differentiated instruction middle school coaches february 3, 2011 yoly mccarthy curriculum support
TRANSCRIPT
Differentiated InstructionMiddle School
CoachesFebruary 3, 2011
Yoly McCarthyCurriculum Support
The teacher will be able to-
Know: What differentiated instruction is and how it can change the way a classroom is taught
Understand: The look of a differentiated class and how to implement a few of the strategies
Do: Develop an activity using differentiated strategies based on a subject specific benchmark.
If you always doWhat you’ve always done
You’ll always getWhat you’ve always got
Welcome: What is differentiation? Quiet Share (Pre-Assessment)
Classroom building/ Research for DI Having clear objectives (KUD) Pre-Assessment
Writing samples, concept map, surveys, data How to differentiate learning activities through
Content Process
How to differentiate homework in class Product
Multiple Intelligence Inventory Create a Think-Tac-Toe Writing choices: RAFT Anchor Activities Learning Centers Reviewing and Assessing: Exit Cards
Develop a metaphor, analogy, or visual symbol that you think what differentiation is to you.
Explain to a new teacher what you think differentiation is in terms of what he/she would be doing in the classroom and why. The definition should help the new teacher develop an image of what you think differentiation looks like in action.
Write a definition of
what you think
Differentiation Instruction is.
QUIET SHARE…
1. Pick a column 2.Write or think silently 3. Be ready to share when time is up
“What we call differentiation is not a recipe for teaching. It is not an instructional strategy. It is
not what a teacher does when he or she has time. It is a way of thinking about teaching and
learning. It is a philosophy.”
Carol Tomlinson, September 2000
Differentiation, according to Sprenger (2003) is “offering students multiple ways of taking in and expressing information”
Educators focus on “content, process, product, and environment” while addressing three basic tenets that students and teachers are both teachers and learners; everyone can learn, and that learning can be enjoyable (Sprenger, 2003, p.2).
• Respond to variations in students’
readiness
• Respond to the myriad of students’
interest
• Respect the various students’ learning
profiles
Or differentiate according to
The content within a benchmark
The process in which a student may learn
The product the student may produce
All of this depends on a safe, secure environment where students feel that they can share their interests, abilities, and opinions
Kids need to know that they can let their misconceptions be known without ridicule
1. How do teachers begin and end class time with their students?
2. In what ways do students assume ownership of their learning?
3. How do teachers understand and celebrate students’ similarities? Differences?
4. How do teachers know that each student feels included in the community? What actions do they take to ensure this?
Talk at the door Early interest
assessments Small group instruction Dialogue journals Student conferences Open room days Ask for student input Invite examples,
analogies, experiences Elicit input from
students
Listen Seek varied perspectives Share own interests,
questions, plans Start class with kid talk Go to student events Watch before & after
school, at lunch Keep student data cards
with interests and talents Take notes during class Use Socratic or student-
led discussions
1. Build a climate of trust that allows students to express themselves in an open, non-judgmental, non-threatening manner
2. Ensure that respect is mutual
3. Create a sense of safety
4. Facilitate the building of supportive and accepting relationships
Differentiated Instruction is the result of a synthesis of a number of educational theories and practices about teaching and learning modalities…to include: child psychology, behavior management, learning styles, multiple intelligences, assessment, .......
Brain research indicates that learning occurs when the learner experiences moderate challenge and relaxed alertness –readiness
Psychological research reveals that when interest is tapped, learners are more likely to find learning rewarding and become more autonomous as a learner.
Because learning styles change slowly it is harder to change a child's way of learning than to adapt instruction to their learning style (Yilmaz-Soylu, & Akkoyunlu, 2009).
When a teacher tries to teach something to the entire class at the same time, chances are… 1/3 of the kids already know it1/3 of the students will get it1/3 of the kids won’t get it
SO, 2/3 of the students are wasting their time.
Lillian Katz
When I feel lost in class… I play with my hair. I wish the teacher would know how I feel and would help me. I want to go home and watch TV. I get mad. I feel scared. Sometimes I try to listen harder but mostly it
doesn’t work. I get some much needed rest
When classes move too slowly… I color my nails with a pen. I listen to music in my head or to think back to a movie, to its
funny parts.
All students participate in respectful work.
Teacher and students work together to ensure continual engagement & challenge for each learner.
The teacher coordinates use of time, space, and activities.
Flexible grouping which includes whole class learning, pairs, student-selected groups, teacher selected groups, and random groups.
Is this a student in your class?
Socrates was a famous Greek teacher who went around giving people advice. They killed him. Socrates died from an overdose of wedlock.
