Big Idea of Differentiation:

1. Big Idea of Differentiation: On-Going Assessment & Adjustment (the feeder system for differentiation)

2. A basic cause of ineffective teaching and learning is lack of systematic, on-going assessment. An effective teacher builds curriculum and instruction on analysis of data gathered through diagnosis. Teaching in the dark is a questionable practice. Hilda Taba & Deborah Elkins Teaching Strategies for the Culturally Disadvantaged Chicago: Rand McNally

3. “Differentiation is making sure that the right students get the right learning tasks at the right time. Once you have a sense of what each student holds as ‘given’ or ‘known’ and what he or she needs in order to learn, differentiation is no longer an option; it is an obvious response.” Assessment as Learning: Using Classroom Assessment to Maximize Student Learning Lorna M. Earl Corwin Press, Inc. – 2003 – pp. 86-87

4. On-Going Assessment & Adjustment • Determining student readiness to work with essential • knowledge, understanding and skill as a unit begins • (pre-assessment),as a unit progresses (formative • or on-going assessment), and as a unit concludes (summative assessment). • Assessment provides direction to teachers on who • needs particular kinds of support in particular areas • to grow and succeed. • Assessment is also key to • understanding and attending to • student interest and • learning profile needs.

5. Directions: Complete the chart to show what you know about ________. Write as much as you can. Information Definition Fractions Examples Non-Examples Use for pre-assessment & formative assessment of readiness in many grades & subjects

6. Directions: Complete the chart to show what you know about Jazz. Write as much as you can. Definition Information Jazz Performers/ Composers Personal Experience

7. Directions: Complete the chart to show what you know about Table Tennis. Write as much as you can. Definition Details Table Tennis Rules Personal Experience

8. An example of pre-assessment of readiness Knowledge Rating Chart • I’ve never heard of this before • I’ve heard of this, but am not sure how it works • I know about this and how to use it • _____ Direct object • _____ Direct object pronoun • _____ Indirect object • _____ Indirect object pronoun • _____ Object of a preposition • _____ Adjective • _____ Interrogative adjective

10. Exit Cards: Earth Science • Name: • Draw the orbit of the earth around the sun. • Label your drawing. • Why is it warmer in the summer than in the winter? Useful for on-going assessment in many grades/subjects

11. Exit Cards: Decimals & Fractions Name: • How is a decimal like a fraction? • How are they different? • What’s a light bulb moment for you as you’ve thought about fractions and decimals?

12. Exit Cards: Algebra • Name: • Draw a graph & label the “x” and “y” axes • Graph a line with the endpoints (3,5) (7,2) • Graph a line with the endpoints (-3,-5) (7,2) • Provide two ways of writing the equation for a line

13. EXIT CARD GROUPINGS Group 2 Students with some understanding of concept or skill Group 1 Students who are struggling with the concept or skill Group 3 Students who understand the concept or skill Readiness Groups

14. 3-2-1 Card Name: • 3things I learned from the friction lab… • 2questions I still have about friction… • 1way I see friction working in the world around me….

15. An example of informal on-going or formative assessment of readiness Windshield Check • CLEAR – “I get it!” • BUGS – “I get it for the most part, but I still have a few questions.” • MUD – “I still don’t get it.” Or: Dip Stick—Full, Half Full, Need Oil Weather Report—Sunny Skies, A Few Low Clouds, Fog & Smog

16. What Do You Want to Learn About Rome? Name: _______________________ These are some of the topics we will be studying in our unit on Ancient Rome. We want to know what you want to learn about. Number your choices from 1 to 8. Make sure that 1 is your favorite and 8 is your least favorite. ____ geography ____ government (laws) ____ agriculture (foods they grew) ____ architecture (buildings) ____ music and art ____ religion and sports ____ roles of men, women, and children What Can You Tell Us About Rome? 1. What country is Rome in? ________________________________________________ 2. What does the word civilization mean?_______________________________________ _________________________________________________________________. 3. Can you give us some examples of different civilizations? ________________________ __________________________________________________________________. 4. Can you name any famous Roman people? ___________________________________ __________________________________________________________________. 5. Many things in our country and culture came from the Romans. Can you think of any? ___________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________.

