You don't need anyone to tell you which subject you are good at, and which one needs more work. What you do need to know is that you can make almost any job easier if you know what type of learner you are. It is also very important that you understand what your strengths and weaknesses are so that when you are presented with a task, you can choose a way to make your assignment a little more meaningful to you.

If you are curious to see what your learning strengths are, ask your parents to help you fill out the online questionnaire located at http://www.businessballs.com/howardgardnermultipleintelligences.htm#multiple%20intelligences%20tests. It is recommended that your parents share this experience with you, and perhaps you can encourage other family members to fill out their own survey so that you can compare your results!

Are you wondering what you can do to help your child? Do you receive report cards or Individual Education Plans and are unsure of what all this information means? It is strongly recommended that you take an active role in your child's education, and it is equally important that should you receive documents that are difficult for you to navigate, please contact your child's regular classroom teacher, special education teacher, and our principal, Ms. Spagnolo. We value each child and we encourage each child to work to his/her potential.

Sacred Heart has encompassed the Differentiation of Instruction model in the 2007-2008 school year and we feel that there have been excellent gains as far as students understanding their strengths and needs. We have encouraged students to recognize what their preferred style of learning is, and our staff has made choices available to students (process, content and/or product). What all this means is that your child is able to use his/her preferences in academic situations, with the intent of encouraging your child to more involved in the learning process and to be more interested in the tasks required of him/her.

As a parent, you have entrusted the education of your child to our staff. We thank you for your confidence. You are encouraged to read the link Suggestions and Resources to discover the ways you can support your child’s learning.

Firstly, you must know your students. Secondly, think about how to encourage your students to be more involved in their learning. Differentiated Instruction is the one way in which we can remove barriers for all our students. By giving choice in the process, content and/or product of a lesson, our students will feel ownership and will be willing to accomplish more.

As a professional working in the education system today, you are strongly encouraged to program for the varying levels of ability and interest. Your focus for differentiation can occur on three levels: process, content and product.

The process is the way in which you plan to teach. Most individuals use a traditional lecture, while some prefer a Socratic method. Think about the learning styles of your students. Can you adequately cater to the Kinesthetic learners in your class? Will the Visual learners have enough material to support their understanding? Are the Auditory learners capturing information from your delivery style?

The content refers to the material itself. How can this be varied to speak to the various learning profiles of the students in your class?

The product is the assignment or task that you have given to your students and the completion of this product is what demonstrates understanding.

While the Special Education team at Sacred Heart Catholic School does complete a number of profiles for the students in your class, it is also strongly encouraged that you profile yourself and compare these results to those of your class. Look at your presentation and see which students are set up for success, and which students are not gaining positive experiences from your style. Visit http://literacyworks.org/mi/assessment/findyourstrengths.html to see what your stronger intelligences are and make sure to check again towards the end of the year (as with anything else, practice can help). Also, consider what type of learner you are. See a member of the Special Education team, or look in Brain-based Strategies to Reach Every Learner by J. Diane Connell (Scholastic, 2005) for a copy of "What Kind of Learner are You?"