Knowing Our Learners: Tapping the Power of Differentiated Instruction

Knowing Our Learners:Tapping the Power of Differentiated Instruction Deborah Espitia, Coordinator Leslie Grahn, Resource Teacher Office of World Languages Howard County Public Schools, MD

Participants will • Enhance background knowledge of differentiated instruction • Explore the process of collecting data on student readiness, interest, and learning profile • Discuss and reflect on choosing differentiation strategies in response to student data collected.

A definition… "What we share in common makes us human. How we differ makes us individuals. In a classroom with little or no differentiated instruction, only student similarities seem to take center stage.

A definition… In a differentiated classroom, commonalities are acknowledged and built upon, and student differences become important elements in teaching and learning as well ....

A definition… Students have multiple options for taking in information making sense of ideas expressing what they learn.

A definition… In other words, a differentiated classroom provides different avenues to acquiring content processing or making sense of ideas and developing products." Carol Ann Tomlinson

Differentiation = intentional response to student needs

Differentiation concepts Classroom elements Content Process Products Learning Environment/ Affect Assessment

Differentiation Concepts Student characteristics Readiness Interest Learning Profile

How well do I know my students? Think of a particular student. Create a web of information you know about that student.

How well do I know my students? Highlight and label the learner characteristic for each item Learning profile = LP Interest = I Readiness = R

How well do I know my students? What don’t you know that would be helpful? Reflect on how you might get to know that student better.

daretodifferentiate.wikispaces.com

Tools for Knowing the Learner:Interest & Learning Profile

Collecting data about student interest and learning profile

Multiple Intelligences MI Way http://www.ncwiseowl.org/kscope/techknowpark/LoopCoaster/eSmartz1.html

http://www.ncwiseowl.org/kscope/techknowpark/LoopCoaster/eSmartz1.htmlhttp://www.ncwiseowl.org/kscope/techknowpark/LoopCoaster/eSmartz1.html

Caves of the Code Breakers http://www.ncwiseowl.org/Kscope/techknowpark/Secret/Welcome.html

http://www.ncwiseowl.org/Kscope/techknowpark/Secret/Welcome.htmlhttp://www.ncwiseowl.org/Kscope/techknowpark/Secret/Welcome.html

Where does your intelligence lie? Class Intelligence Profile

Let’s create a differentiated activity based on a class profile

Differentiation Strategies Learning Centers Choice Boards

What are Learning Centers? Areas set up in the classroom with learning activities directed at a specific: Interest Skill Extended study of essential concept

CHOICE BOARDS Students choose from a menu of options Tasks vary by process and interest Some anchor activities can be required of all students Can be used for homework, projects, and assessment

Tools for Knowing the Learner:Readiness

What are respectful tasks? • Every student’s work is • Equally engaging • Equally appealing • Equally important

What are respectful tasks? Respectful tasks… • Emphasize strengths. • Are relevant. • Provide choices. • Stretch students. • Scaffold learning.

A classroom teacher ensures that students' learning is respected by • assessing the readiness level of each student by evaluating competency in the skills and concepts included in the local curriculum standards • expecting and supporting continual growth in all students by providing challenging curriculum • offering all students the opportunity to explore skills and understanding at appropriate degrees of difficulty • offering all students tasks that are equally interesting, important and engaging. http://www.adifferentplace.org/differentiated.htm

Designing Respectful Activities • Teachers in a differentiated classroom must ensure that the different activities feel equally respectful. • Each activity must be engaging and appropriately challenging for the students for whom it is designed. • The teachers goal is to make sure that no matter what task a student gets, it is so exciting and appealing that the student really won’t care what other students are doing!

Respectful Tasks Do’s & Don’ts Step left DO Step right DON’T

Formative Assessment Techniques High Five

Advancing Tiering for Readiness Developing Emerging

What our students seek… Rachael Kessler The Soul of Education: Helping Students Find Connection, Compassion and Character at School (ASCD, 2000) “The yearning for deep connection describes a quality of relationship that is profoundly caring, is resonant with meaning, and involves feelings of belonging, or of being truly seen and known.

Student Voices on Differentiated Instruction… I really like this class because it makes me feel like I can do it. It doesn’t make me feel smart or dumb, big or small—It makes me feel important. Meg, elementary school student

Student Voices on Differentiated Instruction… I like this class because there’s something different going on all the time. My other classes, it’s like peanut butter for lunch every single day. This class, it’s like my teacher really knows how to cook. It’s like she runs a really good restaurant with a big menu. 5th grade student, in a comment from a course evaluation

Knowing Our Learners:Tapping the Power of Differentiated Instruction despitia@hcpss.org lgrahn@hcpss.org All images unless otherwise indicated are from Microsoft Clipart Gallery http://office.microsoft.com/en-us/clipart/default.aspx

Knowing Our Learners: Tapping the Power of Differentiated Instruction