Dare 2 Differentiate

I had to post this video that I saw on Facebook because it reminds me of my students. Watch to totally appreciate the process here. Obviously, the cat is thirsty. His method gets the job done, but is this the most efficient way to do this? Disabled learners need to be directly shown the best way to do something. This poor kitty needs a trip to the learning center!

I have to admit that when I initially watched this, I laughed out loud...but what if instead of watching the antics of this cat trying to get a drink the hard way you were instead watching one of the students in your classroom doing twice as much work and getting half as much accomplished? Not so funny anymore, right?

You certainly don't want to leave the student to their own devices. Think of their peers reaction to their ineffective learning strategies...they would probably be pretty similar to your reaction watching the cat. Not good. So, as a teacher what do you do?

Start with what they know. In the case of our cat friend, the cat obviously knows he is thirsty and need water. He also recognizes running water as a source of water. Great! Smart kitty!  Next steps....slow down the force of the water flow. Put a plate under the tap at the cat's drinking height. Get the cat used to seeing the water accumulate on the flat surface. Slowly shape the cats behavior over time, so that they associate the water on the flat surface with getting their thirst met. Dip the cats face into the water on the plate while the water is still running...slowly weaken the force of the running water over time to the point where you can now put the plate of water in the sink, run the water to fill the plate surface (activating the sound of the tap in cat's memory), and leave the plate in the sink for the cat to drink from. Over time, you should be able to fill the plate with water and put it in another spot for the cat to drink from.

Seems like a lot, right? Nobody said teaching would be easy=:) If you have a student in your classroom that the cat reminds you of, tell me about them.