History

      My study was done in a general education classroom. I taught kindergarten just outside Omaha, Nebraska in a suburban district. As of 2017-2018, my school had less than 2% of students qualify for free or reduced lunch, less than 1 % of students were English Language Learners, around 7% of students received services from Special Education, and about 9.5% of students received services as High Ability Learners. I had 18 students in my class and of those, nine were girls and nine were boys. I had two students on behavior plans. I tracked them daily through a chart, specifically focusing on how they would follow directions and keep up with the class. Having students on hourly behavior plans tended to break up my instruction. In order to complete the chart, I had to fill them in while students were working independently or provide a brain break to allow me some extra time. This was a challenging, but important piece of my classroom diversity, because I often had to spend the beginning part of independent work time filling out the charts, rather than work with my students to help improve skills. One of these students had been referred to the school SAT (Student Assistance Team) and was in the process of being tested by the school psychologist. This process was expedited, as school staff felt this student needed assistance sooner than later.  I also had two students that I have referred to the occupational therapist who were being monitored, due to fine motor skills weaknesses. For these two students, I accommodated for their individual need so these students were able to complete activities, such as a cut and paste. For a cut and paste activity, I might have lighten their load by having some pieces pre-cut. Although I wanted them to continue the practice of cutting, it was more important to practice the skill for the activity rather than the cutting and pasting.

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Need

      A great deal of data collected from my students during the first quarter showed a need in Math, specifically number sense. We looked at number recognition 1-10, 1-20, & 1-50 for a variety of goals. When I assessed number recognition for numbers 1-10 during the first quarter, 11% (2 of 18) did not meet the standard. In addition to students who needed practice with number recognition, I also had students who had mastered number recognition with numbers 1-10. Knowing I had students who needed more practice and instruction as well as students who had mastered the skill, indicated diverse needs that required diverse instruction. But in order for this to happen in my classroom, I had to provide opportunities for differentiation. Creating time where I do not have to work as a whole group would allow for this specific instruction to occur. I strived for this differentiation goal, but it was difficult when my students struggled to work independently.

     A second piece of data gathered, also focusing on numbers 1-10, was when students were assessed in their ability to count objects using one-to-one correspondence.  During this assessment, students were asked to set aside a certain number of objects that were counted individually, 5.5% did not meet that goal. This data showed me that one-to-one correspondence is a strength of my students and a place where enrichment would be appropriate.

     A third piece of data collected focusing on numbers 1-10 had to do with matching numbers to quantities. When assessing matching numbers to quantities, 27% (5 of 18) students did not meet the goal. As this is something we did not specifically cover in our district adopted curriculum, this skill could be embedded within individualized instruction. Matching numbers to quantities is a base skill for many other math skills, therefore my instruction needed to have all students be proficient. I took this base skill and embedded it throughout my instruction to make sure students that were struggling were able to increase their abilities. For students who had mastered this skill, I implemented more higher level thinking skills to keep them challenged and engaged.  

     Practicing number writing is something done often in kindergarten. For first quarter, students were asked to write the numbers 1-10. The goal was to see students correctly placing numbers as well as writing legibly. I had ten students that needed practice writing numbers in the correct direction. We were writing numbers daily during math. However, with more than half of my students needing practice writing numbers, further instruction and practice was needed. It would have been inappropriate to force this practice upon all students as eight of my 18 are proficient. Practicing this number writing with only the students who need it, during small group, allowed for reteaching for some and extension for the rest of the class.

    Prior to starting each math topic, a pretest was given. The data from the pretest given for the previous unit showed a definite need for differentiation. 44% (eight) of students got a score of 8/8 showing they needed to address higher level thinking questions.  33% (six) of students scored a five or above, which is where whole-group instruction aligned with their needs. Finally, 22% (four) of students scored five or below, revealing there was supplemental instruction needed. The varied needs represented in my classroom demonstrated that I must differentiate instruction to meet the students where they are. The students needing remediation need to improve, while my on level and advanced students also deserved my full attention to ensure academic growth so they do not become stagnant.

     During lessons I have noted four students who had needed one-on-one instruction during independent work time, as well as two students who were done with their assignments before work time had even started because they had been working ahead during differentiated work time. These two students were clearly ready for more challenging material. Through the implementation of differentiated math I would work to push them toward more advanced math objectives.  It is difficult to meet everyone where they are, but differentiating math instruction was a step closer. I was able to challenge those students that were breezing through our curriculum based assignments and also was able to give those students more individualized instruction that needed it.

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Importance

     Number sense improvement was a school wide goal across grade levels. It is the foundation for math as students grow and build upon their math ability. In kindergarten, it can be difficult to differentiate instruction because the structure requires the teacher to meet with small groups while other students work independently.  Students in kindergarten often struggle to work independently, which is to be expected. One way I worked to address this challenge was to incorporate a lot of pre-teaching to clearly model to students how stations looked and sounded during math. Utilizing math groups gave me the chance to challenge all learners and help students at their ability level. Regardless of how much planning and over analyzing of instruction, someone always finishes early or is unable to get done with their work in the expected amount of time. Through implemented guided reading groups, I learned what a purposeful use of time that 10-15 minutes can be with my group. Ultimately we work on reading, but I also incorporated other areas I had been sensing needed extra instruction. This model definitely had applications in math instruction. I needed to be able to have this time to meet my students where they were. I feel with this time in differentiated math groups, I was able to meet the students at their instructional level. I was able to reteach and support students who needed it. I was able to instruct students with on-level content, when data showed that to be appropriate. I was able to push and extend my students who began the lesson with a solid understanding of the content. Though deciding on an area seemed daunting, I saw more and more everyday how much my math routine could be improved to help provide my students with more opportunities to grow. This study benefited my students this year because I created instruction that both helped them grow, but also pushed them to dig deeper at their level of understanding. I benefited from this study as an educator this year, and through my career, because I now better understand how differentiating instruction impacts students' learning.