Improving Student Achievement: Instructional Strategies

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Welcome Back
Presenters Jennifer Nehl
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Differentiated Instruction
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Title Insert KUd
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What is Differentiated Instruction?

• It is
• More qualitative than quantitative
• Organized
• The use of multiple approaches to content,
  process, and product

• It is NOT
• Just modifying grading systems and reducing work
  loads
• Chaotic
• Just another way to provide homogenous instruction

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What is Differentiated Instruction?

• It is
• Student centered
• A blend of whole class, group, and individual
  instruction

• It is not
• Individualized instruction
• More work for the good students and less and
  different for the poor students

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Principles Guiding Differentiated Instruction

• The teacher focuses on essential learning and key
  concepts.
• The teacher attends to student differences.
• Assessment and instruction are inseparable.
• The teacher modifies content, process, and
  products.

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Differentiation Strategies

• All strategies are aligned with instructional
  goals and objectives.
• Specific strategy selection based on
• Focus of instruction
• Focus of differentiation

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Principles GuidingDifferentiated Instruction

• The teacher ensures that all students participate
  in respectful work.
• The teacher and students collaborate in learning.
• The teacher utilizes both classroom and
  individual data.
• The teacher uses flexible grouping according to
  readiness, interests and/or learning styles.

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Principles GuidingDifferentiated Instruction
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Differentiate through a range of instructional
and management strategies
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Differentiating by Content
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Ways to Differentiate Content

• Compacting Curriculum
• Learning Contracts
• Leveled Texts
• Tiered Lessons

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Tiered Lessons

• Support differences in readiness
• Allows students to work at their level and expand
  learning without frustration
• Can tier activity, task, and/or product

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Developing a Tiered Activity

• 1. Select activity based on essential learnings
• 2. Think about students
• Readiness (skills, reading, thinking,
  information)
• Interests
• Learning style
• Talents
• 3. Create activity that is
• Interesting
• Causes students to use key skills of unit
• 4. Chart complexity of activity

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Developing a Tiered Activity

• 5. Develop activities to ensure challenge and
  success
• Materials (basic-advanced)
• Form of expression (familiar to unfamiliar)
• From personal experience to unfamiliar
• 6. Match task to student based on learning style
  and readiness

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Tiering A Lesson
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Differentiating by Process
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Ways to Differentiate Process

• RAFTS
• Cubing, Think Dots
• Choices (Intelligences)
• Centers/Stations
• Contracts
• Graphic Organizers

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Cubing
On Target, Differentiated Instruction,
Grades 4-12, pages 12-13
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CUBING Guide
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CUBING diagram
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cUBING demonstration
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Cubing Practice

• Use the article and website on Earth Day and
  develop some questions to correspond with the 6
  sides of the cube. Post questions on chart paper.

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Social Studies Level 1
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Social Studies Level 2
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Social Studies Level 3
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CUBING

• Use the first cube as your average cube, create 2
  more one lower level and one higher level.
• ALL cubes need to cover the same type of
  questions, just written to the readiness levels.
• Color-code or label your cubes so you know which
  level of readiness you are addressing.
• Always remember to have an easy problem on each
  cube and a hard one regardless of the levels.
• Decide on the rules. Will the students be asked
  to do all 6 sides? Roll and do any 4 sides? Do
  any two questions on each of the cubes?
• Use old quizzes, worksheets, textbook-study
  problems, student generated, internet, etc. to
  help with writing questions.

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ThinkDots
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ThinkDots Guide
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ThinkDots

• Variation of Cubing works well with older
  students
• Students have to do all the tasks, they just do
  it in the order they roll.
• Strategy used to review, demonstrate, and extend
  thinking
• Can do a group of 6 people and each one does the
  task of what they rolled and then they have a
  group product at the end.

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ThinkDots Demonstration
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ThinkDots Demonstration
2. Goldilocks in 1 minute or less http//youtube.
com/watch?v02cRfwmeCGY 3. Revolting Rhymes
Goldilocks Roald Dahl http//youtube.com/watch?v
cstpvUODHYY 4. Goldilocks Song http//youtube.com
/watch?vAvtkUOhL7yU 5. Rewrite the story of
Goldilocks using more difficult vocabulary
(example Little Red Riding Hood) 6. Goldilocks
on trial http//youtube.com/watch?vIAnGP-VO2sw
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Think Dots Title Algebra level 1
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Think Dots Title Algebra
level 2
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Think Dots Title Algebra
level 3
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ThinkDots Practice

• Using the article and website on Earth Day
  develop ThinkDot activities to correspond with
  the 6 sides of the die.

Write on chart paper and post
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CUBING/THINK DOTS

• Suggestions
• Use colored paper to indicate different readiness
  levels, interests or learning styles.
• Let students choose which activities- for
  example choose any three or have students choose
  just one to work on over a number of days.
• If students have worked on activities
  individually, have them come together in groups
  by levels, interest or learning style to
  synthesize.

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WHEN To USE

• After a unit has been presented and students are
  familiar with the elements of the unit and
  conceptual skills.
• To help students think about and make sense of
  the unit and concepts they are studying.

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Concerns?
Cubing or ThinkDOTS can turn into glorified
worksheets but not if all activities are
purposeful and focused on getting students to
understand a concept in a multitude of ways.
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Brainstorm
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Integration Plan

• With your table group, brainstorm the different
  ideas for using Cubing/ThinkDots.
• A recorder will write the top three responses on
  chart paper and post at the front of the room.
• Youll have 5 minutes to complete this task.

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Lesson Plan
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Lesson Plan

• Choose a unit from your content area or continue
  with the Earth Day theme.
• Choose either Cubing or ThinkDots.
• Follow the directions on the guide sheets and use
  the lesson plan guide to develop a lesson to use
  in your classroom in the next month.