DIFFERENTIATION SCENARIOS 1
Differentiation Scenarios Assignment
Cassandra Freeman
School of Education, Liberty University
DIFFERENTIATION SCENARIOS 2
Differentiation Scenarios Assignment
Scenario 1: Sherry
Scenario Sherry is a student who speaks out of turn. She has an active imagination and
wants to fit in with her peers. Sherry loves to read and loves when her teacher
asks her to do tasks for her. Although Sherry loves to read she is below her
grade level when answering comprehension questions. Sherry has support from
her parents at home, who are willing to help the teacher out by supporting her.
Learning
Deficiency or
Challenge
Sherry could have a comprehension deficiency as well as being a little
disruptive based on my readings from the website pbisworld.com (2011).
Differentiation
Strategy or
Intervention
I feel that a tier 1 intervention using the Positive Behavior Interventions
Supports System would benefit Sherry. I feel that monitoring Sherry using the
PBIS system would be beneficial because praising Sherry when she raises her
hand will encourage her to continue to raise her hand. This will help create a
positive and welcoming environment for Sherry and allow her to feel loved in
the classroom. I also feel that it would be beneficial if Sherry was monitored
using the Multi-Tiered System of Supports to help with her comprehension. We
could monitor her progress with documented interventions of what worked or
did not work to see if she would need more intense interventions during her
school career.
Implementation/
Progress
Monitoring
The main way to start with a PBIS intervention is to speak to the parents about
the deficiency and see if they are in agreement with the teacher offering support
and if they are willing to be supportive at home (pbisworld.com, 2011). One
way we could start to use the PBIS system would be to praise Sherry and any
other student for raising their hand instead of blurting out answers (Fredrick,
DIFFERENTIATION SCENARIOS 3
2023). Along with praising Sherry, we could send a note home to her parents to
let them know when Sherry has a good day of not blurting out (Fredrick, 2023).
Once we get Sherry’s blurting out under control we can start with small group
placings for the comprehension delay that also appears to be a challenge for
Sherry (Ferrari, 2020).
DIFFERENTIATION SCENARIOS 4
Scenario 2: Jimmy
Scenario Jimmy is a hyperactive student who started to show signs of hyperactivity after
his father left. His mother is unsure how to help since she can not control
Jimmy’s behaviors at home. Jimmy struggles in the areas of math and reading.
Jimmy does not have a formal IEP written for his schooling.
Learning
Deficiency or
Challenge
I believe part of Jimmy’s learning deficiency is his hyperactivity
(pbisworld.com, 2011). I also feel that part of Jimmy’s struggles in math and
reading come from the trauma of his father leaving the home.
Differentiation
Strategy or
Intervention
Jimmy may benefit from Tier 2 instruction. Tier 2 instructions are used for
students who make minimal progress after trying Tier 1 interventions (Ferrari,
20230). Tier 2 interventions take place in a small group setting that is provided
by the general education teacher (Ferrari, 2020). One of my favorite ways to
have a connection with students is to begin a mentoring process with students
(Ohuddle, 2013). When we start a mentoring process for students we are
supporting their social-emotional needs (Ohuddle, 2013). For Jimmy he may
need to have a connection to a father figure before we can begin to work on his
math and reading deficiency.
Implementation/
Progress
Monitoring
The main goal for Jimmy before we can address his math and reading
deficiency is for Jimmy to have his social-emotional needs met. A mentor
would be a great way for his social-emotional needs to be met. We could have
Jimmy start with a male mentor and see how his grades and comprehension in
math and reading increase or decrease over a six-week period (Ohuddle, 2013).
If his grades increase then no further action is needed, if they decrease we
DIFFERENTIATION SCENARIOS 5
would need to look into another set of interventions that would focus on math
and reading (Ohuddle, 2013). If we focus on each piece of the puzzle
individually we may find ways to help Jimmy with all of his deficiencies with
his education.
DIFFERENTIATION SCENARIOS 6
Scenario 3: Terrance
Scenario Terrance is a smart student who lacks a connection to school. He is often
found following other students’ lead. He does not always complete his work,
but when he applies himself to an activity he does well. Terrance has strong
reading skills.
Learning
Deficiency or
Challenge
I think Terrance is experiencing poor self-esteem (pbisworld.com, 2011).
Along with poor self-esteem maybe Terrance is not challenged enough at
school.
Differentiation
Strategy or
Intervention
One way we can help Terrance is by offering him different ways to complete
his assignments. We could offer him a menu to show his comprehension of
the material (Tomlinson, 2017). This menu could have options such as typing
your response instead of writing it, creating a song or rap, writing a poem,
answering orally, etc (Tomlinson, 2017, pbisworld.com, 2011).
Implementation/
Progress
Monitoring
I think the most important part of any differentiation that takes place is talking
to the parents and student first about the plan to help the student be successful.
I would offer Terrance a few options on ways to complete his work. We could
call it his menu board. Tarrence could also make a few suggestions on what he
would like to see on the menu board to demonstrate his learning. We could
monitor his progress of turning in his completed assignments by using a tic-
tac-toe board or even a bingo board with a prize once he turned it in the
completed assignments. Positive reinforcements are a great tool to help
motivate students using the PBIS system (Fredrick, 2023).
