DIFFERENTIATED INSTRUCTION

1. DIFFERENTIATEDINSTRUCTION Practical Classroom Ideas and Information for Effective Implementation

2. WHAT is Differentiated Instruction? • Differentiated Instruction is a flexible approach to teaching in which the teacher plans and carries out varied approaches to content, process, and product in anticipation of and response to student differences in readiness, interests, and learning needs. • Responsive teaching rather than one-size-fits-all teaching. • Planning for unpredictability in the classroom. • Adjusting instruction to accommodate the needs of all learners. • Proactively planning a variety of ways to “get at” and express learning.

3. WHY Differentiate Instruction? • We differentiate to access learning, to provide motivation for learning, and to create efficient learning. • Students will be motivated to learn new things when they are connected to their varied interests and when the instruction is developmentally appropriate. • The learning process is more effective when information is accessed and expressed through the learners preferred mode. • The path one learner takes may be different than his/her peers.

4. How To Plan For Unpredictability? • Realize that some students instantly understand. • Realize that some students will understand after being taught a different way or with more practice. • Realize that some students learn after much practice and being taught many different ways.

5. Teachers Who Differentiate Have Successful Learners for the following Reasons: • Attending to teacher-student relationships contributes to student energy for learning. • Attending to the learning environment builds a context for learning. • Attending to students' backgrounds and needs builds bridges that connect learners and important content. • Attending to student readiness allows for academic growth. • Attending to student interests enlists student motivation. • Attending to student learning profiles enables efficiency of learning.

6. WHERE to begin? • All good differentiated instruction begins with ASSESSMENT. • You MUST genuinely know your students. • Restructure HOW you teach, not necessarily what you teach.

7. Keep This In Mind: • The students who GET IT will need to move on to advanced (enrichment) activities. • The students who Are Not Quite There will need additional assistance and then move on to extension activities at their level of understanding. • The students who still Do Not Understand will need small group instruction from the teacher to re-teach and reinforce the skills. • All the materials and activities should be preplanned and prepared/organized for effective use in the classroom.

9. Still LOST in this maze of Differentiation? • Here’s a few ideas to help you find your way: • Utilize the different ways to differentiate instruction. • Use varied groupings for differentiation. • Provide different methods of assessing learning.

10. WAYS to Differentiate Instruction:INTERESTS • Give choice of mode for expressing learning. • Use interest-based mentoring. • Give choice of tasks and products. • Give broad access to varied materials and technologies. • Encourage application of broad concepts and principles to student interest areas.

11. WAYS to Differentiate Instruction :READINESS • Add or remove scaffolding. • Vary difficulty level of text and supplementary materials. • Flexible use of time. • Vary direct instruction of small group. • Adjust proximity of ideas to student experience or background knowledge.

12. WAYS to Differentiate Instruction :LEARNING PROFILE • Create an environment with flexible learning spaces and options. • Allow working alone or with peers. • Vary teaching mode of presentation (visual, kinesthetic, auditory, concrete and abstract). • Adjust for gender, culture, and language differences. • Use multiple modes of assessment.

14. Grouping for Differentiated Instruction • Whole Class • Small Groups • Partners • Independent (Individual)

15. Whole Class • ADVANTAGES: • Builds a community of learners. • Provides a common knowledge base of all learners. • DISADVANTAGES: • Differentiating instruction is more difficult. • Some students can become frustrated or bored depending upon the level of the lesson. • Students may not interact as planned. • WHEN IT WORKS: • Different learners are considered when planning instruction. • All members of the class are provided with a similar experience.

16. Small Groups • ADVANTAGES: • Provides for focused instruction. • Engages more learners. • Students learn to work with one another. • DISADVANTAGES: • Students might be grouped together for too long. • Student perceptions of groups can be negative. • Students may not interact with other students. • WHEN IT WORKS: • Group members change on a regular basis. • Students are taught how to respond to each other.

