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| picture courtesy of wnymedia.net |
To assume that one instructional strategy will work for every learner in my classroom full of high school students is... well... laughable.
It would be similar to assuming that I could bring in a single pair of size two “skinny jeans” and... if I asked each student to try them on… they would fit each of my students equally well.
Ha ha ha… not likely! Alas, my students have a wide range of body types, sizes, and personal styles. Yes, a few girls (and maybe even a guy or two) may be able to flaunt those size two skinny jeans… but for the rest of us… it’s not going to happen!
Today’s classrooms are full of diversity. The students come from a mixture of backgrounds and cultures and come to class with a variety of talents, interests, learner profiles and educational needs. So, as with underwear, shoes, panty hose and … yes… skinny jeans… when it comes to instructional strategies, one size does NOT, in fact, “fit” all.
What does this mean? It means that if educators assume that all their students are different… which, they are… then they must assume that their students probably need different strategies to master content.
Now, does this mean that if you have twenty-five students in your class, that you will have to come up with twenty-five different strategies for all the students to be successful? Goodness, no! You can focus on using strategies that cover the main learning styles: auditory, verbal, visual and kinesthetic.
For instance, instead of having students just copy down vocabulary definitions, you might have them:
1. take turns reading the words and discussing the definitions
2. act out the words
3. come up with a memory tricks together
4. drawing a picture that will help them remember the word
5. write down the definition in their own words
See? With a few different strategies you can meet a variety of learner needs. What makes the difference? Students need to interact with the concepts in lots of different ways. The more they DO… the more they LEARN!
So how does technology fit in?
With more and more of our world going digital… the more and more technology is becoming the backbone of our educational communities! Think about it… the students that we are teaching now are the “digital natives.” We have to prepare them for the life of tomorrow. They NEED to interact with technology… now more than ever before!
But it is ok… because technology makes implementing those strategies even easier!
Interactive features like SMART Boards and Document Cameras make it a snap to do guided practice, model processes, create diagrams and graphic organizers, interact with games and websites.
Learning Management Systems or classroom websites are fairly cheap ways to post assignments, assessments, study resources, communicate, coordinate projects, manage grades, grade assignments (I mean you can actually make notes on student papers without ever printing the paper or leaving your computer), and you can even show off projects and portfolios. If you are interested in this, try Haiku Learning Management Systems!
I find that many teachers I talk to are afraid of technology… they get frustrated with it… feel like they can’t learn… that using technology will take entirely to long… some teachers even get this “I don’t wanna and you can make me” look on their face.
Believe it or not, technology is NOT going away… and if we care about our students… then we have to bite the bullet and dive into the 21st century!
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