Differentiation

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Differentiation

• Myth or Savior for educators and students?

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Students and teachers benefit from
differentiation because students are being taught
at a level that is appropriate for their
cognitive abilities. When this occurs students
are more motivated to stay on task. It reduces
behavioral problems. Howard Gardners work with
multiple intelligences was also discussed in the
workshops. Use of students most pronounced
modality also increases student achievement.
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I have done some additional research in how to
differentiate. Click on the following links for
assistance
Assessment Self Evaluation
Alternative Spelling
Differentiation in Assessments
Role Performance
Task Performance
Glossary of Differentiation Terms
C O F F E Helping ESOL Students
Questioning Techniques
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Alternative Spelling Ideas

• Students who can pass a spelling pre-test should
  be given alternative activities Here is a site
  with ideas for that
• http//webtech.cherokee.k12.ga.us/littleriver-es/e
  williams/alternate_spelling.htm

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Ideas for Self EvaluationThe ideas below should
serve as a MENU of possible questions to use when
allowing a student to conduct a self-evaluation
of a task/activity/unit. Please CHOOSE the ones
that best each specific situation. What did you
like the most about this activity? What did you
like the least about this activity? What is the
most important thing you learned? If you could
change anything about this activity, what would
you change? Did you want to learn about
something or do something that we didn't do?
Explain. Evaluate your PERFORMANCE outstanding,
excellent, good, fair, poor Are you satisfied
with your PERFORMANCE? Why or why not? How might
you have improved your use of time? How might
you have improved your commitment to task? How
might you have improved your independence of
thought? How might you have improved your
cooperation with others? How might you have
improved your wise use of materials? How might
you have improved your willingness to think
creatively? On what parts of this activity did
you need help from others? What kind of help did
you need? From whom? Evaluate the PROCESS by
which you accomplished your task outstanding,
excellent, good, fair, poor Evaluate your
PRODUCT outstanding, excellent, good, fair, poor

