REACHING ALL CHILDRENREACHING ALL CHILDREN IN THE CLASSROOM: IN THE CLASSROOM:
AN OVERVIEW OFAN OVERVIEW OFDIFFERENTIATION STRATEGIESDIFFERENTIATION STRATEGIES
Objectives
Overview of differentiated instruction
Implement several differentiation strategies
Identify things to consider when implementing differentiation at the classroom, school, and district level
Let’s Define Differentiated Instruction
Differentiated Instruction means creating multiple paths so that students of different abilities, interests, or learning needs experience equally appropriate ways to learn.
Differentiation means tailoring the instruction to meet individual needs. The use of ongoing assessment and flexible grouping makes this a successful approach to instruction.
The Rationale for Differentiated Instruction
Different levels of readiness
Different Interests
The Rationale for Differentiated Instruction
Different Ability Levels
Different Cognitive Needs
Differentiation: Content, Process, or ProductIf children do not learn the way we teach them, then we must teach them the way they learn.
Differentiating Content
• What we teach – The facts, skills, concepts, principles, and attitudes
&
• How we give access to the content – Text, audio, technology, dialog, hands on, etc.
Differentiating Content
Resource materials at varying readability levels
Audio and video recordings
Highlighted vocabulary
Charts and models
Varied resources
Peer and adult mentors
DIFFERENTIATING PROCESS
Process is how the learner comes to make sense of, understand, and “own” the key facts, concepts, generalizations, and skills of the content.
Differentiating Process (making sense and meaning of content)
Use leveled or tiered activities
Interest centers
Hands-on materials
Vary pacing according to readiness
Allow for working alone, in partners, trios, and small groups
Allow choice in strategies for processing and for expressing results of processing
What does Differentiating by Product mean?
A product is a means by which students demonstrate what they have come to know, understand, and be able to do (Tomlinson & Strickland, p. 8)
A major or culminating demonstration of student learning that comes at the end of a long period of learning (unit, marking period, etc)
What you expect the students to produce (Graphic Organizer, Paragraph, Speech, etc)
Differentiating Products(showing what is known and able to be done)
Tiered product choices
Model, use and encourage student use of technology within products and presentations
Provide product choices that range in choices from all multiple intelligences, options for gender, culture, and race
DIFFERENTIATION STRATEGIES
PRIOR KNOWLEDGE/READINESS:PRIOR KNOWLEDGE/READINESS:The Value of Pre-Assessment... The Value of Pre-Assessment...
Textbook PretestStudent/Teacher Conference - as short as a 5 minute talkK-W-L Chart – Journal - Write what you know about...List - If I say ... What does it make you think of?Concept Map...Student Reflection
~You can’t figure out what to teach ’em if you don’t ~You can’t figure out what to teach ’em if you don’t know ’em!know ’em!
High-Prep Differentiation Strategies
• Tiered Activities • Flexible Grouping• Multiple Intelligences/Learning
styles• Jigsaws• Learning or Interest Centers• Stations• Literature Circles• Reading/Writing Workshop
Low-Prep Differentiation Strategies
• Mind-mapping/Graphic organizers• Use questions that are tailored to the students’
comprehension level (Bloom)• Think, Pair, Share• Manipulatives• Vary pacing / length of time • Reading buddies• Peer Tutoring• Personal/Individual Agendas• Technology-enhanced learning/webquests• Simulations• Models of student work at different degrees of
complexity
Tiered Activities
Designed to provide different levels of complexity, abstractness, and open-endedness. The curricular content and objective(s) are the same, but the process and/or product are varied according to the student’s level of readiness
What Can Be Tiered?
Processes, content and products
Assignments
Homework
Learning stations
Assessments
Writing prompts
Anchor activities
Materials
What Can We Adjust?
Level of complexity
Amount of structure
Pacing
Materials
Concrete to abstract
Options based on student interests
Options based on learning styles
Jigsaw Method
Stations• Learning stations are areas of the classroom
organized around a topic, theme, or skill. They can target students’ readiness levels, interests, or learning profiles. The teacher creates several stations that cover portions of the material. To learn about the topic, students must complete the activities at each station.
