Standard 2: Learning Differences
The teacher uses understanding of individual differences and diverse cultures and communities to ensure inclusive learning environments that enable each learner to meet high standards.
The teacher fosters a learning atmosphere that is accepting to individual differences. The teacher is aware of the students' interests, cultural backgrounds and capabilities and incorporates them into the classroom as an aid in helping students achieve goals.
The principle of learning differences is best understood in on site, school visits such as field teaching, practicum and student teaching. Although I have not worked with students who are learning the English language or students with disabilities, I have been exposed to students with wide cultural backgrounds. I am fortunate to have a cooperating teacher who is a diverse musician. She utilizes her knowledge of musical genres as well as the students' backgrounds to program the music for their concerts. The students have played pieces that range from rock classics to Irish tunes to soul music. I have watched the students take ownership of their learning experiences because their differences and individual strengths have been highlighted through the music.
This principle has been taught exclusively in my practicum seminar class. In this class, we have learned how to best approach teaching students who are English language learners and students with disabilities. Other instances where this standard has been use are in my multicultural education course, fields experiences at different schools, and practicum. During student teaching, I did not have many opportunities to explore student disabilities in a real-life setting because of the school's privacy policy. I did, however benefit from sitting in on rock lessons in the high school orchestra where everyone was allowed to use their individual differences to add to the music learning experience.
The following document is an observation protocol paper that I completed for my practicum seminar. For this assignment, I had to watch a documentary about Peter, a third grade student who has down syndrome, and observe his behavior in the classroom. I then had to use my findings to determine what strategies I would use to encourage good behavior from Peter. This artifact relates to this standard because in order to foster an inclusive and high achieving learning atmosphere, you have to understand each student's differences; this begins with observation of the students. Like with this assignment, using the observations, you can take the steps necessary for the students to be successful in the classroom.
The teacher fosters a learning atmosphere that is accepting to individual differences. The teacher is aware of the students' interests, cultural backgrounds and capabilities and incorporates them into the classroom as an aid in helping students achieve goals.
The principle of learning differences is best understood in on site, school visits such as field teaching, practicum and student teaching. Although I have not worked with students who are learning the English language or students with disabilities, I have been exposed to students with wide cultural backgrounds. I am fortunate to have a cooperating teacher who is a diverse musician. She utilizes her knowledge of musical genres as well as the students' backgrounds to program the music for their concerts. The students have played pieces that range from rock classics to Irish tunes to soul music. I have watched the students take ownership of their learning experiences because their differences and individual strengths have been highlighted through the music.
This principle has been taught exclusively in my practicum seminar class. In this class, we have learned how to best approach teaching students who are English language learners and students with disabilities. Other instances where this standard has been use are in my multicultural education course, fields experiences at different schools, and practicum. During student teaching, I did not have many opportunities to explore student disabilities in a real-life setting because of the school's privacy policy. I did, however benefit from sitting in on rock lessons in the high school orchestra where everyone was allowed to use their individual differences to add to the music learning experience.
The following document is an observation protocol paper that I completed for my practicum seminar. For this assignment, I had to watch a documentary about Peter, a third grade student who has down syndrome, and observe his behavior in the classroom. I then had to use my findings to determine what strategies I would use to encourage good behavior from Peter. This artifact relates to this standard because in order to foster an inclusive and high achieving learning atmosphere, you have to understand each student's differences; this begins with observation of the students. Like with this assignment, using the observations, you can take the steps necessary for the students to be successful in the classroom.
This artifact is a summary of and reaction to a chapter of Teaching Music to Students with Autism by Alice M. Hammel and Ryan M. Hourigan. This chapter dealt specifically with preparation for and prevention of inappropriate behaviors from students with special needs. This chapter was very enlightening to me because it challenged me to evaluate my perception of students with special needs. I have not had many interactions with students with special needs and as a result have succumbed to stigma placed on these students by society. After reading this chapter, I realized that just knowing that there are students that deal with disabilities and understanding the cognitive and physical difficulties they face is not enough to truly create an inclusive classroom. Accepting the child for who they are, through challenging personal negative perceptions and prejudices, is a vital part of understanding individual differences and having an inclusive class. For that reason, I believe this summary and reaction applies to this standard.