TPE D: Planning instruction and designing learning experiences for students

D. Planning Instruction and Designing Learning Experiences for Students
TPE 8: Learning about students

• Understanding child and adolescent development
• Understanding how to learn about students
• Using methods to learn about students
• Connecting student information to learning
  

TPE 9: Instructional Planning

• Establishing academic learning goals
• Connecting academic content to the students backgrounds, needs, and abilities
• Selecting strategies, activities, material, and resources
  

How can technology help you learn about your students (and their families)? How can technology help you plan your instruction?

Links:

• Interested in finding out more about teaching literacy to students with no formal education in their primary language? Bank Street College of Education's website has an abundance of information about the subject. CLICK HERE to view it!
• The Education Alliance at Brown University has developed the Teaching Diverse Learners web site. It provides information on Sheltered English Instruction, Language Support, as well as ideas for Culturally Responsive Teaching.
• Education World is a web site that offers information on everything from how to plan a lesson to plans that have already been designed.
  

Reflections:

One of my greatest strengths is my ability to get to know the students I work with. I think it is important to try to figure out what makes them tick. Through this process I am able to discover more about their backgrounds, and can begin to find ways to relate what we are learning to their individual life experiences. I always encourage kids to think of personal connections they have with our learning and to share those connection.

I believe that there will come a time when I don't know much about a student's culture or background. There is so much information available online that I would certainly be able to get some basic ideas of beliefs, struggles, etc. by researching this online. I can also look to websites such as those listed above to find techniques that are helpful in working with a diverse population.