Using Data and Grouping to Teach All Students All the TimeDifferently

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Using Data and Grouping to Teach All Students All
the TimeDifferently!

• Christie L. Cavanaugh, Ph.D.
• University of Florida
• Gainesville, FL

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Class Description and Sample Data

• Second grade class of 21 students
• 3 Students have been retained
• At least 5 levels of readers (pre-primer to 5th
  grade) represented in the class
• 2 Special education students (LD, ADHD)
• 5 students are new to the school and district
• Youre a second year teacher and this one isnt
  at all like last years class!
• And--the budgets been cut and youve lost your
  teaching assistant!

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• Were really
• talking about
• differentiated instruction.

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What is differentiated instruction?

• Instruction that is tailored to meet the
  multi-faceted needs of all students in a
  classroom
• With the goal for all students to be successful
  in the general education classroom
• Involves the teachers adjustments to
  instructional content, delivery, activities, and
  materials
• Incompatible with a one-size-fits-all approach!

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Objectives

• Gain a deeper understanding of the tools and
  strategies for differentiating instruction
• Learn to use data to group students
• Describe grouping patterns and purposes for each
• Identify the ways to differentiate instruction
• Use a framework for monitoring progress for
  students with varying needs

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Handouts

• Presentation Slides
• Sample data packet (Forming Groups Handout
  Packet) with blank data sheet (9).
• Chart Scaffolding Instruction (1)
• Chart Grouping Practices (2)
• Packet Adaptations Categories (4)

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How can we teach all students at the same time
and meet their needs?

• Match instruction to students goals/skill
  levels.
• Vary the response types (levels of intensity)
• Scaffold! Provide level of support to match
  students needs.
• Adjust the level of material and activities, but
  keep the objective in mind!
• Use assessment data and monitor student progress.
• Group students effectively.

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Match Instruction

• Determine students skill levels
• Identify prerequisite skills necessary to move
  forward with higher level skills
• Teach important, fundamental skills to mastery
• Matching instruction is on multiple
  levels--content, activities, delivery, materials

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Vary Responses

• Adjust type of response to match students skills
• Vary by level of intensity (low to high)
• Examples yes/no, cloze sentences, pointing
  responses, multiple choice (vary number of
  choices), open-ended responses, oral and/or
  written

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Scaffold

• Reteach, review
• Present concepts, new information in smaller
  steps
• Model! Explain using Think aloud strategy
• Provide immediate, appropriate feedback
• Maximize student engagement (Theres more!)

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Adjust Material and Activities

• One activity can address multiple objectives for
  various skill levels (alphabet arc example)
• Multiple materials can address the same objective
  at different levels (decoding multi-syllable word
  example)

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Use Data and Monitor Progress

• Initial assessment data is essential for meeting
  the needs of all students
• Assess, review data, use data to make decisions
  (group, target instruction, move students at
  appropriate pace)
• Progress monitoring is necessary to determine if
  use of data and instructional adjustments are
  effective--no time to wait!

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Group Effectively

• Various grouping arrangements at your disposal to
  meet the needs of all students
• Each grouping arrangement has a purpose
• Remember- One size does not fit all so all
  students needs cannot be met through whole group
  instruction only!
• Data is used to make informed grouping decisions.

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Grouping

• Why should you group students for instruction?

Grouping can positively influence the levels of
individual student engagement and academic
progress when used effectively. Maheady,
1997

• Grouping addresses the wide range of reading
  abilities

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Grouping Arrangements

• Whole Group
• Small Group (Same Ability)
• Small Group (Mixed Ability)
• Pairs/Partners
• One-on-One

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Grouping for Struggling Readers
Research supports two grouping formats for
teaching reading to struggling readers

• Same-ability groups
• Adjust pacing and instruction to meet specific
  needs
• Regularly change group membership

• Peer tutoring
• Alternate so student can share roles
• Use data to pair students so that stronger
  readers can support struggling readers

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One-on-One Instruction

• Research shows FEW differences between
  small-group instruction of 2 to 3 students and
  one-on-one instruction
• Because teaching students in groups of three
  allows more students to receive instruction at
  one time, instructional time is increased
• One-on-three grouping can be implemented at a
  lower cost than one-on-one instruction

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Grouping for Instruction

• When small groups are utilized, student learning
  can be greater than individual instruction or
  large group instruction
• What features of instruction are enhanced with
  small group instruction?

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When is Small Group Instruction Effective?

• Effective Small Group Instruction

• Ineffective Small Group Instruction

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When Is Small Group Instruction Effective?
Effective Small Group Instruction
Ineffective Small Group Instruction
Using assessment data to plan instruction and
group students Teaching targeted small
groups Using flexible grouping Matching
instructional materials to student
ability Tailoring instruction to address student
needs
Using only whole class instruction only Using
small groups that never change Using the same
reading text with all the students Using the same
independent seatwork assignments for the entire
class
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Planning Group Instruction

• Use assessment data to group students and plan
  appropriate instruction
• Examine established benchmarks
• Document student progress and look closely at
  data
• Group students and target instruction to meet
  needs of students
• Texas Education Agency Second Grade Teacher
  Reading Academies