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Are you proud of your product? What might you
have done to improve your product? Did you find
this assignment too easy, too hard, or about
right? Have you discussed what you learned with
parents, friends, and others? Of what value has
this activity/unit been to you? What grade do
you think you earned for amount of work done?
What grade do you think you earned for quality
of work done? What grade do you think you earned
for attitude toward work done? Is there anything
else that you'd like to tell me about your work
on this activity/unit?  
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Performance DesignThere are three main focus
questions which much be addressed in designing
performance tasksWhat is really important for
the students to know, understand, and be able to
do that is applicable in multiple contexts? What
evidence is necessary and sufficient to prove
that learning has occurred? What is an
authentic, or at least simulated, and rich way in
which people outside of school use this learning?
In designing your performance task, you must
develop a clear, aligned, and meaningful scenario
or situation.  You can do this by...Describing a
ROLE, such as an environmental engineer, and a
corresponding point of view or perspective the
students are to assume as they carry out a
prescribed task. Describing a TASK to be
completed with any appropriate point of view or
perspective to be assumed. Describing a
situation or scenario in which the students are
to function (or pretend they are functioning) and
a PROBLEM or task that they are to resolve or
complete as a result of the situation described. 
The TASK
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Must address the kind of significant learning
that can manifest itself within a performance
Should address content information and skills
that are best taught and assessed through
application Must be structured to replicate the
way people function in real life Must have a
purpose of trying to accomplish something, rather
than just doing something. Should be
transferable. Must be rigorous. Examples of
types of tasks Solve an important problem using
logical process. Teach people something
important. Discern and use patterns or trends.
Make others aware of an important situation or
condition . Persuade people regarding an
important matter Create and use something to
accomplish a predetermined purpose . Develop and
conduct a service to accomplish a predetermined
purpose. Draw and use and/or report conclusions
. Read, interpret, and use nonfiction. Make and
use generalizations for a predetermined purpose .
Make and use/report summaries. Determine and
use/report cause and effect for a predetermined
purpose . Develop and use a plan of action for a
predetermined purpose. Compare, contrast,
analyze, organize, classify, prioritize, deduce,
or categorize for a predetermined purpose.
Learn, practice, and use content area skills for
a predetermined purpose. Make and support
recommendations. Decide, predict, solve, resolve
for a predetermined purpose.
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Role Performance Guide1.  In this task, you are
seeking an answer to the question... 2.  You
are acting as... 3.  Whose point of view or
perspective is... 4.  As such, you are expected
to... 5.  You are then expected to... 6.  You
will know you have successfully finished
when... 7.  Challenges you may encounter
are... 8.  Resources you can depend on
are... 9.  You will need... 10.  The final
completion date is...
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Task Performance GuideIn this task, you are
seeking an answer to the question... The point
of view or perspective you are to assume
is... As such, you are expected to... You are
then expected to... You will know you have
successfully finished when... Resources you can
depend on are... You will need... The final
completion date is...
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Using varied questioning techniques will aid in
Differentiation of instruction also. Not only
must students be able to understand what they are
doing..they should also have the parameters
within which they are working clarified to them.
Questioning techniques used by teachers will
facilitate this skill acquisition. I found a
page that will help our teachers with questioning
techniques.
http//webtech.cherokee.k12.ga.us/littleriver-es/e
williams/Teachingforunderstanding.htm
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The presenters also referred to terms that are
used when differentiating. However they did not
provide us with definitions for those terms. Here
is a brief list that I found onlineGlossary of
Differentiation of Instruction Terms For further
information on many of the strategies defined in
this glossary, please refer to Eulouises web
site  http//webtech.cherokee.k12.ga.us/littleriv
er-es/ewilliams .  Go to Strategies and search
for information on strategies of interest to
you.  Each Fact Sheet contains directions for use
and resources for further information. Adjusting
Questions  A teacher--in class discussions,
tests, and/or homework--adjusts the sorts of
questions posed to learners based on their
readiness, interests, and learning profile. This
strategy is an excellent "get your feet wet"
differentiation strategy because it builds on
strengths and abilities readily used by most
teachers.Anchor Activities  activities which
may extend the curriculum or which may simply be
valuable in their own right and in which students
may participate if they have spare time while
waiting for the teachers help or after theyve
completed a task.
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Carousel Brainstorming a strategy where students
brainstorm responses to prompts or questions
written on butcher paper and placed at five
different stations around the room.  Students
rotate from station to station and discuss their
responses with others in their group.  Teachers
may use carousel brainstorming as a
pre-assessment tool or as a review
opportunity.Cluster Grouping a grouping method
in which a small group of 4-10 identified gifted
students are grouped for instruction within an
otherwise heterogeneous classroom within this
group a gifted-endorsed teacher differentiates
instruction to accommodate specialized needs of
gifted learners.Compacting  a  strategy which
allows a student to demonstrate what he/she
already knows or can do, provides opportunity to
learn or master what he/she does not already
know, and then allows the student to spend the
time earned from compacting to participate in
enrichment or extension activities or accelerated
study.Contract  an agreement between one or
more students and their teacher it specifies
learning objectives, activities, resources,
deadlines/timelines, assessment procedures,
working conditions, and places for signatures. 
The teacher agrees to allow a student the freedom
to pursue an area of special interest and the
student, in turn, agrees to follow certain
independent learning conditions.
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Cubing a versatile strategy, similar to a
contract, which allows a teacher to plan
different activities for different students or
groups of students based on student readiness,
learning style, and/or interests. The teacher
creates a cube-usually different colored
cubes--for different groups of students. On each
of the cubes six faces, the teacher describes a
different task related to the subject and/or
concept being learned.Exit Cards  an assessment
technique whereby students fill out a 3x5 card at
the end of class and respond to open-ended
questions posed by the teacher a great way for
the teacher to assess student understanding and
readiness for the next lesson. Flexible
Grouping a method of grouping and regrouping
students according to differences in
readiness/performance, interests, and learning
profiles.  Students may work in groups with
different students several times in a day or
week.Functional Spelling   provides alternate
spelling words for students who have already
demonstrated mastery of traditional spelling
words on a pre-test. Throughout the week,
individual students maintain and add to a list of
words that they misspell in their writing or
words that they encounter that they do not
understand. This list then becomes their spelling
words for the week.  This idea could be adapted
to functional writing--in which students
grammar/language activities center on their
mistakes in daily writing--or functional
vocabulary, in which students learn the
unfamiliar words that they encounter in their
reading.
