Closing Achievement Gaps through Differentiated Instruction

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Closing Achievement Gaps through Differentiated
Instruction
Presenters Jennie Barrett Barbara
Burchard February 22, 2005 March 1, 2005
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Todays Schedule

• 800 1100 Cover the Theory and Practices
• 1100-1230 Lunch
• 1230-230 Making Sense CD Exploration

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Thinking Outside the Box
?
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The Animal Schoolby Dr. G. H. Reavis, Cincinnati
Public Schools
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Public schools are expected to

• Teach good nutrition habits
• Treat the emotionally disturbed
• Teach first aid procedures
• Assist in disease prevention.

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What is Differentiated Instruction?

• Read Elementary or Middle Sample from pages 3 7
  in your book.

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Differentiated instruction is not a set of tools
but a philosophy that a teacher embraces to reach
the unique needs of every learner.
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Elements of Differentiation

• The teacher focuses on the essentials.
• Concepts
• Principles
• Skills
• See page 9

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Elements of Differentiation

• The teacher attends to student differences.
• Culture
• Gender
• Genetic Code
• Neurological wiring
• See page 10

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Elements of Differentiation

• Assessment and instruction are inseparable.
• Ongoing
• Diagnostic
• Used to benchmark
• Formal
• Informal
• See page 10

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Elements of Differentiation

• The teacher modifies
• Content Multiple options for taking information
  in
• Process Multiple options for making sense of
  the ideas
• Product Multiple options for expressing what
  they know
• See page 11

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Elements of Differentiation

• All students participate in respectful work.
• Respect the readiness level of each student.
• Expect all students to grow, and support their
  continual growth.
• Offer all students the opportunity to explore
  essential understandings and skills at varied
  degrees.
• Offer all students interesting, challenging
  tasks.
• Page 11

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Elements of Differentiation

• The teacher and students collaborate in learning.
• Student-centered classroom.
• Teacher coordinates learning.
• Page 12

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Elements of Differentiation

• The teacher balances groups and individual norms.
• A great coach never achieves greatness for
  himself or his team by working to make all his
  players alike.
• Page 13

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Elements of Differentiation

• The teacher and students work together flexibly.
• Group work
• Individual work
• Readiness, interest, learning style
• Page 13 and then refer to pages 15 16

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Why differentiate instruction?

• Accountability
• Changing Classroom
• Changing Schools

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Accountability

• Standards-driven
• No Child Left Behind
• Adequate Yearly Progress

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Changing Classroom

• High Expectations
• Cultural Relevance
• Student Diversity
• Cognitive Research
• Societal and Technological Change

Pg. 17-24
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Changing Schools

• Skills that students are expected to learn from
  teachers now-
• C Connected, Competent, Confidence, Compassion
• A Acceptance, Affection, Appreciation
• R Reading, Riting and Rithmetic, along with
  Responsibility, Respect, and Relationships
• T Thinking, Technology, Teamwork

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Reflecting on Learning Experiences

• Think about a negative learning experience you
  have had as a learner. Have you ever created a
  negative experience for your students?
• Based on these experiences, what would you have
  changed to create a positive learning environment?

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What Does It Look Like?

• Watch the video of several classes implementing
  differentiating instruction
• As you watch, use the video previewing guide to
  jot down practices currently in place in the left
  column and practices you would like to include in
  your classroom in the right column

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Approaches to Differentiation

• Resources for further study and implementation

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Creating a Healthy Classroom Environment

Student
Pages 27-30
Teacher
Content
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Three Approaches to Differentiation

• Learning Contracts pg. 87
• Intelligence Preferences
• Tiered Assignments pg. 83

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Learning Contracts
Page 87
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Learning Contract

• An agreement between a teacher and a student.

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Learning Contracts are written agreements that
outline

• What students will learn
• How they will learn it
• In what period of time
• How they will be evaluated

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Instructional Values of Contracts

• Help students learn to make decisions about their
  learning
• Help students learn to manage their time
• May involve the student in curriculum planning
• Can be used to support students with learning
  difficulties

• Can be used to facilitate learning for other
  students
• Help the teacher manage
• group work
• Individual projects
• Investigations
• centers

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How do you begin?

