Learning Differences

The Learning Differences standard requires teachers to have an understanding of cultural and community diversity to cultivate inclusive learning environments that enable each student to reach his or her potential. The standard is important because understanding learning differences allows educators to personalize their teaching to the unique strengths and needs of each and every student, thereby giving each student the support they need to succeed. This standard is demonstrated in my use of activities that that allow students to explore new concepts on a deeper level.

This plant products sort is one of several activities I incorporated into my unit lesson about plant resources in order to give students multiple ways to interact with concepts introduced the day before.

My understanding of the Learning Differences standard is demonstrated in the activities I created for a 2nd grade science unit about plant resources (SOL 2.8). In addition to using the “5 E’s” Learning Cycle format to maximize student engagement and understanding, the unit provides multiple different ways through which students can interact with the concepts being taught. This is especially prevalent in Day 2 of the plan, which uses learning stations that allow students with different learning styles to interact with and respond to the content in a multitude of ways such as hands-on interaction with everyday plant products, writing about the benefits of plant products, and drawing animal-plant interactions.

This project-based assessment uses materials in a Makerspace to give students the opportunity to demonstrate their understanding of map skills in ways that engage them and cater to their strengths.

My understanding of learning differences is also demonstrated in the activities I used for a 1st grade social studies unit about map skills (SOL 1.8). I wanted to provide students with opportunities to demonstrate their understanding of basic map elements in ways that engaged them and catered to a wide range of strengths, so I utilized a Makerspace, which allowed students to build three-dimensional maps using a variety of craft materials and recycled objects.

This Vocabulary Four-Square allows students to understand new vocabulary on a deeper level.

I also demonstrate my understanding of learning development with the use of a vocabulary four-square graphic organizer, a tool that allows students to explore new vocabulary words by documenting their definitions, using them in a sentence contexts, synonyms and antonyms, and an illustration demonstrating their understanding. This organizer demonstrates the words’ meanings in a variety of contexts, which makes it accessible to different learning styles and allows students to understand new vocabulary on a deeper level beyond simply recording words and definitions or attempting to remember the words through rote memorization.