Reflection on Reaching and Engaging all Learners Through Technology

The most obvious thing I have learned throughout this course is what an enormous challenge it is for a teacher to meet the needs of a classroom of diverse students (Bray, Brown, and Green, 2004). Upon reflecting on becoming the conscientious teacher necessary to meet this challenge, the first adjustment I need to make is to begin each year determining my students’ interest, learning styles, intelligence preferences, and learning profiles. The other immediate adjustments I can make include evaluating students’ strengths and weaknesses. Incorporating Universal Design for Learning and Differentiated Instruction will help me reach the needs of a classroom of diverse learners.
The first adjustment to determine my students’ interests, learning styles, intelligence preferences, and learning profiles (preferably at the beginning of each school year) will incorporate technology by using a variety of surveys on differentiated learning. Using http://www.learnerslink.com/curriculum.htm., I will incorporate a personal interest survey. Another survey I will use to give my students the opportunity to answer questions about their preferences at school and allow them to explain what they would choose to do if given the opportunity is http://www.mcas.k12.in.us/plp/STUDENTINTERESTINVENTORY.pdf (adapted from Holzschuher (1997). I will use http://www.pesdirect.com/lsitest2.html , which is a learning style questionnaire from Piedmont Educational Services that will allow my diverse learners to discover their own learning style and explain to them the learning strategies they favor, while offering suggestions to support their area of preference. For students to discover on their own their favorite choice of learning, I will utilize Piper’s Multiple Intelligence Quiz, which presents questions in the areas of verbal, mathematical, visual, kinesthetic, musical, intrapersonal and interpersonal modalities. Being aware of my students’ culture and ethics will enhance my instruction and their learning, so I will utilize Learning for Life Learning Profile Questionnaire developed by The Center for the Advancement of Ethics and Character, http://www.learningforlife.org/lfl/resources/ncr-forms/233419-1.pdf .
In order to meet the other immediate adjustments needed of evaluating my students’ strengths and weaknesses, I will customize my instruction by making the most of Turning Point, our system’s response clickers with Study Island. By using this response system, I can assess my students’ knowledge before beginning a unit, and they can demonstrate their knowledge gained after the unit. Turning Point will be a quick and simple tool for evaluating my students’ prior knowledge and areas of weakness that need to be addressed.
I will integrate technology to customize instruction through Differentiated Instruction and Universal Design for Learning by utilizing my teacher computer and LCD with learning websites, school pad, ELMO, Turning Point, software, classroom computers, our school’s portable laptops, and weekly computer lab as needed. I will also continue to add to my technology portfolio and keep my unit portfolio folders on my hard drive updated and organized for easy access and additions.
I will integrate technology to customize student performance by offering a variety of presentations choices for final productions of learning including technology such as digital storytelling, podcasts, and Voice Thread. I will also offer written or oral reports with media, Reader’s Theatre, brochure or diorama type productions. I will encourage my students to choose to complete their work according to their preference of grouping or by themselves, but they will be held accountable for the same learning goals, even though they will be utilizing different modalities and creating different productions.
Making these adjustments to my classroom practice and integrating these uses of technology to customize instruction will help create the optimal learning environment for all of my students.