Jenny Neville Teaching Portfolio

Professional Knowledge: Standard One

Know students and how they learn.

Standard 1.5:

Differentiate teaching to meet the specific learning needs of students across the full range of abilities:

As expected there was a variety of skill levels present in all subject areas. Where some students excelled others struggled and vice versa. In order to keep students at both ends of the spectrum engaged and learning, lessons needed to be altered and extended and in some cases completely rejigged so the student could understand the learning concept and successfully undertake related activity. My class of year sevens were considerably diverse in their spelling abilities. Some lower level spellers had diagnosed learning difficulties such as autism and dyslexia, a few were EAL learners and others had large gaps in their learning and were missing basic understanding of spelling rules and conventions.

Every Monday morning students were given a spelling pre-test. Incorrect words were entered into their diaries and the revision of these words formed part of their spelling homework for the week. Once entered and checked off, every list word was written into their spelling book. The weekly activity was then assigned and the students had until Friday to complete it. Activities ranged from composing a crossword and suitable clues to word searches and dictionary definitions. On Friday mornings, students would submit their spelling homework and undertake a final test, which were marked and scores were recorded.

 Students using technology to learn.The way students learn differs so how they

undertake and approach a task may need to differ in order to achieve learning outcomes.

In an effort to meet the specific learning needs of students across the full range of abilities, four different spelling lists were used in the class each week. Using the framework of the program ‘Soundwaves’, words were carefully chosen from different level lists to match the students’ abilities. Integrating the same phoneme throughout the words each week the lists varied only in there complexity. For example one week the focus phoneme was the sound ‘r’, lists included words with ‘rr’, ‘wr’, ‘rh, and ‘r’. If warranted pre-tests were preluded by a brief lesson about the sounds the students were about to encounter. Such lessons were intended to refresh the students about possible ways letters combine and the different sounds they make, this knowledge was then to aid the students to spell the list words they encountered in the tests accurately. Such lessons were very engaging as it required the students to contribute their knowledge and ideas in order for spelling and sounds of words to be revealed.

The routine of pre-test, activity, revision and test, seemed to work well. There was always a marked improvement between pre-test and final test results and this was further strengthened when students completed their weekly activity. Activities were designed to be applicable to each list, so despite using different words all students were ultimately doing the same thing, with the exception of ‘Alex’, an autistic student who works to an IEP and was tested by his EA on his own list of words. To demonstrate the successful addressing of AITSL standard 1.5, where I differentiated learning to individual needs, I have included a set of spelling list  for one particular week, I have also included a portion of a brief lesson I conducted to demonstrate to the students the different sounds 'r' can make and how it can be written.

The recording of test scores not only provides feedback for student reports, it provides important information concerning each students progress on a weekly basis. Scores indicated if students needed to move to a higher or lower group. If a student in a lower spelling list group, performed well for consecutive weeks they were invited to join a harder list. This was similar for students who performed below average on the harder words; they were moved to a lower list. The overall process was effective at allowing for ongoing differentiation to be effective and relevant to the students. It was also observed that moving students down a list didn’t usually last long. This was mainly because students involved were performing poorly as a result of not doing their homework, and hence not learning the words well. Moving students down seemed to give them a little shake up and saw improvements in their work standard and effort as well as spelling results.

At times I did find it challenging to cater for all students' abilities and keep the lesson flowing. Despite working on an IEP, and at a level well below the rest of the students, I tried to incorporate activities of the same genre into Alex's  learning.  For example, when the students were working on myths, Alex was reading myths and fables from the website Reading A-Z. Although not creating his own myth like the other students, Alex was required to retell the story and draw pictures to represent what he had read. Having students with such a wide range of skills and abilities meant differentiation was essential in the class, otherwise you would end up with some very bored students, or some very puzzled faces.

To continue to work with the range of students’ abilities in the classroom and ensure a positive learning experience for all, it is essential that as a teacher I am well planned and aware of the needs of the students. No matter how well or under resourced a school is, the needs of each student should not be overlooked. For me to increase my competence in being able to address specific needs of students in the classroom, I realise the need for greater understanding about conditions such as Autism.  With the increased prevalence of students with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) it is hugely important that in order to provide a fully inclusive educational experience, I need to not only be fully aware of student’s needs, but to really understand it and see things from their perspective. Undertaking further training in working with ASD students is something that can coincide with teaching, personal research into such conditions or others present in your class can be easily undertaken and guided by your own interest and need for understanding at your own pace. Both a things I will continue to pursue.

***Alex’s name has been changed to protect the student’s identity.

Supporting evidence: