (2008, p. 199). When thinking of ways to differentiate learning, having

a list of instructional strategies that includes the use of multiple styles of learning and various

uses of the different types of intelligences provides students with experiences they need to

practice and strengthen their skills, learning styles, and knowledge. Student centered instruction

and learning provides students with the opportunity to show what they know through carious

experiences and tasks. Wiggins and McTighe note the importance of students performing

effectively with knowledge in various situations to convince us that they really understand

(2005, p. 82). Student centered learning enables students to apply their understandings and skills

in such a way that encourages the learning process, the use of knowledge, and the ability to use

these skills in real life.

As a Christian educator, I believe that every student has value and worth. I am

encouraged in the face of such a challenge of teaching a diverse group of students because I

know that I am called to do so and empowered in doing the work that God has called me to do. I

believe in the importance of giving effective, helpful, and varied learning experiences and aids to

students. Furthermore, I respect the intricacies of every student because it is how God has made

them. I have been given so much compassion for the students I work with, knowing that a lot of

their struggles are because of home environments that do not promote growth and positivity. I

would not be in this profession if I did not have the firm foundation of my faith helping me stay

positive, motivated, creative, and caring.

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References

Rutherford, P. (2008). Instruction for All Students. Alexandria, VA: Just ASK Publications &

Professional Development.

Wiggins, W. & McTighe, J. (2005). Understanding by Design. Alexandria, VA: Association for

Supervision of Curriculum Development.