Webinar Reflection Journal Ren Zhaohui

Webinar Reflection Journal_REN ZhaoHui
Summary of the webinar
In the evening of Nov. 8th, CTCP students from all 3 Cohorts attended the Webinar. Ann Castle,
Elementary Program Coordinator and Instructor at TE-MSU was the guest speaker at the
webinar. She was also a very experienced classroom teacher. The topic was about Differentiated
Instruction, which covered the following subtopics: Definition, Goals, Principles of and
Framework for Differentiated Instruction, and how Differentiated Instruction aligns with AoP
and InTASC Standards.
At the beginning of the webinar, Ann specifically clarified the definition of Differentiated
Instruction using Tomlinson’s definition –Teachers proactively plan varied approaches to
WHAT students need to learn (Content), HOW they will learn it (Process), and/ or how they will
SHOW what they have learned (Product) in order to increase the likelihood that each student will
learn as much as he or she can, as efficiently as possible. Then she introduced the goals of
differentiated instruction, which are to help students become more focused, motivated and
independent learners and to maximize their potential. She especially emphasized the quotation
from Tomlinson that teachers must believe that students can learn so they can believe in
themselves, which coordinated with Growth mindset, the first element of first principle of
differentiated instruction – Supportive learning environment talked in the next part.
Ann talked about 5 principles of differentiated instruction and explained each principle in
detailed way, which includes 1) Supportive learning environment; 2) Quality curriculum; 3)
Assessment that informs teaching & learning; 4) Instruction that responds to student variance;
and 5) Leading & managing the classroom. Each principle includes several elements such as
Growth Mindset, Teacher/Student Connections and Community in Principle 1; Engagement,
Know, Understand, Able to Do (KUD and Teach Up in Principle 2; Principle 3 involves
planning and feedback, which is different from Grade, etc.
About framework for Differentiated Instruction, Ann talked about Knowing Students,
Monitoring Progress, Adapting Teaching and Setting Students Up for Success.
At last, Ann briefly talked about how Differentiated Instruction aligns with AoP and InTASC
Standards.
In short, Differentiated Instruction is a teacher’s proactive response to students’ needs shaped by

mindset and guided by 5 general principles of differentiation. Teachers can differentiate through
content, process, product and affect/ environment according to students’ readiness, interest and
learning profile using a variety of instructional strategies such as learning centers, choice of
activities, independent projects, small group instruction, etc.
My learning from the webinar
Through this webinar, I learned that Differentiated Instruction is a way of teaching, a philosophy
and it’s a way of knowing the curriculum and students well. Every student has different multiple
intelligences, as a teacher, you must hold the strong belief that all students can learn. Teacher is
like a cook who needs to cater customers with different preferences and tastes. You have to have
a big menu to let your customers easily choose from.
I also learned a lot from other CTCP and I also realized that there are some common challenges
we are facing, such as how to differentiate students with huge different language proficiency. I
asked Ann a question – Apart from giving gridded paper for advanced heritage language learners
to practice writing while teaching the rest students regular lesson, what other possible ways of
differentiation could I use in 30-40 min. classes which only happens once a week in our
community schools? From the webinar, I now realize that I need to know more about my
students and give them different projects according to their interest and learning profile to
proactively work out the menu that meets their different needs. I could even give them the right
to choose their own activities or give them independent projects to accomplish. I also need to
develop students’ awareness that they are “the captains of their own fate” as learners and
eventually help them become motivated, and independent learners.

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Webinar Reflection Journal_REN ZhaoHui

Summary of the webinar

In short, Differentiated Instruction is a teacher’s proactive response to students’ needs shaped by

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