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Student-Centered and/or Differentiated Instruction

Kelly Gleeson

Regent University
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Introduction

Having a student-centered classroom in the future is very important to me. I believe that

giving students more responsibility in their learning will in-turn give them more interest in

learning. I plan on having learning activities where students are up and moving around the

classroom, or going to different stations. If students are stagnant, so are their brains. I have seen

this in my own student teaching. If I go straight from one lesson to the next, or one worksheet to

the next, I lose the students. When I saw this starting to become a pattern, I started implementing

brain breaks to get the students refocused. Reasons like this are why I plan on having a

classroom where the students are not stagnant and doing worksheet after worksheet; I want them

to be engaged.

Differentiated instruction is a lot harder to do than it sounds. I think that you have to get

to know each student and their abilities to be able to plan ahead for how you will differentiate

your lessons. As I spent more time with the students, I began to learn different things about them

and it got a bit easier. There were a few students with IEPs that made it easier to plan ahead of

time for how to best meet their needs.

Rationale and Reflection

Student-centered classrooms are becoming more and more common as the regular

teacher up front while students listen to a lecture is becoming obsolete (Bogdan 2017). Though

this article, Student-Centered Learning Environments is focused on middle and high school, it

also rings true of elementary school. As I would end my lesson and start handing out worksheets,

I could see the students deflate a little. This was because I often handed out worksheets, since
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this was all I knew as a new teacher watching other worksheet-oriented teachers. I could see they

were quickly becoming bored and uninterested when I pulled out worksheets.

I did not do anything too drastic, but I implemented a change in my next lesson. Instead

of a regular worksheet, I had the students complete task cards around the room. I printed and

cut out the questions, and hung them around the classroom. The students were to read the

passage and then walk around the room answering the questions. Afterwards, I asked the students

what they thought and I received positive feedback. Even though this wasnt fully student-

centered learning, I believe it was a step in the right direction. It was a different teaching strategy

that was long-overdue.

With this activity, I gave the student with an IEP the option of a read-aloud. He said yes,

so I read the passage aloud to him before he went to answer the questions. Before he left to work

on the task cards, I gave the student the option of having me read the questions aloud to him. He

opted out of this, but I told him to come see me if he changes his mind. This student is both

dyslexic and identified gifted.

To represent this activity, I included the passage, answer sheet, and questions. Each

student received a copy of the passage along with the sheet to write their answers on. The

thirteen questions were taped in various spots around the classroom.

Differentiated instruction is the process of identifying students individual learning

strengths, needs, and interests and adapting lessons to match them (Sparks 2017). This is crucial

in a classroom because every student is different with different educational and instructional

needs. I chose to include an example from two of my reading small groups. I had to differentiate

a lot in these small groups because of the different learning levels. They had different books with

different reading levels, and of course different comprehension questions. I would use the
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groups completed questions as a formative assessment and decide what we should talk about in

small group. Formative assessment is more beneficial to both the teacher and the student,

because the teacher can gauge students understanding and adjust lessons appropriately (Finley

2017).

Faith

Differentiated instruction is a prime strategy for us to implement what God has called us

to do. I feel that God has called me to make a difference in childrens lives. I want to teach them

all that I can, and reach them in any way that I can. In order to do this, I realize that I cannot

reach every child in the same way. Every person has different abilities, interests, desires, and

goals in life. As children of God, we know this, and we should use this to our advantage.

Once we try teaching our class using one way or strategy, we cant stop there. We must

provide multiple ways to present a lesson in order to ensure understanding. As followers of

Christ, we know not to give up when things get difficult. We must integrate this into our

classrooms as well. If students are just not understanding something, we must not get frustrated

or aggravated, but motivated. It is our duty to teach these children in any way that we can.
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Works Cited

Bogdan, P. (2017). Student-Centered Learning Environments: How and Why. Edutopia.

Retrieved 4 March 2017, from https://www.edutopia.org/blog/student-centered-learning-

environments-paul-bogdan

Finley, T. (2017). Dipsticks: Efficient Ways to Check for Understanding. Edutopia. Retrieved 4

March 2017, from https://www.edutopia.org/blog/dipsticks-to-check-for-understanding-

todd-finley

Sparks, S. (2017). Differentiated Instruction: A Primer. Education Week. Retrieved 4 March

2017, from http://www.edweek.org/ew/articles/2015/01/28/differentiated-instruction-a-

primer.html