Chapter 9: Accommodating Instruction to Meet Individual Needs Cases to Consider

Read this Case to Consider, then voice your opinion on this topic area and see where you stand compared to others.

Individualization and Computers: Two Perspectives

Liz Stephens and Mark Monroe teach sections of ninth- and tenth-grade English at Middleton High School. This year they have six new computer systems and a quiet laser printer in the back of each of their classrooms.

Liz: I haven't settled on specific uses for my computers yet. Have you?

Mark: I think so. My ninth-grade classes are all over the place when it comes to basic writing skills. I'm going to use an integrated learning system in my class to individualize the lessons.

Liz: How does the ILS you're thinking about work?

Mark: The ILS the district bought a few years ago has well over two hundred short lessons on topics we cover in our composition classes. After taking the diagnostic pretest, my students will sit down at the computer, and the ILS program will bring up a lesson they need. When they finish the lesson, the ILS will test them on that material and prescribe remedial work if needed. It's great!

Liz: I thought about doing something like that, but I wonder whether students will get bored. Most of the lessons require students to read a paragraph or two, answer a multiple-choice question, read a little more, and answer another question.

Mark: Some of the stuff is boring, but I don't see any way to make a lesson on semicolons as exciting as a Boyz II Men concert.

Liz: Actually, I'm leaning in another direction. I posted a message on one of the America Online electronic forums for teachers, and several answered my message. Quite a few are using computers for problem-based learning.

Mark: I'm not familiar with that approach. How does it work?

Liz: The teacher, or the students, pose a question or problem. It might be "Are the topics that interest teenagers different from country to country or the same?" Then collaborative groups of students use the computers to search for information they need. Some might use encyclopedias on CD-ROM or post a message on an electronic service that teens in other countries read. They might also use computers to organize the data they collect and to create a report on their conclusions.

Mark: I guess they would have a lot of fun doing that, but how would that teach them the basics?

Liz: As they needed those basics, I might teach little mini-lessons or direct them to writing helper programs that they can pop up on the computer screen while they're writing.

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