Differentiated Instruction for Struggling Students

1. Differentiated Instruction for Struggling Students V4K Summer 2016

2. *** Disclaimer *** • Differentiated instruction is an EXTREMELY popular, yet broad topic in the educational field. Please understand that this presentation is a very brief overview of some of the concepts that differentiation encompasses.

3. Workshop Objective Participants will be able to : • Understand principles of how to differentiate content, process, and product in a classroom that is diverse (financially, academically, culturally, etc.). • Be comfortable enough to implement at least one strategy that supports differentiation. • Understand and become familiar with vocabulary related to differentiated instruction.

4. Our students come to us from a variety of backgrounds: Learning Styles Interests Readiness Levels Educational Experiences Personal Experiences Motivators

5. “The biggest mistake of past centuries in teaching has been to treat all children as if they were variants of the same individual and thus to feel justified in teaching them all the same subjects in the same way.” -Howard Gardner

6. The Need to Differentiate… • Over the years we have seen students have changed • High performing/Underachievers • Struggling Learners • Different levels of English/Language Abilities • Poverty • Ethnic backgrounds • Struggles are NOT always due to intellectual abilities • Teachers not teaching to their learning styles • Teachers not matching their pace (too fast or too slow) • Many classrooms DO NOT address the student diversity

7. What Are We Currently Doing? • Lets look at the things we do in our classrooms already and see what research says about the students’ memory retention rates.

8. Classroom Teaching Styles • Try to Rank the strategies listed on the right of the pyramid from the least effective to the most effective. • See if you can guess what percent of students retain information for each of those teaching styles • Teach another person • Practice by doing • Demonstration • Audio/Visuals • Discussion • Reading • Lectures

9. Effective Teaching Styles How did you do?

10. Think About This… • You have seen the different types of learners • You have also seen the various teaching strategies So the important question: How are you currently meeting the different learning styles and their needs in your classroom?

11. Differentiating Instruction V4K Summer 2016

12. What is Differentiation • Idea was originally introduced by Carol Ann Tomlinson • “Differentiated instruction is a method of designing and delivering instruction to best reach each student.” • Teaches the same material to all students through different instructional strategies • Sometimes teacher might have to give the same lesson in different levels of difficulty.

13. Differentiation Is…. • Giving students a way to learn and understand new content, process the ideas • Giving students a variety of ways for them to make sense of the information • Giving students multiple options of demonstrating what they learned

14. Things You See in a Differentiated Classroom… • Teachers and students working together • High student engagement and challenged in their learning • All students are participating in the work • Time of assignment is different based on the students’ needs • Flexible groups (i.e. whole group, pairs, teacher assigned groups, random groups, student selected groups, etc.) • Teachers coordinate how space will be used, activities done, and time spent..

15. Things You See in a Differentiated Classroom… (cont.) • Classroom management strategies are used by the teacher (i.e. learning centers, buddy work, etc.) • Teacher provides clear expectations and criterion for success for both group and individual work • Teacher provides feedback on progress • Students are assessed in a variety of ways to demonstrate their growth in learning

16. “The Differentiated Classroom: Responding to the Needs of All Learners”, by Carol Ann Tomlinson, 1999, p.15

18. Ways to Differentiate • Content: • When the teacher offers similar materials but at different levels of difficulty • Process: • When the teachers offer different instructional techniques and materials to enhance student learning…the teacher changes how it is taught • Product: • When students are offered different outlets to show their understanding of the material…when teachers change how learning is assessed

19. Differentiate According to Students… • Readiness • This is how much the student knows about a given skill • Interests • This deals with the things that the students find interesting, relevant or fascinating • Learning Needs • This is the student’s learning style or type of smart each student is and the way in which they process information best.

20. Strategies for Differentiation Differentiation can be as simple as having an academic buddy or using strategies like think-pair-share. It can also be much more complex and include teachers writing tiered lesson plans. Below are some examples of strategies: • Higher Prep Strategies • Tiered Lesson Plans • Flexible Grouping • Multiple Intelligence Options • Graphic Organizers • Exit Tickets • Response Cards • Multiple Texts • Lower Prep Strategies • Reading Buddies • Study Buddies • Think-Pair-Share • Choices of Books • Interest Surveys • Multiple Levels of Questioning • Anchor Activities

21. Tiered Instruction • This strategies is when teachers assign different tasks within the same lesson or unit. • Each of the tasks are varied depending on the student’s readiness, interest and learning profile. • Things that can be tiered: assignments, activities, homework, centers, experiments, materials, writing assignments, assessments, etc.

