Differentiation: A Self-Guided Presentation

Differentiation:A Self-Guided Presentation Jennifer Frisch Patrice Jones CCSD Lead Teachers

Link to the sections which meet your needs: Basic Principles of Differentiation Methodology Classroom Practices Strategies and Sample Lessons References and Resources

SECTION 1 BASIC PRINCIPLES OF DIFFERENTIATION

Elements of Differentiation • The teacher focuses on the essentials • The teacher attends to student differences • Assessment and instruction are inseparable • The teacher modifies content, process, and products • All students participate in respectful work

Elements of Differentiation (continued) • The teacher and students collaborate in learning • The teacher balances group and individual norms • The teacher and students work together flexibly From: Tomlinson, Carol Ann The Differentiated Classroom

TRADITIONAL Student differences are masked Assessment comes at the end of learning Narrow sense of intelligence Learning styles not considered DIFFERENTIATED Student differences used as basis for planning Assessment ongoing and diagnostic Multiple forms of intelligence Multiple forms of intelligence are considered Comparing Classrooms

TRADITIONAL Student interest infrequently tapped Few learning profiles taken into account Whole-class instruction dominates Coverage of curriculum drives instruction DIFFERENTIATED Students make interest-based learning choices Many learning profiles provided for Many instructional arrangements used Student readiness, interest, and learning profile shape instruction Comparing Classrooms

TRADITIONAL Few assignment options Time is inflexible Teacher uses single text Teacher directs student learning Single form of assessment used DIFFERENTIATED Multi-optioned assignments frequently used Time is used flexibly according to student need Many materials used Teacher facilitates student learning Students assessed multiple ways Comparing Classrooms

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SECTION 2 METHODOLOGY

Differentiation is a teacher’s response to learners’ needs guided by : Flexible Grouping Respectful Tasks Ongoing Assessment MainMenu

Respectful Tasks Are • Clearly understood by students • Relevant to students, and connected to the world they know. • Authentic, offering real connections, not just paper and pencil exercises • Conceptual by nature • Challenging but not overwhelming to the learners • Adjusted to student readiness, interest, and learning profile

Flexible Grouping • Whole group instruction has a place in a differentiated classroom, albeit small. The majority of times students should work independently or in small groups. The groups should vary depending on the task.

Assessment Formative Summative Return

Formative Assessment: Formative assessment is ongoing and diagnostic. Its goal is to provide teachers with day-to-day data on students readiness and skills, as well as their interests and styles of learning. Assessment is used to modify instruction. It may come from a myriad of sources such as whole class discussion, small group discussion, skill inventories, pretests, and homework assignments.

Summative Assessment – Performance Based At benchmark points in learning such as the end of a unit, teachers may use assessment to formally record student learning growth. Again, a variety of types of assessment may be used. Summative assessment should require specific performance objectives of which students are informed well in advance.

Section 3 PUTTING DIFFERENTIATION INTO PRACTICE

Teachers Can Differentiate by: Content Process Product Main Menu

Content Content is what a student should know, understand, or be able to do as a result of the study. All students should be held accountable for the basic standards, but teachers direct students who show mastery of the content toward deeper understandings or alternative curriculum connections.

Examples of Content Differentiation: • Providing supplemental resources on a reading level more appropriate for students • Breaking down understandings into simpler concepts • Adding depth to a student’s learning by providing online resources

Process Process means the activities or strategies used in class to help the student make sense of or “own” the content. Processes may vary according to student learning styles and interests. For example, kinesthetic learners may find making a clay model or building a three dimensional representation a more interesting way of learning content.

Examples of Process Differentiation • Tiered Assignments • Learning centers • Multiple intelligences assignments • Graphic organizers • Learning logs • Concept attainment

Product A product is a vehicle through which a student shows what he or she has come to understand and can do as a result of a unit of learning. It is not about pieces of work students produce from day to day. This could be a test or a performance-based assessment which requires applying information in a different context.

Types of Products • Unit tests • Visual displays • Narrated Power Points • Plays • Research projects • And many more

Teachers Can Differentiate by: Readiness Interests Learning Profile

Readiness Assessing a student’s understanding prior to instruction is vital to differentiating based on readiness or prior knowledge. Instruction and learning activities must be structured then to be more suitable to the students’ current understandings. Students with less-developed readiness may need help identifying and making up the gaps in their learning, more opportunities for direct instruction, more structured activities, and a more deliberate pace of learning. Students with advanced skills and understandings may need to skip practice with previously mastered skills, more complex activities, and the pace of work may need to be more brisk or slowed to allow for greater exploration of a topic.

Interests Interest refers to a child’s curiosity or passion for a topic. If a student has had a prior learning experience or life activity that relates to what is being learned in the classroom, then he/she may be more interested in a topic. If teachers focus on students’ interests from time to time and make an effort include them in instruction, then students will be more open to new topics in which they are not particularly interested.

Learning Profile Learning profile has to do with how a person learns. There are many measures such as learning style and multiple intelligence profiles which tell teachers about student learning preferences. A student’s culture and gender also affect how they learn and should be considered when planning appropriate instruction. For example, some students might prefer to work alone and write about their learning while others would learn better by being able to talk about what they are learning and voice their understandings.

