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Differentiated Instruction for Science Years 7 & 8

1.0 Aim

The aim of the Guidelines on Differentiated Instruction for Science Years 7 & 8 is to

give professional suggestions to practicing science teachers on the extent of thesyllabus taught. It is envisaged that this endeavour will improve the quality ofteaching and learning in schools by addressing the needs of every individual learnerin the mixed ability classroom.

2.0 Objectives

The Guidelines on Differentiated Instruction for Science Years 7 & 8 will allowteachers to practise the philosophy of differentiated instruction. Through theimplementation of differentiated instruction, teachers should be able to:

plan lessons that meet the needs of academically, linguistically and culturallydiverse learners;

teach efficiently in the ways that students best learn; and

treat students fairly and justly as well as creating equal opportunities for everystudent to be successful, in other words equity.

In order to effectively meet the demands of diverse learners in a mixed abilityclassroom, teachers must focus on equity.

3.0 Differentiated Instruction

3.1 Introduction

Teachers need to carry out differentiated instruction for the following reasons:

Every student has different learning styles and is thus different from oneanother;

Every student is at different readiness level; and

Every student wants to succeed.

Thus, differentiated instruction is responsive teaching rather than one-size-fits-allteaching.

A rationale for differentiated instruction comes from, research and educationalcommon sense. Many, if not most classrooms have students representing bothgenders, different cultures, students who do not speak English as a first languageand generally have students with a range of exceptionalities and markedly differentexperiential backgrounds. These students almost certainly will work at differingreadiness levels, have varying interests and learn in a variety of ways.

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Based on theory and research (Ellis and Worthington, 1994; McAdamis, 2001;Bender, W.N. 2002), classrooms using differentiated instruction can meet the needsof most students. When implementing differentiated instruction, teachers need to beflexible in their approach to teaching and adjusting the presentation of information tolearners rather than expecting students to modify themselves for the curriculum.

Classroom teaching is a blend of whole-class, group and individual instruction

3.2 What is Differentiated Instruction?

A fuller definition of differentiated instruction is that a teacher proactively plansvaried approaches to what students need to learn, how they will learn it, and / orhow they can express what they have learned in order to increase the likelihood thateach student will learn as much as he or she can as efficiently as possible.(Tomlinson, 2003, p.151)

In other words, differentiation can show us how to teach the same standards to arange of learners by employing a variety of teaching and learning modes.(Tomlinson, 2000, pp. 8-9)

Differentiated instruction is a teaching theory based on the premise that instructionalapproaches should vary and be adapted to meet the needs of a mixed abilityclassroom.

The intent of differentiating instruction is to maximise each students learning growthby recognising students varying background knowledge (readiness), languageproficiency, preferences in learning, interests and to react responsively.

The table which is adapted from Ontario Ministry of Education (2004), summarisesthe main characteristics of a differentiating instruction model classroom.

No. Differentiated instructiondoes include

Differentiated instruction does notinclude

1. Every student is learning thesame thing but in differentways and at different levels.

Every student is not learning somethingdifferent.

Every student does not need to be taughtindividually.

2. Use flexible grouping to meet

needs of students.

Using groups that never change or isolating

struggling students within the class.3. If you have classroom

management problems, youneed to solve them before youcan begin to differentiateinstruction.

Disorderly and undisciplined student activity.

4. Make small changes at onetime.

Making too many changes at one time.Then, nothing works because teachers cantfocus on a large number of new things atone time, so they give up trying.

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3.3 Elements of Differentiated Instruction

There are three elements of differentiated instruction. Therefore, you candifferentiate:

i) Content

The content refers to what the students need to learn. The content ofinstruction should address the same concepts with all students but should beadjusted by degree of complexity for the diverse learners in the classroom.

ii) Process

The process refers to the methods of delivering the instructions in order toimpart knowledge to students. For examples tiered assignments, flexiblegrouping, scientific enquiry approach, etc.

iii) Product

Product refers to how a student demonstrates what he or she has learnt. Theproduct can take the form of both formative and summative assessments.Some examples of formative assessments include interviews, oralpresentations, performance based assessments, rubrics, portfolios, etc.

Teachers can differentiate instruction according to the students readiness, interestsand learning profile.

Readiness is the current knowledge, understanding and skill level a student hasrelated to a particular sequence of learning. It is important to note that readiness isnot merely a synonym for general ability level but rather it reflects what a studentknows, understands and can do today in light of what the teacher is planning toteach today.

Interests refer to what a student enjoys learning about, thinking about and doing. Indifferentiating instruction according to students interest, a teacher attempts toincrease the likelihood that any given lesson or project is at once highly engagingand personally meaningful for each student in the class.

A learning profile is a students preferred mode of learning. When differentiatinginstruction, a teacher needs to consider the students preferred learning style(visual, auditory, tactile or kinesthetic), grouping preferences (individual, small groupor large group) and environment preferences (lots of space or quiet area to work).

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4.0 Suggestions on How to Use the Guidelines on Differentiated Instruction forScience Years 7 & 8

The following are steps to be taken to ensure that differentiation can be attained orachieved by teachers:

Learning Pathways

Students are categorised into three learning pathways. The three learningpathways for students are:

i) Must do group of students who are struggling with the concept;ii) Should do group of students who have some understanding of the

concept; andiii) Could do group of students who understand the concept.

