In Yamane Hill’s 12th grade classroom, no two assignments look the same.
Some students complete writing assignments. Others respond through audio recordings, visuals, or hands-on work.
The content stays the same, but the way students demonstrate understanding changes based on what helps them access the material.
“I make question trails. I make stations. When I had a VR system, I’d make interactive experiences,” Hill says. “Differentiation is my favorite thing in the whole world. Any chance I get, that's what I try to do.”
Hill teaches in a small K-12 setting where students with different readiness levels learn within the same classroom. That reality requires flexibility.
Through the University of Louisiana at Lafayette's online Master of Education in Gifted Education, Hill found instructional strategies that helped her design curricula intentionally.
Finding Her Place麻豆视频在线观看
Hill first arrived at UL Lafayette as an undergraduate intending to become a nurse.
She made it to clinical rotations before realizing the work wasn't right for her. On the last day of her first rotation, she knew she had to pivot.
"My mom asked, 'What are you gonna do?'" Hill says.
She decided her best next step was to leverage her English minor into teaching.
"I switched to education and just never looked back."
After earning her bachelor's degree in secondary education with a concentration in English, Hill accepted a full-time position teaching technical writing.
By the end of her first year, she’d been named Teacher of the Year at her school and Teacher of the Year for the entire parish.
Hill was thriving, challenged by her students to adapt and expand.
"I'm learning something new every day. I'm never bored," she says.
"The kids always say or do something different. With English in particular, there's never a right answer. I always like to see their perspectives."
As she gained experience in the classroom, Hill wanted more tools to meet students where they were. She enrolled in UL Lafayette’s online M.Ed. in Gifted Education, looking for strategies she could immediately put into practice with her students.
Building More Ways In
Once she stepped into the classroom, Hill was energized by figuring out how different students learn. The M.Ed. online gave her a framework for identifying and responding to different learning needs.
Courses like SPED 509: Instructional Strategies for Teaching the Gifted and SPED 510: Curriculum Development for the Gifted challenged her to think creatively about how lessons were designed.
"The program is for teaching gifted kids, but it applies to all," she says. "You can tweak the curriculum to engage students at any level."
For her capstone project, Hill implemented tiered instruction in a psychology class where students with different abilities learned side by side.
"It would be the same work, but the approach was different, the level of difficulty was different. They made it to the same destination by the end," she says.
The online experience itself also reshaped her expectations.
Faculty checked in regularly. Professors made time for video calls around her schedule. Classmates reviewed each other's work and answered questions in group chats.
"It was a big bear-hug experience," she says. "I didn't think that would be the case in an online program."
There's Always a Way
Students tell Hill all the time that they don't get it. Something is too hard.
She shows them otherwise.
"There are so many tools," she says. "So when people say they just don't get it, it's too hard, it's not really plausible."
"There's always a way."
Take the next step in your teaching career with an online M.Ed. in Gifted Education.
