Differentiating InstructionHeather Yungbluth, NCVPS teacher

and department chair

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4oAB83Z1ydE

Dare to be different

The one room schoolhouse

Describe the students that might attend this school. How is the student population similar to your classroom?How is the student population different?

Differentiation is one approach used by teachers to overcome the challenges of a mixed-ability classroom. In our session, we will explore differentiation methods of instruction to reach a student's fullest learning potential.

An introduction

Diversity is the difference in a population. Diversity is well beyond physical attributes. It is everything that makes us unique.

What is diversity?

Enter your answer in the text chat area:

Name one way you are diverse

Poll

As a teacher, we need to identify the diversity in the classroom and apply our teaching skills to best suit the needs of our diverse classroom. This methodology is called differentiating instruction.

What is diversity?

What store are you most likely to shop at for clothing?

A. Ann TaylorB. Banana RepublicC. Hot TopicD. Walmart

Choose the best answer

What store would your students most likely shop at for clothing?

A. Ann TaylorB. Banana RepublicC. Hot TopicD. Walmart

Choose the best answer

Retail clothing stores have a well defined image and brand associated with it. How do you feel walking into Ann Taylor? Banana Republic? Hot Topic? Hollister?

An analogy: One size does NOT fit all

The clothing in one store seems to “fit” better than other stores. Once we have identified a store to shop from, then we can select from a range of sizes and colors. One size, one store does not fit all.

One size does NOT fit all

Just like the clothing store analogy, student interests vary greatly, both in topic and in intensity. At any given time, one student can reflect differing levels of academic readiness in various subjects. And to complicate things further, readiness and interest can vary for a given student over time and depending on subject matter.

One size does NOT fit all

In school, differentiating instruction makes learning more comfortable, engaging and inviting. One size fits all is uncomfortable and will sag and pinch, like one size fits all clothing.

Differentiation suggest that it is possible to develop your classroom and provide for both equity and excellence.

A user-friendly approach to instruction

Every unit in Mrs. Smith’s room is quite consistent. Everyone in the class reads the same chapter, takes the same notes, complete the same end-of-chapter questions and takes the same quiz. Mrs. Smith’s class is, well, very boring.

An example of one size fits all instruction

In the 70’s, individualized instruction created an individual assignment for each student in the classroom. This was exhausting for the teacher and made learning fragmented and largely irrelevant. Differentiation does not assume a separate level for each student.

Differentiation is not individualized instruction

Does this sound familiar? Sam, you are in the bluebird group. Pat, you are a cardinal. Mike, you are a buzzard. Once a buzzard, always a buzzard and you will always work with buzzards.

What are the challenges to homogenous grouping?

Differentiation is not homogeneous grouping

Differentiation is: Proactive Student-centered Flexible grouping Qualitative, not quantitative Multiple approaches A blended classroom

What exactly is Differentiation?

A teacher who uses differentiation needs to apply the two main concepts:

1. students differ in their learning needs2. A classroom is more productive and effective where students are active learners than those that are passive recipients

Two main concepts

Be clear on the key concepts and generalizations

Think of assessments as a road map. Lessons for all students should be engaging

and promote critical thinking. Teach for success, not “gotcha”

How do we differentiate instruction? Where do I start?

A student who is “at risk” may be proficient in talents that are treated as secondary, such as leadership among peers, story telling, or building things. Relevant tasks makes a person feel empowered and engaged.

Every student has potential.

Focus on what they can do

interest When we catch a fish, we bait the hook with what the fish like, not with what the fisherman likes (Gregory and Chapman 2003)

readiness One study found that when students were learning at about 80% accuracy they learned more and felt better about themselves (Tomlinson 2002)

Learning style Visual, auditory, kinesthetic, auditory, linguistic, etc.

3 ways in which students differ

In order to determine what your students need to know, it is important to assess their current understanding. This can be accomplished with a pretest or observation. The results will help you prepare your lesson plans with the learner in mind.

Assessing the needs of your students

Have students set SMART learning goals based on their current objective level and their anticipated new level. Create a written progress plan based on these coals.

Students keep track of their written progress plan in their notebook

Students maintain reading records, assignments, notes, and grades

Student-led conferences

Student-led performance goals

Independent note taking (highly organized)Graphic organizersAnnotations (sticky notes, comments)Guided notes (fill in the blank)Highlight the notesRecord the lecture (audio visual)

Taking notes

A textbook will not meet the needs of all learners. It can be too complex for some and too simple for others.

Enrich your text-based content with notes, articles, magazines, brochures, and web resources.

Vary your reading practices with teacher read-alouds, student-led reading, and independent reading.

Use a variety of reading material

A good activity

Is something that students will make or do using a skill and

information in order to understand an idea or answer an essential question.

A good differentiated

activity

Is something that students will make or do In a range at varied

degrees of sophistication With varied amounts of

teacher and peer support Using skills and

information to understand an idea or answer an essential question

Differentiation by Interest:Link interests with a your choice activity

Tiered assignments by adaptive release based on pre-assessment results

novice, intermediate, advanced

Assignment strategies

Low and high prep activities

Low prep differentiation

Reading buddies Variety of journal prompts Think-pair-share Jigsaw Real-time data collection

High prep differentiation

Alternative assessments Simulations Problem-based learning Graduated rubrics Varying organizers Webquests Virtual field trips

Wikis Blogs Discussion boards Live classroom, breakout sessions Anything else?

Collaborative activities in an online environment

A jigsaw is a cooperative activity. Students work with peers on a given topic. Afterwards, they return to a home base group to share what they have learned.

Jigsaw

Jigsaw Example

Think-Pair-Share is a cooperative discussion strategy. It gets its name from the three stages of student action, with emphasis on what students are to be DOING at each of those stages.

Why Should I Use Think-Pair-Share?We know that students learn, in part, by being able to talk about the content. But we do not want that to be a free-for-all.

Think-Pair-Share

1) Think. The teacher provides a question, prompt or observation. The students should take a few moments to THINK about the question.

2) Pair. Using designated partners, or nearby neighbors, students PAIR up to talk about the answer identify the answers they think are best.

3) Share. After students talk in pairs, the teacher calls for pairs to SHARE their thinking with the rest of the class. Often, the teacher or a designated helper will record these responses on the board or on the overhead.

How Does It Work?

What if they don’t get it? Consider that it is possible that students did not get it because of the method of approach. Another possibility is other distractions or lack of interest.Instead of allowing the students to redo an assignment, consider adding enrichment or remediation assignment to your lessons.

Enrichment or remediation?

Remediation will help a student revisit the concepts in a different way. Vary your approach and the assignment structure. Stick to the main concepts.

Provide step-by-step instructions and, when possible, a dictionary.

Enrichment or remediation?

What if they get it at a broader level? Students working above the content level may need more of a challenge with an enrichment activity.

One example:http://glencoe.mcgraw-hill.com/sites/0078805775/student_view0/enrichment_activities.html

Enrichment or remediation?

A differentiated approach to teaching also requires a different approach to grading.

Portfolio-based assessments Performance-based assessments Consider two grades: a traditional grade for

proficiency and another for individual goal progress

The grand Finale: Grading

http://udltechtoolkit.wikispaces.com/

A high level of differentiation: Universal Design for Learning

Differentiation is a results-oriented approach to meet the needs of diverse learners through the:

CONTENT PROCESS PRODUCT

In summary

Please share differentiation methods you have used in your classroom

Questions?

It’s your turn…