Kaitlyn Osborne December 16, 2012 Phase: 3 Integrated Reflection Learning Environment & Instructional Delivery Over the

past semesters I have taken different professional courses that discuss the learning environments that can be present in a classroom and school depending on numerous different variables. As educators we know that in order for our students to learn we need to have a welcoming, warm, friendly environment where all students will feel appreciated and safe. We are supposed to provide an unbiased environment for students in order to foster their learning, discovery, and growth intellectually, socially, and physically. However, this past semester I have gained an unbelievable amount of insight of how to provide my students with disabilities with the best possible individualized learning environment for each one of my students. The first aspect of providing students with disabilities with an appropriate learning environment would be to determine where they are going to be most successful and also in their Least Restrictive Environment (LRE) possible. By educating students in their Least Restrictive Environment they will be educated with their peers who are typically developing to that maximum extent they can be while still being successful in their academics and education. Educating students with disabilities in their LRE is important because this allows the schools to educate them in integrated settings with their same-aged peers. This will benefit these

students because they will gain many important skills, like social skills, that they could not ever learn from their teachers, families, or other people present in their lives. Along with providing students education in their Least Restrictive Environment, they must also have very individualized instruction. In order to provide individualized instruction, teachers must plan their instruction for every specific student with a lot of thought, time, and it must be based off of previous data. In order to deliver instruction so it is beneficial for students with disabilities the teacher may need to adapt or modify the content they are teaching, the pace at which they are delivering their instruction or the materials that they are using in their instruction. Over the past semesters I have learned that this technique is called differentiated instruction. As special educators we will be delivering instruction in more inclusive settings in order for students to be taught in their LRE, therefore we will be needing to meet the needs of very diverse learners all within the same classroom. I have learned that there is no one correct way to differentiate instruction in a classroom but we must shape the classroom in order to provide different teaching styles to meet every students needs. For example, I have learned that all students can be working on the same project, but different groups of students may play different roles in this project, depending on their ability level. In order to determine specific students needs and learning styles you can perform interviews with the students, their parents, or their past teachers. By performing these interviews you will be able to determine their specific different learning styles, their interests, and how they

would prefer to be taught. When all of this information is gathered, it will help the teachers to plan their lessons and units and it will help them to understand the different content they will need to teach, the pace at which they will teach it at, the teaching techniques they will use in their classroom and many other aspects of differentiated instruction. Differentiated instruction will benefit students with special needs in many different ways. The main reason for differentiated instruction is so that students can be taught in their Least Restrictive Environment with their same-aged peers. This will benefit them because they will gain important socialization skills. It is also important to differentiate instruction so that every student has the individualized instruction needed in order to meet his or her specific skills and experience level. Differentiated instruction will also make the students excited to learn because they will have learning experiences that are fostered directly to their preferences.