img credit: http://www.mrstruittspage.org/differentiated-instruction.html
When I first started teaching, I thought I'd have students writing amazing things, and I would be shaping and fine tuning. As you can imagine, it was a little different. Some of my students were writing sophisticated things. Others wrote words on a page because I said to. Still others had neither the capacity nor the interest in writing anything at all.
When I first started presenting, it was with the thought that I was really late to the conversation and I'd need to amp it up to actually engage educators who already knew so many of the tools I was using.
Turns out, just like teaching young writers, educators show up at different spots in the skills and experience spectrum, and we need to recognize and respect that fact.
There exists a need to meet all learners where they are. We must respect that they are in the learning process, and they may be in very different parts of that process. This holds true if you are in front of group of 1st grade students who have hugely different vocabulary skills or a group of educators who are trying to learn something new about educational technologies.
The difference in these two examples is the why of their appearance in front of you. 1st grade students show up because they have to. Education is compulsory for certain ages. Generally, the group of adults shows up because they're looking for something. They have chosen to come. In this case, poll them. Get a sense of why they came. Learn quickly where they are and where they are headed. This information is going to help you tailor your message to meet them at an appropriate level and in turn to help them reach their goals.
Ideally, you can offer insight early on that will indicate the levels to which you will be speaking. Is your presentation for the experienced ed tech user? Is it for people who are new and just starting to spread their wings? Or is it somewhere in the middle. Letting your potential audience know up front what to expect is going to give potential attendees the ability to decide right away if they're comfortable enough to push themselves or if they have higher levels of experience that won't fit your introductory lesson.
Remember - meeting your audience where they are benefits both the learner and the instructor.
The difference in these two examples is the why of their appearance in front of you. 1st grade students show up because they have to. Education is compulsory for certain ages. Generally, the group of adults shows up because they're looking for something. They have chosen to come. In this case, poll them. Get a sense of why they came. Learn quickly where they are and where they are headed. This information is going to help you tailor your message to meet them at an appropriate level and in turn to help them reach their goals.
Ideally, you can offer insight early on that will indicate the levels to which you will be speaking. Is your presentation for the experienced ed tech user? Is it for people who are new and just starting to spread their wings? Or is it somewhere in the middle. Letting your potential audience know up front what to expect is going to give potential attendees the ability to decide right away if they're comfortable enough to push themselves or if they have higher levels of experience that won't fit your introductory lesson.
Remember - meeting your audience where they are benefits both the learner and the instructor.
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