Inclusion in the 2. Differentiating with technology. Using Game Theory To Shape Strategy' title='Using Game Theory To Shape Strategy' />You must have javascript and Flash Player to play this video. In this video, students in a gifted classroom use the multi user learning environment Quest Atlantis to explore issues related to the creation of a game reserve in Tanzania. Interviews with the teacher and students offer perspectives on the value of using virtual worlds in the classroom. About the video. Download videoRight click or option clickThe diversity of the 2. Among these, teachers must balance the requirements of high stakes accountability while meeting the needs of diverse students within their classroom. The 2. 6th Annual Report to Congress on IDEA reported that approximately ninety six percent of general education teachers have students in their classroom with learning disabilities. This is not a surprising statistic, considering there are over six million students with disability classifications in the United States. The frequency of special education students in the classroom, however, is only one of the obstacles that teachers face. Teachers must also contend with an increasing number of students from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds and from high poverty families. While many teachers express frustration over high stakes accountability standards, they acknowledge pressure to teach to the test, fearing non proficient scores, dissatisfaction from school administrators, and in smaller systems, the potential risk of embarrassment when scores are made public. Compounding the issue, data has shown that students with disabilities perform well below their peers in standardized testing. TOC.jpg' alt='The Right Game Using Game Theory To Shape Strategy' title='The Right Game Using Game Theory To Shape Strategy' />Contrary to popular opinion, some tweetstorms are good, but reading them on Twitter can be a pain in the ass. Thread Reader reformats a tweetstorm into a readable. Applications Personality Types. Escape From Thunder Island Rus. TRANSFORMATIONAL LEADERSHIP USING THE MBTI TO COACH LEADERS By Stanley D. Truskie, Ph. D. ENFJ Lou Gerstner, former. Using Game Theory To Shape Strategy' title='Using Game Theory To Shape Strategy' />In their research, Mc. Tighe and Brown articulate a disconnect between the instructional practices found in todays classrooms and educational research that delineates requirements for promoting genuine student engagement, understanding, and longitudinal achievement progress. The popular practices and attitudes critiqued by Mc. Tighe and Brown include developing curriculum that is too broad, teachers flawed perception of the necessity to cover content, the overuse of worksheets that are modeled after test formats, and teaching to the test in order to boost test scores. Differentiation as effective instruction. By contrast, the practice of differentiating instruction helps teachers address rigorous standards while responding to the individual needs of students. Differentiation allows teachers to focus on essential skills in each content area, be responsive to individual differences, incorporate assessment into instruction, and provide students with multiple avenues to learning. The result is a classroom where specialized instruction is the norm for all students. Students with disabilities have access to appropriate modifications, while students who excel have access to appropriate challenges. This model for instructional planning and delivery is not a new idea and is widely touted as the most promising solution to many of the obstacles presented by the proliferation of diverse classrooms. But while numerous studies have established the effectiveness of differentiated instruction, research indicates that some of the practices central to differentiated instruction, such as flexible grouping and specialized instruction, are not widespread. A 2. 00. 5 U. S. Department of Education study found that whole class instruction was the most common format experienced by secondary students with disabilities as well as students in regular education academic classes. The same study showed that only thirteen percent of secondary students with disabilities in general education classes experienced substantial curriculum modification or a specialized curriculum. If we know that differentiated instruction is effective in improving student performance, while still meeting required performance standards, why arent more teachers using it Overcoming obstacles to effective differentiation. In a pivotal piece in 1. Schumm and Vaughn explored teachers perspectives on making adaptations for students with disabilities in inclusive settings. Their findings indicated that teachers largely do not feel prepared to address students diverse needs. Furthermore, teachers felt pressured by the necessity to cover a wide range of content in a short amount of time, the excessive classroom management needs of the classroom, and a lack of time to prepare lessons. If we compare this to the criticism of instructional practices by Mc. Tighue and Brown, we see that these feelings have not changed over the last decade. In fact, in addition to these problems, teachers report the additional obstacle of decreasing resources in their classrooms. Many of the obstacles to implementing differentiated instruction can be overcome with the effective use of technology. Teachers who feel ill prepared to address the diverse needs of their students, for example, have ready access to more options than ever before as a result of the wide range of software and hardware tools available. Technology can equip teachers to address students needs in an almost limitless number of ways, through content input, learning activities, and opportunities to demonstrate comprehension. And because many students come to the learning environment with a predisposition for using it seamlessly, technology can become an intermediary that bridges the relationship between teacher and student, allowing the teacher to meet a student in a familiar realm. Technology also addresses the necessity to cover a wide range of content in a short amount of time by minimizing the need to take curriculum at a slower pace. Students with special needs may benefit from technologies that assist them, allowing them to keep pace with their peers. For example, a student with dyslexia who might normally struggle with a reading passage could benefit from reading the text while listening to an audio recording through headphones. By providing audio, visual, or concept mapping supports while introducing new concepts, teachers lessen the need for review and remediation after the initial instruction. The pressures of classroom management needs can also be alleviated as a result of using technology to differentiate instruction. Classrooms enhanced by technology provide support and structure to students who need scaffolding and enrichment to students who thrive on challenge. The result is a learning environment that is task centered and predictable, in which students understand whats expected of them and how to succeed. In a classroom where gifted learners, learners with learning disabilities, and learners with other special needs are all challenged at appropriate levels at the same time, students are more likely to be engaged in learning activities and less likely to be engaged in inappropriate behaviors. In such environments, classroom management works differently Teachers act more as facilitators, which allows for more individual attention to students who need attention and might otherwise behave inappropriately as a result. The obstacles presented by limited financial resources need not prevent teachers from differentiating with technology. Many tools and practices that facilitate differentiation, including many suggested in this article, make use of free software and programs, as well as basic technologies found in almost every classroom.