Closing Achievement Gaps through Differentiated Instruction Presenters: Jennie Barrett Barbara Burchard February 22, 2005 & March 1, 2005

Today’s Schedule  8:00 – 11:00 – Cover the Theory and Practices  11:00-12:30 – Lunch  12:30-2:30 – Making Sense CD Exploration

Thinking Outside the Box ?

The Animal School by Dr. G. H. Reavis, Cincinnati Public Schools

Public schools are expected to…  Teach good nutrition habits  Treat the emotionally disturbed  Teach first aid procedures  Assist in disease prevention….

What is Differentiated Instruction? Read Elementary or Middle Sample from pages 3 – 7 in your book.

Differentiated instruction is not a set of tools but a philosophy that a teacher embraces to reach the unique needs of every learner.

Elements of Differentiation:  The teacher focuses on the essentials. Concepts Principles Skills See page 9

Elements of Differentiation:  The teacher attends to student differences. Culture Gender Genetic Code Neurological wiring See page 10

Elements of Differentiation:  Assessment and instruction are inseparable. Ongoing Diagnostic Used to benchmark Formal Informal See page 10

Elements of Differentiation:  The teacher modifies Content: Multiple options for taking information in Process: Multiple options for making sense of the ideas Product: Multiple options for expressing what they know See page 11

Elements of Differentiation:  All students participate in respectful work. Respect the readiness level of each student. Expect all students to grow, and support their continual growth. Offer all students the opportunity to explore essential understandings and skills at varied degrees. Offer all students interesting, challenging tasks. Page 11

Elements of Differentiation:  The teacher and students collaborate in learning. Student-centered classroom. Teacher coordinates learning. Page 12

Elements of Differentiation:  The teacher balances groups and individual norms. “A great coach never achieves greatness for himself or his team by working to make all his players alike.” Page 13

Elements of Differentiation:  The teacher and students work together flexibly. Group work Individual work Readiness, interest, learning style Page 13 and then refer to pages 15 & 16

Why differentiate instruction? Accountability Changing Classroom Changing Schools

Accountability  Standards-driven  No Child Left Behind  Adequate Yearly Progress

Changing Classroom  High Expectations  Cultural Relevance  Student Diversity  Cognitive Research  Societal and Technological Change Pg

Changing Schools Skills that students are expected to learn from teachers now-  C – Connected, Competent, Confidence, Compassion  A – Acceptance, Affection, Appreciation  R – Reading, ‘Riting and ‘Rithmetic, along with Responsibility, Respect, and Relationships  T – Thinking, Technology, Teamwork

Reflecting on Learning Experiences  Think about a negative learning experience you have had as a learner. Have you ever created a negative experience for your students?  Based on these experiences, what would you have changed to create a positive learning environment?

What Does It Look Like?  Watch the video of several classes implementing differentiating instruction  As you watch, use the video previewing guide to jot down practices currently in place in the left column and practices you would like to include in your classroom in the right column

Approaches to Differentiation Resources for further study and implementation

Creating a Healthy Classroom Environment Student Teacher Content Pages 27-30

Three Approaches to Differentiation Learning Contracts – pg. 87 Intelligence Preferences Tiered Assignments – pg. 83

Learning Contracts Page 87

Learning Contract An agreement between a teacher and a student.

Learning Contracts are written agreements that outline…  What students will learn  How they will learn it  In what period of time  How they will be evaluated

Instructional Values of Contracts  Help students learn to make decisions about their learning  Help students learn to manage their time  May involve the student in curriculum planning  Can be used to support students with learning difficulties  Can be used to facilitate learning for other students  Help the teacher manage group work Individual projects Investigations centers

How do you begin? There are some initial ideas you’ll need to consider before developing a contract.  What do students like to do?  What materials and resources do you have available?  What technology do you want students to use?

Developing Contracts  Tiered Contracts  Variety of activities  Everyone has the same goals  Supply reading materials on varied levels  Give choices  Make requirements

Contract Do’s  Start small (1 or 2 day contracts).  Explain the role and function of contract.  Help set realistic deadlines.  Renegotiate the contract if it isn’t working.  Gradually involve students in contract development.

Contract Don’ts  Expect all students to be able to use contracts effectively immediately.  Expect all students to like contracts.  Assume contracts can take the place of regular instruction.  Use contracts without a good management system.

Learning Style

Intelligence Preferences School Smarts Street Smarts Imagination Smarts

Sternberg’s Intelligence Preferences  Analytic Intelligence (“school smarts”) – People with strengths in this area tend to do very well with school tasks such as making meaning of text material, organizing information, seeing cause and effect, taking notes, and memorizing information.

Sternberg’s Intelligence Preferences  Practical Intelligence (“street smarts”) – People with strengths in this area learn well when they see how things work in the world and how ideas and skills help solve problems. They learn better by using ideas rather than just learning ideas. They need to solve problems in a meaningful context.

Sternberg’s Intelligence Preferences  Creative Intelligence (“imagination smarts”) – People with strengths in this area tend to come at ideas and problems in fresh and surprising ways. They prefer to experiment with ideas rather than work like everyone else They “think outside the box.”  Handout 17

Reflecting on What We Learn  Use the handout “Thinking About the Sternberg Intelligences” to categorize learning tasks with your table team.  Handout 17 Activity

Present a step by step approach making an effective speech. Analytical Intelligence

Identify the key parts of the water cycle. Practical Intelligence

Use unusual materials to show equations balance. Creative Intelligence

How Do Your Students Learn?  Read the case studies on the handout labeled “How People Learn” in your folder.  Complete the table to Identify each student’s intelligence preference. Provide two descriptors for the preference. List one instructional strategy that would be effective for this student List one instructional strategy that would be ineffective for this student. Handout 16 pg. 101

Tiered Instruction A Planning Strategy for Mixed Ability Classrooms

Tiered Instruction “When somebody hands you a glob of kids, they don’t hand you a matched set.” Carol Tomlinson Provides teachers with a means of assigning different tasks within the same lesson or unit. The tasks will vary according to: Readiness Interest

WHAT CAN BE TIERED?  Assignments  Activities  Homework  Centers  Experiments  Materials  Assessments  Writing Prompts

WHY USE TIERED INSTRUCTION?  To build “multiple avenues” to content  The focus is on key concepts and understandings of the lesson or unit  To provide optimal learning experiences The task difficulty and skill level are slightly above the student level

IDENTIFY OUTCOMES What should the students know, understand, or be able to do? INITIATING ACTIVITIES Use a common experience for whole class THINK ABOUT YOUR STUDENTS Pre-assess readiness, interest, or learning styles. Group 1 Task Group 2 Task Group 3 Task

Creating Multiple Paths for Learning Key Concept Or Understanding Struggling Learners On-level Learners Highly Able Learners

The Teacher’s Challenge Developing “Respectful Activities”  Interesting  Engaging  Challenging

How to Differentiate Instruction Steps to Success

Step One: Know Your Students  Ability Levels  Interests  Behavior

Step Two: Vary Instruction  Direct Instruction  Inquiry-based Learning  Cooperative Learning  Information Processing Strategies

Step Three: Vary Activities  Cubing  Webquest  Power Point

Step Four: Vary Assessments  Pre-Assessments  During Learning Assessments  Reflection Activities  Authentic Assessments  Rubrics  Portfolios

Bringing it all together  Video 19 minutes  Break