Reading Response Chapters 1-7 DI

I enjoyed reading these chapters. I am really interested in inclusion and part of inclusion is differentiating instruction. The things that I have learned in the past about differentiated instruction were things that the book said should not necessarily be done. In the meeting I went to about differentiated instruction they said to do things like reducing spelling lists and reducing the number of questions on a test. The book said that "reducing the quantity is not as effective as changing the nature of the assignment to match the students needs."
I really like that in differentiated instruction the teacher acts as a facilitator. The teacher requires the students to be active participants in their learning. In differentiated instruction the teacher does not simply lecture to the students. In the differentiated instruction approach the teacher offers many different ways to reach the same learning goal and splits the students up in different size groups for instruction.
I learned how differentiated instruction is very student centered. The teacher needs to get to know their students and how they learn best. The teacher needs to plan instruction that would be most appropriate to meet the needs of the students in his or her classroom. I learned that differentiation applies to gifted students as well as inclusion students. Gifted students need to be challenged in their learning environments. Gifted students do not need to be required to do the same work as the other students in the classroom.
The teacher of the classroom needs to have mastery of the content he/she is teaching and be ready to approach it from multiple directions. The teacher needs to address questions as they arise and use them for learning opportunities. The students will have relevant, meaningful, learning experiences if their curiosity is peaked their questions are answered through their own learning and discovery.
Reading about DI is very important to me. The placement I am about to go into is going to be an inclusion classroom. When I do my full time teaching I will need to know effective strategies to differentiate instruction. My teacher and I have already discussed small groups and different activities for different ability levels in the classroom. I will try to do my best at matching the lessons and the differentiation to meet the students needs.