DIFFERENTIATION SCENARIOS 7
Scenario 4: Jackie
Scenario Jackie is a student who struggles in math. Her parents are supportive and want
to see her be successful but are hesitant because many teachers have not
helped Jackie. Jackie’s previous teachers did not document the types of
interventions that were used, how long the intervention was used, and whether
the interventions were successful or not.
Learning
Deficiency or
Challenge
The challenge for Jackie is she lacks the foundations of basic math skills. The
challenge taking place for the educator is that no one has documented what
interventions have been used with Jackie, how long the intervention was used,
and if the interventions were successful or not.
Differentiation
Strategy or
Intervention
It sounds like Jackie is able to move into Tier 2 or even Tier 3 interventions
based on her low test scores and lack of basic math skills. I think working
either in a small group setting with other students who are struggling with
basic math foundation skills would allow Jackie to feel comfortable as well as
successful. She could also benefit from one-on-one interventions to help her
move past the idea of basic counting to answer each addition or subtraction
problem (Berrett & Carter, 2017).
Implementation/
Progress
Monitoring
During these small group sessions we could play small math games that allow
for students to recall basic math facts. I would start with addition and track her
progress throughout. Students who struggle with basic math facts are less
likely to achieve fact fluency by the end of fifth grade (Berrett & Carter,
2017), so this year would be extremely crucial for Jackie. It would be very
important to document all interventions used and if they were successful or
DIFFERENTIATION SCENARIOS 8
not. We could start by using the recall method for addition and work our way
to subtraction. I would then like to teach Jackie the tips and tricks to help her
recall the multiplication facts. I think we could also monitor Jackie’s progress
by sending home emails, notes, or even a phone call to her parents to reassure
them that the interventions we are trying are successful (Tomlinson, 2017, p.
81).
DIFFERENTIATION SCENARIOS 9
Scenario 5: Marie
Scenario Marie is an auditory learner, who picks up on things quickly. Marie is a
natural leader who is concerned about rules, finishes her work quickly, and is
typically bored with school. Marie is concerned about doing right versus
wrong. It has been determined that Maries reading and writing skills are above
grade level.
Learning
Deficiency or
Challenge
The challenge here is Marie is bored with the information she is learning at
the same pace as her peers. She is above grade level in reading and writing
and moves at a quicker pace than her typical peers. Marie being bored could
eventually bring out other challenges if not acted upon quickly.
Differentiation
Strategy or
Intervention
A differentiation strategy we could use is small group learning and tapping
into Marie’s interest once she is finished with her assignments (Edutopia,
2017). When we allow students to tap into what interests them they tend to
take time and not rush with their finished assignments.
Implementation/
Progress
Monitoring
First, I would poll the class to see what their major interests are as well as who
else is an auditory learner (if not done at the beginning of the year) to start
creating a small group for Marie to belong to. After the groups are created I
would begin to look for books on tape, videos, and other media that can be
listened to. The small group can be a mixture of students' abilities. I would
have the group select a project that they would like to share with the rest of
the class based on their interest. Students could work on this project every
Friday or they could work on it once everyone in their interest group finishes
their daily assignment. I would monitor this by using a rubric to grade this
project. Monitoring this project would have to be a lot of checking in with
DIFFERENTIATION SCENARIOS 10
students and their groups. Asking questions to the group as a whole.
DIFFERENTIATION SCENARIOS 11
References
Tomlinson, Carol Ann. How to Differentiate Instruction in Academically Diverse Classrooms,
Association for Supervision & Curriculum Development, 2017. ProQuest Ebook Central,
http://ebookcentral.proquest.com/lib/liberty/detail.action?docID=4829767
Fredrick, L. (2023, May 24). 5 PBIS interventions for tier 1 to use in your district Today.
Panorama Education. https://www.panoramaed.com/blog/tier-1-pbis-interventions
Disruptive. PBIS World. (2011). https://www.pbisworld.com/behavior-descriptions/disruptive/
Ferrari, J. (2020, November 18). Response to Intervention (RTI): Tier 2 - Learning Disabilities
Institute. (video). YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iEW_himeK-s
Ohuddle. ohuddle. (2013). https://www.ohuddle.org/
Response to intervention – RTI Resources. Response to Intervention | RTI | RTI Resources |
Intervention Central. (n.d.). https://www.interventioncentral.org/
Berrett, A. N., & Carter, N. J. (2017). Imagine math facts improves multiplication fact fluency in
third-grade students. Journal of Behavioral Education, 27(2), 223–239.
https://doi.org/10.1007/s10864-017-9288-1
Edutopia. (2017, October 3). Station Rotation: Differentiating Instruction to Reach All Students.
(video). YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kg38A1ggYiE
Goldin, J. T., & McDaniel, S. C. (2018). Reducing discipline and safety issues: A district-wide
bus-pbis initiative. Beyond Behavior, 27(2), 99–107.
https://doi.org/10.1177/1074295618768447