Flexible Grouping
Students work as part of many different groups depending on the task and/or content.
Groups assigned:
Readiness
Assigned by teacher
Randomly
Chosen by students
Allows students to work with a wide variety of peers and keeps them from being labeled
Flexible Grouping
Homogenous/Ability
-Clusters students of similar abilities, level, learning style, or interest.
-Usually based on some type of pre-assessment
Heterogeneous Groups
-Different abilities, levels or interest
- Good for promoting creative thinking.
Individualized orIndependent Study -Self paced learning -Teaches time
management and responsibility
-Good for remediation or extensions
Whole Class -Efficient way to present
new content -Use for initial instruction
Students choose from a menu of options.
Tasks vary by process and interest.
Some anchor activities can be required of all students.
Homework, projects, and assessment can be used as additional options.
24
Tic Tac Toe
*see book report example
25
Anchoring Activity (See the Anchoring Activity for: The Giver)
26
Self-paced, purposeful, content-driven activities that students can work on independently throughout a unit, a grading period, or longer
Meaningful ongoing activities related to the curriculum A list of activities that a student can do at
any time A long-term project An activity center/learning station located
in the room These activities must be worthy of a student’s
time and appropriate to their learning needs
Learning ContractsLearning Contracts A written agreement between the student and the
teacher which includes opportunities for the student to work relatively independently on primarily teacher-directed material.
The student has:
Some freedom in acquiring skills and understandings
Responsibility for learning independently
Guidelines for completing work
Guidelines for appropriate behavior
I will read: I will look at and listen to:
I will write:
I will draw: I will need:
Here’s how I will share what I know:
My question or topic is:
I will finish by this date:
To find out about my question or topic…
Learning Contract #1Name _______________________28
Learning Contract #2
To demonstrate what I have learned about ___________________, I want to
_ Write a report_ Put on a demonstration_ Set up an experiment_ Develop a computer presentation_ Build a model
_ Design a mural_ Write a song_ Make a movie_ Create a graphic organizer or diagram_ Other
This will be a good way to demonstrate understanding of this concept because _____________
To do this project, I will need help with ____________________________________________
My Action Plan is______________________________________________________________
The criteria/rubric which will be used to assess my final product is _______________________
My project will be completed by this date _____________________________
Student signature: ________________________________ Date ______/_____/____
Teacher signature: ________________________________ Date ___/___/___
29
Graphic Organizers & Note Taking
T-Notes Cornell Notes Lit Circle Q-Notes Inference Notes Cluster Notes Hierarchical Notes Think-in-Threes
Timeline Notes Venn Diagrams Conversational
Roundtable Episodic Notes Spreadsheet Notes This is a skill that
must be taught, use different organizers with a specific purpose in mind
Check what students create
Diverse needs learning styles interests
Provides Choices encourages student responsibility
31
Peer collaboration
• Learn more content when taught with peer-mediated learning
• In a diverse group of peers
• learn from the strengths of others
• feel like their own contribution is worthwhile.
32
Use of the learning profile will determine how the students prefer to learn.
Learning and recognizing student interests will connect the student interests to the content of the curriculum.
33
• Consider the readiness level to provide more one-on-one instruction.
• Pre-assessments, ongoing assessments and final assessments
• Teacher is aware of where the students are in the learning process at all times.
• The students are engaged through facilitation, which gives them an opportunity for growth.
34
The classroom environment will provide students with choices to learn by manipulating different areas of the classroom.
Various learning styles will make a teacher more flexible understanding of all types of learners
The awareness of student learning, interests, and readiness levels will include students with learning differences and gifted students.
35
Differentiation Scenario Activity
36
High expectations for all students Adjustment of content Providing students with choices Assigning activities geared to
different learning styles
Interests
levels of thinking
37
Acknowledgement of individual needs
Assessment to determine student growth and new needs
38
The biggest mistake we have The biggest mistake we have
made in past centuries in made in past centuries in
teaching has been to treat all teaching has been to treat all
children as if they were variants children as if they were variants
of the same individual and thus of the same individual and thus
to feel justified in teaching them to feel justified in teaching them
the same subjects in the same the same subjects in the same
ways. ways.
~Howard Gardner~Howard Gardner