Differentiated Instruction

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Differentiated Instruction

• The Theory in Practice
• By Leah Vivirito
• Hudson Public Schools

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Todays Objectives

• We will
• Discuss the various elements of differentiated
  instruction and how it manifests in the
  classroom.
• Uncover potential obstacles to implementation and
  discuss possible solutions.
• View and discuss unit plans that use
  differentiated instruction.
• Design lessons that implement the strategies
  discussed throughout the day.

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Readiness Check!

• Lets take a quiz to review the basics of
  Differentiated Instruction

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What isDifferentiated Instruction?

• A philosophy of teaching that suggests students
  learn best when their teachers effectively
  address variance in students readiness levels,
  interests, and learning profile preferences.

Tomlinson, Carol Ann. How to Differentiation
Instruction in Mixed-ability Classrooms. 2nd.
Alexandria, VA Association for Supervision and
Curriculum Development, 2001.
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The Rationale

• All students are unique in their educational
  needs and abilities.
• Each student has different learning styles.
• Recent brain research contends that learning
  occurs only when tasks are moderately
  challenging.
• Personal interest drives student achievement.
• Others?

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What are the pitfalls?

• Talk with your neighbor(s) and identify any
  pitfalls or problems that you think this
  philosophy presents in its practical application.

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A Common Concern

• How can teachers assess student achievement in a
  differentiated classroom?
• Formative assessment should not equate to
  grading as it might discourage students.
• Student work should be reviewed as a means of
  informing future instruction.
• Summative assessment can be fairly applied to all
  students in a standard fashion if criteria is
  properly designed.
• Focus less on minutia and more on concepts and
  skills.
• Encourage variance in product to be assessed.

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How Can You Detect Differentiation

• Are the general principles present
• Respectful tasking
• Flexible grouping
• Formative assessment
• Does the lesson differentiate by
• Content
• Process
• Product
• According to
• Readiness
• Interests
• Learning Profile

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Lesson Samples Illustrating Differentiated
Instruction

• The American Front Porch (Standards)
• A Current Event Project
• Womens History Unit (Standards)
• A Multigenre Research Project
• U.S. Presidents Project (Standards)
• An Anchor Activity
• Example 1
• Example 2
• Other Projects
• Personal Immigration Story
• Great Depression Museum Project
• American Dream Project

S T A N D A R D S
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Related Resources

• Oliver, Francine. "Differentiation Toolbox." 3
  Nov 2007 lthttp//people.virginia.edu/mws6u/diff/i
  ndex.htmgt.
• Putz, Melinda. A Teacher's Guide to the
  Multigenre Research Project Everything You Need
  to Get Started. Portsmouth, NH Heinemann, 2006.
• Tomlinson, Carol Ann. How to Differentiation
  Instruction in Mixed-ability Classrooms. 2nd.
  Alexandria, VA Association for Supervision and
  Curriculum Development, 2001.
• Tomlinson, Carol Ann. The Differentiated
  Classroom Responding to the Needs of All
  Learners. Upper Saddle River, NJ Pearson, 1999.

Contact Information Leah Vivirito Hudson High
School 978-567-6250 x189 lvivirito_at_hudson.k12.ma.u
s
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Standards Addressed

• American Front Porch
• According to the Massachusetts Frameworks
  document, teachers are encouraged to inform and
  enliven classroom study by considering current
  events and issues that have a significant
  relationship to important historical themes or
  events under study.
• Womens History
• USII.9 Analyze the post-Civil War struggles of
  African Americans and women to gain basic civil
  rights.
• USII.8 H. The ratification of the Nineteenth
  Amendment in 1920
• USII.27 Analyze the causes and course of the
  womens rights movement in the 1960s and 1970s.
• Presidents Project
• A cross-sectional view of the political influence
  of presidents throughout American history. This
  can be applied to the standards of each era.

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Standards Addressed

• Immigration
• USII.2 Explain the important consequences of the
  Industrial Revolution.
• USII.3 Describe the causes of the immigration of
  Southern and Eastern Europeans, Chinese, Koreans,
  and Japanese to America in the late 19th and
  early 20th centuries, and describe the major
  roles of these immigrants in the
  industrialization of America.

• The Great Depression
• USII.11 Describe the various causes and
  consequences of the global depression of the
  1930s, and analyze how Americans responded to the
  Great Depression.
• USII.12 Analyze the important policies,
  institutions, and personalities of the New Deal
  era.
• USII.13 Explain how the Great Depression and the
  New Deal affected American society.

• The American Dream
• USII.10 Describe how the battle between
  traditionalism and modernity manifested itself in
  the major historical trends and events after
  World War I and throughout the 1920s.
• USII.22 Analyze the causes and consequences of
  important domestic Cold War trends.
• economic growth and declining poverty
• the baby boom
• the growth of suburbs and home-ownership
• the increase in education levels
• the development of mass media and consumerism
• USII.30 Describe some of the major economic and
  social trends of the late 20th century.