Differentiated Instruction: Tools for the Classroom Denise L. Schulz University of North Carolina at Charlotte

What we share in common makes us human. How we differ makes us individuals.

Differentiating instruction means changing the pace, level, or kind of instruction you provide in response to individual learners’ needs, styles, or interests. From Differentiating Instruction in the Regular Classroom by Diane Heacox, Ed.D.

Differentiated instruction offers several avenues to learning and focuses on meaningful learning or powerful ideas for all students. It does not assume a separate level for each learner, but it creates a reasonable range of approaches to learning. From How To Differentiate Instruction in Mixed Ability Classrooms by Carol Ann Tomlinson

Differentiation does not suggest that a teacher can be all things to all individuals all the time.

Differentiation does not suggest that the teacher try to differentiate everything for everyone every day.

Differentiated Instruction is: Rigorous Challenging instruction that motivates students Individuals learn best when they are in a context that provides a moderate challenge. When a task is much too difficult for a student, the learner feels threatened and slips into a mode of self-protection. Students who consistently fail lose their motivation to learn. Simple tasks suppress a student’s thinking and problem solving, and the student coasts into relaxation mode. For learning to continue, students must believe that hard work is required, but the hard work often pays off with success.

Differentiated Instruction is: Relevant Teachers focuses on essential and significant learning, not “fluff.” The work is not more of the same to fill time, but challenging work that expands learning. The brain seeks meaningful patterns and resists meaninglessness. The curriculum should be meaningful and tap into learners’ feelings and experiences. Individuals learn when they can connect something new to something they can already understand.

Differentiated Instruction is: Flexible and Varied Flexible use of student groups is at the core of differentiated instruction. Flexibility creates instructional groups that provide specific activities that respond to students’ learning needs. Groups work on different activities based on needs, strengths, or preferences. Students are grouped and regrouped as necessary. Students can help make choices about how they will learn and demonstrate what they’ve learned, when appropriate. Students can work independently, with a partner, or in a group. Teachers use many different instructional strategies so students’ become accustomed to doing different work than their classmates.

Differentiation modifies: Content (curricular topics, concepts, or themes) Pre-assess students’ skills and knowledge, then match learners with appropriate activities according to readiness. Concentrate on the most relevant and essential concepts or increase the complexity of learning. Give students choices about topics to explore in greater depth. Provide students with basic and advanced resources that match their current levels of understanding.

Differentiation modifies: Process (how you teach; sense-making) Add greater complexity or abstractness to tasks based on a student’s current level of understanding and skill. Encourage students to make sense of an idea in a preferred way of learning. Engage students in critical and creative thinking. Increase the variety of ways in which you ask them to learn based on their readiness, interest, or student learning profile.

Differentiation modifies: Product (end results of learning) Provide students multiple ways to show and extend what they have come to understand. Plan units that reflect many ways to represent learning Provide menus of projects for students so they can choose a product. Ask students to create products that match their learning strengths. Encourage students to take on challenging work, run with their ideas, or to come up with unique ways to show what they’ve learned.

The Teacher’s Role Facilitator Collaborator Provide and prescribe differentiated learning opportunities. Organize students for learning. Use time flexibly. Collaborator Work with other teachers in your grade level or department to plan units for differentiation. Share resources for differentiation. Communicate regularly with other specialists.

Qualities of a Supportive Classroom Environment: Promotes acceptance of differences. Affirms that all students have learning strengths. Acknowledges that students learn at different rates and in different ways. Recognizes that for work to be fair, it must sometimes be different. Acknowledge that success means different things to different people. Allows students to work with various people for various purposes. Recognizes that the key to motivation is interest, and that all students have different interests.

Qualities (cont.) Promotes personal responsibility for learning. Builds feelings of personal competence and confidence in learning. Values effort and “personal best.” Nurtures skills of independence. Supports and celebrates students success in challenging work. Encourages exploration of each student's interests, strengths, and learning preferences. Nurtures the creative spirit in all students. Honors everyone’s work.

What do you teach?

Curriculum Mapping: Outline a subject, building essential questions and unit questions. Identify the curriculum standards for a unit. Identify the content, skills, and products for the unit.

Examples of Concepts (Fourth Grade Science): Characteristics of biospheres Plant and animal life of each biosphere Interactions and interdependence of living systems Interactions of people, places,a nd locations Effects of humans on the biosphere

Essential Questions: The purpose of essential questions is to reflect the key understanding you want your students to have after they’ve completed the curriculum. Formulating essential questions for your curriculum will help you: Identify the concepts or ideas that are most important for students to know and understand. Focus your instructional planning. Identify recurring themes that can unify a subject or curriculum across units.

Formulating Essential Questions: What are the most important concepts in my course or subject area? What is essential for my students to know and understand? What concepts or ideas do we continue to refer to as we move through this curriculum?

Examples of Essential Questions (Biospheres): What are the characteristics of a biosphere? What are some typical plant and animals that live in each biosphere? How do plants and animals interact in each biosphere? How does the geography of a biosphere affect human beings? How have human being affected biospheres?

Unit Questions: Unit questions provide specific content and facts about essential questions. They add depth and specificity. Unit questions convey specific facts and concepts in student friendly language. Relate unit questions to specific essential questions so students can make connections in their learning.

Formulating Unit Questions: Remember that unit questions are subsets of essential questions and address specific content and skills. Relate unit questions directly to essential questions to maintain focus on what is important. Prioritize content by limiting the number of unit questions to five or fewer. Make the questions as interesting as possible. Remember that not every essential question will necessarily be addressed in every unit, nor will every essential question have only one unit question.

Examples of Unit Questions (Ocean Biome): What are the characteristics of oceans? What plants and animals live in oceans? What food chains link ocean plants with ocean animals? How does the geography of oceans affect human beings? How have human beings affected oceans?

Creating a Unit: Select a subject. Identify the most important concepts. Write up to five essential questions that reflect the important concepts. Choose a unit or theme you want to differentiate. Write up to five unit questions that build on, elaborate on, and make more specific the essential questions.

Bloom’s Taxonomy Evaluation Creating Synthesis Evaluating Analysis Analyzing Application Applying Comprehension Understanding Knowledge Remembering Bloom’s Taxonomy

Bloom’s Taxonomy: Remembering: can the student recall or remember the information? define, duplicate, list, memorize, recall, repeat, reproduce, state Understanding: can the student explain ideas or concepts? classify, describe, discuss, explain, identify, locate, recognize, report, select, translate, paraphrase Applying: can the student use the information in a new way? choose, demonstrate, dramatize, employ, illustrate, interpret, operate, schedule, sketch, solve, use, write

Bloom’s Taxonomy: Analyzing: can the student distinguish between the different parts? appraise, compare, contrast, criticize, differentiate, discriminate, distinguish, examine, experiment, question, test Evaluating: can the student justify a stand or decision? appraise, argue, defend, judge, select, support, value, evaluate Creating: can the student create new product or point of view? assemble, construct, create, design, develop, formulate, write