Standard 4: Teaching Strategies

As an eighth year 7th grade teacher at Thorp Catholic School, I have learned a lot of
differentiating instruction techniques to meet the needs of each individual learner. Integrating
technology to maintain student interest, art projects to provide a more in-depth hands-on
approach to learning Geometry, and collaborative learning/small group work to help students
learn and maintain new lesson content are just to name a few.

In Geometry, students in the past have struggled to understand the importance of

accuracy, calculating, and deciphering problems. To help them realize the significance of these
skills, I have them create a rhombicosidodecahedron. This is an enjoyable way to integrate art
for the spatial and bodily-kinesthetic learners and to truly see the importance of this dexterity.
If students are not accurate, their rhombicosidodecahedron will not turn out correctly. While
students perform this lesson, they comprehend why it is important; this is an astounding lesson
I am able to refer back to throughout the school year.

In Science, virtual labs are used online to help students practice newly learned Science
concepts. Student engagement increases because they feel as if they are playing a game on the
computer as opposed to learning. This would include a lesson taught about transverse and
compressional waves and how they change. Students are able to manually change the
amplitudes and frequencies of the waves to observe the hertz and wave lengths. This helps
students see first-hand and gain a deeper understanding of the information; this avoids students
trying to memorize content so they truly maintain it for a longer period of time. They have
something they can refer back to during times of assessment and in the future when building
off this lesson.