Running head: STUDENT CENTERED AND/OR DIFFERENTIATED INSTRUCTION 1

Student Centered and/or Differentiated Instruction

Kirstie Robison

Regent University

In partial fulfillment of UED 495 Field Experience ePortfolio, Fall 2017

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Introduction

Differentiation is a vital part of teaching. Each student needs to be challenged but not to

the point that what they are doing is impossible and they end up giving up. It is important to meet

each student where they are at and challenge them from there. If not some students will become

bored, and end up not learning anything knew. This also can lead to the students acting up

because they are not being challenged enough and are bored in school.

Rationale for Selection of Artifacts

My first artifact is a picture of my reading groups. The groups are leveled based on where

the child is at with reading. The groups sometimes may switch around depending on the

students progress. The reading groups then have a leveled reading book that they read on their

reading level. Each group is stretched based on what they can be stretched at. I also have the

students at centers where they complete different activities. Usually at the spelling center, the

students get to choose how they want to practice their spelling words. They can choose to write

sentences or spell their words using Play Doh. They also have spelling boards that have different

options for spelling words. This helps them take ownership of their own learning. It gives them a

choice of how they want to learn their spelling.

My second artifact is a lesson plan that I created for math. I pull small groups for math

leveled by their academics. I differentiated based on the questions I asked the students. I gave

more help to the lower groups than I did the higher groups. I brought puff balls to the back table

in order to help those students that need the counters. I also had set up centers that benefited

several learning styles. I had a math facts basketball game set up. The students had to solve a

math fact on a piece of paper. Once they did they balled the math fact up and tried to shoot it in

the basketball hoop. If they made the basketball shot, then they would add a tally mark. The
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students would try to get as many tally marks as possible. This helped those students who need

movement. Another center was math choices. The students got to choose what skill they worked

on whether counting or math facts. They got to choose what activity they did in order to help

them learn.

Reflection on Theory and Practice

Differentiation is a challenging yet vital aspect of teaching. One of the biggest challenges

of differentiation is time. While it is hard to find the time to plan for differentiated instruction, it

greatly benefits the students (Differentiated Instruction, From Teachers' Experiences, 2017). The

students become more engaged and challenged in their learning. They start to see a reason to

learn which helps them own their learning and become actively involved in their education

(Johnson, 2009). There was an experiment done in which forty-eight teachers differentiated

instruction in their classroom. In the end, all 48 teachers were unanimous on one important

point: Benefits to the students outweighed the challenges of time and planning (Differentiated

Instruction, From Teachers' Experiences, 2017).

In order to accomplish student centered and differentiated instruction, a teacher must

know his or her students. A teacher must know what her students are interested in as well as their

strengths and weaknesses. Then the teacher must use this knowledge to guide her or her lesson

planning. A teacher must have clear goals and focus on understanding for each of the students in

order to have a good curriculum (Tomlinson & Moon n.d. 4-5).

Romans 12:6a states, We have different gifts, according to the grace given to each of

us (Romans 12:6a, New International Version). As a teacher, it is important to remember that

God has given each student different strengths and abilities. God has blessed each student with

different talents. As a teacher, it is my job to help bring those gifts out of the students. I want
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each child to know that each have different gifts. This can be done when the class is student

centered as well as differentiated. When a class is student centered, the students get to be more in

charge of how they are learning. They can study more of what they are interested in and grow in

their strengths. Differentiation also helps because students can be challenged and stretched where

they are.
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References

Differentiated Instruction, From Teachers' Experiences. (2017). Retrieved November 19, 2017,

from http://www.aasa.org/SchoolAdministratorArticle.aspx?id=6528

Johnson, B. (2009, March 02). Differentiated Instruction Allows Students to Succeed. Retrieved

November 19, 2017, from https://www.edutopia.org/blog/differentiated-instruction-

student-success

Tomlinson, C. A., & Moon, T. R. (n.d.). Assessment and student success in a differentiated

classroom.