 refers to a systematic approach to planning curriculum and instruction for academically diverse learners.  It is a way of thinking about the classroom with the dual goals of honoring each student’s learning needs and maximizing each student’s learning capacity (Carol Ann Tomlinson)

 a teacher proactively plans varied approaches to what students need to learn, how they will learn it, and/or how they will express what they have learned in order to increase the likelihood that each student will learn as much as he or she can.

 Every student will make continuous progress no matter how old she is or at what level her knowledge and skills are as she begins the unit of study.  Every student will become a lifelong learner, the long-term goal for all children and young people. -Julia A. Roberts and Tracy F. Inman

According to Melanie Bailey-Bird,  To differentiate instruction is to RECOGNIZE students varying background knowledge, readiness, language, preferences in learning, interests, and to react responsively.  It is a PROCESS to approach teaching and learning for students of differing abilities in the same class.  The intent of differentiating instruction is to MAXIMIZE each student’s growth and individual success by meeting each student where he or she is, and assisting in the learning process.

 do a formative assessment  create an individual profile of each of his/her student in each class he/she is handling. BUTBUT assessment should be on-going and diagnostic for these assessments provides teachers a day-to-day data on their students.

Assessment is today’s means of understanding how to modify tomorrow’s instructions.  Using the results of the assessment, teachers can modify/differentiate content, process or product along with the learning area.  The differentiation should be based on the students’ Readiness, Interest and Learning Profile.

 Interest refers to a child’s affinity, curiosity or passion for a particular topic or skill.

 Learning profile has to do with how the students’ learn.  It may be shaped by intelligence, preferences, gender, culture, or learning style.

 Content is input.  It is what a student should come to know (facts), understand (concepts and principles), and able to do (skills).

 Determine the Ability Level of Your Students › Survey Past Records, Look at Their Chums  Align Tasks and Objectives to Learning Goals  Survey Student Interests › Interest Inventories, Interview/ Conference, Respond to Open-Ended Questionnaire with Questions

 What are Your Students Multiple Intelligences & Learning Styles?  What are Your Student’s Preferences and Motivators?  Instruction is Concept-Focused and Principle- Driven  What do Brain- Based Research say?Brain- Based Research  Ultimately, teachers need to Know THEIR Students.

 Use Reading Materials at Varying Readability Levels  Put Text Materials on ppt, mp4 or mp3 format  Use Spelling/Vocab. Tests at Readiness Levels of Students  Use Reading Buddies  Meet with Small Groups to Re- Teach an Idea or Skill for Struggling Learners, or Extend the Learning

 Process is the opportunity for students to make sense of the content.  Part of process is the activities in the lesson. They should be well-thought of.

 Flexible Grouping is Consistently Used. › Groupings are Not Fixed, and Should Be Dynamic in Process. › Teach Whole Class Introductory Discussions, then Follow with Small Group (or) Pair Work.  Direct Instruction  Inquiry-Based Learning  Cooperative Learning  Classroom Management Benefits Students and Teachers › Organization & Routines

 Use Tiered ActivitiesTieredActivities  Provide Interest Centers  Develop Personal Agendas for Completion of Work  Manipulatives (or) Hands on Supports  Varying the Length of Time  Memorization  KWL

 Reciprocal teaching Reciprocal teaching  Graphic organizing  Scaffolding  Webbing  Self Talk  Web Quests  Guided Notes

› have a clearly defined instructional purpose › focus students squarely on one key understanding › cause students to use a key skill to work with key ideas › ensure that students will have to understand (not just repeat) the idea › help students relate new understandings and skills to previous ones, and › match the student’s level of readiness.

 Product is a vehicle through which a student show (and extends what he or she has come to understand and can do as a result of a considerable segment of learning.  It is something students produce to exhibit major portions of learning.

 These are culminating projects that ask the student to rehearse, apply, and extend what he/she has learned in a unit.

 Initial and on-going assessment of student readiness and growth are Essential  Authentic Assessment is a must.  Students should be trained to be active and responsible explorers.  Teachers should vary expectations and requirements for student responses  For outcomes, teachers should consider each student’s multiple intelligences and learning styles

 Give Students Options of How to Express Required Learning  Create a Puppet Show, Write a Letter, Develop Mural with Labels  Use Rubrics that Match Student’s Varied Skill Level  Use RubiStar.com  Allow Students to Work Alone (or) in Small Groups  Performance -Based Assessment  Student Portfolios  Knowledge Mapping

Teachers should look at the level of readiness of their students as they differentiate content, process or product.

 someone to help them identify and make-up gaps in their learning so they can move ahead;  more opportunities for direct instruction or practice;  activities or products that are more structured or more concrete, with fewer steps, closer to their own experiences and calling on simpler reading skills; or  a more deliberate pace of learning.

 to skip practice with previously mastered skills and understandings;  activities and products that are quite complex, open-ended, abstract, and multifaceted, drawing on advanced reading materials; or  a brisk pace of work or perhaps a slower pace to allow for greater depth of exploration of a topic.

 a student needs it and  modification increases the likelihood that the learner will understand important ideas and use the important skills more thoroughly as a result.

 Group participants per learning area.  Assign a leader and a rapporteur.  For 5 minutes, discuss among yourselves what competency or lesson your group will cover.  Create a step-by-step plan to make a specific lesson that follows a DI format.

EVERY MAN is in certain respects a. like all other men, b. like some other men, c. like no other man. -Murray, H. A. & C. Kluckhohn, 1953