17. How Do You Like to Learn? 1. I study best when it is quiet. Yes No 2. I am able to ignore the noise of other people talking while I am working.Yes No 3. I like to work at a table or desk. Yes No 4. I like to work on the floor. Yes No 5. I work hard by myself. Yes No 6. I work hard for my parents or teacher. Yes No 7. I will work on an assignment until it is completed, no matter what. Yes No 8. Sometimes I get frustrated with my work and do not finish it. Yes No 9. When my teacher gives an assignment, I like to have exact steps on how to complete it. Yes No 10. When my teacher gives an assignment, I like to create my own steps on how to complete it. Yes No 11. I like to work by myself. Yes No 12. I like to work in pairs or in groups. Yes No 13. I like to have unlimited amount of time to work on an assignment. Yes No 14. I like to have a certain amount of time to work on an assignment. Yes No 15. I like to learn by moving and doing. Yes No 16. I like to learn while sitting at my desk. Yes No

18. Poetry Poll • Have you ever studied poetry? If you answer yes to question 1, answer question 2 and 3. • When did you study poetry? • Did you enjoy the poetry unit or writing poetry in general? Why or why not? • Have you ever written a poem you were proud of? • Which do you like better? _____poetry that has a rhyme scheme _____free verse poetry • Rate the following items in order of personal enjoyment using 1-3 _____writing original poetry _____reading poetry aloud to others _____reading and listening to poetry • In your opinion, what is the most difficult part of writing a poem? Circle one. Following a given pattern Coming up with at topic of the poem Making sense Coming up other___________________________ • What is your favorite poem? Who is your favorite poet? • On a scale from 1-10, 10 being the most, how well do you think you will do during this unit? 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 • Circle the kinds of poems you are already familiar with: Acrostic, haiku, cinquain, limerick, free verse, couplet, other________ • On the back, list some activities you would like to do in this unit. -Kristie Sumpter, English

19. Movie Time…. In These Classrooms, Look For: Ways the teachers think about and use assessment, Ways in which their thinking about teaching and learning may differ from the ways we often think about teaching and learning, Your questions.

20. Assessment & Differentiation... It’s about guiding students, not judging them. It’s about informing instruction, not filling grade books. It’s about before, during, & after—not just after. It’s about teaching for success—not gotcha teaching. What's Different?

21. Personal Check Strengths Opportunities How are you doing with pre-assessment & on-going assessment to inform instruction?

22. Grading & Differentiation Irreconcilable Differences?

23. What is a Grade???? “…a grade (is)…an inadequate reportof an imprecise judgmentof a biased and variable judgeof the extent to whicha student has attainedan undefined level of masteryof an unknown proportionof an indefinite amountof materials Paul Dressell,Michigan State University

24. Grading Practices • How do learners benefit from a grading system that reminds everyone that students who speak English as a second language do not perform as well as students without disabilities or for whom English is not their native tongue? • What do we gain by telling our most able learners that they are “excellent” on the basis of a standard that requires modest effort, calls for n intellectual risk, necessitates no persistence, and demands that they develop few academic coping skills? • In what ways do our current grading practices motivate struggling or advanced learners to persist in the face of difficulty? • Is there an opportunity for struggling learners to encounter excellence in our current grading practices? • Is there an opportunity for advanced learners to encounter struggle in our current grading practices? Tomlinson

25. To Untangle the Grading Knot We need to consider two elements: • Best practice grading • Grading issues of particular concern in a differentiated classroom Unless we understand both (and their interrelationship) we’ll stay tied in a knot!

