Standard 3
DIVERSE LEARNERS
The teacher understands how students differ in their approaches to learning and creates instructional opportunities that are adapted to diverse learners.
The teacher understands how students differ in their approaches to learning and creates instructional opportunities that are adapted to diverse learners.
Evidence
Lesson:
The Canterbury Tales: Pilgrims Project
One of my main goals as an educator is to understand how students differ in learning styles. I understand students approach learning in a variety of ways and this understanding should transfer into my instructional strategies. To accomplish this goal, I make getting to know each student a priority in my classroom. Before reading The Canterbury Tales General Prologue by Geoffrey Chaucer, I designed a project that focused on analyzing the pilgrims from Chaucer's narrative poem. Students were divided into groups and assigned 3-4 pilgrims from the text. As a group, the students were required to create visual and written products for each pilgrim to present to the class when we read the General Prologue. The project allows visual and auditory learners to excel in understanding Chaucer's writing style and You will find the project handouts here, along with student samples.
Lesson:
The Canterbury Tales: Tales Project
Also, kinesthetic learners need to be included in my planning. Students who need hands-on activities should never be forgotten in the classroom because I want to ensure all learning styles are addressed in my instructional strategies. I want to direct you to one specific piece in my portfolio to illustrate the importance of incorporating opportunites for kinesthetic learners. On the page for the Tales Project, one group created a short video for their translation of "The Summoner's Tale." The students were given the opportunity to extend engagement with the text beyond the written word to create a valuable piece that represents one interpretation of Chaucer's tale.