Utilizing Home Visits to Support Differentiation in an Elementary Classroom

• In Event: 77.047 - How Families Are Received in Schools

Abstract

Research has provided some insight regarding the benefits of home visits in the elementary years, particularly in terms of family engagement in schools. We know less about the nature of home visits themselves or about what teachers learn from the visits that they can take back to their classrooms. The goal of this study was to add to the literature on how knowledge of place can inform differentiated teaching. We studied how one teacher’s learning about children’s homes and families supported her differentiation and her work with individual children. This work has implications for practitioners, conducting home visits and employing differentiation in their classrooms. Future research should continue to examine the intersection of differentiation and place-based education.

Authors

• Ariel Cornett, University of Virginia

• Stephanie van Hover, University of Virginia