CEDu-521 Differentiated Instruction and Self-directed Learners

This module has helped me think about self-directed learners and the role of differentiation by addressing the needs of all learners. I am familiar with the courses in differentiated instruction, I have had many that incorporate this piece. I agree with its importance as there are many different types and styles of learning, and it is important to incorporate many of those into my teaching as I have students who learn in those many different ways. I myself, learn best from lecture and notes, however many learn through music or hands-on activities. When we incorporate these different styles of learning, self-directed learners are more often times created, as they know how they learn best, and look for those kinds of experiences in their lives. The more we add these styles of learning to our teachings, the better off our students are!!

CEDu521 - Assessment Module

This module has helped me think about student-centered assessment in terms of what we as teachers need to do to prepare our students for that culminating summative assessment that asks them to put what they have learned in the classroom into a project based understanding. It is clear that the formative assessments along the way should have some revolvement around the summative, either by working together to build those skills, discussing in small/large group discussion, or asking students to come up with discussion questions that will require a "Bloom's Taxonomy" level of thinking. What do my students need to learn along the way that will enable their success in the summative form? These are the questions that I ask myself as I develop my lessons and units to create students who can use these skills to solve problems on their own.

CEDu-521 The Digital Divide

Some of the digital divide issues that I have include access to computers, student access in and outside of the classroom, access to websites/software programs. The greatest of these is access. Throughout the school year, there are many times where computer labs are not available due to projects going on in other core classrooms. This becomes an issue in terms of incorporating more technology into the learning of our subjects. One way to remedy this is to obviously add more labs, however, in a school that is as old as Port Washington High School, it might just be better to have a new building altogether.

Another issue is access to the Internet and computers for the students. Not all students have the Internet, let alone a computer in their homes. I myself did not have my own computer until about two years ago. Many students also have dial-up sevice in the home, and do not have the speed available with DSL. This serves as a problem for students who are asked to participate in online conversations about subject matter. The issue continues as our library is not equipped with an educator after school to allow for students to continue these projects on their own time. One solution to this problem is to make sure that there is a teacher or hired professional that is available to help with these student needs.