Figure 1 below illustrates the three learning pathways.

Key Concepts andprocess skills

Figure 1

Adapted from Carol Tomlinson (1995) How to Differentiate Instruction in Mixed AbilityClassroom

Optional Learning Objectives

Some objectives are indicated as optional in the document of Guidelines ofDifferentiated Instruction for Years 7 & 8 (page 11-27). Teachers should usetheir professional judgement and discretion to decide whether or not to teach theoptional objectives to the must do group.

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Must do group :students who are

struggling withthe concept

Should dogroup: studentswho have someunderstanding of

the concept

Could do group :student who

understand theconcept


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Team Work

Teachers should work together to produce relevant teaching resources andshare the resources. Reading about examples of differentiated instruction anddiscussing with colleagues and other teachers who are practicing differentiated

instruction can be very enlightening. However, teachers need to bear in mindthat what works in one context may not work in another context.

Much of the planning and preparation should be done before a teacher begins toteach a class. Diagnostic and formative assessment, tiered assignments, flexiblegrouping strategies, etc should be carefully prepared well in advance.

Differentiated instruction does not negate the need for activities in which allstudents are working on the same learning task at the same time, whetherindividually, in small groups or as a whole class. However, within a differentiatedframework, a teacher will frequently choose to assign tasks of different levels of

difficulty to different students based on observations of students in the class. Forexample, some students may require remedial activities while others needextension activities. With practice, the teacher can respond to such diverseneeds on the spot.

5.0 Procedure on How to Plan for Differentiated Instruction

Step 1: Know Your Students

Survey the ability levels, interests and learning styles of students. This can be done

by performing pretests. Pretests may take various forms of which some arementioned below.

Formal test (teacher prepared pretests);

Oral assessments e.g. questioning ;

Picture interpretation;

Diagram labeling;

Problem solving scenarios;

Prediction;

Teacher observation / checklist;

Show of hands to determine understanding;

Completing concept maps; KWL charts (What I Know, What I Would Like to Know, What Have I Learnt);

and

Past record of student performance

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It is also important to know your students informally. This can be done by using aninterest inventory, conducting an interview or asking students to respond to aquestionnaire with key questions about their learning preferences. Sometimesknowing students preferences can help motivate students to attend to any tasksassigned.

Step 2: Have a Repertoire of Teaching Strategies

It is imperative that teachers use a variety of teaching strategies since one sizedoes not fit all. Some of the strategies that can be deployed are direct instruction,science by enquiry, cooperative learning, constructivism, etc.

The important thing to remember is to use teaching strategies that will facilitate theunderstanding of students. It is also about taking risks and trying teaching andlearning strategies that you would have otherwise ignored. These are exciting times

for the teaching profession since we are faced with a generation of learners who arechallenging us to think about how we deliver instruction.

Step 3: Identify a Variety of Instructional Activities

Teachers can tier the activities according to the readiness level of students. Thediagram below illustrates how to plan tiered assignments.

Create on-level tasks first and then adjust the level of difficulty up and down.

Below - Level Tasks for On-Level tasks Above-Level Tasksfor students struggling for students who have for students whowith the concepts (Must some understanding understand thedo group) of concept (Should do concept (Could do group) group)

Adjust the levels of difficultyof the tasks

Adapted from Carol Tomlinson (1995) How to Differentiate Instruction in Mixed AbilityClassroom

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When tiering assignments, besides adjusting the levels of difficulty the teacherswould have to adjust the followings:

Level of complexity of the content;

Amount of structure / Number of steps;

Materials; Time allocated for completing the task;

Form of expression; and

Level of Dependence.

Use flexible grouping and small-group instruction. In flexible grouping, thegrouping should not be stagnant. Therefore, frequent regrouping should occur.Students will benefit from interacting together when working on tasks such aspractical activity, written assignment, problem-solving activity, etc.

Have a variety of materials, resources and texts available for student use. Wellprepared teachers can give additional assignments to students who maycomplete their work before the allocated time. These additional assignments areknown as anchor activities, (Tomlinson,1995).

For visual learners use appropriate graphic organisers. Some examples ofgraphic organisers are:

i) An example of Fishbone Mapping

Cause 1 Cause 2

Detail Detail

Result

Detail Detail

Cause 3 Cause 4

Figure 2

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ii) An example of Chain of Events

Figure 3

iii) An example of Continuum

Low High

Figure 4

iv) An example of Compare and Contrast

Name 1 Name 2

Attribute 1

Attribute 2

Attribute 3

Figure 5

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First Event

Second Event

Final Event


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v) An example of a Cycle

Figure 6

vi) An example of cluster

Figure 7

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1 3

4

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vii) An example of Spider DiagramMain Idea

Detail

Topic /Concept

Figure 8

Step 4: Identify Ways to Evaluate Students Progress

Varying modes of assessment is necessary if students are to be given opportunities

to demonstrate authentic learning. A variety of assessment modes can includeportfolios, rubrics, performance based assessment, etc.

With these general principles in mind, determination to succeed and with patience,teachers can find what teaching strategies work best for their students. All it takes ispractice.

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