Differentiated Instruction and Tiering

1. Differentiated InstructionandTiering By: Patrick Oruska

2. When a teacher tries to teacher some thing new to the class at the same time, chances are: • One third already know it • One third will learn it • One third will not get it • So two thirds of the kids are wasting their time Scott Willis, ASCD Curriculum Update 1993

3. Why Differentiate? • People have different learning styles, skills, abilities, and strengths • We need to make sense of our work • Learning occurs when the intimidation factor is missing

4. The Teacher’s Role • The teacher must begin with the assumption that different learners have different needs • Plans a variety of ways to express learning thus “reaching out” to each child • Materials and resources must be organized to avoid confusion and chaos

5. Why More Work? • Teachers do not give more work to learners who are capable; instead the nature of the assignment is adjusted to fit the needs of that student • Levels of questioning • Levels of complexity • Steps in task

6. How to Differentiate? • Begins with assessment • Students readiness level are determined by: • Pre tests • Conversations with the student • Test results • Interest surveys

7. Content Process and Product • When differentiating instruction, try to provide multiple routes to these three key terms • Content: what students actually learn • Process: how students go about making sense of ideas and information • Product: demonstration of what they learned

8. DI is student centered • Students are given the opportunity to take increasing responsibility for their own growth • Teaching students to share responsibility allows a teacher to work with different groups or individuals for parts of the class time • This better prepares them for life

9. Differentiation Blends Several Types of Instruction • Whole-class Instruction • Individual Instruction • Flexible grouping • Cooperative/collaborative learning

10. Principals of Differentiated Instruction • Students are pre-assessed to determine needs • Students can work alone in pairs, groups, or individuals • The teacher must plan proactively to provide several learning options • The teacher provides support as needed • The teacher must provide organization so learning is purposeful and not chaotic

11. Principles (continued) • The student takes responsibility for his/her own learning and demonstrates understanding through a student designed project • The teacher must give clear instructions and shares responsibility with the student • Remember, there is no right one way to differentiate, as long as the basic principles are getting through and being followed

12. EXAMPLES

13. First Grade Reading • Create a flexible reading program • Post a weekly reading schedule and allow students to find their name on it • Allow students to move to appointed parts of the room at times designated on the chart • Sometimes the whole class will meet to listen to a story and talk about it or volunteer to read it • Sometimes a small group meets with the teacher to work on decoding, comprehension strategies, or to share ideas • Sometimes students will meet with their peers to read on a topic with mutual interest regardless of their reading readiness • Students can read books alone that fit their reading level (books will be color coded) • Students can meet with a reading partner to take turns reading (stronger student will help the weaker student)

14. High School Algebra • Students can pre-test and “compact-out” of a unit at any time during the first three days of instruction • Students who opt out do an independent investigation of math in the real world, given guidelines by the teacher, who works with them as needed • Students who did not opt out receive whole group instruction, and then based on understanding divide into cooperative groups for practice, or will meet in a small group with the teacher for practice • When the class has finished the chapter everybody will meet for the mandatory two day review for the test

15. Tiering Instruction • Change the nature of the task, not the work load • Remember to keep all students above water by adjusting challenge levels so all students can make sense of their learning

16. Tiering Formats • Learning Contracts • Learning Menus • Cubing • Summarization Pyramid • Change the Verb

17. Learning Contracts • Students enter into an independent study with an agreed upon set of tasks supporting the goals

18. Learning Menus • Students are given choices of tasks in an unit for an assessment. • They must do one “entree” task • Select two from “side dish” task • Can do “dessert” for extra credit or enrichment

19. Cubing • Students will receive a foam or poster board made cube that has a different task on each side; having a different level for each face. • Students, given a topic, will then analyze it, describe it, compare it, associate it, apply it, and argue for or against it.

20. Summarization Pyramid • Summarization pyramids are very versatile • They come in many formats, have many possible sizes, and use many different prompts • Create a pyramid of horizontal lines, then ask students at different readiness levels to respond to the tiered prompts as they interact with the topic • Some great prompts, not limited to use, are: • synonym, analogy, question, three attributes, cause and affect, reasons, arguments, opinion, insight, tools, sample, people, future of the topic

21. This technique simply raises or lowers the level by changing the verb in your prompt Analyze Decide between Recommend Predict Contrast Construct Critique Define Interpret Classify Identify Argue for Argue against Change the Verb

22. Some Tips To Remember… • All student need coherent lessons that are relevant, powerful, resourceful, and meaningful • Good curriculum pushes students beyond what is comfortable and easy • Always offer encouragement to work up and go beyond their potential

23. Question • Do you know why you have been looking at the ocean during this presentation?

24. Answer • Like being on the ocean when you differentiate one must • Find exactly where students are at before taking them some where new • Organize your resources • Adjust for varying degrees of depth • Support those who cant keep their heads above water • Modify strategy as you go • Recognize that there are different ways to reach the same destination

25. What I Learned…. • What tiering is and examples of • What differentiating instruction is and how it is applied • Why it is important to differentiate • Many things I have learned that I will be using in my classroom when I start teaching

26. Resources • Swope, Lisa. Differentiated Instruction. Radford City Schools. Retrieved from www.rcps.org/RCPS/misc/Differentiated%20Instruction.ppt April 26, 2009. • Wormeli, Rick (2005) Summarization in any subject, ASCD, Alexandria, Virginia, p. 155-157. retrieved from www.independence.k12.ia.us/public/summarization%20pyramid.rtf April 26, 2009.