DIFFERENTIATEDINSTRUCTION

Reference

ASCD Institute led by Carol Ann Tomlinson & Marcia Imbeau, February 2011 in Houston, Texas.

What We Have in Our Schools: More students speaking more languages than ever; Increasing numbers of students with learning difficulties; More students needing help with reading and writing; Many advanced learners needing to continue their

growth; An economic divide reflected in our classes; A need for every student to leave school as:

THINKERS FLEXIBLE & INDEPENDENT LEARNERS PRODUCERS OF KNOWLEDGE

What the Research Tells Us: Students:

Learn at different rates.

Need different degrees of difficulty.

Have different interests.

Learn in different ways.

Need different support systems.

And Yet…

In spite of the great andgrowing variety of

students in our classrooms.

We teach as though theyare essentially alike.

In Many Cases: Teachers cover highly-prescribed content.

We don’t always think about teaching individuals.

We have an expectation of success for everyone… On the same activities and tests, administered at the same

time, under the same circumstances.

This is comfortable for teachers; not so for the students. It allows us to retain (and intensify) familiar habits of

instruction that are: Mostly teacher-centered. Often low-level. Mainly text-focused. Usually orderly and predictable.

What We Know:Teaching a roomful of learnersthe same thing in the same wayover the same time spanwith the same supportsand expecting good resultshas never happened…

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and it never will…

So…What do We Do? Because we know all of these things to be

true, what is our obligation as educators?

To reflect on how our students – all of them – learn best.

To re-examine curriculum outcomes. To strengthen and find alternate ways to reach

objectives. To embrace flexibility in our classrooms. To differentiate instruction and assessment.

Differentiation: What is It?Write a

definition of differentiation

that clarifies its intent,

elements, and principles.

In other words, write a

definition that could clarify thinking here

in your school.

Explain to a new teacher

what differentiation is in terms of

what he/she would be doing

in the classroom – and why. In other words,

describe differentiation

in action.

Develop a metaphor, analogy, or

visual symbol that you think represents &

clarifies what is important to understand

about differentiation.

Sternberg’s Three Intelligences

Practical

CreativeAnalytical

To Clarify At its most basic level, differentiating

instruction means shaking up what goes on in the classroom so that students have multiple options for:

Taking in information; Making sense of ideas, and; Expressing what they learn.

Reflectingon

Students

Clarity About

Curriculum

EffectiveInstruction

Managing for

Flexibility

Building Blocks of Responsive Teaching

Building Blocks Reflecting on Students Developing Clarity About Curriculum Using Effective Instructional Approaches Managing for Flexibility

These practices are essential to DI (and good teaching practice), but can also sometime be barriers.

For Every Building Block… According to Tomlinson, the four most common

impediments to differentiation in the early stages are:1. Lack of focus on individual students.

We tend to think and talk about ‘our kids’ as a whole rather than studying individuals or even smaller groups. As long as we see them predominantly as a group, we’re going to teach them that way.

2. Lack of clarity about curriculum outcomes. What students should know, understand, and be able to do – not

what they’re going to cover.

3. Lack of comfort with instructional strategies Strategies that invite us to differentiate – to reach out in different

kinds of ways…and strategies we may not have used in a while.

4. Uncertainty about how to manage a classroom. One in which students are not always doing the same thing

in the same way in the same time span.

Reflecting on Students What do I want to know about my students as individuals?

As a group? What do I already know?

How well do they read & write? How well do they understand when they listen?

What’s the hardest for them in school? What do they already know about what I’m planning to teach?

How do they feel about their peers? How do their peers feel about them? How does their culture and gender affect their learning?

What are their dreams? What are their interests? How do they work best?

What experiences do they have that relate to what we’re studying?

What attitudes do they have about learning? About schools? What kinds of adult supports do they have outside school?

Learning Profile Pre-Assessment The following exercise can be used to group

students according to their learning profiles.

It is a great way to gain some insights into the interests of students and the way they learn.

It was developed by a grade five teacher in Virginia as a pre-assessment activity at the beginning of the school year.

LEARNING PROFILE PRE-ASSESSMENT

Carol Ann Tomlinson (ASCD)

Learning Profile Pre-Assessment The following exercise can be used to

group students according to their learning profiles.

It is a great way to gain some insights into the interests of students and the way they learn.

