Tools for Differentiating Instruction

[Robby Culpepper]

Tools for Differentiating Instruction
Differentiating instruction in my video and film classroom for
readiness, interest, and different learning profiles is much easier
thanks to my computer lab and my existing website. By adding links
and tools to my existing Moodle website I can easily share resources
with my students and make sure they at least visit the resources.
Online quizzes on my Moodle (http://docs.moodle.org/en/Quiz_module)
are the best tools I have for assessing the readiness of my students.
By using an itemized report I can see what I need to concentrate on
during the lesson and what my students have a good grasp of already.
“The difficulty of skills taught should be slightly in advance of the
child's current level of mastery” (Hall, Strangman, & Meyer, 2009), so
the online surveys and quizzes would help me gauge the difficulty
level of my lessons as well. By including concepts from the previous
lesson I can also help students to make connections between lessons
and understand the progression of each unit.
YouTube (http://www.youtube.com/) is a tool I can use to vary my
instruction by interest. While many of the videos on YouTube are
pointless and childish, there are many clips that are composed rather
well. By requiring my students to find and analyze clips that are
composed of more than one angle they could find some videos that align
with their interests. Unfortunately my district blocks all access to
YouTube and most other streaming video sites, so students would have
to complete the project at home and I would have to grade it at home.
I can use YouTube to have students independently evaluate videos that
they are interested in with various cinematic principles in mind. This
can help them see how some videos are more professionally composed
than others and will train them to look for and recognize cinematic
techniques when watching productions. This follows one of the
principles from the REACH checklist (Rock, Gregg, Ellis & Gable,
2007), “High-choice conditions based on interest and challenge are
offered” because students can complete an analysis on a video of their
choice rather than a clip provided by their instructor.
The “Pick an Alien” site (http://www.ncwiseowl.org/kscope/
techknowpark/LoopCoaster/eSmartz1.html) may be designed for younger
students, but I think it would be a fun and simple way to identify and
classify my students’ learning profiles. This would allow me to easily
keep track of their alien type in a spreadsheet and would aid me in
creating groups of similar or diverse students depending on the
project. Since “one of the most positive aspects of making use of the
multiple intelligences theory is that doing so allows students to work
with and strengthen their highly developed intelligences while it
challenges them to develop their weaker ones” (Smith & Throne, 2007) I
would have some groups of students with similar learning profiles work
outside their comfort area.

[Robby Culpepper]