Differentiated Instruction Responsive Teaching Presenters: Ian Coffin, Secondary Curriculum Consultant, Eastern School District, PEI David Wood, Principal, Vernon River Consolidated School, Eastern School District, PEI February 22, 2012 UPEI

What We Have in Our Schools: More students speaking more languages than ever; Increasing numbers of students with learning difficulties; More students needing help with reading and writing; Many advanced learners needing to continue their growth; An economic divide reflected in our classes; A need for every student to leave school as a: thinker flexible and independent learner producer of knowledge We are aware that this is the case but don’t necessarily consider these facts when we plan instruction and/or assessment. If there is this much variance in the students we see in front of us, isn’t it logical to assume that they will also represent a variety of learning styles and needs?

What the Research Tells Us: Students: Learn at different rates. Need different degrees of difficulty. Have different interests. Learn in different ways. Need different support systems. Need to own their learning. We really don’t need the research to tell us this. We see it every day in our classes.

And Yet, In spite of the great and growing variety of students in our classrooms…

We teach as though they are essentially alike.

WHY?

In Many Cases: Teachers cover content. We don’t always think about teaching individuals. We have an expectation of success for everyone… On the same activities and tests, administered at the same time, under the same circumstances. This is comfortable for teachers; not for students. These habits of instruction are: Mostly teacher-centered. Often low-level. Mainly text-focused. Usually orderly and predictable. It is important to identify what we DON’T WANT to see in the classroom by making these points abundantly clear. Why do we teach this way, in a lot of cases? It is because that was the way most of us were taught so it is comfortable to us – but not everyone is successful learning this way.

What We Know: has never happened… Teaching a roomful of learners the same thing in the same way over the same time span with the same supports and expecting good results for everyone has never happened… Dlfldfdljd dlfjldkfdl and it never will…

Drives the point home doesn’t it?

So…What do We Do? Because we know all of these things to be true, what is our obligation as educators? To reflect on how our students – all of them – learn best. To re-examine curriculum outcomes. To strengthen and find alternate ways to reach objectives. To embrace flexibility in our classrooms. To differentiate instruction and assessment. Drives the point home doesn’t it?

Group Activity What does RESPONSIVE TEACHING mean to you?

RESPONSIVE TEACHING DEFINE Your definition should clarify its INTENT, ELEMENTS, and PRINCIPLES.

EXPLAIN TO A NEW TEACHER WHAT RESPONSIVE TEACHING would look like in action. In other words, what would a teacher be doing in his/her class and why?

DEVELOP A METAPHOR or ANALOGY or even a VISUAL SYMBOL to represent RESPONSIVE TEACHING

What does DIFFERENTIATION mean to YOU? Define responsive teaching or differentiation. Your definition should clarify its intent, elements, and principles. In other words, write a definition of responsive teaching. Explain to a new teacher what responsive teaching would look like in action. In other words, what would a teacher be doing in his/her class and why? Develop a metaphor, an analogy or even a symbol to represent responsive teaching. In other words, what do you think best represents differentiation?

Sternberg’s Three Intelligences Practical Creative Analytical Sternberg’s Three Intelligences Robert Sternberg: Triarchic Theory of Intelligence Analytical is the one that is tested most often in schools. Practical is tied to context and fits students who have figured out how to best adapt in each teacher’s class. Creative students don’t score as well on regular testing, but are quite adept at improvising and finding new answers.

HOW ABOUT ASSESSMENT?

Differentiated Instruction is… Put simply, it is shaking up what goes on in the classroom so that students have multiple options for: Taking in information; Making sense of ideas, and; Expressing what they learn. It is responsive (and responsible) teaching.

Building Blocks of Good Instruction Reflecting on Students Having Clarity about Curriculum Planning Effective Instruction and Assessment Managing for Flexibility

Building Blocks Reflecting on Students Developing Clarity About Curriculum Using Effective Instructional Approaches Managing for Flexibility These practices are essential to DI (and good teaching practice), but can also sometime be barriers.

Stumbling Blocks… The four most common impediments to differentiation in the early stages are: Lack of focus on individual students. We tend to think and talk about ‘our kids’ as a whole rather than studying individuals or even smaller groups. As long as we see them predominantly as a group, we’re going to teach them that way. Lack of clarity about curriculum outcomes. What students should know, understand, and be able to do – not what we’re going to cover. Lack of comfort with instructional strategies Strategies that invite us to differentiate – to reach out in different kinds of ways…and strategies we may not have ever used. Uncertainty about how to manage a classroom. One in which students are not always doing the same thing in the same way in the same time span.

Reflecting on Students

Reflecting on Students What do I want to know about my students as individuals? As a group? What do I already know? How well do they read & write? How well do they understand when they listen? What’s the hardest for them in school? What do they already know about what I’m planning to teach? How do they feel about their peers? How do their peers feel about them? How does their culture and gender affect their learning? What are their dreams? What are their interests? How do they work best? What experiences do they have that relate to what we’re studying? What attitudes do they have about learning? About schools? What kinds of adult supports do they have?

