Meeting the Needs of all Learners at Lawrence School

Lawrence Extension and Challenge Support teacher Leslie Fagen explains the difficult task facing today’s teachers: “Say you were teaching a concept in mathematics. You look at your classroom community and realize that there are some kids who know this concept well, some who know it but need practice, and some who are being introduced to it for the first time."

"You have to meet each child where they are—show each child how to access substantial learning from this concept, despite the differences in their knowledge and needs.”

Differentiated instruction (DI) is an educational method that enables teachers to address the difficulties described by Fagen and meet the needs of all learners in mixed-ability classrooms. For several years, Fagen, Lawrence special education teacher Danielle Pafundi-Kent, and classroom teacher Justin Brown have collaborated to study, plan, and improve their DI practices.

Through a grant from the Brookline Education Foundation (BEF), this team now is working both to expand its own knowledge of DI techniques and to share that knowledge with four additional Lawrence classroom teachers. The grant funded Pafundi-Kent, Brown, and Fagen’s attendance at a conference in Chicago this summer where they studied the most recent developments in DI.

Brown reports, “The three of us represent the range of student needs—a special educator, classroom teacher, and extension teacher. We met between each session and discussed what we’d learned from our unique perspectives and how it could be applied in the classroom. We talked about how to bring the benefits of the conference to a wider circle of teachers.”

With continued BEF funding, Brown, Fagen, and Pafundi-Kent have begun sharing their conference experience and working together on DI techniques with Lawrence teachers Jill Demsey, Karla Cunha-Cardoso, Greg Porter, and Jon Weinberger.

The seven met for one six-hour session on a Saturday in September. They have planned ten more meetings this school year during which they will share practices, create lesson plans, and problem-solve around the most challenging aspects of engaging every student in a heterogeneous classroom. 

Fagen notes, “It’s so important for teachers to share their ideas about what works, and the BEF grant is powerful because it creates time for in-depth exchange.” When educators work together to perfect their teaching practices, they are energized and inspired. They then return to their classrooms with renewed enthusiasm and greater expertise to share with your children.