Being a math teacher in a primary school is a great challenge not only in terms of planning and conducting lessons, but also in terms of self-development and professional growth (Cameron, Berger, Lovett & Baker, 2007).
It is very easy to get stuck unless an efficient strategy is used to approach teacher’s duties, address students’ needs and achieve the goals set for the curriculum (Ministry of Education, 2007). With that being said, it is reasonable to consider the differentiation approach as the possible means to improve my teaching skills and advance as a professional within the current setting (New Zealand Teachers Council, 2009).
Before going any further into the details of the entire process, it is necessary to mention that the very experience of differentiation will help a teacher learn to respond to the students needs (Kane & Mallon, 2006) – and, as a matter of fact, the idea of motivation as the fundament for successful learning process.
To be more exact, the principle of differentiation in math lessons will allow for a teacher to coordinate such elements as content, process and product with the students’ readiness, interest and learning profile (New Zealand Teachers Council, 2005).
When thinking about differentiation as the tool of acquiring teaching experience, it is necessary to keep the priorities in line (Grudnoff, & Tuck, 2003).
One of the main strategies that were utilized in the course of the given experiment concerned the analysis of the school environment and the process of shaping new visions of students, teaching and learning processes, differentiation consisted of several minor strategies (Corcoran, 1981). To start with, the analysis of the school environment was conducted.
The given process allowed for specifying the ways in which the opportunities for student motivation can be detected (Cameron, 2007), i.e., the subject matter for teaching mathematics could be developed. As a result, the school program could be tailored to each student’s specific learning needs (Cameron, Lovett & Garvey, 2007).
The given experience allowed for shaping my professional identity as a transformational leader, i.e., the teacher who changes students’ attitude towards the subject. Therefore, my experience started at analyzing the microsystem (class) (Cameron, Baker, & Lovett, 2006) and evolved into the analysis of a macrosystem (statutory bodies’ regulation) (New Zealand Teachers Council, 2009).
The last, but not the least stage of the differentiation strategy concerned the analysis of such an aspect of my work as collaboration with the partner (Grudnoff & Tuck, 2005), i.e., with the teacher who was supposed to supervise my work and provide guidelines (New Zealand Teachers Council, 2005).
The rationale behind the given strategy can be defined as the need to develop the ability to motivate students after analyzing their needs, as well as the factors of the school environment that encourage or discourage the students’ enthusiasm in knowledge acquisition (Ministry of Education, 2007).
The differentiation strategy will definitely be quite hard to adopt in the chosen setting for a beginner teacher, seeing how it presupposes performing three functions instead of one, i.e., assigning students with respectful tasks, group students in a flexible manner, and make sure that ongoing assessment is being provided throughout the entire lesson.
However, it goes without saying that for someone who is only starting to explore the opportunities of teaching, differentiation strategy is going to be of great assistance and help gain the experience that I will need in the future as a math teacher.
Reference List
Cameron, M. (2007). Learning to teach: A literature review of induction theory and practice. Wellington: New Zealand Teachers Council. Web.
Cameron, M., Baker, R., & Lovett, S. (2006). Teachers of promise: Getting started in teaching. Wellington: New Zealand Council for Educational Research. Web.
Cameron, M., Berger, J. G., Lovett, S., & Baker, R. (2007). Ako: Being a teacher, being a learner, being part of the learning profession. A paper presented at the annual conference of the American Educational Research Association (AERA). Chicago, USA. Web.
Cameron, M., Lovett, S., & Garvey, J.G. (2007). Starting out in teaching: Surviving or thriving as a new teacher. SET: Research Information for Teachers, 3, 32-37.
Corcoran, E. (1981). Transition shock: The beginning teacher’s paradox. Journal of Teacher Education, 32(3), 19-23.
Grudnoff, L., & Tuck, B. (2003). Learning about teaching, learning while teaching and becoming a teacher. English teaching: Practice and critique, 2(1), 33- 42. Web.
Grudnoff, L. & Tuck, B. (2005). Beginning teaching: Stress, satisfaction and resilience. SET: Research Information for Teachers, 3, 11-14.
Kane, R. & Mallon, M. (2006). Perceptions of teachers and teaching. Wellington: Ministry of Education and New Zealand Teachers Council.
Ministry of Education (2007). The New Zealand Curriculum. Web.
New Zealand Teachers Council (2009). Graduating teacher standards: Aotearoa New Zealand. Web.
New Zealand Teachers Council (2009). Registered teacher criteria. Web.