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Solution to Obstacle 8 I Thought

Differentiated Instruction W-as for

Elementary Schools

I write this as I sit on a plane going from Chicago to Detroit. There are 119 other people on this plane. We are all going from Chicago to Detroit. The gentleman on my left is reading today's newspaper. I am working on this book. The man across the aisle is snoring in his reclined seat. The gentleman next to him is punching things into his palm digital organizer. Behind me is a young woman listening to her personal CD player while her mother types on a laptop computer.

We are all going from Chicago to Detroit. We all started in Chicago, are riding in the same plane, and will disembark in Detroit, but we all make the journey in our own style-a most adult thing to do. There are guide­ lines, of course, rules about when we can get up, when the _electronic devices need to be turned off. Occasionally our work is interrupted by announcements, but in the end, we all arrive in Detroit.

Differentiation: allowing individuals to travel together to the same destination but with their own styles and by accommodating individual needs whenever possible. Sometimes you can't stand up. Sometimes you must power down your computer. Sometimes the crew needs everyone's attention up front. The restrictions are tolerated easily because we know that we are given freedom, when possible, to get our individual needs met.

What if the airlines did not subscribe to differentiation? What if it was all attendant directed?

59

, 60 Differentiating the High Schoof Classroom

"I need everyone to now get out their computers and power them up."

"But I didn't bring a computer," says 14B.

"Share with someone who came prepared" is the reply.

"I have no need to work on a computer. I want to listen to my music," chimes22D.

"Well, we're not having music time right now. It's computer time."

"I need to use the restroom," shouts llA.

"If you have a restroom pass, you can use it after computer time. 36A! Are you sleeping? Wake up! We're not sleeping our way to Detroit."

"But I'm tired," moans 36A.

"Well, I guess you should have gone to bed earlier last night."

"May I read the book I brought with me now as I'm not interested in computer work?" asks the one in 17C.

"Absolutely not. You can read your book on the next leg, from Detroit to Memphis. Right now we're doing our computers. If I have any more interruptions, we'll be staying on board for an extra five minutes after we get to the gate."

Sounds funny, doesn't it? That's because we are imagining a scene in which the characters are adults. No one would treat adults that way. We would never stand for it. Yet if we change the words slightly, we'll find the same scene in a chemistry class in Massachusetts.

"We're going to memorize the gases on the periodic table," announces the teacher.

"The what?" asks Joan.

"That's easy. We did this in junior high," shouts Martin.

"What's a period table?" asks Joan.

"Not period table, PERIODIC table," laughs Martin.

''I'll explain later; just look in the back of your book."

"I have my own laminated table here in my binder," announces Bart.

"I hate this class already," grumbles Ian. "Wake me when it's over."

"Martin, you're not following along," reprimands the teacher.

"But I know all this already."

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Solution to Obstacle 8: Differentiated Instruction Was for Elementary Schools 61

"Well, it will be a nice review then .... Ian, get your head off the table!" comes the teacher again as she tries to get everyone heading in the right direction.

"Oh my gosh! Do we have to memorize all this!?" exclaims Joan as she finds the periodic table.

"Can I use the hall pass?" shouts Ian.

"Not now. We're in the middle of something," laments the teacher.

"The middle of what?" asks Ian.

"We're looking at the periodic table!" comes the frustrated response from the teacher.

"Oh, well, I brought the wrong book, so can I use the hall pass anyway?"

Ever had one of these days? Me too. This class may have run a bit easier if there were a couple of assign­

ment choices, a lecture offered to those who needed to learn or review gases, and an alternative tactile activity, such as a computer program on gases (for the Ians in the room).

A DESCRIPTION OF THE ISSUE

Perhaps the separation between elementary and secondary teaching is a relatively simple matter called diffusion of responsibility.

If you teach third grade, you have one set of kids all day long. You are their sole teacher or at least have them for the lion's share of the day. If a child isn't doing well in your class, you must assume nearly all the respon­ sibility. But if you teach 10th grade, you are but one of six or eight teachers each child has. You can share the blame. If you add in guidance counselors, assistant principals, and other support people in the building, you can really cut your share of the responsibility pie down to a very small piece.

In addition to the issue of diffusion of responsibility, there are practi­ cal differences between elementary and secondary teaching. The smaller student loads in elementary school allow the teachers to do extensive research on the educational history of their students. Elementary teachers can track a student's progress, talk with last year's teacher, and see how things have been developing educationally for a student.

It is much easier too for the elementary teacher to be aware of the var­ ious strengths and weaknesses of a particular student across disciplines. You know that Heather struggles with science yet blooms in history because you have Heather for both science and history.

