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Customize individual lesson activities to meet student needs. This was a primary need in my inclusive classroom. A large variety of the class worked at different levels, requiring different in-class lesson materials.

Upload all materials to Google Classroom for students to access from home. Students and parents had access to this classroom. Therefore, if a student were to miss a class, everything we covered would be uploaded to the classroom. Students were always encouraged to email me to set up a google meet if they needed extra help with the material they missed.

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Teach the same concept using multiple different instructional techniques.

When designing a lesson, think of multiple ways to enact the lesson.

Think about specific “groups” of students and how to best engage them.

Ask students how they learn best and try to incorporate something for students, keeping in mind the entire class.

Observe teachers and borrow any new ideas that will help with varying instruction.

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What types of approaches lead to better outcomes for condition-specific learning needs in mainstream schooling?

What kinds of learning activities promote positive interactions among peers?

Does the use of instructional objectives improve achievement?

Does the use of positive reinforcement contingencies improve achievement and/or behavior?

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How to create flexible learning materials quickly (profrichardhill.com)

3 Ways to Create a Flexible Learning Culture (cornerstoneondemand.com)

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Encourage students to share home language with classmates. If I introduced a new vocabulary word, I would ask some of my ESL students if they knew that word in their home language. I would have them share this information with the class. It was exciting for the students to get to speak Portuguese in class and other students thought it was very cool to learn new words and phrases in a different language.

Paying attention to students’ interests. If a student was excited to show me their football plays or read me their poems I always paid attention. I listened to the students and often would include these small details and interests into our lessons. It almost always went noticed and appreciated.

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Music from other cultures.

Promote and let children in the classroom speak in their home language to other children.

Decorate room with diversity in mind.

Encourage out of classroom extracurricular activities.

Give parents the tools to read to children in their native languages.

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For students whose first language is not English, which approach is better for student learning: English immersion or a bilingual approach?

Do children who live in single parent homes have lower achievement in school than children who live in two parent homes?

Do students with special needs achieve more when they are mainstreamed?

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What Is Culturally Responsive Teaching? | Understood

How to Use Culturally Responsive Teaching in the Classroom | Understood

Culturally Responsive Teaching: 5 Strategies for Educators (northeastern.edu)

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Studied and became familiar with new technological tools to include in lessons.

Desmos

Geogebra

Blooket

Kahoot

Collaborated with Special Education teachers along with other math teachers in my grade level.

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Utilize ALL available resources to create engaging, interesting, relevant, and exciting lessons

Technology

Teaching blogs

Colleagues

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How does the use of technology in the classroom affect the learning environment?

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Resources to support your classroom (education.vic.gov.au)

How to Integrate Technology in the Classroom | Drexel University

Creative Resources For The Classroom | Education Closet (artsintegration.com)

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I want to create a classroom where students feel comfortable and safe. I want to encourage a classroom that isn’t focused mainly on grades. I would like my students to learn without the pressure of getting good grades. Student grades will be given based on their effort and performance in the classroom. They will also always be given an opportunity to improve and show their understanding. In order to create a classroom that supports and encourages students, I would like to incorporate more breaks into my classroom time. This could be a quick get-up and stretch, or even a few minutes to go outside and walk around. During student teaching, I noticed that if students are allowed those small breaks, they don’t mind doing the class work. I also think it is necessary that I do frequent check-ins with my students. This does not solely have to relate to school, but rather, “how are you doing?” “Is there anything going on that you’d like me to know about?” “Is there anything I can do for you?” I want my students to come to my classroom feeling like they belong. I also think it is beneficial for me to know if there are outside factors affecting their education. It is my goal to improve my ability to meet the needs of all students individually. This will allow students to excel in the classroom and reach their own greatest potential. I need to remind myself to always be open to learning. Every day is an opportunity to gain new knowledge. I think it is important that I show my students I am always learning, so they remind themselves we’re all students.

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I would like to build close relationships with both colleagues and students. Doing so, I would like my lesson planning to be created based on a variety of mixed opinions and feedback from other teachers and students. This will allow for a diverse learning experience that is not strictly based on my beliefs as a teacher. My goal is to make learning a fun experience for students. To do this, I need to personalize lessons based on the students in the class and the material we are learning. Therefore, it’s important to understand student lifestyles and interests. It is also necessary to continuously mix up the strategies and resources to keep the students engaged.

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Commitment to equity, diversity, and inclusion

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Commitment to equity, diversity, and inclusion

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I would like to get to know each student right away to create a classroom-based on equity, diversity, and inclusion. Understanding my students will be the only way I can thoroughly enable such a classroom. I would like to develop culturally relevant teaching plans that make students feel acknowledged. I want to focus on the idea that no matter what, a student can only be “different, not less.”  That being said, I need to pay close attention to the details of different assignments in order to personalize them for my students’ needs. I would also like to offer extra credit opportunities where students participate in community events. This allows students to see the world around them and learn outside of the classroom as well.

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Throughout my teaching, I have found numerous ways to assess my students’ learning on a daily basis. It is important to create engaging activities to assess student understanding rather than solely through traditional assessments. This keeps students focused and interested, allowing them to work up to their potential. I encourage student engagement through communication in the classroom. I have noticed that many of my students work best when working alongside each other. Aside from specific activities, I monitored student learning every day through questioning. Anytime students were doing work, I would go around and ask students how they got their answers. This showed me they had a solid understanding of the material and are able to reciprocate their learning. Throughout my teaching experience, I had a good number of students requiring differentiated instruction. I believe I did a very good job of getting to know each students’ strengths and weaknesses and using that information to individually adjust lessons to best meet their needs. When I first joined the classroom, I studied and analyzed students’ 504 plans and IEPs. I very quickly memorized accommodations and modifications different students needed.

I also worked to assist students not given a specific plan but who would benefit from adjusted lesson details or assistance. I still feel that I need to improve upon including cultural and language diversity in the classroom. With further research, I can easily incorporate this type of focus into my lessons. In general, I believe one of my biggest strengths is adjusting my lessons as needed in the moment. There were numerous occasions when situations changed mid-lesson. Whether it be from a fire alarm, student assembly, or simply students needing additional practice. These types of situations led to the class period not going as planned. Although these scenarios were not ideal, I was able to quickly adjust and make matters work. I also believe that I had the ability to easily create close relationships with my students, allowing them to feel safe and comfortable in the classroom environment. Lastly, my collaboration with colleagues was recognized throughout my experience. I worked alongside other mathematics teachers, the dean, special education teachers, and paraprofessionals on a weekly basis. These different meetings allowed me to understand the education system and how to deal with students in numerous ways. My participation in these meetings greatly improved throughout the semester, with increased experience. I am eager to further develop specific areas in my teaching. Being able to make predictions of student misconceptions prior to lessons will be very beneficial to my planning. I also want to plan ahead and initially connect the mathematics material to other content areas as well as everyday life. My teaching experience tremendously helped me notice my best attributes. My organizational skills thrived when having to plan lessons, keeping all of my materials in a neat and orderly fashion making everything easily accessible for all students and colleagues. My communication skills helped me build relationships with students and colleagues. My patience provided students with a comfortable learning environment that is easy to understand.