EDU 673 Foundations and Implications of a Differentiated Classroom

DRAFT

REFERENCES

Utilizing

DIFFERENTIATED INSTRUCTION

To Enhance Academic

Performance

• Formal & Informal Assessment

√ Formal assessment includes all types of stan- dardized testing as well as unit and teacher- made tests.

√ Informal assessment incorporates observa- tion, conferencing, and various kinds of per- formance assessments such as reports, dem- onstrations and performances.

• Portfolios

√ Students should be encouraged to use self- assessment and reflection about their work.

√ Teachers should make informed diagnostic instructional and curricular decisions about students.

√ Authentic evidence of student work should be gathered.

• Projects

√ Medial and summative projects enable stu- dents to demonstrate what they know and are able to do.

√ Projects can be in a variety of forms, depend- ing on the content area.

√ Other examples of projects that can demon- strate student understanding of content in- clude:

Puzzles Short story

Poem Illustration/Cartoon

Collage Diagram

Scrapbook Demonstrations

Presentations Research Reports

ASSESSMENT Garden City Public Schools

Research/Best Practices

Armstrong, Thomas. (2000). Multiple Intelligences in the Classroom. Alexandria, VA: Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development. Gregory, Gayle H. and Chapman, Carolyn. (2002). Differentiated Instructional Strategies. Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin Press Tomlinson, Carol Ann. (2001). How to Differentiate in Mixed-Ability Classrooms. Alexandria, VA: Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development. Tomlinson, Carol Ann. (2001). Leadership for Differentiating Schools and Classrooms. Alexandria, VA: Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development. Tomlinson, Carol Ann. (1999). The Differentiated Classroom: Responding to the Needs of All Learners. Alexandria, VA: Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development. DIFFERENTIATED INSTRUCTION IN ACTION; Middle School Video Series 2. Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development, 2008. ISBN 978-1-4166-0675-8.

Inspiring Minds 

Empowering Achievement 

Building Community 

DRAFT

DI: Differentiated Instruction

ELEMENTS OF DIFFERENTIATION

Students vary in:

Readiness Levels:

• A readiness level is a student’s entry point relative to a particular understanding or skill

• To differentiate in response to student readi- ness, a teacher constructs tasks or provides learning choices at different levels of difficulty

Interest Levels:

• An interest level is a child’s affinity, curiosity, or passion for a particular topic

• To differentiate in response to student inter- est, a teacher aligns key skills and materials for understanding from the curriculum with topics or pursuits that intrigue students

Learning Profile:

• A learning profile is how we learn. It may be shaped by intelligence preferences, gender, culture, or learning style (visual, auditory, kin- esthetic, tactile)

• To differentiate in response to students’ learning profiles, a teacher addresses learn- ing styles, student talent, or multiple intelli- gence profiles

Teachers can modify:

Process: the activities designed to en- sure that students use key skills to make sense out of essential ideas and infor- mation

Products: vehicles through which stu- dents demonstrate and extend what they have learned

Differentiating Content:

Content: what students need to learn and the materials or mechanisms through which that is accomplished

• Multiple texts/supplementary print resources

• Varied computer programs, audio- visuals, support mechanisms, time allotments, data bases

• Interest Centers

• Individualized Learning Contracts

Compacting: compact content by elimi- nating teaching or student practice if content or a skill is previously mastered

• Mini-lessons

Differentiating Process:

• Tiered assignments, homework, flexible group class instruction

• Multiple Intelligence assignments

• Varied study skills, tools and graphic organizers

• Interest groups

• Independent study

Differentiating Product:

• Tiered product assignments

• Learning logs

• Independent study

Differentiated Instruction is based upon the principle that all children learn best when the instruction is responsive to the uniqueness of each student. The intent is to maxi- mize each child’s opportunities for growth and individual success, by addressing their academic abilities, learning styles and interests. In or- der to challenge students at their readiness levels, teachers vary ap- proaches on what students need to learn (content), how they learn it (process), and how they demon- strate their understanding (product).

Why Differentiate?

• Standards-based classrooms

• High Expectations

• New Cognitive Research

• Rapid Societal and Technologi- cal Change

• To Accommodate a Student’s Diverse Needs

Non-Negotiable Elements of DI

1. Supportive Learning Environ- ment

2. Continuous Assessment

3. High Quality Curriculum

4. Respectful Task

5. Flexible Grouping

Differentiation of Instruction is a teacher’s response to learners’ needs

guided by general principles of differentiation such as:

respectful tasks flexible grouping ongoing assessment and adjustment _________teachers can differentiate____ Content Process Product _______according to students’_______ Readiness Interests Learning Profile through a range of instructional and management strategies