It was developed by a grade five teacher in Virginia as a pre-assessment activity at the beginning of the school year.

Learning Profile Pre-Assessment

1. Favorite subjects in school are indicated by head color and body color:

Math-purple Science-red Reading-blue Writing-orange

2. Least favorite subjects in school are indicated by hair color (you can design fun hair).

3. If you are a boy, use shorts. If you are a girl use the pants.

Make the color pants with your favorite color.

Learning Profile Pre-Assessment

4. Strongest intelligence area (using Sternberg model) is indicated by the shirt color:

Analytical = Green Creative = Red Practical = Blue Kinesthetic = black

These could also be grouped by multiple intelligence areas (intrapersonal, interpersonal, musical, kinesthetic, logical mathematical, verbal/linguistic, visual/spatial, naturalist).

5. Learning preference is their shoe color:

Visual = white Auditory = black Kinesthetic = brown

Learning Profile Pre-Assessment

7. If you prefer to work alone on project , put on stripes. If you prefer to work in groups, draw polka dots on your shirts.

8. If you like to be challenged and learn new and difficult things, design a hat for yourself.

Reflecting on Students

Formative assessments are key at this stage.

Reflecting on Students

Clarity About Curriculum What is this topic really about? Why study it?

What makes it connect to the students’ lives? How does it help students understand the discipline better?

What should students know, understand, and be able to do as a result of each lesson and the unit as a whole? What questions are essential to ask about the topic? What are the key concepts that give the topic meaning?

How does the topic relate to experts? How can this topic show students connections and help

students better understand themselves and their world?

Clarity About Curriculum

Familiarity with the Specific Curriculum

Outcomes are key at this stage.

Know Where Your Students are Going!

“Would you tell me please, which way I ought to go from here?”

“That depends a good deal on where you want to get to,” said the Cat.

“I don’t much care where –” said Alice.

“Then it doesn’t matter which way you go,” said the Cat.

Lewis Carroll, Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland

Instructional Approaches In what ways can I honor student interests?

What options do I have when I share ideas/create tasks for students?

In what ways can I honor students’ varied learning styles/preferences? How can I encourage a wide range of complex thinking? What modes of expression can I offer/teach students?

What instructional approaches best serve the goals of this lesson/unit? How do I ensure the approaches I select serve the students well? What choices in learning/assessment can I offer my students? How can I point the way to increase the quality of the student work?

Instructional Approaches

Knowing the needs of your learners and

finding ways to reach them is key at this

stage.

It’s Not About Coverage…

Simply covering the curriculum

does not guarantee that the students

will meet all of its outcomes.

Managing for Flexibility How can I use time, space, & materials more flexibly?

How do I establish & maintain appropriate levels of sound and movement in the classroom?

How can I make students my partners in operating the classroom?

How do we practice class routines to foster independence? Where do I find time to meet with small groups? How and when can I coach individuals?

How do I give multiple sets of directions? How do I create tasks that provide adequate challenge,

engagement, and structure for individuals and small groups? What record-keeping systems clarify goals and

progress for me and my students?

Managing for Flexibility

The key?A shift in the

traditional mindset.

A Continuum of Differentiated Instruction

In a classroom with little or no differentiation:

The class works as a whole on most materials, exercises, projects.

There is no group pacing. This doesn’t suit all the different learners in the room.

There are group grading standards.

There is an implied (or stated) philosophy that all the students need the same teaching and learning.

A Continuum of Differentiated Instruction

In a classroom with some differentiation:

Teachers adjust questions in discussion. Teachers encourage individuals to take an assignment

farther. There are implied variations in grading experiences. Students choose their own work groups. If students finish work early, the can read, do puzzles,

etc. There are occasional exceptions to standard pacing.

May not need to show all work, do all math problems, etc. There are occasional adjustments in grading to reflect

student effort and/or ability.

A Continuum of Differentiated Instruction

In a fully-differentiated classroom: There is a clearly-stated philosophy of student

differences. There is planned assessment and planned compacting. Variable pacing is a given. There is moving furniture and consistent use of flexible

groups. Collaboration is viewed as essential to the learning process.

There is planned variation in content/input. There is also planned variation in product/output.

There is individual goal setting and individual assessment. Grading reflects individual growth.

There is frequent mentoring and frequent monitoring.