Student Centered and Differentiated Instruction

Parker W. Thoroughgood

Regent University
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Introduction 

The teachers that go the extra mile for their students are the teachers that throw several

different things in the plans to engage all types of learners. Differentiating instruction for

students is something that takes work for teachers to know their students learning styles and best

absorb information. In teaching, there are two different types of teacher which I believe are

standard centered learning or student-centered learning. It is easy to just teach to the standards

and not go the extra mile to understand your students. Teachers that continue to play to their

student's strength by allowing them to learn on their terms. 

The rationale for selecting artifacts 

Differentiating activities with data as the outcome

For my first artifact is a simple activity for students to show their understanding of

position and direction. In this activity, students are shown a red box during a lesson on

Nearpod.com which is a website where students can interact with a lesson while the teacher is

teaching virtually. The activity has students draw the red box that is in the middle of the screen

in different positions on the screen. Where students can be in the classroom where they can have

hands-on experiences this activity allows the students to draw their box in a position to show that

they understand the concept of position and directions. I chose this activity for two reasons, one

being that the students would be able to show their knowledge to me in a creative way, and

second I would be able to gather data from their drawings to aid in lesson planning for the rest of

the lesson. Making sure that instruction is changed to help the students stay engaged just like

education expert Catlin Tucker says in a 2011 article “Without an attempt to vary instruction to

meet the individual needs of each student, the curriculum is bound to bore some and baffle
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others.” (Tucker, 2011) Keeping students interested helps with the retention of all of the material

in the lesson.

Differentiating assessments

When it comes to assessing students it can be easy to get caught up in the path of

multiple-choice, extended response, and essay questions. When it comes to students taking

assessments there can be different anxieties and challenges for students. It is difficult for students

to take assessments sometimes due to these challenges which can cause low scores and stress for

students. Changing the way that students take assessments and what those assessments entail can

lead to better data because for students it does not feel like they are taking an assessment. This

artifact is a sort of fiction and nonfiction lesson. This will assess students' knowledge of the

difference between fiction and nonfiction by giving them samples of text. The students will have

to sort the text into the proper section based on their knowledge. 

Reflection on Theory and Practice

As a teacher, it would be easy to teach to the standards laid out by the district and state. It

takes time and planning to develop lessons that are tailored to the needs of students. This takes

time to plan lessons for your students that will aid them in learning. Teaching without

differentiated learning would be like sizing all people in the same size of jeans. That is why it is

important to challenge the idea of teaching to the middle of the class. You must as a teacher to

get the most out of your students, challenge your higher students, instruct your middle students,

and remediate your lower students. This is important not only for the students learning levels but

for the way that they learn. It is important to not make lessons all talking and taking notes or just

handing out worksheets. When this type of teaching happens it changes the way the students

learn by giving them hands on learning experience and creative ways to retain their knowledge.
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References

Tucker, C. (2011, January 05). Differentiated Instruction: What Is It? Why Is It Important? How
Can Technology help? Retrieved October 05, 2020, from
https://catlintucker.com/2011/01/differentiated-instruction-what-is-it-why-is-it-important-
how-can-technology-help/