Analyzing The Video 'The Myth Of Average'

After reflecting on the big idea F, effective and efficient instructional planning, the resources and activities provided for students in the classroom look very different than they did in the past. The video, “The Myth of Average” by Todd Rose sends a powerful message to educators. If the curriculum is planned with scaffolds that reach all learners and not just the average learner, then everyone benefits. There is no “average” learner, so as educators, we need to design learning with a goal in mind and provide a variety of supports so everyone has access. Planning instruction begins with learning about the students’ cultural backgrounds and prior knowledge so they can make connections to new learning. Lessons need to be relevant to students

Data is the driving force for instruction and should be used to discuss goals students have met in the classroom and to set future instructional practices. It should also be utilized to determine the areas students need assistance in and interventions that might need to be put in place for students. Reflecting on my second-grade classroom, my action plan is going to target my math instruction. I always feel rushed with time and keep my mini lessons shorter, so I struggle to incorporate other strategies to teach the content. Currently, I provide opportunities for students to turn and talk to demonstrate their thinking. They use whiteboards to show their work during lessons. I encourage students to act out and draw word problems to help them understand. However, an area I can do better is making the time to incorporate children’s books, and utilizing tools, videos, and manipulatives to support my instruction for all students. In addition, I will incorporate visual vocabulary cards with my math instruction to help students understand the

In addition, I track data daily in my math instruction. I give students activities to demonstrate their understanding, but the activities are similar for all learners. Instead of thinking that all students “should” be able to write their answers, I am going to identify different ways they “can” demonstrate their learning. The action steps that I will take to not “should” kids is to remember the goal for the lesson and think ahead of the additional resources I can provide such as literature, videos, songs, vocabulary cards, and real-life connections which will help all my learners in the classroom. Also, I will look at my goals for the lesson and come up with more than one way they can demonstrate their learning of the objective. A person who can assist me in this journey is the math specialist in the building. At our team meetings, I will touch base and brainstorm ideas for the goals of the lessons. A resource I can use to help me with my journey is Tips to Implement UDL Guidelines: Math Examples. This resource has a plethora of ideas for ways to plan math lessons that will reach all learners in the