This week broke down nine different areas (passions) that inquiry wonderings may come from. They are:
1. Staff development
2. Curriculum development
3. Individual teacher(s)
4. Individual student(s)
5. School culture/community
6. Leadership
7. Management
8. School performance
9. Social justice or equity issues
I’m not sure which one of these my inquiry, “How can I, as an instructional specialist, help teachers more effectively implement the strategies of differentiated instruction in their classrooms?” would fall into. As I go deeper into the inquiry I’m sure I’ll find that it will overlap with all of the first six passions as well as school performance.
A side note to my action research plan is that we are implementing a Cornerstone model (Plato Learning, 2010) into our school. This will help frame everything that occurs in our school. I’ve discussed this with my principal, and we decided that my project on DI should be framed with Cornerstone, so that common vocabulary and concepts are used. This will help teachers during the implementation process. This should not be seen as anything new. Continuity of programs, vocabulary, etc help make things seem more like “the next step” instead of “a new path altogether”.
Also, in this inquiry around DI, I will look at how all of our electronic learning resources (PLATO Learning Environment, ST Math, Fastt Math, Study Island, and Smart Tech’s Smart Response equipment) can play a part in making it easier for teachers to implement DI correctly and effectively.
I am no very familiar with Cornerstone, but I think you are on the right track. It is important to maintain continuity. I find often times in the places I have beenwe have jumped from one program to the next greatest thing. This I believe is the beauty of action research. Instead of looking to outside programs to improve our schools' we cn look within and improve ourselves.
ReplyDeleteHi Hement, I am teaching ESL this year, but for the last three years I taught Bilingual Ed. I incorporated a lot of differentiated instruction to assist my students in grasping the curriculum. I realized, though, that DI can be used across the spectrum of student learning styles and levels; from GT students, to Average students, to low level students to Sp. Ed. students, and many times each of those categories are present in one classroom. That is the reason DI is an import aspect to teaching and why buy-in from the teachers in crucial. I wish you the best and I look forward to reading the research.
ReplyDelete