Teaching Moment

I noticed Harley had not turned in any work and I decided to ask him why. When I went to his desk he was busy sketching using a pencil and paper. I new then how I could reach him. “Harley have you thought about trying to sketch my assignments,” I said. As you can see from the picture with a little adjustment in my assignment Harley now is producing outstanding work and the other day he told me he looks forward to coming to class. I once read the following and have tried to keep it in mind every time I see a student like Harley:


“Everyday we make instructional decisions before, during, and after we meet our students. These decisions lead us to tailor instruction to individuals or groups in our classrooms. Often the populations we work with have been labeled and our decisions are made in terms of these labels.

But within a label we will likely find academically diverse learners and this is why we need to move beyond the labels and make curriculum choices that complement our students’ interests, strengths and needs. Helping students to link what they are learning to daily living experiences keeps them engaged and motivated in the learning process.



The effective teacher is constantly making decisions about how to present information to achieve this, as well as monitoring and adjusting presentations to accommodate individual differences and enhance the learning of all students. “