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“ Lightbulb” Moments for ALL Learners
By: Dena Harshbarger
EDUC 324 Teaching Elementary and Middle School Science
Pamela M. Glover
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“ Lightbulb” Moments for ALL Learners
One size fit all in education today is obsolete. Students learn at different levels, have
different experiences, and personalities. Teachers must differentiate instruction to meet the needs
of diverse students. To meet learning objectives, the author used tiered and multi-modal
instruction. Incorporating hands on, multisensory, and tiered task could help language learners
and struggling students (Harshbarger, 2019). To successfully learn scientific concepts, teachers
must plan and adjust lessons to meet all learners.
Hands on investigations and multi- sensory helps all learners. The author taught a circuit
lesson using hands on differentiated groups. Students were placed in progressing, on level, and
above level. Students may not stay in the same group for each concept. The author used a pre-
assessment to determine which group a student belong. A student may be in a progressing group
for one concept and the advance group for another. It was discovered that students with
disabilities compared to other students achieved similarly when they were engaged in hands on
learning (Harshbarger, 2019).
This article was written for educators. The main points of the article were clearly stated.
She stated the importance of differentiated, hands on groups to reach all learners. The author
backed her claim by using real world examples. She gave an example of a child’s reaction to the
investigations from each group. The article was very effective. The author gave helpful ways to
teach a concept through differentiation. I would not have written this article differently. The
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strategies displayed can be used in any subject. I will most definitely use these strategies in my
classroom.
I learned how important it is to use differentiation and multi-sensory applications to help
students succeed. Students are able to display their knowledge through hands on experiences
while feeling proud of what they have accomplished. I will use differentiated instruction in my
classroom. For every concept, I know that it is important for me to provide a pre-assessment so
that my students could be grouped accordingly. I will then use that data to place my students in
the appropriate group.
In summary, it is our due diligence to set our students up for success. This can be
accomplished through differentiated instruction and multi-sensory applications. All students can
learn. They learn at different rates. Our students come with different experiences and
personalities. We must foster and nurture our students into successful beings.
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References
Harshbarger, D. (2019). "Lightbulb" Moments for All Learners.
Science And Children
,
057
(02).
https://doi.org/10.2505/4/sc19_057_02_49
