Improving Student Achievement: Instructional Strategies

1
Welcome Back
Presenters Jennifer Nehl
2
Differentiated Instruction
3
Title Insert KUd
4
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

5
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

6
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.

7
Differentiation Strategies

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

8
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.

9
Principles GuidingDifferentiated Instruction
10
Differentiate through a range of instructional
and management strategies
Anchor Activities Compacting Complex Instruction Graphic Organizers
Group Investigations Independent Study Jigsaw Learning contracts
Literature Circles Orbitals Taped Materials Tiered centers
Tiered Lessons Tiered Products Varied Journal Prompts Varied questions
Varied sup. materials Varied Texts ??? ???
11
Differentiating by Content
12
Ways to Differentiate Content

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

13
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

14
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

15
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

16
Tiering A Lesson
What is the range of learning needs? What should students know, understand, be able to do? What is the starting point of the lesson? How will you hook the students?
What is the first version of the lesson? What is the second version? What is the third version?
17
Differentiating by Process
18
Ways to Differentiate Process

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

19
Cubing
On Target, Differentiated Instruction,
Grades 4-12, pages 12-13
20
CUBING Guide
21
CUBING diagram
22
cUBING demonstration
Knowledge/ Describe List/describe the items used by Goldilocks while she was in the bears house.
Apply Demonstrate what Goldilocks would use if she came to your house.
Compare Compare this story to reality. What events could not really happen?
Argue for or against Judge whether Goldilocks was right or wrong. Defend your opinion.
Analyze Rank the characters from best to worst and explain how you ranked them.
Associate Create a new story by placing Goldilocks in a modern-day city.
23
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.

24
Social Studies Level 1
25
Social Studies Level 2
26
Social Studies Level 3
27
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.

28
ThinkDots
29
ThinkDots Guide
30
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.

31
ThinkDots Demonstration
32
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
33
a, b, c and d each represent a different value. If a 2, find b, c, and d. a b c a - c d a b 5 Explain the mathematical reasoning involved in solving card 1. Explain in words what the equation 2x 4 10 means. Solve the problem.
Create an interesting word problem that is modeled by 8x 2 7x. Diagram how to solve 2x 8. Explain what changing the 3 in 3x 9 to a 2 does to the value of x. Why is this true?
Think Dots Title Algebra level 1
34
a, b, c and d each represent a different value. If a 1, find b, c, and d. a b c b - b d c a -a Explain the mathematical reasoning involved in solving card 1. Explain how a variable is used to solve word problem.
Create an interesting word problem that is modeled by 2x 4 4x - 10. Solve the problem. Diagram how to solve 3x 1 10. Explain why x4 in 2x 8, but x16 in ½ x 8. Why does this make sense?
Think Dots Title Algebra
level 2
35
a, b, c and d each represent a different value. If a 4, find b, c, and d. a c b b - a c cd -d d d a Explain the mathematical reasoning involved in solving card 1. Explain how a variable in mathematics. Give examples.
Create an interesting word problem that is modeled by . Solve the problem. Diagram how to solve 3x 4 x 12. Given ax 15, explain how x is changes if a is large or a is small in value.
Think Dots Title Algebra
level 3
36
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
37
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.

38
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.

39
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.
40
Brainstorm
41
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.

42
Lesson Plan
43
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.