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Graphic Organizers  mental maps that represent
key skills such as sequencing, comparing and
contrasting, and classifying they involve
students actively in the thinking process.  They
also provide tools to help students organize and
structure information.Independent Study 
opportunities for students at all readiness
levels to pursue topics that interest them. 
Susan Winebrenner suggests that students use
structured independent studies to become
resident experts.Interest Centers  a
classroom area that contains a collection of
exploration activities related to specific
interests of students.Interest Inventory  an
assessment tool designed to help a teacher
determine student interests.  These may be
open-ended or very controlled and
specific.Jigsawing  a type of collaborative
work in which students read and examine a portion
of a reading assignment and report what they've
learned to the entire group an effective way to
vary content according to complexity or depth of
content to match reading readiness levels a
great way to involve students in subject matter
presented in text. KWL Charts a pre-assessment
tool consisting of three vertical columns. 
Students list in one column what they know about
a topic or idea and in another column, what they
want to know about the topic or idea.  Then,
after a lesson or series of lessons, they return
to the chart to list in the third column what
they learned about the topic or idea.
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Learning Centers a classroom area that contains
a collection of activities or materials designed
to teach, reinforce, or extend a particular skill
or concept.Learning Stations  different spots in
the classroom where students work on various
tasks simultaneously.  They invite flexible
grouping because not all students need to go to
ALL the stations ALL the time, and not all
students spend the same amount of time at each
station.  Stations work in concert with one
another, and there are usually several stations
related to the same subject. Literature Circles
small, temporary discussion groups of students
who are reading the same story, poem, article,
chapter, or book. While reading each
group-determined portion of the text (either
inside or outside of class), each member prepares
to take specific responsibilities in the upcoming
discussion and everyone comes to the group with
the notes needed to perform that job. The circles
have regular meetings, with discussion roles
rotating each session. When they finish a book,
circle members plan a way to share highlights of
their reading with the rest of the class. They
then trade members with other groups, select more
reading, and move into a new cycle. Once members
can successfully conduct their own
self-sustaining discussions, formal discussion
roles may be dropped.  Literature circles can
easily be adapted to nonfiction resources and are
another effective way to involve students in
textual material.
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Math Achievement Team (MAT)  a differentiation
strategy in which a heterogeneous group of
students compete for points based on individual
members' improvement scores. Most Difficult
First  a very simple first step to full-scale
compacting. It is usually used with skill-type
activities such as math, grammar, map reading,
vocabulary, or spelling. A teacher allows
students to demonstrate mastery of the five most
difficult problems of an assignment and then to
participate in alternate activities without
having to do an entire assignment.Personal
Agendas  a personalized list of tasks that a
particular student must complete in a specified
time student agendas throughout a class will
have similar and dissimilar elements on
them.Plus-Minus-Interesting Charts  a device
developed by DeBono in which students summarize
their findings about a particular topic or idea
by listing whats good about it, whats possibly
negative about it, and whats interesting about
it. Portfolio a collection of student work
gathered to exhibit/demonstrate the students
efforts, progress, or achievement in one or more
areas.
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Problem-based Learning  an approach to learning
which places students in the active role of
solving authentic, real-world problems in much
the same way that adult professionals perform
their jobs. Orbital Studies  independent
investigations, generally of three to six weeks,
which orbit or revolve around some facet of the
curriculum.  Students select their own topics for
orbitals and work with guidance and coaching from
the teacher to develop more expertise on both the
topic and on the process of becoming an
independent investigator.Rubric  an assessment
tool that is presented to students BEFORE they
begin an activity.  The rubric establishes
criteria upon which a product will be assessed
and levels of competency.  Then, for each
criterion, each level of competency is defined
operationally, telling exactly what each level of
competency looks like and what a student must do
to earn certain scores.  Rubrics allow students
to know in advance exactly what is required of
them for a specific grade or score.   
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Tic-Tac-Toe Extension Menu or Choice Board  a
collection of activities from which a student can
choose.  It is generally presented in the form of
a 3x3 or a 4x4 grid, similar to a tic-tac-toe
board, with the center square often allowing for
student choice.  This format can be applied to
extension activities, contracts, study guides, or
independent studies.  They allow a teacher to
differentiate content, process and product
according to different levels of student
performance/readiness, interests, and learning
styles.Tiered Assignments parallel tasks at
varied levels of complexity, depth and
abstractness with various degrees of scaffolding,
support, or direction. Students work on different
levels of activities, all with the same essential
understanding or goal in mind. Tiered assignments
accommodate mainly for differences in student
readiness and performance levels and allow
students to work toward a goal or objective at a
level that builds on their prior knowledge and
encourages continued growth.Vocabulary Web  a
graphic organizer based on a single vocabulary
word.  The word goes in the center circle
students then define the word, find synonyms and
antonyms, write a sentence using the word, create
analogies, and analyze the word according to word
families, origin, stems, and parts of speech. 
For a copy of a blank web template, visit
Eulouises web site http//webtech.cherokee.k12.ga
.us/littleriver-es/ewilliams/vocabularywebexample.
htm and click on Strategiesvocabulary Web.
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WebQuest  a programmed, self-contained activity
on the Internet that allows students to perform
authentic, independent tasks while using the
computer.  WebQuests give individuals or small
groups of learners the opportunity to use
research, problem solving, and basic skills as
they move through a process of finding out,
drawing conclusions about, and developing a
product related to a topic or question.  Each
WebQuest consists of the same five parts 
introduction, task, process, resources, and
evaluation rubric.  (These can easily be located
through Yahoos search engine.  Simply type in
Webquest the topic that you want to
investigate.  A topic of two or more words should
be enclosed in quotation marks.)
http//webtech.cherokee.k12.ga.us/littleriver-es/e
williams/contentswebquests.com.htm Use this link
to find great webquests ..
Online resources that will help with all
differentiation activities
Curriculum Support Links
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Other resources for the differentiation of
instruction..
http//www.gp.k12.mi.us/ci/diff/resources.htm
http//www.ascd.org/pdi/demo/diffinstr/differentia
ted1.html His site provides information to Carol
Tomlinsons information on differentiation
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COFFEE..This workshop focused on using picture
word association cues to foster listening
comprehension. She stressed the need for the
ESOL teacher to be well versed in the English
Language in order for him/her to model
appropriate articulation. The cue cards are
available in the lab. We will need to buy the
die for the students to use. This system only
works if the students are HEARING appropriate
language usage while they are doing the
activities. The buddy system was also utilized.
The prompt sheet that she used will be available
for classroom teachers.
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