26. Some Key Principles of Effective Grading

27. Principles of Effective Grading & Reporting Principle #1 • It’s unwise to over-grade student work

28. To Avoid Over-Grading • Never grade pre-assessments • Students have had no opportunity to learn • Grade on-going assessments sparely • Students need opportunity to practice, analyze work, & learn from errors in a safe context • Use summative assessments as primary data for grading • Make sure assessments are squarely focused on the criteria specified to students

29. Principles of Effective Grading & Reporting Principle #2 Grades should be based on clearly specified learning goals

30. Clear Learning Goals Are: • Known to the student and teacher throughout the learning cycle • Essential rather than tangential or trivial • The unambiguous focus of assessments • The focus of feedback

31. Principles of Effective Grading & Reporting Principle #3 Grades should be criterion-based, not norm-based

32. Concerns: Normal Curve • Assumes aptitude and performance are normally distributed • Forces a particular set of scores into a normal distribution Transforming Classroom Grading by Robert Marzano

33. In Norm-Based Grading Systems The Human Factor Suffers: • There will necessarily be winners and losers competing for scarce rewards. • The implications for learning environment are predictably negative. • The outcomes for both struggling and advanced learners carry high negatives as well.

34. In Norm-Based Grading Systems Clarity of Communication Suffers • A student might receive an “A” for being the best performer in a group of low performers. An “A” thus becomes the “best worst.” • A student might make a “C” despite quality work because the group of students is so strong. A “C” then begins to mean, “Knows the stuff, but doesn’t look so great compared to the others.”

35. Using a Criterion-Base for Grading • Makes the meaning of grades clearer • Removes the need for winners and losers • Helps align instruction & grading

36. Principles of Effective Grading and Reporting Principle # 4 Data used for grading must be valid (measure what we intend to measure). That is, the data must be free of “Grade Fog.”

37. Measure What you Mean to Measure • If you want to determine a student’s ability to demonstrate the relationship between density & buoyancy, results shouldn’t be clouded by: • Lack of proficiency in writing in English • A missing name on a paper • Difficulty following directions • Rewards for unused bathroom passes

38. Principles of Effective Grading and Reporting Principle # 5 Grade later in the learning cycle rather than earlier.

39. Save Grades and Tests for Last When grades become too important, learning is equated with knowing how to get high grades. Kids, especially the academically able, sharpen their skills at figuring out what the teacher or the test writer thinks is right. When grades and tests are emphasized, the idea that knowledge is a way to figure out who you are may become so lost as to sound strange. Learning as a worthwhile pursuit in and of itself is diminished. Independent thinking is diminished. Critical thinking is weakened, not strengthened. Grades and tests have to be in any discussion of involving students in learning, but because of the grave risks involved in emphasizing them, they ought to be last on the list of ways to involve students. Adapted from Korbin, D. (2004). In there with the kids (2nd Edition). Alexandria, VA:Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development, p. 148.

41. Some Key Issues of Grading & DI

42. All learners need a balanced success to effort ratio

43. Struggling Learners: Heavy Effort Little Success

45. Applying the Same Grading Standards (2of 2) The debilitating effects of such a system are not hard to imagine. Although most students with disabilities consider the traditional grading practices used in general education classes to be fair (Bursuck, Munk, & Olson, 1999; Vaughn Schumm, Niarhos & Gordon, 1993), they feel helpless to achieve higher grades and yet blame themselves for their low grades (Shelby & Murphy, 1992). As a result, these students lose confidence in their abilities, tend to give up on academic pursuits, and are at high risk of dropping out of school (Zigmond & Thornton, 1985). Tom Guskey

46. Advanced Learners: Great Success, Little Effort

48. “Unless the highly able must also struggle in order to grow, education has not appropriately defined or operationalized excellence in schools. When student stand for extended time in spaces with ceiling of expectation that are too low, the students’ capacity is bent, misshapen and malformed, exactly as their bodies would be if encased in spaces with ceiling too low for their stature. The twin threats of perfectionism and lethargy are spawned when a child comes to believe that that which is easy is exemplary.” Carol Tomlinson Roeper Review, June 1994

49. The Unspoken Effect of Grades For some students, the certainty of praise and success in school has become a drug; they continually need more. For many other students, year upon year of “not good enough” has eroded their intellectual self-confidence and resulted in a kind of mind-numbing malaise. Earl, L. (2003). Assessment as learning. Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin, p. 15.