GenEd: The Challenge and the Classroom

Introduction

In a quest to merge generative AI technology and education, I found an opportunity that hits close to home. This year, I'm collaborating with a 6th-grade special education classroom in the Bronx, led by a passionate and dedicated teacher we'll call "Miss K.". We're calling this project "GenEd".

Meet Miss K

Miss K is in her third year of teaching. She's a graduate from the University of Cincinnati. While she's relatively new and doesn't have an extensive library of special lesson materials, her commitment is unquestionable. She has a class of 10 students, each with unique learning needs that require individual attention.

Privacy and Avatar Children

To protect the privacy of the students, we've created three avatar children—Alpha, Beta, and Gamma. These avatars will represent the diverse learning needs in the classroom, and we won't be using any real names or personally identifying information in our discussions.

Start-of-the-Year Hurdles

The beginning of the school year brought its own set of challenges. Miss K didn't have access to the IEP system for the first week, and the class composition was in flux as students were moved in and out. These logistical issues added another layer of complexity to an already challenging situation.

The Herculean Task

"Differentiating the curriculum for this many types of learners is really time-consuming," Miss K shared. "I estimate it takes 10-15 hours a week to do it right. That's easy to get that energy early in the school year, but it's a lot harder as the year wears on." The Department of Education provides a 6th-grade curriculum, but many of her students are as much as four years behind in certain subjects.

Differing Levels

To highlight the challenges, here is an example of the different math levels for each of the 6th grade avatar kids.

Alpha: Math Level: 5th Grade

Knows all of their math facts 1-10. Addition, subtraction, multiplication, division

Confident with adding like fractions (e.g. 1/10 + 3/10)

Knows how to do 2 digit multiplication by hand (e.g. 13 * 31)

Can do long division with a remainder, but not with decimals

Beta: Math Level: 4th Grade

Knows all of their math facts for 1,2,3,5,10. Addition, subtraction, multiplication, division

Confident with adding fractions with a common denominator but cannot find a common denominator

Knows how to do 2 digit times 1 digit multiplication by hand (e.g. 4 * 23)

Can do long division with one digit divisors and no remainders

Gamma Math Level: 3rd Grade

Knows all of their math facts for 1,2,5,10. Addition, subtraction, multiplication

Does not grasp division

Understands fact family but not how to apply them practically

Can do double digit addition and subtraction

Struggles with borrowing and regrouping

The Teaching Challenge

Teaching a foundational concept like fractions to Miss K's class would be a very challenging task given the disparate skill levels of her students. For example, Alpha might be confident in adding like fractions, while Beta struggles to find a common denominator. Meanwhile, Gamma, still wrestling with the basic concept of division, would find the subject even more elusive. Differentiating instruction for such a diverse set of mathematical abilities would require not just layered lesson plans, but also one-on-one support to bridge the significant gaps. It's not merely about introducing the concept of a fraction; it's about tailoring the instruction to align with each student's existing knowledge base, thereby making the teaching and learning process exponentially more complex.

Conclusion

The challenges are real, but so is the opportunity for technological intervention. "Wow - this is so cool how quickly it learns! We literally have to tell it once and it really starts to figure it out," Miss K exclaimed.

Stay tuned for the next article where we delve into the technological solutions we're exploring to make differentiated education more manageable and effective.

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