22. How to Create a Tiered Activity • Step 1 • Identify the key concepts or skills • What is it that you want students to know or be able to do? • Step 2 • Use assessments or think about students to determine their readiness level, interests, or learning profiles

23. How to Create a Tiered Activity (cont.) • Step 3 • Create activities at various levels • Make sure that the activities cause students to use their skills to show understanding • Make sure activities are at different difficulty levels and are interesting • Step 4 • Adjust the activity according to the students • If you are adjusting by readiness, you will have to make changes for the gifted students and the struggling students

24. Flexible Grouping • According to Carol Ann Tomlinson, “Flexible grouping is the cornerstone of successful differentiated instruction. • Flexible grouping is when students are given a chance to work with a variety of students. This can happen through various small groups or even in a whole group setting. The most important thing is that they are flexible. • When you first use grouping, use whole group for instruction • Split the group for enrichment or practice of new skills • Never use grouping as a permanent change/arrangement • Use groups for one activity

25. What are the Benefits of Flexible Grouping? • Students are able to have a voice • It allows for mixed groups • Students are not labeled as “advanced” or “struggling” • Flexible grouping allows students to work with many different types of peers • Good practice for the future work place

26. Group Determination • Groups can be created based on: • Reading Levels • Skill Levels • Interest Based • Readiness Based • Background knowledge of a particular topic • Social skills

27. Anchor Activities • Independent work • Work that is provided during a unit, a class period, or over an extended period of time. • Meant for students to work independently

28. Purpose of Anchor Activities • Teachers can provide students with tasks that tie into curriculum/instruction • Allows the teacher to have some “free time” to work with small groups or individual students • Can offer students the opportunity to have meaningful work when they enter the classroom or if they finish an assignment sooner than predicted • Can offer students the opportunity to alternate methods of learning when they do not understand the topic

29. Examples of Anchor Activities • Silent Reading Time • Website • Journaling/Writing prompts • Vocabulary Work • Research Questions/Projects • Learning Packets • Learning Centers • Magazine Articles/Current events with Comprehension-based questions

30. Exit Tickets • a quick way teachers can gather data • They can be used as assessments to gauge student comprehension • Teacher gives students a pre-determined question/prompt as they are leaving the class. • Students respond and submit on their way out • Teacher reviews responses and can use data for groupings or for the instruction that will follow

31. How to Group Based off Exit Tickets

32. Examples of Exit Tickets • Exit Tickets can be differentiated by readiness levels. • In the examples note how both expect a student to know what similes and metaphors are, but the questions are different based on their skill levels. EXIT TICKET Explain the difference between a simile and a metaphor. Given an example of each. EXIT TICKET “You are happy as a clam.” This is an example of: Simile Metaphor (Circle One)

33. 3-2-1 Exit Ticket • This type of exit card is when students are asked to identify • 3 of something • 2 of something • 1 of something • These can be used for anything • Writing critiques • Comprehension of topic • Introductions

34. Example of a 3-2-1 Exit Card • After reading my essay… • 3 things I can do to improve my essay • 2 resources that I can use to help me improve my essay • 1 thing I really liked about my essay

35. Methods for Response • Another way in which teachers can give students a quick assessment • A quick way in which teachers can gauge students answers • Responses can: • Increase student participation • Provide teachers with quick feedback • Motivate students and offer a “fun’ activity • “Low-risk” activity– students can participate, and correct their answer if they are wrong

36. Methods for Response • Every student would be given a set of directions • Raise a card • Write an answer out • Lift their right/left hand

37. Food for Thought…. If teachers use response cards instead of traditional hand raising to answer a questions, for 30 minutes each day, every student would answer more than 3,700 additional academic based questions each school year!!!!

38. Various Methods of Responses • Teachers can have students respond with: • pre-printed cards • student-made cards • On a response board/white board • Through gesturing (raise right hand/left hand, stand up/sit down, etc.)

39. Examples of Response Cards

40. Think-Tac-Toe • Copies the concept of Tic-Tac-Toe • Students are given a grid of options to demonstrate their understanding of a topic • Students have to choose to complete 3 of the 9 topics (boxes must be touching) • There is a mix of difficulty levels in the tasks

41. Example of Think-Tac-Toe

42. NOTE: To change images on this slide, select a picture and delete it. Then click the Insert Picture icon in the placeholder to insert your own image. Cubing • There are six sides on a cube • This gives the teacher an opportunity to have 6 different tasks or prompts written on the cube. • Students are able to pick a designated amount and complete work. • This can be used to help differentiate based on students readiness, interests or learning style.

43. Cubing (cont.) • Helps students to think about the activity from different angles • Its fun….like a game. Students are motivated by this • Helps to reinforce or add on additional learning • Allows students to try something new and different

44. Graphic Organizers • Helps students to see important vocabulary • Organizes information to create a visual aid • Allows students to focus on specific details/elements • Helps with comprehension of materials • Aides in note taking

45. Venn Diagram Cause and Effect Organizer

46. Examples of Graphic Organizers

48. Mind Mapping • This is also a type of a graphic organizer • Used to visual organize information or even take notes • A mind map is drawn around a single concept. Details that support the main concept are drawn or written around the concept

49. Mind Mapping (cont.)

50. Other Ways to Use Differentiated Instruction… • Use audio or video recording so students can receive or even demonstrate knowledge • Use graphic organizers: flow charts, Venn Diagrams, mind mapping • Have students underline/highlight details • Use questions that target comprehension • Offer texts at the students reading level • Include supplementary materials that relate to current events (newspaper, magazine, books, movies, etc.) • Have Word Walls