PHILIPPE ERNEWEIN OCTOBER 29, 2012 Honoring Cognitive Diversity by Differentiating Instruction

Think/Pair/Share Please think for a minute and select two students that you teach or have taught who don’t or didn’t fare so well in school. Tell a colleague who the students are (pseudonyms are fine) – and perhaps why they didn’t flourish in school.

Making sure we are on the same page: Differentiated Instruction applies an approach to teaching and learning so that students have multiple options to take in information and make sense of ideas. Because we know students:  Learn at different rates  Need different degrees of difficulty  Have different interests  Learn in different ways  And need different support systems

At the Core of Differentiated Instruction… Student Traits Readiness Level Interest Learning Profile Affect Classroom Elements Content Process Product Learning Environment

Think back to your student… Can you identify his/her readiness level, interests and learning profile? How could you find out during a lesson, during a day or during a week?

Tiered Approach: definition An instructional approach designed to have students of differing readiness levels work with essential knowledge, understanding, and skill, but to do so at levels of difficulty appropriately challenging for them as individuals at a given point in the instructional cycle.

Tiered Approach: critical elements Clearly establish what students should know, understand and be able to do Share a clear target with the students Think about readiness levels: pre-assessment/on-going Develop enough versions of original task/product to challenge a range of learner “The Equalizer”

PACE Project Steps Identify -Diagnostic learning profile, learning modalities, personality inventory, MI survey, formative assessment, exit slips. Facilitate -Dedicate classroom workshop time, offer examples, conduct conferences, environmental structure. Celebrate -Create on-going opportunities for students to share process and final products.

Math & Science Projects Stairs Project: slope, equation of a line Cookie Project: multi-step equations, point of equilibrium, TOV Postcard Project: estimating profit, price-setting, supply & demand, equations Mural Project: scale, ratios, proportions

Medium Prep: RAFT Activities Acronym: Role, Audience, Format & Topic Students take on a particular role, develop a product for a specified audience in a particular format and on a topic that gets right at the heart of what matters most in a particular lesson.

RAFT: examples Role: Student Reporter at Copenhagen Summit Audience: Congress Format: Topic: Climate Change Role: Polar Bear Audience: Congress Format: Twitter Topic: Climate Change

Low Prep Action Steps Activate and build background Pre-teach vocabulary Include words and visuals in your lessons Most students are not auditory, so write down what you say. Provide a graphic organizer and/or guided notes whenever possible

Low Prep Action Steps Offer students time and tools to process ideas (every 7-15 minutes) Integrate a way for students to express themselves other than writing (draw, teach, give analogy, etc) Give directions in manageable chunks

A: active prior knowledge Model: model strategy G: guided practice B: build background knowledge P: prompt students to practice C: concentrate on vocabulary D: describe strategy E: explain why it is helpful

Workshop: collaboration & application What might a PACE Project (or medium or low prep action) look like in your classroom?  During a lesson, unit or course? Low PrepMedium PrepHigh Prep Key words & visuals in daily lessons JournalIncorporate MI projects into units/courses Graphic OrganizersRAFT

What’s on your checklist?

Resources: Fulfilling the Promise of the Differentiated Classroom by Carol Ann Tomlinson Winning Strategies for Classroom Management by Carol Cummings PowerPoint and related hand-outs available at

The Cogs of Differentiation The Student Seeks Curriculum & Instruction as Vehicle The Teacher Responds