Effective Differentiation in K-8 Mathematics A SIP Day Presentation created by the ISBE Math Content Specialists

Session Objectives: Define Differentiation Assess, Group, and Consider the needs of all level learners. Explore DI strategies for math. Open-ended questioning Number Talks/Math Talks Small Group instruction Student Choice aka Stations/Centers/Choice

ASCD’s interpretation of differentiation: http://www.ascd.org/publications/books/100216/chapters/Understanding-Differentiated-Instruction@-Building-a-Foundation-for-Leadership.aspx

A definition for today… Differentiation refers to a wide variety of teaching techniques and lesson adaptations that educators use to instruct a diverse group of students, with diverse learning needs, in the same course, classroom, or learning environment. Differentiation is modifying the content, process, or product of a learning experience based on individual students’ needs and/or interests.

Why is differentiation so important? Our classrooms are full of diverse learners Teaching everyone one way will alienate someone Meeting students needs and interests will help alleviate many discipline issues Meeting students needs and interests will help them achieve at a higher level

Differentiation is NOT: Proactive More qualitative than quantitative Rooted in assessment Student Centered Multiple approaches to content, process and product A blend of whole-class, group and individual instruction Differentiation is NOT: Individualized instruction Chaotic Just for outliers Small group instruction all the time Just Centers

Roadblocks to Differentiation What obstacles keep us from differentiating? Not enough time for planning, not equipped/trained to differentiate,

Preparing to Differentiate First, we must know the needs and interests of our students. What information will help you determine the needs/interests of your students? How will you collect this information?

Data collection to prepare for Differentiation This could be… Exit ticket from last class Entrance ticket with warm up Pre-Assessment – post it note or half-sheet When developing a pre-assessment: Keep the answers simple 4 questions Two at grade level Two above grade level or at a challenging level Besides performance levels, what other information about our students can help us differentiate? On grade level Above grade level This “Sticky Note Assessment” is a quick way to collect data. 4 questions can be quickly completed, collected, checked, and sorted—instantly giving you a detailed picture of where your students are What other ways can you collect the data you need to effectively differentiate?

Using the data we collect… “3” performance levels that seem to occur in every classroom Group A – Proficient 80% of most classes Group B – Emerging/Developing 10% of most classes Group C – Exemplary Lesson with modeling, practice, and application is sufficient Will need additional examples, pre-requisite work reinforced, hands-on Needs beyond the lesson and practice, take it to a deeper level, bring in the real-world application, make it open-ended, project, creations These “performance levels” are constantly changing. Students can fluidly move from one group to another throughout the school year…even within a single unit…depending on the topic of study.

Strategies for Differentiating in the Math Classroom There are MANY different ways to differentiate math instruction to meet the needs of all the learners in your classroom. Today we are going to look at these 3 methods. Feel free to share out other ideas for differentiation. 1. Open-Ended Questions 2. Math Talks 3. Student Choice/Menu/Math Pass 4. Group Instruction

1. Open-Ended Problems What it is… Examples… Why it works… Open-ended refers to a problem which had more than one correct answer and more than one strategy to obtain an answer. Video-Jo Boaler’s TED Talk featuring an open-ended math problem Grade 1 - How could you organize 27 skittles to make them easier to count? Grade 7 - 74 is ___% of ___. Grade 8 – Find 3 positive integers that add up to 10. Use them to fill in the blanks and find the largest possible result. ( ___ ) x ( ___ ) __ Students are exposed to many different ways of thinking. All students can approach the problem using the skills they are personally comfortable with. Many different ways of thinking are acknowledged and validated. Students reach a deeper level of conceptual understanding. Address for the Jo Boaler video https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3icoSeGqQtY Develop or find an open-ended question for your grade level and share it with the group. https://www.uky.edu/OtherOrgs/ARSI/www.uky.edu/pub/arsi/openresponsequestions/mathorq.pdf

2. Math Talks What it is… Examples… Why it works… The teacher poses a purposeful problem. Students signal when they are ready to share a solution. The teacher collects answers orally. Students explain or defend their answers. The teacher records student strategies and asks questions to facilitate mathematical discourse. Finally, the class comes to a consensus. Jo Boaler Video about Number Talks Video #1 – Kindergarten Example Video #2 – Grade 5 Example Video #3 –HS Geometry Students become more active listeners, eager to hear the different strategies shared. Emphasis is on the solution path or strategy not the answer. Deeper conceptual understanding due to the analysis of the mathematical reasoning behind the strategies. Students use the math skills they are the most comfortable with to approach the problem. Learn more about Facilitating Math Talks in our Math Talks SIP Day Learning Experience. Find a problem that would be suitable for a Math Talk.

3. Student Choice What it is… Examples… Why it works… Engaging students with Variety and Choice. Provide your students with a variety of contexts in which they can apply the math. Provide different ways for them to explore the math – hands on manipulatives, technology, drawings, etc. **Also called Math Menu, Choice Boards, Workshops, Math Pass Menu Video Choice Board Examples and how one teacher implements them for her 8th grade math class Mrs. Delfino, Math Pass Workshops Example Students feel ownership of their learning and are therefore more engaged. Students are given opportunities to demonstrate their talents while exploring math concepts. Very empowering!

4. Group Instruction What it is… Examples… Why it works… Remember that data we collected (slide 9). Use it to strategically group your students according to a skill they need help with. Take turns meeting with different groups while the groups that are not with you are working on practice, rotating through workshops, doing Math Choice or Menu activities. This teacher used a number talk to assess understanding, a menu activity to keep students engaged, and small group instruction with students who needed support. Reteach and Enrich Small group work with “I Choose” Teacher is able to work in small groups with students to correct misconceptions that if not addressed would have sabotaged learning. Groups are fluid—students are not permanent members of any group. Every formative assessment potentially changes the grouping. Small GROUPS—students are learning from each other. It’s still student driven.

Twitter—https://twitter.com/ILContentSpec Need support with any of the materials included here? Reach out to one of our Math Content Specialists! Heather Brown Jeanine Sheppard hmbrown2@ilstu.edu jsheppa@ilstu.edu Twitter—https://twitter.com/ILContentSpec Facebook—https://www.facebook.com/ilclassroomsinaction/ https://www.facebook.com/ILMathCommonCore/ www.ilclassroomsinaction.org www.mathteachersinaction.org

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