DIFFERENT STROKES WAYS TO DIFFERENTIATE IN THE CLASSROOM

WHAT IS DIFFERENTIATION? Is meeting the needs of the diverse learners in your classroom. A set of unique decisions that the teacher makes to bring learning within the grasp of all students. Provides avenues to acquire content, process ideas and develop AND a mean to provide multiple options of taking in and making sense of information AS WELL As a means of expressing learning.

WHAT WE ALREADY KNOW? Students come to our classroom with a variety of: - Learning styles - Personal experiences - Prior educational experiences - Interests - Readiness levels

TYPICAL INSTRUCTIONAL STRATEGIES Rank the following strategies from most to least effective. Try and guess the percentage of information a “typical student” may retain. - Practice by doing - Demonstration - Teach another - Audio/visual - Discussion - Reading - Lecture

Teach others/ immediate use of learning 95% Practice by doing 75% Discussions 50% Demonstration 30% Audio/visual 20% Reading 10% Lecture 5% Effective Instructional Strategies

Traditional ClassroomDifferentiated Classroom Differences are acted upon when problematic Assessment if most common at the end of learning to see ‘who got it” A relatively narrow sense of intelligence prevails Coverage of curriculum guides and drives instruction While class instruction dominates A single text prevails. Differences are studied as a basis for planning Assessment is on-going and diagnostic to make instruction more responsive to learner needs Focus on multiple forms of learning evidence. Student readiness, interest, and learning profile shape instruction Many instructional arrangements are used Multiple materials are provided.

WAYS TO DIFFERENTIATE Content - What is taught Process - How it is taught Product - How learning is assessed

STRATEGIES FOR DIFFERENTIATION Higher Prep Strategies - Tiered lessons - Flexible Grouping - Think- Tac- Toe - Multiple intelligence options - Graphic Organisers - Response/ Exit Cards - Multiple Texts Lower Prep Strategies -Reading and study buddies -Anchor activities -Think-Pair-Share -Choices of books -Interest Surveys -Multiple layers of questioning

TIERED LEARNING Different tasks within the same lesson What can be tiered: Assignments, activities, homework, experiments, assessments and writing prompts.

4 STEP METHOD 1. Identify Key skills or concepts you want students to know 2. Think about students and determine their interest in the topic, their readiness or want to learn and their learning needs. 3. Create an activity for “on-level”’ learners that is: - Interesting - Challenging - Has the student use key skills to understand idea 4. Adjust the activity to suit learners. You may not need to adjust the actual activity just how you present it.

YOUR TURN Choose an activity from your teaching area. On a page write in the middle what the activity in and the key concepts. Then move up and down either side to differentiate EXAMPLE: Students are to create 6 flashcards which have the name and definition of the health related fitness components. Struggling LearnersOn- Level LearnersHighly- Able learners Reduce the amount of flashcards Include a diagram to help visual learners with the name Clear Name of the fitness component Correct and appropriate definition Correct and appropriate examples of the component Increase the amount of flashcards Increase to 2 examples Have a comparison to a sport

FLEXIBLE GROUPINGS Flexible groupings is an opportunity for students to work with a variety of students. Flexible means they can be in different groups depending on activities. Don’t over use groups. Groups can be determined by: willingness to learn, interest, reading level, skill level, background knowledge, social skills.

YOUR TURN Choose one of your classes. Look at your class and create 5 groups which you could use in the classroom when doing the following activities: - A debate - Reading comprehension - Oral presentations

ANCHOR ACTIVITIES Anchor activities are ongoing assignments that students can work on independently throughout a unit, term or semester. These can be used when students are finished other work. Examples - Brain Busters - Silent reading - Websites - Journals or learning logs - Research questions - Articles with questions or activities - Investigations - Vocabulary work

YOUR TURN Create an anchor activity which could be used in one of your subject areas which could be used for a term. For when students are finished other work.

EXIT CARDS Exit Cards are used to gather information on students willingness to learn, learning profiles, interest and if they have “got it” These work by teachers giving out a cue card at the end of a sequence of instructions which has a prompt on it for students to respond to This can be away to form groups in your classes.

EXAMPLES Explain the difference between a simile and metaphor Give some examples of each as part of your explanation “Happy as a clam” is an example of a: (Circle the correct response) Simile Metaphor This could cater for 2 different groups of students within your class. YOUR TURN: Create some exit cards which could be used in your classroom for different learners but gaining knowledge of the same concept Summary After reading my draft…. 3 revisions I can make to improve it 2 resources I can use to improve my draft 1 thing I really like about my first draft

THINK- TAC- TOE Think – tac – toe boards give students a choice in how they demonstrate their understanding of a given topic. Complete a character analysis for the main character of your story. Complete a character report card. Name and draw a person who is like one of the characters from the book. Build a miniature stage setting for your story. Draw a picture describing at least 3 settings from the story Make up a limerick or cinquain poem about the setting of your story. Use a sequence chart or timeline to describe at least 7 events. Write a new beginning or ending to the story. Make a board game about your story. Include key events (in order)

YOUR TURN Create a think-tac-toe for a activity or unit of work within one of your classes.

GRAPHIC ORGANISERS Aid comprenhension, concept development and learning Highlight key vocabulary Provides an organized, visual display of knowledge Focuses attention on key elements Helps to integrate prior knowledge with new knowledge

TYPES OF GRAPHIC ORGANISERS

OTHER THINGS YOU CAN DO IN THE CLASSROOM Use voice recorders- this could be for students to record your information or to explain their own knowledge. Using highlighting Use Blooms questioning Word walls Encourage different forms of showing learning Peer tutoring

LAST ACTIVITY Choose one assignment which you will do this semester. Differentiate it so it meets the needs of higher level learners and lower level learners.