Technology In Support of Differentiated Instruction Willa Spicer Jennifer Hunsinger

Definition “Differentiating instruction is not an instructional strategy or a teaching model. It’s a way of thinking about teaching and learning that advocates beginning where individuals are rather than with a prescribed plan of action, which ignores student readiness, interest, and learning profile.” - Tomlinson

Differentiated Instruction Teacher’s Response to Learner’s Needs Guided By General Principles Respectful Tasks Learning Environment Ongoing Assessment ProcessProductContent Teacher Can Differentiate: Through A Range of Instructional Strategies -TomlinsonTomlinson According to Student’s Readiness InterestsLearning Profile Assumptions Flexible Groups

Assumptions The information can be useful for your purposes. Students and teachers have access to the Internet. Teacher knows the 21 st Century Skills and wants to teach them. –Search strategies –Ability to evaluate information on the basis of what you want to know –Ability to recognize bias, falsehoods, propaganda

The Learning Environment Click here to view “How People Learn” The Teacher The Student The Content

Policy Teaching Learning BALANCED ASSESSMENT Summative Formative

Content Facts, Principles, Concepts, Generalizations, Skills Which are Relevant, authentic, usable, essential * Content doesn’t often change because we differentiate!!

Learning Styles - Lens on the Learners Multiple Intelligences Jung - Myers-Briggs 4MAT Gender Cultural

Readiness Prior Knowledge and/or skill set Speed of Learning NCREL’s Critical Issue: Promoting Children's Readiness to Learn

Respectful Tasks

Guiding Principles Classroom is flexible Instruction stems from ongoing assessment Flexible grouping All learners have tasks that are interesting, engaging and moderately challenging. Students and teachers are collaborators in learning

Process: Activities

Product: Demonstrating Learning Tests Interviews Survey Performance and ExhibitionPerformance and Exhibition Portfolio PowerPoint PresentationsPowerPoint Presentations Newsletters, PublicationsNewsletters, Publications Podcasts Blogs, Wikis Movies (YouTube)MoviesYouTube Inspiration Maps

Instructional Strategies Anchoring Activities Jigsaw Literature Circles Tiered Lessons Learning Contracts Cooperative Learning Independent Learning Orbital Studies Questioning Strategies Interest Groups Varied Homework Compacting Group Investigation Varied Supplementary MaterialsVaried Supplementary Materials Varied texts

Task Find a strategy that relates to the needs of your students. Write one or two sentences on that relationship.

Shift Happens on the Internet OldNew Closed proprietary contentOpen source Student produce contentSocial collaborative construction of knowledge for large audience Reader as readerReader as editor, writer One teacherMany teachers Use Internet for one way consumption Use Internet for authorship, collaboration Clusky Website What do they know?What do they contribute?

Additional Resources Virtual Tours Virtual Field Trips Web Quests Think Quests Video Conferencing

Auditory Learners

Edutopia

Blogging Video Presentation

Google

Wiki

Online Learning

News Sources CBC Kids - from CanadaCBC Kids CBBC - from the UK for kidsCBBC Channel One Discover Earth & Sky Radio Show Environmental News Network Kid's Castle from SmithsonianKid's Castle KidsNewsroom LA Youth - by youth for youthLA Youth Newz Crew from PBSNewz Crew National Geographic Kids National Geographic News National Geographic Today - great list of stories; leads to other storiesNational Geographic Today Nature.com News Hour Extra from PBSNews Hour Extra NOAA.com NY Times Student ConnectionsNY Times Student Connections Scholastic News Zone - listen to scholastic radioScholastic News Zone Student News Net Time for Kids Washington Post for Kids - registration requiredWashington Post for Kids Weekly Reader - subscription basedWeekly Reader Why Files World Wildlife Federation NewsroomWorld Wildlife Federation Newsroom Yahooligans News

Marco Polo

Problem Based Learning

How is this being accomplished? enGauge®: A Framework for Effective Technology Use

Your Task Find what interests you the most within the context of the technology shared in this presentation. Write one or two sentences that explain why you found this topic most interesting.

What Differentiation is Not A set of strategies, but a way of thinking about teaching and learning. Individualization of learning More work at the same level All the time differentiation, whole group activities continue to have role Group work without accountability Limited to acceleration

Thank you Willa Spicer at Jennifer Hunsinger at Materials available on