Differentiated Instruction Teaching in heterogeneous classrooms

What is differentiated Instruction? Three takes on differentiated instruction: o Universal Design o Assessment Options o Flipping the classroom: Khan Academy

What is Differentiated Instruction? To differentiate instruction is to recognize students' varying background knowledge, readiness, language, preferences in learning and interests; and to react responsively. Differentiated instruction is a process to teaching and learning for students of differing abilities in the same class. The intent of differentiating instruction is to maximize each student's growth and individual success by meeting each student where he or she is and assisting in the learning process. n_udl

Universal Design - the concept of universal design is actually not native to the field of education. - it originated in the fields of architecture and engineering: their intent was to anticipate the needs of people that would be using their designs and to meet those needs proactively, allowing the largest possible percentage of people to benefit from their design. - this concept is itself universal: it can be applied to almost anything, including how we structure our lessons, so that a wider range of learners can access material and master skills.

The "CAST" project has emerged as one of the leaders of Universal Design in Learning: Their approach has three primary principles: Multiple means of representation, to give diverse learners options for acquiring information and knowledge, Multiple means of action and expression, to provide learners options for demonstrating what they know, Multiple means of engagement, to tap into learners' interests, offer appropriate challenges, and increase motivation.

How do we use Universal Design principles in the classroom? First off, it doesn't mean this:

The keyword of universal design is not "one-size-fits-all", or "pass this test to graduate".... The key term here is FLEXIBILITY. Universal design curriculums are designed with flexibility in mind, so that they can be easily adjusted to suit learners with different needs.

First, we must rework and expand our goals beyond what standardized curriculums establish for our classrooms, and to provide multiple ways for students to arrive at those goals. Standards are often seen as inflexible, and are set up that way because, in theory, that is the lesson or skill that all students should be mastering at the time. Like them or not, these inflexible standards in turn give rise to things like MCAS, giving our students a very high hurdle to get over.

A certain standard might say "all students should be able to write a 3- page cursive essay", which would mean that some students (say, with a motor skills disability) have a very poor chance of accessing or mastering the material. However, by reworking and reinterpreting the goal of the lesson to mean "all students will write a well-structured essay" (which, in essence, is what the standard aimed for all along), more students are able to meet the goal, while achieving, in essence, the same result, while freeing us up to use more innovative technology.

Second, we can help diverse learners by planning a variety of learning activities that utilize more modern technologies. - For example, a single lesson introducing a new topic would offer multiple ways to obtain the same information: o videos o webpages o books o image slides o lecture

Third and last, students will then use these technologies to complete assessments related to the curriculum, as opposed to being forced to show the results of their learning through established traditional and rigid means. To sum up, modifying goals & using varied technologies is at the heart of Universal Design. By doing so, we encourage our students to explore methods that allow them to become flexible, innovative, and expert learners. Powerpoints Creating Wikis Word Clouds

Alternative Assessment As a new teacher I did not think that a poster or dance would be a good measure of a students knowledge o Worcester has leveled classes, students were grouped by ability o BP does not, I have true inclusion with all abilities in one room. o How do I teach and assess students with so many different abilities? I found AA (Alternative Assessment) was the answer for me. o My supervisor directed to the site   It got me started  can give you content spacific ideas

Not all assignments/assessments are equal Think of Bloom's Taxonomy As teachers we can assess students from any point on the chart. We can relate these to grades o For example, learning the vocabulary of the chapter is a lower order thinking skill, which makes it C level work. A inquiry lab report is a higher order thinking: a B level work.

One way to Incorporate DI into the Classroom I start by planing my objectives for the unit. Next I plan the core assignments/activities my students need to complete to learn the information (ex: taking notes Labs, and Practice problems). o This allows for whole class discussion time, and for all students to be exposed to the same material. I also offer videos of the lectures for students that are absent or that just need to hear the information one more time.

Alternative Assessment If you take a look at the sample task sheet from the wiki space, you can see that the next thing I work on is how I am going to assess students (notice all required points + assessments add up to 100 points). o This is also where the Blooms Taxonomy and leveling of assignments is used. Harder assignments with a deeper level of thinking are worth higher points. o Students can choose which assignments they would like to hand in as assessments. Many of the assignments have an OD next to them denoting Oral Defense. I find this takes away to temptation of cheating because to earn credit they will need to answer questions orally. This also allows me to grade assignments with the student so they get instant feedback and I don't spend time grading on the weekend. Further students get different questions or hints that can be scaled depending on ability. o This works great for students who do not test well, they have options and it reduces excuses.

Managing a class when using Alternative Assessment I find one of the challenges with this set-up is that I need to spend one-on-one time with students. It is my challenge to ask my students to be busy with something else while I am speaking with their classmates. I have found that giving a required assignment (such as a lab report) that students can work on while I am grading their classmates works well. I am sure this would not work for everyone; AA might need to be homework rather than classwork. You may also notice that some of the AA have *see Rubric on them. I have created a core group of assignments that are choices every week. For example, one assignment is to make a book that explains the objectives for the week. They can then refer to the rubric for additional book requirements.

Flipping The Classroom: Khan Academy

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