1. Recognizing, Raising, & Reinforcing Rigor: Differentiated Instruction
New Teacher Collaborative Conference
East Carolina University
Saturday, September 24, 2016
Mrs. C. Nicholson, Presenter
Mr. Jemal Boone, Assistant

2. Aim
“Helping teachers reach every student, every day.”

3. Essential Questions
How can school leaders increase the rigor of instruction in all classrooms?
What is rigor and how is it measured?
What teacher and student behaviors are associated with increased rigor?
How can school leaders recognize, encourage and support rigorous teaching and learning throughout the school?
What does differentiated instruction look like?

4. Why are we concerned about rigor?
Currently, about 70 percent of students meet state standards and enter higher education. But these standards are set so misleadingly low that more than 40% of those “successful” students require remediation whey they get to college. (T. Shanahan, 2012)

5. Quote
“A leader is one who knows the way, goes the way, and shows the way.” John C. Maxwell

6. Rigor Levels 1 & 2 RBT and Webb’s DOK Translating the standards
Recognizing
Raising and Reinforcing
RBT and Webb’s DOK
Translating the standards
Rigorous learning vs rigorous teaching
Essential “look-fors” of a rigorous classroom
Creating a culture of high expectations
Reconciling definitions
Evaluating rigorous instruction
Cultivating rigorous teaching practices
Coaching strategies for increasing rigorous teaching
Embedding rigor in school-wide routines

7. Collaborative Learning Viewing Guide
Why Rigor Matters
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Collaborative Learning Viewing Guide
My Notes
My Partners’ Notes

8. Myths about Rigor-Jigsaw Dispel the Myth with Evidence
Myth #1: Lots of Homework Is a Sign of Rigor
Myth #2: Rigor Means Doing More
Myth #3: Rigor is Not for Everyone
Myth #4: Providing Support Means Lessening Rigor

9. Recognizing Rigor-Turn & Talk
Rigor is creating an environment in which
each student is expected to learn at high levels
each student is supported so he or she can learn at high levels
and each student demonstrates learning at high levels (Blackburn, 2008)

10. RBT & Webb’s Depth of Knowledge

11. Rigor In Common Core ELA Math College and Career Readiness Standards
8 Math Practices
Complex Texts
Fluency and conceptual understanding
Primary sources
Application to real-world
Academic vocabulary
Modeling
Evidence-based conversations
Multiple Approaches

12. Rigor in Math Example
Answer the following question. Note your plan of attack. What are you thinking? A video store charges $8 to rent a video game for five days. Membership to the video store is free. A video game club charges only $3 to rent a game for five days, but membership in the club is $50 per year. Compare the cost of the two rental plans. Justify your answer.

13. Problem-Process Chart
Start
Process
Decision
Stop
Explanation

14. Vocabulary Pyramid
Tier 3:
Precision
Vocabulary
Tier 2:
Descriptive
Tier 1:
Basic and General
The English Vocabulary is divided into three levels or tiers of words.
These tiers are based on the descriptive value of the word.

15. Rigor in ELA-Spotlight on Vocabulary-Frayer Model
Tier 1-Basic Vocabulary
Tier 2-High Frequency Multiple Meaning Vocabulary
Tier 3-Low, Frequency, Context-Specific Vocabulary
Examples: book, run, numbers, the, solve, addition, subtraction, line, animal, poll, law
Example: equation, experiment, liberal, dribble, nutrition, impulse, difference, exaggerate, masterpiece
Examples: chemistry, economics, isotope, amino acid, Revolutionary War, feudalism, parabola, isosceles

16. PLCs-Data Driven Dialogue
1. What do we expect our students to learn? (Goals/Expectations
2. How will we know they are learning? (Assessment)
How will we respond when they don’t learn? – Intervention
How will we respond if they already know it? (gifted)

17. Thought Break
Topic I Want to Remember_________________ What are your take-aways? Use your thought sheet to record thoughts, questions, and reflections

18. The Goals of Differentiated Instruction
To develop challenging and engaging tasks for each learner
To develop instructional activities based on essential topics and concepts, significant processes and skills, multiple ways to display learning
To provide flexible approaches to content, instruction, and products
To respond to students’ readiness, instructional needs interests, and learning preferences
To provide opportunities for students to work in varied instructional formats
To meet curriculum standards and requirements for each learner
To establish learner-responsive, teacher-facilitated classrooms

19. 4 Stages
Content – what the student needs to learn or how the student will get access to the information;
Process – activities in which the student engages in order to make sense of or master the content;
Products – culminating projects that ask the student to rehearse, apply, and extend what he or she has learned in a unit; and
Learning environment – the way the classroom works and feels.

20. Content Using reading materials at varying readability levels;
Putting text materials on tape;
Using spelling or vocabulary lists at readiness levels of students;
Presenting ideas through both auditory and visual means;
Using reading buddies; and
Meeting with small groups to re-teach an idea or skill for struggling learners, or to extend the thinking or skills of advanced learners.

21. Process
Using tiered activities through which all learners work with the same important understandings and skills, but proceed with different levels of support, challenge, or complexity;
Providing interest centers that encourage students to explore subsets of the class topic of particular interest to them;
Developing personal agendas (task lists written by the teacher and containing both in-common work for the whole class and work that addresses individual needs of learners) to be completed either during specified agenda time or as students complete other work early;
Offering manipulatives or other hands-on supports for students who need them; and
Varying the length of time a student may take to complete a task in order to provide additional support for a struggling learner or to encourage an advanced learner to pursue a topic in greater depth.

22. Products
Examples of differentiating products at the elementary level include the following:
Giving students options of how to express required learning (e.g., create a puppet show, write a letter, or develop a mural with labels);
Using rubrics that match and extend students' varied skills levels;
Allowing students to work alone or in small groups on their products; and
Encouraging students to create their own product assignments as long as the assignments contain required elements.

23. Learning Environment
Making sure there are places in the room to work quietly and without distraction, as well as places that invite student collaboration;
Providing materials that reflect a variety of cultures and home settings;
Setting out clear guidelines for independent work that matches individual needs;
Developing routines that allow students to get help when teachers are busy with other students and cannot help them immediately; and
Helping students understand that some learners need to move around to learn, while others do better sitting quietly (Tomlinson, 1995, 1999; Winebrenner, 1992, 1996).

24. Mr. Jemal Boone, 7th Grade SS Teacher

25. Sharing of Lesson Plans, Differentiated Activities

26. Q/A
Mrs. Charlene Hilliard-Nicholson ELA/SS Curriculum Specialist Halifax County Schools Mr. Jemal Boone 7th Grade SS Teacher