Inventory Reflection

Pages 100-103: "How would I use the information produced, in differentiating?"
I would apply the information I obtained from the surveys to the Who I Teach, What I Teach, Where I Teach, How I Teach, Responsive Teacher Model. It's important to know Who I am teaching, their "gender, culture, personal interests, ability, experience, and intelligence preference" (Differentiation In Practice) so that I can teach from where the students are, not from where I think they should be. Knowing what my students' interests are will help me know What I Teach by adapting or extending curriculum into the core that reflects their interests. This will motivate and excite my students to learn, thus making their learning more meaningful and fun. The Where I Teach takes into consideration the Who I Teach because if I understand who my students are then I can more effectively make the classroom environment an extension of the students' family life. The classroom should be a family-like community. Morning Meetings is a great way to expand on what I gleen from the Student Profile Surveys and build that family-like classroom community that helps nurture the emotional needs of my students. When my students' emotional needs are met, then their ability to learn is enhanced. How I Teach is "intricately bound with a teacher's informed and growing awareness of (a) student's profile..." (Differentiation In Practice). And, another key element of How I Teach is how I interact with my students. Do I give them hope, am I their cheerleader, do I find humor in tense situations? etc. How I react or interact to and with my students will make a big difference in whether or not my students want to come to school, let alone want to learn.

What I would add or remove:
I would change the language on the profile to match the grade.
I would make the surveys more child friendly for the lower grades.

File of Inventories/Pre-Assessments:
I just looked at these and they are perfect! Per my remarks above in "What I would add or remove", these inventories and pre-assements are exactly what I would want in my classroom. The ones on pages 101-103 are too stringent, too much like dull homework. The ones in the File of Inventories are perfect for grades K-6th. I really like them!