KHS Study Groups

 What is it?  How do I plan to meet the needs of my students?  How do I group my students to reap the most benefits?

“ The biggest mistake of past centuries in teaching has been to treat all children as if they were variants of the same individual, and thus to feel justified in teaching them the same subjects in the same way” Howard Gardner

 Differentiated instruction is a way of thinking about teaching and learning.  Differentiating instruction involves providing instruction at different levels to meet the individual differences of students. This includes instruction, classroom materials, products and assessments.

 Whole group instruction  Small group instruction  Learning stations

A mistake we often make in education is to plan the curriculum materials very carefully, arrange all the instructional materials wall to wall, open the doors of the school, and then find to our dismay that they’ve sent us the wrong kids.

 “ is a teacher’s response to learner’s needs guided by general principles of differentiation such as:  Respectful Tasks  Flexible Grouping  Ongoing Assessment & Adjustments ” Flexible Grouping Ongoing Assessments Respectful Tasks

Using assessment data to determine the instructional needs of students, differentiated instruction is planned and delivered with precision.

ALL students

 Content consists of facts, concepts, skills, generalization or principles related to the subject.  Content includes both what the teacher plans for the students to learn and how the student gains access to desired knowledge, understanding and skills.

 We can differentiate content by: 1) Using manipulatives 2) Using texts at more than one level 3) Using texts, computer programs, tape recorders, videos, pictures, etc.

Process is how the learner comes to make sense of, understand, and own the key facts, concepts and skills of the subject. Process = Activity

We can differentiate an activity or process by: 1) Providing varied options at differing levels of difficulty or based on differing student interests. 2) Offering different amounts of support. 3) Provide students with choices as to how they express what they learn. Ex: Write a letter, draw a political cartoon or create a diagram

Products refer to the items a student can use to demonstrate what he or she understands and can be able to do as a result of an extended period of study. Examples of Products:  Portfolio of skills achieved over the course of semester  End of the Unit Projects  End of the Unit Test

We can differentiate products by allowing students to:  -Create and design their own products around learning goals.  -Express what they have learned in varied ways.  -Work in flexible groups and arrangements  -Provide product assignments in varying degrees of difficulty  -Use a wide variety of assessments  -Develop rubrics of quality

1. Teachers demonstrate explicit steps and strategies to students explaining the strategy and its purpose. 2. Teacher model multiple examples of how to apply the strategy using a “think aloud” procedure while interacting with actual text.

3. Teachers provide students with extensive opportunities to practice strategies and offer high-quality feedback. 4. Teachers structure ample review and opportunities for learning how and when to use strategies, within the context of instruction.

What is differentiated instruction? Planned and delivered with precision Which students receive differentiated instruction? All students Which elements of the curriculum can be differentiated? Content, Process, and Product