Effectively Differentiate Instruction for All Learning Styles with EduSmart Science

Getting to Know You “It’s in the Bag”- Activity Decorate the outside of a bag with your name and campus/district/ information and grades/subjects you teach Choose 3 objects from the table or provide three objects that describe you in some way. Pair- share explaining what the items represent. Partners will introduce each other and briefly share what they learned about each other

Group Norms Take care of your needs Mute cell phones Share ideas with the whole group - jot ideas on sticky notes - place sticky notes in the “parking lot” - notes will be shared following breaks

Goals to explore how to successfully address all student learning styles within the same lesson using effective instructional strategies, inquiry-based “hands on activities” and EduSmart Science – a multimedia science resource for grades 3-8 to connect science concepts to environmental issues

Agenda Overview of Learning Styles Overview of effective instructional strategies Implement effective strategies and address learning styles using Edusmart Science Time permitting, apply the information presented: - use an Edusmart subtopic to design and present a “mini-lesson” implementing an effective instructional strategies and a subtopic from one of the EduSmart Science modules Door Prizes!!!

A word about Journals!

Learning Styles What are learning styles? identify the way a student learns best have nothing to do with a student’s intelligence or ability describe the way a student’s brain processes, stores and retrieves information most effectively

Three Main Learning Styles Visual Auditory Tactile/ Kinesthetic

Characteristics of Visual Learners learn best by seeing information and can recall visual details remember information presented in pictures, charts, graphs, diagrams, movies, and demonstrations visualize while they are reading and writing doodle and have difficulty following lectures and oral instructions can remember faces but have difficulty remembering names prefer to read silently like to write down instructions

Characteristics of Auditory Learners learn better by listening to explanations than by reading about them follow spoken directions well, but have trouble following written directions read slowly and prefer to read out loud enjoy oral discussions, working in groups and giving oral reports are good at explaining talk to themselves while learning something new need to have things explained orally can’t keep quiet for long periods of time

Characteristics of Tactile/ Kinesthetic Learners process information best through “hands on” experiences and whole body movements like science labs, role playing and building models have trouble sitting still, but writing things down makes learning easier like adventure books and movies like to move around while listening or talking talk with their hands remember by recalling who did what like to touch things in order to learn about them

Learning styles research shows: 65% of students are predominantly visual learners 20%-30% of students are predominantly auditory learners 5%-15% of students are predominantly tactile/ kinesthetic learners Pass out learning style inventory. Ask, “What type of learning style best describes you?” How can you determine a student’s predominant learning style?

Learning Style Inventories Free online: http://ttc.coe.uga.edu/surveys/LearningStyleInv.html Printable: http://www.greenville.k12.sc.us/hillcrm/lstyles/lsurvey.htm Show learning style inventories online; pass out learning style inventories

Think- Write- Pair- Compare How can this information be used to enhance instruction and impact student achievement? Think for 30 seconds. Write down your thoughts. Pair with a partner and take turns sharing for 30 seconds. Group share with those at your table for 1 minute, taking turns. Choose 1 group observation to share with the whole group.

Let’s take a quick break!

Instructional Strategies that are Effective for All Learners establish learning goals/ objective(s) cue thinking, assess and activate prior knowledge effective questioning non-linguistic representations cooperative learning generate and test hypothesis provide specific and timely feedback identifying similarities and differences **** summarizing and note taking **** journaling facilitates reflection and metacognitive thinking Disclaimer!!

The Rock Cycle

Establish Objective(s) students can’t hit a target they can’t see - restate objectives in student friendly language enables progress to be tracked revisit them at the end of the lesson so students can evaluate their level of mastery in relation to the target (Assessment for Learning)

Effective questioning can be used to: pre-assess level of knowledge cue and activate prior knowledge focus learning maximize student engagement assess mastery uncover misconceptions

Assess/Activate Prior Knowledge and Cue Thinking provides students with a preview of what they will experience helps students recall what they already know about a topic activating prior knowledge is critical for learning and retaining new information should focus on information that is essential for understanding the concept

Non-linguistic Representations generating mental pictures using graphic organizers creating physical models drawing pictures and pictographs engaging in whole body movement facilitates building vocabulary comprehension and retention as students construct their own meaning

Cooperative Learning assigning roles holds students accountable to the group creates positive interdependence promotes interactions and academic discourse provides for group and individual accountability groups should be 3-4 students should be applied consistently and systematically but not overused includes formal, informal and base groups

Provide Feedback focus feedback on specific knowledge and skills and provide as soon as possible following the task feedback provides students with information that enables them to determine where they are in relation to the target (goal or learning objective) should point out what is correct as well as what is not student initiated feedback is most beneficial (assessment of learning) rewarding genuine effort has a positive effect

Identifying Similarities and Differences comparing important characteristics is the basis used to identify similarities and differences classifying is the process of grouping things that are alike on the basis of characteristics creating analogies show how seemingly dissimilar things are similar

Similarities and Differences through note-taking using a foldable to create a graphic organizer

Summarizing a skill that must be taught and practiced choose information that is essential in order to understand the concept discard information that is not essential add or substitute words for clarity

Creating a Group Summary Give each student 3 index cards per subtopic On each card, students write one thing that is important to remember about the subtopic Students share cards, combine statements in common Add statements they agree need to be added

Using Edusmart Science to support inquiry-based, 5E instruction: Force and Motion

How does this work with 5E? Engage Explore Explain Elaborate Evaluate

Links Teaching Academic Vocabulary Marzano’s Six Step for Teaching Academic Vocabulary and Games http://jc-schools.net/tutorials/vocab/strategies.html