1. Differentiation In The Regular Classroom

2. What is differentiation? ‘The process by which differences between learners are accommodated so that all students in a group have the best possible chance of learning’. Training and Development Agency For Schools

3. Why Differentiate? We have 24 kids in a class at our school and each student has his/her own learning style. Sometimes there are special services at school for students with specific learning needs but oftentimes it is left up to the regular classroom teacher to accommodate for them. Sometimes we feel overwhelmed at the thought of differentiating for all these needs and we don’t know where to start. But what would life be like for some students without differentiation?

4. Three Things to think about when creating differentiated lessons for your students: – Readiness to learn – Learning needs – Interest

5. How Can We Can Differentiate?

6. Tasks One way we can differentiate for varied learning needs is by designing tasks to meet all these needs at the same time e.g.: – Produce different sets of worksheets for students at varying levels of ability. – http://www.math-aids.com/Time/Telling_Time.html http://www.math-aids.com/Time/Telling_Time.html – http://www.readworks.com/books/passages?keys=&grade=All&lexile%5Bmin%5D=- 1&lexile%5Bmax%5D=1501&domain=All&fiction_or_not=All&skill=All&field_stepread_file_description%5B 1%5D=1 http://www.readworks.com/books/passages?keys=&grade=All&lexile%5Bmin%5D=- 1&lexile%5Bmax%5D=1501&domain=All&fiction_or_not=All&skill=All&field_stepread_file_description%5B 1%5D=1 – Produce worksheets/tasks that gradually become more difficult. – Develop tasks where students can choose their method of completion e.g. a poster for those who are good at art, a video for verbal communicators, an essay for those who like to write etc. – Use computer generated activities that cater to various levels of ability/learning styles.

7. Grouping Collaborative learning has many benefits for students in the classroom. – Small mixed ability groupings help weaker students receive peer support while stronger students have the opportunity to express their thoughts and ideas, do peer modeling, and build confidence in their ability. – Small homogeneous groupings allow you to target the needs of each individual group. – Study buddies also have a positive effect on both students involved.

8. Resources Some students may need more advanced materials than others e.g. worksheets and reading passages. Technology is an amazing resource that aids differentiation in the classroom e.g. Raz-Kids for reading, Microsoft Word for writing, and Sheppard Software and IXL for math. Using manipulatives also helps some students learn better as they have concrete items to hold on to. This is especially the case for kinesthetic and tactile learners. Using graphic organizers and scaffolds also give weaker students stepping stones on which to build their skills. Differentiation of this kind allows a wide spectrum of materials to be used to attain a single learning outcome.

9. Pace Why differentiate pace? When differentiation is used in lesson planning, the available time is used flexibly to meet all students’ learning needs. Faster/stronger students can be given additional/extension activities to work on so that their time is not wasted waiting on slower/weaker students e.g. independent whiteboard/ flashcard/challenge activities in math, and comprehension question extensions/summarization tasks in reading. Weaker/slower students’ tasks can be shortened to meet their needs and ensure that they are not overwhelmed.

10. Outcome This is when all students perform the same task and a variety of outcomes is acceptable. Here a teacher sets an open ended assignment and students are asked to complete it any way they can.e.g. Write all you know about…. Note that a clear set of guideline is needed to make this method of differentiation work.

11. Dialogue And Support In the Classroom Here teachers determine their students’ individual learning needs and tailor their language and support to meet these individual needs. E.g. an ELL student may need a simple, straightforward explanation of a concept with visual support whereas an advanced student may need an in depth explanation with complex vocabulary. The teacher may also use more targeted questioning during whole class activities and debates to ensure that both advanced and weaker students’ needs are met. Verbal support and encouragement are also very important to both advanced and weaker students as sometimes teachers have a tendency to focus on the attributes of the advanced while forgetting the achievements of the weaker/average students and vice versa.

13. Assessment

14. In a differentiated classroom assessment should not take place at the end of learning but on an ongoing basis so that teaching and differentiated methods can be adjusted according to students’ needs.

15. Assessment Ideas Here are some ways that assessments can be differentiated: – Shorten/lengthen tests for various learners – Add bonus/challenge questions for higher achievers – Use multiple choice for weaker students and open ended questions for stronger students – Use various testing methods e.g. creating videos, doing presentations, making posters, creating storybooks etc. to target different learning styles. – Sometimes, depending on the situation, tests can be read aloud for ELL/weaker students to help them understand the questions. – Create open ended assessments where students can complete tasks according to their individual levels of ability.

16. Designing Differentiated Assessments The main thing to ask yourself when designing differentiated assessments is, “Is the content in each assessment the same?” as while the method/layout of the assessment can be different, the students should all be tested on the same concept/skill.

17. Think, Pair, Share Can you use any of these differentiation strategies in your class? How can you implement them? How will this affect your students?

18. Questions??