“Lessons” by S .D . Co l l i n s

The ass ignment was to d raw the moon .

Fi l l ed w i th k inderga r ten wonder she c l imbedas h igh as the rus t ing sw ing cou ld off er ,ba lanced in the phosphorescen trays o f the even ing ’s bus inessand saw beyond to the a i ry reg ionswhere bands o f cha lky c i r rus c rossedt ra i l s o f j e t s fo rm ing t i c - tac - toe ba t t l e p la insp layed by ea r th and sky. Too , she no ted howin a l l t he s ta rs tha t fl ecked the e the rno t a one was ye l l ow o r fi ve -po in tedbu t were spa rk les o f p ix ie -dus t r i pefo r scoop ing and sp r ink l i ng a t show-and - te l l .Tha t n igh t she l ooked w i th the wonder o f Copern i cus ,was k i s sed by fl ames tha t swa l l owed van Goghand wanted to sha re i t a l l w i th a l l who ca red to knowwhat she now knew to be a n igh t sky. Us ing everyshade o f co lo r o f he r b lun ted c rayons , she d rew:f rom eyes to m ind to hear t to hands she d rew.Who knew her g rea tes t l esson wou ld be in d i scover ingthe d i sp i r i t ed f rown o f an exac t ing teacherwho ac ross cu r led l i p s b rea thed ,

The ass ignment was to d raw the moon .

WHY DIFFERENTIATE?

Sun West Teachers’ AssociationAugust 26, 2011

DIFFERENTIATED INSTRUCTION

Explain to a new student teacher what diff erentiation is in terms of what he/she would be doing in the classroom and why. The defi nition should help develop an image of diff erentiation in action.

Write a definition of differentiation you feel clarifies its key intent, elements and principles.

WHAT IS DIFFERENTIATION?

Develop a metaphor, analogy, or visual symbol that you think represents and clarifies what’s important to understand about diff erentiation.

“In the context of education, we define differentiation as a teacher’s reacting responsively to a learner’s needs… The goal of a differentiated classroom is maximum student growth and individual success.”

Toml inson & A l lan , 2002

WHAT IS DIFFERENTIATED INSTRUCTION?

Session Outcomes

PARTICIPANTS WILL UNDERSTAND FRAMEWORK OF DIFFERENTIATED INSTRUCTION

PARTICIPANTS WILL BE ABLE TO USE STRATEGIES TO HELP DIFFERENTIATE INSTRUCTION

PARTICIPANTS WILL KNOW HOW TO START INCORPORATING DIFFERENTIATION

PAVING THE WAY TO LEARNING

Mindset Connections

Community

THE POWER OF MINDSET

Fixed

Success comes from being

smart

Genetics, environment

determine what we can do

Some kids are smart – some

aren’t

Teachers can’t override students’ profiles

Growth

Success comes from effort

With hard work, most students can do most

things

Teachers can override students’ profiles

Teachers need to find the thing

that makes school work for

a student.

HOW DO YOU DEAL WITH CHALLENGING SITUATIONS?

Host: We entered all of the flight data into a computer (speed, location, landing distance, etc.) Sir, the computer said you couldn’t land the plane successfully.

Captain Sullenberger: Then I’m glad the computer wasn’t flying the plane.

WHAT KIND OF PILOT ARE YOU?

PAVING THE WAY TO LEARNING

Mindset Connections

Community

Talk at the doorEarly interest

assessmentsSmall group

instructionStudent conferencesAsk for student

inputBuild curriculum on

student culture and interests

Dialogue journalsShare your own

interestsObserve students

outside of the class

Go to student events/extracurricular activities

CONNECTING WITH KIDS

CARING TEACHERS

Share with your colleagues…

A time when a connection you had with a student helped them as a learner

A time when as an educator, you missed an opportunity to connect. Can you gather any ideas about what you might have done differently?

YOUR CALL

PAVING THE WAY TO LEARNING

Mindset Connections

Community

HOW COMMUNITY EVOLVES OVER TIME

Establishes the framework for a responsive classroom Each student’s need for a “next step” Responsibility for own growth “We’ve got your back” mentality Competition against self (vs. others) Fair because each student gets what he/she needs to

succeed Working like colleagues

BUILDING COMMUNITY

Begins with teacher mindsetExtends to student belief in one anotherSupports the belief that we win or lose togetherEnsures security/safety necessary for academic

growthEnables students to work as a teamProvides the teacher with “teammates” too

http://surfaquarium.com/MI/inventory.htmhttp://

literacyworks.org/mi/assessment/findyourstrengths.html

http://www.bgfl .org/bgfl /custom/resources_ftp/client_ftp/ks3/ict/multiple_int/index.htm

http://daretodiff erentiate.wikispaces.com/Knowing+the+Learner

LEARNING PROFILE RESOURCES

Reading partners Read/Summarize Read/Question/Answer Visual Organizer/Summarizer Parallel Reading with teacher prompt

WAYS TO DIFFERENTIATE CONTENT

Choral ReadingSplit JournalsBooks on TapeDigests (Coles Notes version)Varied textsNote-taking organizersHighlighted textThink-Pair-Share

WAYS TO DIFFERENTIATE PRODUCT

RAFTsCubing, Think DotsChoices based on intelligencesCentresTiered lessons Contracts

WAYS TO DIFFERENTIATE PROCESS

SO WHAT?

HOW DO I GET STARTED?

Think of a student you know well

Fill in the profile for this student

DEVELOPING STRATEGIES

Take a moment to scan the strategies that have been summarized for you by Sun West learning coaches

Can you add to the list?

REVIEW STRATEGIES

In your group, think of an outcome you are familiar with

Discuss a common method you would likely use to help students master this outcome

Review the profiles of your (pseudo) students

Discuss how you could differentiate this lesson

DEVELOPING STRATEGIES

BEGIN SLOWLY – JUST BEGIN!