Section 4 Differentiation Strategies and Sample Lessons

Differentiation Strategies Beginning classroom differentiation requires sharing the ideas with students and explaining the reasoning behind the changes you are making. There are simple, day-to-day strategies which help differentiate lessons and also methods of differentiating entire lessons. Beginners may want to start with the less complex differentiation techniques. Main Menu Assessment Day to Day Strategies Unit Strategies

Assessment Strategies There are two basic types of assessment. Most teachers are very familiar with summative assessment, measuring learning at the end of a unit. However, for differentiated classrooms, the formative or ongoing assessment of student learning throughout the teaching and learning process is likely the most critical. Formative Summative

PreAssessements: Vocabulary Exposure Scavenger Hunts Anticipation Guides Tickets out of the Door Checklists: Teacher Student Frame of Reference Consensus: Four corners Consensogram Facts in Five 1-3-6 Types of Formative Assessment Assessment Strategies Main Menu

Vocabulary Exposure • Six Levels of Vocabulary Development: • Learning to read words already in oral vocabulary • Learning new meanings (content specific) for known words • Learning new words for known concepts • Learning new words representing new concepts • Clarifying and enriching meanings of known words • Using words currently in the students’ receptive vocabulary in their expressive or productive vocabulary. Types of Formative Assessment

Scavenger Hunt • Prepare a set of questions on a topic • Group students • Each student read the questions and chooses one to be the expert on. • Answer the question on their sheet • Students then use other students and resources to get answers to other questions • When time is called students return to groups to verify answers and complete Types of Formative Assessment

Anticipation Guide • Prepare a series of statements related to the reading or other input source • Have students indicate whether they think the statement is true or false before reading. • Students then read selection, watch video or demonstration. • Students then answer same questions again after material is given. • They discuss any information that made them change their thinking. Types of Formative Assessment

Ticket out the Door • Used at the end of period, have student write response to stem on index cards • Select an appropriate stem for students to response to • Stand at the door and collect the “tickets” as they leave. • Example of Stem: List the most interesting thing you learned today and tell why you chose it. Types of Formative Assessment

Teacher Checklists • Developing a checklist in advance of assigning a task helps the teacher determine exactly what his/her objectives for that task will be. This minimizes subjectivity in grading and can easily be used to develop an assessment rubric. Checklists eliminate the mystery of assessment criteria. Note: See link in resource section Types of Formative Assessment

Student Checklists • Students can develop checklists of the requirements to complete tasks. They encourage students to self-monitor their progress which affects their learning.

Sample Student Checklist Types of Formative Assessment

Frame of Reference • Topic or Subject is placed in the center of the frame where a picture would be. • Words or phrases are written by students in “mat” area to tell what comes to mind when they think about at the topic • In the “frame” area, students write down how they know what they know: sources, people, events that influenced their thinking Sample Frame Types of Formative Assessment

Four Corners • Pose a question that has multiple answers or asks to rank order options • After thinking about their answers, student move to the corner of the room that is designed for that response. • Students in their corners why they chose the answer • Volunteers from each corner share the groups consensus Types of Formative Assessment

Consensogram • Write the list of percentages 0-100 in increments of ten on the board. • Students place a post-it-note next to the percentage that represents how much they think they currently know about the subject or topic Types of Formative Assessment

Facts in Five • Student write what they think are the five most important concepts or facts on topic • Group student in fives and groups generate a consensus of five concepts • Share with class Types of Formative Assessment

1-3-6 • Follow as format of facts in five, they work individually first, then group students in threes then sixes Types of Formative Assessment

Types of Summative Assessment Performance Tasks Unit Tests Learning Contracts Extended Essays To Strategies

Performance Tasks Performance tasks are complex challenges which range in length from short-term to long-termed projects, and require a production or performance. They should feature a real-world setting that is real or simulated. Typically performance tasks require the student to address a particular audience and are based on a specific purpose. These tasks allow the student greater opportunity to personalize the learning. An understanding of the learning should be essential to performing the task. Criteria and standards should be given to students in advance to guide the student's work.

Anchor Boxes Five Hardest First Two by Two Adjusted Questioning Graphic organizers for students who need structure RAFT Numbered Heads Together Tiered Assignments Scaffolding by providing necessary vocabulary in advance of lesson Using web resources for practice or extension activities Day-to-Day Strategies To Strategies Main Menu

Anchor Boxes The Purpose of an Anchor Activity is to: • Provide meaningful work for students when they finish an assignment or project, when they first enter the class or when they are "stumped". • Provide ongoing tasks that tie to the content and instruction. • Free up the classroom teacher to work with other groups of students or individuals. Anchor boxes are places in the classroom where extension activities are kept. Advance students who finish work regular classroom can go to an anchor box for extension activities. Students struggling with class work can go to an anchor box to get scaffolding activities which would help them understand concepts better. Teacher prepare these activities in advance of the lesson, based on what they think the students might need.

Differentiation: A Self-Guided Presentation