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How to Form Groups

• Review data sources
• Standardized measures
• Curriculum-based measures
• Progress monitoring
• Informal information (classroom data,
  observations)
• Identify at-risk students using data
• Determine targeted areas for instruction
• Students may have multiple areas of need

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Forming Groups Activity

• Use the Forming Groups Handout packet
• Use the information from the sample data sheet
• Decide how many groups are needed for small group
  instruction
• Determine which students should be grouped
  together
• List the instructional focus (students who are
  below benchmark in a particular area guides this)
• Complete the Grouping Instruction Planning Sheet

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Forming Same Ability Groups
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Forming Mixed-Ability Groups
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Forming Same Ability Groups
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Planning Instruction

• Use assessment data to target students learning
  needs
• Include the essential grade-appropriate
  componentsof effective reading instruction
• Address related objectives (state and curriculum
  guidelines)
• Incorporate a variety of grouping formats (e.g.,
  teacher-led small groups and student pairs)

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Target Instruction on the 5 Big Ideas

• Phonemic Awareness
• Phonics/Word Study
• Fluency
• Vocabulary
• Comprehension

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Use Small Groups to Address Features of Effective
Instruction

• Systematic, explicit instruction
• Manageable Steps
• More opportunities to respond
• Immediate Feedback

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What are the features of effective instruction?

• Explicit instructionOvertly teaching each step
  through teacher modeling and many examples
• Systematic instructionDividing lessons and
  activities into sequential, manageable steps that
  progress from simple to more complex concepts and
  skills
• Ample practice opportunitiesProviding many
  opportunities for students to respond and
  demonstrate what they are learning
• Immediate feedbackIncorporating feedback (from
  teacher or peers) during initial instruction and
  practice

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Keeping Groups Flexible

• Regroup Often
• Use class work, informal assessments during
  instruction, and progress monitoring of at-risk
  students to regroup students and change
  instruction
• Grouping students can occur within classrooms,
  across classrooms of the same grade level, AND
  across grades if used appropriately
• Texas Education Agency Second Grade Teacher
  Reading Academies

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Adaptation Categories
Lessons used to teach and reinforce skills and
concepts
Skills and concepts that are the focus of
teaching and learning
Instructional Content IC
Instructional Activity IA
Materials that are used to teach and reinforce
skills and concepts
Delivery of Instruction DI
Materials M
Procedures and routines used to teach
instructional activities
University of Texas Center for Reading and
Language Arts, 2003
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Making Adaptations A Core Example

• After a Tier I whole class Alphabet Arc lesson,
  Mr. Yeng concluded that 20 students benefited
  from the instruction, but five were having
  difficulty

University of Texas Center for Reading and
Language Arts, 2003
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Making Adaptations (cont.)

• During small group instruction, Mr. Yeng adapted
  the initial lesson for the five struggling
  students to help them master the instructional
  objective
• But despite this adaptation, two students still
  had difficulty

University of Texas Center for Reading and
Language Arts, 2003
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Making Adaptations (cont.)

• Mr. Yeng decided to try a different lesson that
  targeted the same objective with the two
  struggling students, rather than continuing the
  Alphabet Arc lesson
• After the new lesson was presented, the two
  struggling students successfully achieved the
  objective of the initial lesson

University of Texas Center for Reading and
Language Arts, 2003
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Summary of Adaptations

• Because Mr. Yeng monitored his students
  understanding of the targeted instructional
  objective and made adaptations to scaffold his
  instruction, all 25 students mastered the
  objective

Adapted Initial Lesson
New Lesson
Initial Lesson
100
Addresses the Same Instructional Objective
University of Texas Center for Reading and
Language Arts, 2003
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Grouping Practices
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Key Issues for Managing Groups

• Teach students to work collaboratively with
  peers!
• Consider using mixed ability groups to maximize
  learning.
• Choose appropriate and effective activities to
  address the instructional objectives in reading!

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How Do I Teach Students to Work Collaboratively?

• Teach each activity as a separate set of lessons
  (with modeling and feedback).
• Practice, practice, practice!
• Teach ownership and accountability in small
  increments.

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How Can I Use Mixed Ability Groups Effectively?

• Assign all students to mixed ability groups to
  fill the number of centers/workshops/stations.
• For example, if you plan to run 3 centers split
  class into 3 mixed ability groups.
• Also assign students to same ability groups for
  teacher led instruction.
• Group composition may change depending on
  individual student progress.

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What Will Other Students Do While I Teach a Small
Group?
Remember--Make students accountable for their
work!
Reading Corner -- where a wide variety of books
are organized by topic and reading level, and
students can read and reread with a partner, or
in a small group
All About Words -- extends vocabulary, word
study, and spelling knowledge and skills
Writing Plus -- extends all the components of
reading through a variety of writing activities,
including computers
Texas Education Agency Second Grade Teacher
Reading Academies
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Avenues for Differentiating Instruction

• Wrap up and Review
• Thank you!
• Christie Cavanaugh
• Clcavanaugh_at_cox.net

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References and Credits

• Information contained in this presentation has
  been developed through several projects at the
  Vaughn Gross Center for Reading and Language
  Arts, The University of Texas at Austin (e.g.,
  Teacher Reading Academies, Special Education
  Reading Project, 3-Tier Reading Project).
  Projects have received funding from the Texas
  Education Agency and the U.S. Dept. of Education.