Bach was the most famous composer in the world, and so was Handel. Handel was half-German, half-Italian, and half English. He was very large. Bach died from 1750 to the present. Beethoven wrote music even though he was deaf. He was so deaf, he wrote loud music. He took long walks in the forest even when everyone was calling for him. Beethoven expired in 1827 and later died for this.
I am not sure how clouds get formed. But the clouds know how to do it, and that is the important thing.
K.U.D. Know:Topic you want the student to know Understand:Characteristics of the topic you want the student
to understand Be Able to Do:Objectives and skills you want the student to be
able to complete or become proficient at(McTighe and Wiggins, 2005)
Choose any benchmark from the item specifications and write a KUD that would form a lesson (Backwards Design with the end in mind)
Know Understand DoExample from Social Science: Know: Facts, Definitions, Dates, Names, Places-The Holocaust occurred from 1938-1945; genocide, concentration
camps; Hitler Understand: Concepts, Abstract Big Ideas, Makes learning
meaningful to students, Connects topic to other topics-Tolerance, Injustice, Survival Do: Skills, Actions, Performance Analyze Elie Wiesel’s choices during his experiences in the Holocaust
Readiness (Pre-assessments, Diagnostic assessments)– Refers to readiness for a given skill, concept, or way of thinking Use data and pre-assessments to determine this and guide instruction
Interests and Attitudes – Have to do with those things that learners find relevant, fascinating, or worthy of their time
Done through surveys and discussions
Learning Profiles and Need – Refer to things such as learning styles, intelligence preferences, and how the learner sees himself in relation to the rest of the world
Need to pre-assess, assess, and re-assess throughout the curriculum Writing samples Concept Maps Surveys Data Intelligences Formative assessment probes Free form maps/ group drawing Listening in on student talk
With your group, DRAW everything you know about this topic to show us your understanding of it
Objects in the Universe
Content (What) Varied texts, learning contracts, mini-lessons, pre-
highlighted learning materials, note-taking organizers, high interest topics within the content
Process (How) Multiple intelligence inventory with an activity for each
kind (Sternberg), interest groups, flexible grouping, Jigsaw, Think-Pair-share, dialogue journals, math journals
Product Process Logs, Writing samples, Exit Cards, Concept
Maps, 3-2-1 summarizer
It doesn’t have to be difficult
Students complete the Multiple Intelligence Inventory independently
After they have determined their multiple intelligence level, they can draw or describe their profile on their class folder, journal, etc
Intelligences can change and be strengthened
Linguistic Logical/
Mathematical Spatial Bodily/
Kinesthetic
Musical Interpersonal Intrapersonal Naturalistic
Make a story about an imaginary character
who is a simple machine. Including
properties of it.
Make a poster advertising a new
simple machine you invented. Include cost
and use for it.
Name and draw 5 examples of simple
machines.
Build a miniature model of a simple
machine
Draw a picture describing at least 3 characteristics of a
simple machine
Make up a rhyming song or poem about
simple machine properties and
examples.
Use a sequence chart or timeline to describe
the invention of simple machines
throughout history.
Invent a new simple machine and draw a
plan for it with a description of its
purpose.
Make a matching game for children based on simple machines with
descriptions on the back of each card.
– Students should pick three according to three in a row
Steps:1. Identify the outcomes and instructional focus of a unit of study.2. Use assessment data and student profiles to determine student readiness,
learning styles, or interests.3. Design nine different tasks.4. Arrange the tasks on a choice board.5. Select one required task for all students. Place it in the center of the board.6. Students complete three tasks, one of which must be the task in the middle
square. The three tasks should complete a Tic-Tac-Toe row.Adaptations:
• Allow students to complete any three tasks—even if the completed tasks don’t make a Tic-Tac-Toe.
• Assign students tasks based on readiness.• Create different choice boards based on readiness. (Struggling students work with
the options on one choice board while more advanced students have different options.)
• Create choice board options based on learning styles or learning preferences. For example, a choice board could include three kinesthetic tasks, three auditory tasks, three visual tasks.
• Meet with your group choose a Florida standard and come up with nine varied activities students can do to learn the content.
Anchor activities are ongoing assignments that
students can work on independently,
throughout a unit, grading period, or longer.
Provide meaningful work for students when they…
•Finish an assignment or project
•When they first enter the class
•When they are “stumped”
Provide ongoing tasks that tie to the content and instruction.