Learning Profile Pre-Assessment Paper Dolls

Learning Profile Pre-Assessment The following exercise can be used to group students according to the way they learn best or learning profile. It is a great way to gain some insights into the interests of students and the way they learn. It was developed by a grade five teacher as a pre- assessment activity at the beginning of the school year, but is transferable to any group.

Learning Profile Pre-Assessment Favorite subjects in school are indicated by head color and body color: Math: Purple Science: Red Language Arts: Blue Social Studies: Orange Physical Education, French, etc. Least favorite subjects in school are indicated by hair color (you can design fun hair). If you are a boy, use shorts. If you are a girl use pants or a skirt. Make the shorts or pants/skirt your favorite color.

Learning Profile Pre-Assessment Strongest intelligence area (using Sternberg model) is indicated by the shirt color: Analytical = Green Creative = Red Practical = Blue These could also be grouped by multiple intelligence areas (intrapersonal, interpersonal, musical, kinesthetic, logical mathematical, verbal/linguistic, visual/spatial, naturalist). Learning preference is their shoe color: Visual = white Auditory = black Kinesthetic = brown

Learning Profile Pre-Assessment If you prefer to work alone on project , put on stripes. If you prefer to work in groups, draw polka dots on your shirts. If you like to be challenged and learn new and difficult things, design a hat for yourself.

Reflecting on Students Diagnostic and Formative Assessments are key at this stage.

Reflecting on Students

Clarity about Curriculum

Clarity About Curriculum What is this topic really about? Why study it? What makes it connect to the students’ lives? How does it help students better understand the subject? What should students know, understand, and be able to do as a result of each lesson and the unit as a whole? How does the topic relate to experts?

Clarity About Curriculum Familiarity with the Specific Curriculum Outcomes are key at this stage.

Know Where Your Students are Going! “Would you tell me please, which way I ought to go from here?” “That depends a good deal on where you want to get to,” said the Cat. “I don’t much care where –” said Alice. “Then it doesn’t matter which way you go,” said the Cat. Lewis Carroll, Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland

Instructional Approaches

Instructional Approaches In what ways can I honor student interests? What options do I have when I share ideas/create tasks for students? In what ways can I honor students’ learning styles/preferences? How can I encourage a wide range of complex thinking? What different instructional modes can I offer them? What instructional approaches best serve the goals of this lesson/unit? Have I paid attention to and honoured interests and learning styles? What choices in learning and assessment have I offered? How can I encourage every student to ‘reach up’?

Instructional Approaches Knowing the needs of your learners and finding ways to reach them is key at this stage.

It’s Not About Coverage… Simply covering the curriculum does not guarantee that the students will meet all of its outcomes.

Managing for Flexibility

Managing for Flexibility How can I use time, space, & materials more flexibly? How do I establish (and be willing to accept) levels of sound and movement in the classroom? How do we establish class routines to create independence? How do I make time to meet with different groups? How do I make time to coach individuals? How do I give multiple sets of directions? That provide adequate challenge, engagement, and structure for all students? How do I track students’ progress?

Managing for Flexibility The key? A shift in the traditional mindset.

A Continuum of Differentiated Instruction In a classroom with little or no differentiation: The class works as a whole on most materials, exercises, projects. Everyone is expected to work at the same pace on everything. This doesn’t suit all the different learners in the room. There are group grading standards. There is an implied (or stated) philosophy that all the students need the same teaching and learning.

A Continuum of Differentiated Instruction In a classroom with some differentiation: Teachers ask differentiated questions in discussion. Teachers encourage individuals to take an assignment farther. There are implied variations in grading experiences. Students choose their own work groups. If students finish work early, they can read, do puzzles, etc. There are occasional exceptions to standard pacing. May not need to show all work, do all math problems, etc. There are occasional adjustments in grading to reflect student effort and/or ability.

A Continuum of Differentiated Instruction In a fully-differentiated classroom: There is a clearly-stated philosophy of student differences. There is planned assessment and planned compacting. Variable pacing is a given. There is moving furniture and consistent use of flexible groups. Collaboration is viewed as essential to the learning process. There is planned variation in content/input. There is also planned variation in product/output. There is individual goal setting and individual assessment. Grading reflects individual growth. There is frequent mentoring and frequent monitoring.

For More Information: Contact: Ian Coffin Curriculum Consultant Eastern School District 902.894.0233 iecoffin@edu.pe.ca David Wood Principal Vernon River Consolidated 902.651.8520 dawood@edu.pe.ca Website: esdlab.pbworks.com (Differentiated Instruction) Prezi: http://prezi.com/nk3l6k89ccyx/responsive-teaching-introduction/