17. Partners (Pairs) • ADVANTAGES: • Focused students. • Enables relationships to develop. • Encourages independent learning so the teacher can help those who need further assistance. • DISADVANTAGES: • One of the two students may become too dependent on the other. • One of the two may dominate. • WHEN IT WORKS: • Partners are switched on a regular basis. • Procedures are clearly understood by both students.

18. Independent (Individual) • ADVANTAGES: • Allows students to develop their own understanding. • Enables the teacher to evaluate the individual’s progress and level of understanding. • DISADVANTAGES: • Can be difficult to organize. • Students may become easily distracted or lose focus. • Little sense of community. • WHEN IT WORKS: • Students understand procedures. • An effort is made to bring the students back together (in small or large groups) to discuss what they’ve learned.

19. Flexible Groups • Flexible grouping is the heart of differentiated instruction. • Grouping for instruction is fluid, and its use is flexible. • There are parts of the day that students might work individually, with partners, in small groups, or as a whole group. • Grouping is based on the NEEDS and INTERESTS of the students.

20. Flexible Groups • Groups Need: • Clear Rules • Understanding of the task • Exemplars • Assigned Roles • Time Frames (including deadlines) • Space to work • Understanding that each member contributes

21. TWEENS!

22. There are 7 conditions that adolescents crave: • Competence and Achievement • Opportunities for Self-Definition • Creative Expression • Physical Activity • Positive Social Interactions with Peers and Adults • Structure and Clear Limits • Meaningful Participation in Family, School, and Community.

23. Differentiating for Middle School Students • Strategy #1: Teach to Developmental Needs. • Strategy #2: Treat Academic Struggle as Strength. • Strategy #3: Provide Multiple Pathways to Standards. • Strategy #4: Give Formative Feedback. • Strategy #5: Dare to be Unconventional.

25. Get To Know 15 • Use learning inventories. • Have them verbalize how they are finding solutions. • Give them choices of activities and note their choices. • Teach them concepts in more than one way and note which way works for them. • Your other students are a lot like those 15 students.

26. Making Differentiation Doable • Begin with one class: • Need is greatest • Where you feel the most comfortable • For brief time spans. • With part of the class. • At the end of a time block.

27. Easy Ways to Get STARTED • Use small group instruction. • Teach in multiple modes. • Give the option to work alone or with a peer. • Regularly connect details to the “big picture” of meaning. • Connect ideas to student interests. • Ask student advice on class activities.

28. Easy Ways to Get STARTED • Student generated Interest Surveys. • Learning Modalities and/or Multiple Intelligence Surveys. • Vary the Homework. • Connect school work with life beyond the classroom. • Set personal criteria for student success. • Encourage students to develop personal criteria for success. • Watch More and Listen Better!

30. 10 Things to Avoid in a Differentiated Classroom 1. Penalizing students for multiple attempts at mastery. 2. Grading practice (daily homework), when feedback is what is needed. 3. Withholding assistance (by not scaffolding or differentiating) when it’s needed. 4. Group Grades. • Incorporating non-academic factors into grading (behavior, attendance, and effort).

31. 10 Things to Avoid in a Differentiated Classroom 6. Assessing students in ways that do not accurately indicate students’ mastery. • Defining supposedly criterion-based grades in terms of norm-referenced descriptions (“average”, etc). 8. Allowing Extra Credit. 9. Grading on a curve. 10. Recording zeroes on a 100 point scale for work not done.

32. RESOURCES Carol Ann Tomlinson, “Differentiated Instruction: Getting Started with Differentiation” Dr. Marlyn Appelbaum, “The Middle School Guide to Differentiated Instruction” Rick Wormeli, “Differentiated Grading” Jennifer Rush, “What’s the “Diff” in Differentiated Instruction?” Jen McDonald, “Differentiated Instruction Through Multiple Intelligences” All information taken from session packets at the 2007 National Middle School Conference, except for the following: Tomlinson & McTighe (2006),“Integrating Differentiated Instruction” Rick Wormeli (2006), “Differentiating for Tweens”