Meeting the Needs of All Students, Article Review Example

Students not only vary in the level of preparedness for the demands of the class but also have different abilities and learning styles. Thus, adopting similar assumptions about students as well as teaching them in the same style is not the most effective approach. The goal of the education system is to help all students reach certain goals and level of proficiency. It is possible to use different teaching methods and teaching styles and yet succeeding in reach the same goals. The only difference will be that different groups may require different amount of concentration and efforts. This customized approach to teaching is called “Differentiated Instruction”.

Students may be grouped according to their abilities, learning styles, or level of proficiency and lessons will be designed accordingly for each particular group. This method plays to the strength of each and every student and helps improve the overall performance of the class. Teachers could use different methods to understand their students such as pre-assessment, conversations with students, and observations (Levy, March/April 2008).

Reflection

This article is a realization of the fact that there are often various possible means to an end. It might have been thought of as impossible in the past to employ different teaching styles in the same class but differentiated instruction seems an effective and doable solution to meet the needs of students with different abilities and learning styles. Though this is a positive step but widespread acceptance may not be as easy as the theory implies.

It would be important for schools to provide more resources to the teachers since different teaching styles may require different teaching tools. The schools may also have to provide incentives to the teachers for their extra efforts. There is going to be a learning period involved for first time implementations as teachers learn and discover room for improvement. Thus, the results in the first few years in terms of students’ performance may not be up to the expectations.

Instead of grouping students in the same class, different class sections (K-5 A, K-5 B, and so on) may also be created according to the students’ abilities, learning styles, or proficiency levels. The schools may appoint teachers for each class section that are the most qualified for meeting the needs of these different class sections.

References

Levy, H. M. (March/April 2008). Meeting the Needs of All Students through Differentiated Instruction: Helping Every Child Reach and Exceed Standards. Preventing School Failure , pp. 161-164.