Running head: SUPPORTING THE NEEDS OF ALL LEARNERS

Supporting the Needs of All Learners Tiffany Bull EDU697 Capstone: A Project Approach January 6, 2013

SUPPORTING THE NEEDS OF ALL LEARNERS

Effective instruction takes a planning process where the instructor takes a close look at everything in the classroom that affects learning. Such a planning process is known as Instructional Design. Instructional design is a systematic approach to effective instruction that stems from different learning theories. Learning theories help teachers and students have a deeper understanding of how learning occurs. In order for instructors to successfully transform knowledge and skills to students, instructors must first understand how humans learn. There needs to be a communication cycle between teacher and learner where clear communication occurs. There are different barriers that affect clear communication such as learning styles and environmental factors. Careful planning through a system approach lets instructional designers maximize the quality of teaching by reaching out to all the different learning styles of each student for effective learning. It is important for designers to support the needs of all learners by utilizing the differentiated instruction approach when planning a lesson. Differentiated instructional approach permits teachers to plan using an instructional design so that they can meet the needs of every student. It is rooted in the belief that there is variability among any group of learners and that teachers should adjust instruction accordingly (Corley, 2005) . Using differentiated instruction, teachers answer to the diverse learning needs of his or her students through a planning process. Evidence indicates that students are more successful in school and are more engaged if they are taught in ways that are responsive to their readiness levels (Vygotsky, 1986), their interests (Csikszentmihalyi, 1990), and their learning profiles (Sternberg et al., 1998) (Corley, 2005). Since students are different and learn through different ways, it is important that teachers recognize that each student will not respond to the same type of instruction.

SUPPORTING THE NEEDS OF ALL LEARNERS

To manage effectively the differentiation process, teachers need to pay attention to different instructional strategies that look at student readiness, student interest; each students learning profile, and the content that students need to learn. According to Corley (2005), Teachers should adjust the degree of complexity using diverse instructional processes to teach the content. In this way, all students learn the same concepts but in different ways (para. 8). Through the process of instructional design teachers understand their students needs and prepare for the challenges of learning. Instructional design is a process whereby the designer uses the phases of analysis of the learner needs and learner context, the development of strategies both for instruction and its delivery, and an assessment or evaluation of learner goals and objectives for the purposes of accomplishing instruction and to possibly revise and improve future instruction (Calloway, 2012, p. 3). By following the design process, teachers are confident of designing instruction that is effective for preparing long term learning for all students. Felder and Brent state (2005), the more successful instructors are in understanding their students, the more effective they will be in designing instruction that is beneficial to all students. In order to create a lesson that supports technology-enhanced instructional strategies that supports the needs of all learners, I created a lesson that supports a student-centered teaching approach that incorporated collaborative learning through the use of a blog. Through instructional design process second grade students in this Literature class benefit from class focused blogging by performing in Do-type activities that engage the students in reading and writing assignments in a blog platform. The first step in the instructional design is creating a

SUPPORTING THE NEEDS OF ALL LEARNERS

needs assessment. The results of the needs assessment state that in order for students to increase their scores in the annual exam, students need more hands on practice in the writing process. In Do-type activities learners discover, evaluate and mostly apply knowledge to what they already learned (Horton, 2012). Needs Assessment What do your students know? What do you want your students to know? What are you trying to measure, determine, or define? How will you collect and record information? How will you report the information you collect? Are all the interacted groups included in planning and conducting the needs assessment? The instructor will create a clear picture of his or her students needs and will be able to create and effective design instruction. The technology that is being incorporated into the

lesson is the blog platform. In the instructional design process the method is chosen prior to choosing the media that will be used in the lesson. This practice activity gives the students a learning experience where they apply the information, knowledge, and skills about story structure that they have previously learned by preparing a prewriting question sheet and a story structure chart in the classroom discussion forum. The design is created around the students prerequisite skills of the content to be learned. Students will pair up to perform this activity in the blog provided. There is also a JING video in the blog to assist students in navigating through the blog and comprehending the instructions for each activity. The concept of collaborative

SUPPORTING THE NEEDS OF ALL LEARNERS

learning has been widely researched and advocated throughout the professional literature. The term "collaborative learning" refers to an instruction method in which students at various performance levels work together in small groups toward a common goal (Gokhale, 1995). The students are responsible for one another's learning as well as their own. Students help each other to accomplish goals and become successful. The role of the teacher in this lesson is more of a mentor who will assist and guide the students as they partake in the activities provided. This activity complies with the key principles of instructional design. The lesson was created through a systematic process starting with a needs assessment. The objectives were created for students to follow on the blog platform. The learning environment was established, and learning strategies are outlined. The task analysis is provided for the students. Some of the activities are to be done in pares and others are to be completed alone. The blog is the media of choice that facilitates the method of activities. The blog platform also provides an evaluation section that lets the instructor gather feedback on how well the students grasp the objectives of the lesson. To ensure effective instruction, the evaluation of instruction should be performed as a formative part of the design & development process as well as summative part of the process in evaluating the value of completed instruction (Calloway, 2012). The evaluation method can be used to improve the design of your lesson to ensure a continuous improvement process, but the ultimate evaluation is in the students performance (Lever-Duffy & McDonald, 2011). Evaluation gives feedback to the instructor who can then improve the lesson to better meet students needs in the future. Redesigning the lesson allowed me to look deeper at the audience that the activities were designed for in a new light. It gave me the opportunity to really consider what methods would better suit the needs of my audience and figure out what media would be a perfect fit for the

SUPPORTING THE NEEDS OF ALL LEARNERS

students. The method was first decided then the media. It was important to change the activities to student centered so that students can get a hands-on approach to learning. Do-type activities are recommended when the instructor wants students to interact with the knowledge that was presented prior. Do-type activities give students the chance to discover and begin to transform the knowledge into skills. Next, I decided to add a video that would better explain how to use the blog. This would allow the students who are more visual learners to take a closer look at the instructions and be comfortable in understanding these instructions. According to Corley (2005), All students study the same concept but complete activities appropriate to their readiness levels (para. 5). It was decided that the video would be a great tool to assist students if needed in understanding what is to be done in the blog. If students understand the instructions, they have a better chance at meeting their objectives for the lesson. Allowing students to work together gives them a chance at sharing knowledge and helping each other out during learning.

SUPPORTING THE NEEDS OF ALL LEARNERS

References:
Calloway, D. (2012). Instructional Design Principles. Retrieved January 6, 2013, from academia.edu: http://www.academia.edu/681000/Instructional_Design_Principles Corley, M. A. (2005). Differentiated Instruction: Adjusting to the Needs of All Learners. Focus on Basics, 7(C). Felder, R. M., & Brent, R. (2005). Understanding Student Differences. Journal of Engineering Education, 94(1), 57-72. Gokhale, A. (1995). Collaborative Learning Enhances Critical Thinking. Journal of Technology Education, 7(1). Horton, W. (2012). E-Learning by Design (2nd ed.). San Francisco, CA: Wiley. Lever-Duffy, J., & McDonald, J. B. (2011). Teaching and Learning with Technology (4th ed.). Boston, MA: Pearson Education, Inc./Allyn & Bacon.