But a high school teacher with a 150 to 220 student load rarely has time to pull and study extensive school records. Nor do we generally have time

62 Differentiating the High School Classroom

to talk to all of a student's other teachers to discover the student's individual strengths and weakness. We may mistakenly think that a child's perfor­ mance in our class is representative of how the child perfonns across the board, never realizing that the student has significant strengths or weak­ nesses in other subjects.

It is easier sometimes for elementary teachers to tailor assignments for a student because they are privy to this information. If I know that Henrie really enjoys art and has tremendous confidence and feelings of self-efficacy in this area, then I know to try to incorporate art choice into some subjects that are more difficult for him. The secondary teacher, how­ ever, has to hope to stumble upon such insights. It takes at best several weeks to get to know your students enough to discover and learn their interests and learning strengths.

Perhaps the biggest difference between elementary and secondary school is found in the philosophy of differentiated instruction through student centered classrooms. Traditional student centered models have been relegated to elementary classrooms. When most of us picture a student centered room, we picture students in centers. The mental model of cen­ ters with alphabet blocks just doesn't fit with our taller, more developed teenage students.

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Classic student centered approaches such as Montessori tend to run at best through about the sixth grade. Most resources for student centered models are geared for elementary teachers, and articles showing active, engaged learners tend to feature photos of youngsters working in art centers or sitting on carpet squares on the floor. Rarely does a high school teacher see visual representations of 16-, 17-, and 18-year-old students

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Solution to Obstacle 8: Differentiated Instruction Was for Elementary Schools 63

working in learning centers, stations, or active classrooms. About the closest thing we see to that image is a science fair.

SOLUTION STRATEGIES

The truth, however, is that differentiation works beautifully at the high school level. Children are children; some are just taller than others. And children have a natural curiosity about the world. They like to learn. They like to discover and play with things and ideas and concepts. Just because children are 15 or 17 years old does not mean they don't like to explore new areas.

Differentiated classrooms take advantage of the child's natural curiosity. And a differentiated high school classroom has the advantage of having much more capable learners who can apply their discoveries in a much more complex manner.

Find what your students enjoy naturally and try to incorporate your subject into their natural world.

PRACTICEASSIGNMENTS FOR OVERCOMINGTHIS OBSTACLE

Don't be afraid to borrow some ideas from our peers in elementary edu­ cation. Take many of the ideas that come from elementary schools and spin them to fit your population. Traditionally, elementary schools do keep a rather student centered approach to learning. The same principles and ideas that work with younger children can be applied to more difficult subjects. And of course best of all, our students are intellectually more mature. Unlike elementary students, our students can think more abstractly and more globally and are more idealistic about the world. They have more personal background, and their brains are at a very different stage of development.

Practical Solution Idea 8.1: Divide your room into resource centers. Put printed, bound material, such as textbooks, library books, and

reference materials, in one location. Put art materials in another section. Divide off one comer as a video-watching area (use headphones for the sound). Allow students to move around to gather material from the cen­ ters or actually provide workspace in these areas.

Practical Solution Idea 8.2: Allow a wide range of developmentally appro­ priate materials.

Remember that not all your students are strong readers. Make sure you have text and reference materials to allow all your students the opportunity

64 Differentiating the High School Classroom

to gather information in printed form. Some students think and reason better with materials they can manipulate. Some students do better when they can talk through their problem-solving strategies. Allow space and opportunity for students to work in a variety of settings with a variety of materials.

Practical Solution Idea 8.3: Assign jobs. Have different students monitor areas or complete class tasks. Don't

be afraid to use some of the large wall hanging models that match students to jobs which are frequently found in first grade classrooms. Jobs could include things like textbook monitor, art supply lender, lab maintenance monitor, or video center monitor.

Practical Solution Idea 8.4: Teach through art. Probably the most obvious avenue into the adolescent world is their

music. As I will elaborate on a little later in this book, due to the nature of art and the nature of the adolescent brain, art speaks the language of the adolescent. And of course their favorite art form is usually music.

Take advantage of this opportunity. Use youth music and other art forms to help students apply and understand new concepts. We see a lot of music and art used and taught in high school, but it is seldom their art, the art that speaks to today's youth. Classical art is wonderful, as are jazz and modern symphonic music, but that's not what most of our students use as the vehicle of emotional expression in their popular culture. As dif­ ficult as it may seem to you, look for ways to tie your teaching into today's youth art. Popular movies, music, and graffiti are expressions of their new emotional explorations-the centerpiece of adolescence. Can you find recurring themes of history in some of today's music or movies? Can you find math patterns? Can you tie in science principles to films or modern poetry? Can you find contemporary music to reflect contemporary world issues?

One of the things elementary educators do so very well is to take their cues from the students. They watch for natural developmental interests and tie into those. We as high school educators should be doing the same thing. Start taking some cues from your students.