• There are some initial ideas youll need to
  consider before developing a contract.
• What do students like to do?
• What materials and resources do you have
  available?
• What technology do you want students to use?

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Developing Contracts

• Tiered Contracts
• Variety of activities
• Everyone has the same goals
• Supply reading materials on varied levels
• Give choices
• Make requirements

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Contract Dos

• Start small (1 or 2 day contracts).
• Explain the role and function of contract.
• Help set realistic deadlines.
• Renegotiate the contract if it isnt working.
• Gradually involve students in contract
  development.

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Contract Donts

• Expect all students to be able to use contracts
  effectively immediately.
• Expect all students to like contracts.
• Assume contracts can take the place of regular
  instruction.
• Use contracts without a good management system.

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Learning Style
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Intelligence Preferences

• School Smarts
• Street Smarts
• Imagination Smarts

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Sternbergs Intelligence Preferences

• Analytic Intelligence (school smarts) People
  with strengths in this area tend to do very well
  with school tasks such as making meaning of text
  material, organizing information, seeing cause
  and effect, taking notes, and memorizing
  information.

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Sternbergs Intelligence Preferences

• Practical Intelligence (street smarts) People
  with strengths in this area learn well when they
  see how things work in the world and how ideas
  and skills help solve problems. They learn
  better by using ideas rather than just learning
  ideas. They need to solve problems in a
  meaningful context.

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Sternbergs Intelligence Preferences

• Creative Intelligence (imagination smarts)
  People with strengths in this area tend to come
  at ideas and problems in fresh and surprising
  ways. They prefer to experiment with ideas
  rather than work like everyone else They think
  outside the box.
• Handout 17

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Reflecting on What We Learn

• Use the handout Thinking About the Sternberg
  Intelligences to categorize learning tasks with
  your table team.
• Handout 17 Activity

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Present a step by step approach making an
effective speech.
Analytical Intelligence
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Identify the key parts of the water cycle.
Practical Intelligence
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Use unusual materials to show equations balance.
Creative Intelligence
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How Do Your Students Learn?

• Read the case studies on the handout labeled How
  People Learn in your folder.
• Complete the table to
• Identify each students intelligence preference.
• Provide two descriptors for the preference.
• List one instructional strategy that would be
  effective for this student
• List one instructional strategy that would be
  ineffective for this student.
• Handout 16 pg. 101

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Tiered Instruction

• A Planning Strategy for Mixed Ability Classrooms

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Tiered Instruction
When somebody hands you a glob of kids, they
dont hand you a matched set. Carol Tomlinson

• Provides teachers with a means of assigning
  different tasks within the same lesson or
  unit.
• The tasks will vary according to
• Readiness
• Interest

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WHAT CAN BE TIERED?

• Assignments
• Activities
• Homework
• Centers
• Experiments
• Materials
• Assessments
• Writing Prompts

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WHY USE TIERED INSTRUCTION?

• To build multiple avenues to content
• The focus is on key concepts and understandings
  of the lesson or unit
• To provide optimal learning experiences
• The task difficulty and skill level are slightly
  above the student level

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IDENTIFY OUTCOMES What should the students know,
understand, or be able to do?
THINK ABOUT YOUR STUDENTS Pre-assess readiness,
interest, or learning styles.
INITIATING ACTIVITIES Use a common experience for
whole class
Group 1 Task
Group 2 Task
Group 3 Task
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Creating Multiple Paths for Learning
Key Concept Or Understanding
Highly Able Learners
Struggling Learners
On-level Learners
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The Teachers Challenge

• Developing Respectful Activities
• Interesting
• Engaging
• Challenging

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How to Differentiate Instruction

• Steps to Success

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Step One Know Your Students

• Ability Levels
• Interests
• Behavior

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Step Two Vary Instruction

• Direct Instruction
• Inquiry-based Learning
• Cooperative Learning
• Information Processing Strategies

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Step Three Vary Activities

• Cubing
• Webquest
• Power Point

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Step Four Vary Assessments

• Pre-Assessments
• During Learning Assessments
• Reflection Activities
• Authentic Assessments
• Rubrics
• Portfolios

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Bringing it all together

• Video
• 19 minutes
• Break