Tangrams

This week, continues to reinforce the idea of differentiated instruction for me- not only in terms of struggling students, but also in terms of multiple intelligences.  Working with the tangrams supports the idea that there should be multiple entry points for students to be successful.  One of the main reason people have such a strong opinion about the subject of math is because they’re used to only having one way to correctly solve a problem.  Likely, they are also used to only being presented with one type of problem to solve.  It’s important to emphasize that there is a variety of ways to be smart at math other than just getting the right answer from plugging numbers into an equation.  Allowing students to be successful in multiple areas can give them the encouragement they need to work at math in areas where they aren’t as successful.

Implications for instruction

These principles are important to remember in math and all other subjects as well.  It is important for students to have entry points of success without resorting to remediated instruction.  This kind of work makes me think that I want to focus the differentiation in my classroom as more than just ability level.  Whether the subject is math, reading, writing, science or social studies, at least some of the differentiation should ideally be by interest or learning style.  Differentiation by ability just reinforces ideas that students already have about how smart they are and how successful they can be.  Differentiating in multiple ways allows students to find ways to be successful on their own.