There was an advanced group of students developing in one section of Chemistry I that began to act out in boredom in class during the Gas Laws unit. \u00a0I used pregnant pauses, proximal discipline and even stopped my instruction in an attempt to quell their behavior. \u00a0Over one weekend I really thought about how best to approach the situation and I came to the conclusion that that particular group of students simply needed to be given work and then set loose to complete their required assignments. \u00a0What was really needed was an equitable assignment for all students, but in multiple versions. \u00a0My second\u00a0attempt at differentiated instruction had begun.<\/p>\n
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The following two versions of this assignment were generated:<\/p>\n
Gas Laws Practice- Standard<\/a><\/p>\n Gas Law Problems- Challenge<\/a><\/p>\n Students were asked to make an independent choice as to whether or not they felt that they had a mastery of the content and would like to begin the assigned problems on their own, or whether they would like some more individualized support from me with scaffolding in solving the problems. \u00a0The students made the decision of their own accord. \u00a0Students\u00a0who desired\u00a0more help stayed with me so that we could solve the problems together while others who wished to work more independently moved to the back of the room into the lab to solve the problems. \u00a0Mr. Smith circulated in the rear of the room, checking on students and answering questions.<\/p>\n The main difference between the assignments was that the standard version told the students which equation should be used to solve a set of given problems, while the challenge version had the same problems, but in a random\u00a0order, without a particular equation specified\u00a0used to solve any of them. \u00a0Students didn’t seem to view one assignment as easier, and both assignments were worth 15 points.<\/p>\n InTASC 2 was best utilized when I assembled these activities as I had to take into account the learning of all of my students, including the high ability ones. \u00a0It took some personal reflection on my part, the heart of HLP 19, to even begin this assignment. \u00a0HLP 6 provided the small group work while HLP 13 helped me in choosing how I went about generating this task.<\/p>\n This professional choice was so successful that I chose to make similar assignments in other units as well. \u00a0Students seem to look forward to these days, and I do too, as I know that I am doing a better job offering more students exactly what they need to be successful in my class. \u00a0Additional modified assignments\u00a0included:<\/p>\n Heats Vap-Fus Wksh- Challenge<\/a><\/p>\n Heats Vap-Fus Wksh- Standard<\/a><\/p>\n Molarity:Dilution Worksheet Standard<\/a><\/p>\n Molarity:Dilution Worksheet Challenge<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" There was an advanced group of students developing in one section of Chemistry I that began to act out in boredom in class during the Gas Laws unit. \u00a0I used … Continue reading Best Days: Differentiated Instruction<\/span>