Running head: STUDENT-CENTERED AND/OR DIFFERENTIATED INSTRUCTION 1

Student-centered and/or Differentiated Instruction

Caitlin Jennings

Regent University

In partial fulfillment of UED 495 Field Experience ePortfolio, Spring 2017

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Introduction

There is no such thing as a one-size-fits-all classroom, meaning every student is different

and comes into the classroom with differing reading abilities, interests, backgrounds, learning

styles, and different levels of skills. Student-centered and differentiated instruction allows

teachers to tailor instruction to meet the needs of all learners in their classroom. This is

accomplished by providing students with content that is accessible to them at their learning level,

activities that enable students to make sense of and master content, assessments that show

individual student growth, and by creating a classroom environment where students feel

respected and safe to learn and grow. As teachers, it is important to meet students at their level in

order to help them make continuous progress in the classroom.

Rationale for Selection of Artifacts

The first artifact I selected to demonstrate student-centered and differentiated instruction

is my guided reading lesson plans for students in a fourth grade classroom that are at a range of

reading levels. Students were grouped based on their Developmental Reading Assessment (DRA)

level. The plans I created for each small group were primarily differentiated by content based on

texts that correlated to students DRA level in this case a DRA 20 and DRA 40, and the post

reading comprehension questions varied between groups. During guided reading, the focus is to

help students develop independent reading strategies, and use running records to monitor

students progress. Writing prompts focused on different reading comprehension skills students

had or were learning in whole group, which included: identifying character traits and feelings;

using evidence to support answer choices; writing wondering questions based on the text;

making, confirming, and/or revising predictions; and identifying the main idea of a portion of

text. The after reading questions set a purpose for reading, and a method of assessing students
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reading comprehension skills. Students written and verbal responses to the text provided me

with insight on which strategies students used to understand what they were reading.

The second artifact I selected is 2 sets of word study cards used in a second grade

classroom. Again students are at varying levels, demonstrating the need for differentiated

activities. Students at the Letter Name-Alphabetic stage worked on sorting words based on

beginning consonant blends, while students at the Within Word Patterns stage worked on sorting

words based on short-o and long-o (CVCe). Students were able to work on word study at the

same time, while working with content that was appropriate for their abilities.

Reflection on Theory and Practice

Throughout my education courses at Regent University, the importance of differentiated

instruction in the classroom was always emphasized. Differentiated instruction refers to the

methods that teachers use to accommodate students needs in terms of readiness, interests, and

learning style (Powell, 2015). It is important for teachers to acknowledge the fact that they

cannot effectively teach every student in exactly the same way, because every students that walks

into the classroom is different. Every student brings with them different levels of understating,

skills, prior subject knowledge, motivation, interests, cultural background, and learning styles.

Every student learns at different rates and in different ways, which is why differentiated

instruction is essential for student success. Powell (2015) identifies that there are three primary

elements of instruction that teachers can modify to meet students needs. First, the content, which

is what the student should know, understand, and be able to do. Second, process, which includes

the ways students make sense of content through different types of learning activities, or

different ways of getting information. Thirdly, teachers can differentiate the product that

demonstrates what students know and are able to do based on their learning.
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With guided reading, one of the primary ways I was able to differentiate instruction to

meet the needs of the students, was through content by using reading materials at varying reading

levels. When listening to students read aloud, I was able to monitor the strategies students were

using to decode words and comprehend text. This allowed me to provide individualized

instruction to specific students in areas they were experiencing difficulty. Also, based on students

written responses to the text and small group discussions after reading, I was able to identify

students level of understanding of what they read and which reading comprehension skills

students were struggling with. I was also able to review skills and concepts as needed.

Through my professional studies, coursework, and field experiences, I have learned that

differentiated instruction is essential to helping student find success in the classroom. Every

student has the ability to learn, they just may learn at different paces and in different ways. This

is why it is important for teachers to observe and assess their students readiness to learn,

interests, and learning styles in order to plan instruction to meet students needs. The art of

teaching is the ability to logically, and in a variety of ways, divide content and skills into

manageable components and create experiences that lead to student learning (Powell, 2015, p.

147).
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References

Powell, S. D. (2015). Your introduction to education: Explorations in teaching (3 ed.). Boston,

MA: Pearson Education Inc.