Differentiating for AIG Learners: Asking Good Questions Session #2 AIG Booster Shots Differentiating for AIG Learners: Asking Good Questions Session #2

2-Minute Reflection List three important lessons about differentiation that you recall from the first AIG Booster Shot. Which of these is the most important lesson for teachers to understand?

Type of DI #1: Acceleration Student moves through curriculum quickly at a pace matching his readiness Requires pre-assessment Used frequently in math and ELA Examples: reading above grade level, streamlining math lessons or units

Type of DI #2: Enrichment Student pursues different topic, related to interests Beyond regular curriculum Often interdisciplinary and real world Examples: writing fiction about scientific principles, evaluating real estate purchases

Type of DI #3: Extension Student works at higher cognitive level Stretches the regular curriculum Focused on single discipline Example: creating comic endings for a story, providing financial advice based on study of economics

4-Minute Reflection Consider a particular unit you’re currently teaching or are about to teach. How might you apply acceleration, enrichment, and extension to it? *Which of your students would benefit from these modifications?

Questioning in our classrooms… Takes up about 50% of our instructional time Falls just behind lecturing in terms of time Instruction with questioning is better than instruction without questioning High-level students require high-level questions 60% of the questions we ask are low level

Revised Bloom’s Taxonomy Identifies cognitive processes using verbs rather than nouns Clearly names 19 action words across 6 cognitive processes Different levels of complexity within each cognitive process based on the type of knowledge required

Important consideration: Creating relates to ideas and plans, NOT products. Ask: What thinking is required in this task? *High-level questions require students to critique and test ideas and create new ideas.

Pioneer Farmer Supplies Food: bacon, coffee, flour, sugar, salt, pepper, Saleratus (baking soda), beans & rice, vinegar & spices Utensils: 2 kettles, frying pan, coffee pot, bake pan, knives, forks, spoons, cups, bucket, soap, medicines, matches, spade, ax, hammer, rifle Spare parts: chain links, ox yolk, harness parts, horse/ox shoes, bucket of grease, rope, nails, buckskin, ammunition, trinkets for Indians (ribbons, mirrors, tobacco, etc.)

4 minute task: Low, middle, or high level? 1) What kinds of food did the pioneer farmers carry with them in their wagons? 2) How does the food list compare to your diet? 3) Why do you think the pioneers carried vinegar and spices in their wagons? 4) What can we conclude about the pioneers’ diet from their list of food supplies? 5) Last week we were studying the fur traders. How do the pioneers’ supplies compare with those available to the fur traders? 6) Why do you think the pioneers carried trinkets for the Indians? 7) What can we conclude from the fact that the pioneers carried rifles, revolvers, and ammunition in their wagons? 8) What is saleratus? 9) Why didn’t the pioneers carry such things as fish, milk, eggs, and cheese in their wagons?

Evaluating these questions… 1) What kinds of food did the pioneer farmers carry with them in their wagons? 2) How does the food list compare to your diet? 3) Why do you think the pioneers carried vinegar and spices in their wagons? 4) What can we conclude about the pioneers’ diet from their list of food supplies? 5) Last week we were studying the fur traders. How do the pioneers’ supplies compare with those available to the fur traders? 6) Why do you think the pioneers carried trinkets for the Indians? 7) What can we conclude from the fact that the pioneers carried rifles, revolvers, and ammunition in their wagons? 8) What is saleratus? 9) Why didn’t the pioneers carry such things as fish, milk, eggs, and cheese in their wagons?

3-Minute Task What high-level question might we ask about the list of pioneer supplies? Require evaluating or creating Focus on asking a question, NOT designing an activity Think about your highest-level thinkers

What makes this question appropriate for AIG students? “Imagine that you’re a pioneer farmer travelling west. As you cross a river, your wagon tips over, and you have time to grab only 10 items. Which items would you go for and why?”

Open-ended questions… Don’t have one single, predictable answer Are provocative Encourage discussion and debate

3-Minute Task: Consider the Civil War, outer space, or a story Create questions using these question stems: What do you think would happen if ____? What effect do you think ____ would have on ____? How would ____have been different if ____?

Some open-ended questions… Civil War: What do you think would happen if the US legalized slavery? How would our rights be different if the South had won the war? Outer space: What effect do you think a change in the Earth’s rotation would have on our daily lives? The Giving Tree: How would the story have been different if the tree had asked for something in return every time the boy visited?

Questions from DPI’s AIG-IRP: Elementary Is it better to be right or wrong? Why? Given this type of problem, which strategy works best and most often? Why? Are positive human impacts on the environment most often in response to problems that humans created in the first place? Why do you say so?

Questions from DPI’s AIG-IRP: Middle School What would happen if we ran out of room on Earth? What would our options be? Which do you think is the best option? Why? Which of the people involved in this news do you think most/least deserves the title of “expert”? Why?

Questions from DPI’s AIG-IRP: High School What factors must be considered when deciding whether something or someone is evil? How might the demographics of Wilmington look today if African Americans weren’t forced to leave during the race riots?

2-Minute Reflection Look back over the previous questions: What makes these questions high level and appropriate for AIG learners?

Upcoming AIG Booster Shots Tiered assignments Curriculum Compacting Seminars Concept-based teaching Concept Development Projects, independent studies, small-group investigations