Free up the classroom teacher to work with other groups of students or individuals
Brain busters Learning packets Activity box Learning / interest centers Vocabulary work FCAT Explorer Investigations FCAT Practice activities Magazine articles Jason Project Research questions or projects Commercial kits and materials Journals or Learning Logs Silent reading; Discovery articles Websites; GIZMOS, Discovery Learning
Role- You as a teacher leader Audience- Science teachers in your
school Format- Your choice Topic- Changing what we do to
ensure all our kids succeed
Should contain materials that promote the individual growth of the individual students
Include activities that vary from simple to complex, concrete to abstract
Provides clear directions for the students Uses materials and activities which address a wide
range of reading levels, learning profiles and student interests
Example: Cell Structure and FunctionCenter (Creative) 1: Draw a cell and label all its organelles and
their functions. Now make up your own cell with its own “organelles”.
Center (Analytical) 2: Develop a metaphor for the cell using an organization in real life such as a city, school, etc. Draw and describe all parts and what each one does.
Center (Practical) 3: Write a RAFT for the cell in which -the roles are the major organelles of the cell -the audience is the cell-the format is a plea -the topic is the reasons they should keep their job and why
Center (Teacher) 4: Listen to a mini lecture about the structure of the cell and be able to ask questions of the teacher. Fill out an exit card of what you learned and why it is important.
Center (Technology) 5: Use a Gizmo to learn the parts of the cell and the purposes for each.
With your partner create 5-10 centers that students can do (remember not all centers should be needed to learn the topic) based on a science topic to be learned
For each center determine and describe: Specific goals Way it is differentiated A “HOT” activity to be included Materials needed at each
Can be used to pre-assess or review about a topic in science
Wonderful tool to review vocabulary Fun game that incites interest and healthy
competition Used at the end of a unit in order to review and
assess concepts learned Pair up and face each other with one partner facing
away from the board
Hydrogen
Oxygen
Nitrogen
Sulfur
Neon
Magnesium
Mercury
Carbon
Adenine
Cytosine
Hydrogen bonds
Nucleus
Double Helix
Chromosome
Deoxyribose
General rubrics for differentiated assignments Response cards Exit cards Group quizzes Checklists of objectives Formal assessments Student writing samples
Response cards are another form of quick assessment. Each student has a card and indicates their understanding of a topic by holding up the appropriate response.
Response cards:
1. Increase participation level of all students
2. Increase on-task behavior
3. Provide immediate feedback
4. Are highly motivating and fun!
Just Think... If response cards were used instead of
hand raising for just 30 minutes a day, each student would make more than 3,700 additional academic responses during the school year.
Preprinted Student-made Write-on boards
LIVING NON LIVING
EXO ENDO TRUE FALSE
1. No two children are alike. 2. No two children learn in the identical way. 3. An enriched environment for one student is
not necessarily enriched for another. 4. In the classroom we should teach children
to think for themselves. 5. There are only three styles of learning.
Exit Cards (A.K.A. “Tickets out the Door”) are used to gather information on student readiness levels, interests, and/or learning profiles. They can be used as quick assessments to see if the students are “getting it.”
The teacher hands out index cards (or has them use half-sheets of paper) to students at the end of an instructional sequence or class period.
The teacher asks the students to respond to a predetermined prompt on their index cards, and then turn them in as they leave the classroom or transition to another subject.
The teacher reviews the student responses and separates the cards into instructional groups based on preset criteria or achievement.
Group 1Students who are struggling with the concept or skill
Group 2Students with some understanding of concept or skill
Group 3Students who understand the concept or skill
READINESS GROUPS
Explain the difference between living and non-living.
Give some examples of each as part of your explanation
A mushroom is an example of:(CIRCLE THE CORRECT RESPONSE)
Living Non-Living
Notice how these exit cards have been differentiated by readiness. Each student is still expected to know about living things, but their individual questions are based on
their skill level and their degree of knowledge.
Here are some more specific strategies you can do as a teacher that
will help meet the needs of ALL the students in your class
–Use cds, computer games, etc. as a means for students to receive information or as a means for students to demonstrate knowledge.
–Use graphic organizers such as flowcharts, Venn Diagrams, semantic mapping, concept (mind mapping), etc.
–Have students underline or highlight key words or phrases.
–Use texts that are tailored to the students’ reading levels.
–Use questions on assessments that are tailored to the students’ reading levels. (Bloom’s Taxonomy)
–Collect topic related supplementary materials such as comic books, newspaper articles, magazines, etc.
Provide word walls for students to reference while reading/writing.
Encourage different forms of expressing learning such as drawing, acting, poetry, etc.
Use flexible grouping, peer tutoring, learning buddies, etc. Use ongoing assessment of students progress so that
intervention can quickly occur (exit cards, response cards…). Use student diaries, learning logs, journals, prediction logs Shorten or lengthen assignments while still maintaining the
objective of the lesson. Rewrite problems using less/more complex language.