Differentiating Instruction

Differentiated Instruction: Maximizing the Capabilities of All Students Elementary PresentationPickwick Landing State ParkThursday, April 30th

Kandy Smith, School ConsultantTennessee State Improvement Grant This PowerPoint is available at:

Tennessee State Improvement Grant Website:http://sig.cls.utk.edu/Under General Products (for now)

Differentiated Lesson Plan TemplateUnder 4th-8th Grade ProductsDifferentiated InstructionDifferentiationis a process through which teachers enhance learning by matching student characteristics to instruction and assessment.Provides entry points, learning tasks, and outcomes that are tailored to students needs(IRIS Center Document: Differentiation for Reading, 2005, p. 1)Differentiated InstructionOffering students a variety of ways to explore curriculum content Providing optionsProviding re-teaching, second chancesLarge group/ small group combination

Sometimes people think that when a teacher begins differentiating instruction, kids get to prove their learning through paper mache artwork or dioramas not true! Its still very possible to give that three page test that assesses curriculum standard learning. 4Differentiated InstructionDoes NOT mean lack of teacher control Does NOT mean expecting different learning outcomes from different students were expecting them all to learn the curriculum standards and more Does NOT mean abandoning traditional assessments

Sometimes people think that when a teacher begins differentiating instruction, kids get to prove their learning through paper mache artwork or dioramas not true! Its still very possible to give that three page test that assesses curriculum standard learning. 5Exploration of Learning DifferencesLev VygotskyZone of Proximal Development

Maria MontessoriIndividualized Instruction

Robert SternbergLearning Profile Approach

Howard Gardner Theory of Multiple IntelligencesHired a teacher once to teach first grade Montessori training, had taught in a Montessori school in New York state had the most awesome first grade classroom very structured but lots of student responsibility and choice 6Vygotsky: ZPD

Montessori: Individualized Instruction

Lifelong love of reading

Community service

Is competition necessary?

Teaching peace, supporting the inner spirit of the child Sternberg: Learning Profile Approach

Gardner: Theory of Multiple Intelligences

Differentiated Instruction Certainly helps us to meet the federal guidelines (NCLB and IDEA) of providing best practice instruction for every student

AT THE SAME TIME

We have a pressure to make sure that all students meet local, state, and national standards.Do standards require a one-size-fits-all approach to instruction?

Contradictory Mandates?

Not At AllThree ways to differentiateContentProcessProductContentChange in the material being learned by a student (usually the change is to ADD to the standard)

Objective: retell a storySome may just re-state beginning, middle, and end (basic standard)Some may learn to incorporate the characters point of view into the re-telling (enhanced standard)

Process Refers to the way in which a student accesses materialOne student in a learning center with other students and a gameOne student at a computer by himselfOne student at the small group table with the teacher and other students

Thoughts about differentiationThe proportion of the school day allotted to whole-class instruction is a predictor of a schools academic achievement.

Dr. Richard AllingtonUniversity of TennesseeWhat Really Matters in Response to Intervention Product Refers to the way in which a student shows what he or she has learnedCreate a graphic organizerDiscuss ideas in a small groupTraditional assessment

Carol Ann TomlinsonTheres absolutely no contradiction between excellent standards-based instruction and excellent differentiated standards-based instruction.

She argues that most standards are not finite points to be memorized but consist of skills such as problem solving, communicating clearly in paragraphs, analyzing test, or using maps for information purposes.

Those things can nearly all be accomplished by primary grade students as well as Ph.D.s just at different levels of complexity and with different levels of support.

DifferentiationIts about meeting individual needs in the context of best-practice instruction.

Expert instruction cant exist without attending to student needs.-Carol Tomlinson So, how does it happen?My experience If a teacher is doing it, shell continueHave to watch for traditional three groups for the year Make certain data is driving the instructionTeacher professional judgmentData

So, how does it happen?My experience If a teacher is not doing it, just talking about it doesnt really make it happen and forcing a structure doesnt make it happen, eitherNeeds pdOn assessing studentsOn using dataOn large group instruction, small group instruction, centersNeeds support from administrationNeeds checking on In order to differentiateTeacher must know the studentBasic reading levelsBasic knowledge student possesses on curriculum topicsGroup discussion, brainstorming not a good way to find out who knows whatTeacher must conduct an individual pre-assessment if she is really going to meet student needsKWL chartExit card

IRIS Center at Vanderbilt

Differentiated Instruction

Differentiated Instruction Mainly occurs at small group table with teacher and in practice centers

At small group table: Alternative Lesson StructuresGuided ReadingSkills-Focused LessonsA blend of the two

Guided ReadingSelecting the text (appropriate level)Introducing the text Reading the text Discussing the textTeaching for strategic activities Extending meaning (optional) Word Work (optional) Guided ReadingMainly about comprehensionStudents could be struggling so much that guided reading is not appropriate YET

NOT A TIME FOR ROUND ROBIN READING/LISTENING TO ONE CHILD AT A TIME READ Every child should be engaged at all times Want to hear one read?Children are all whisper reading; teacher is moving around the table, stopping and bending down with each child to focus on his/her reading. This is best practice.Whisper phonesAnother teacher at this same school: All children are reading silently. Teacher goes around and bends down beside the student she wants to hear read aloud. Child reads quietly to her.

Skills-Focused Lessonsproviding explicit and systematic instruction for students who do not yet have the necessary skills and knowledge to be integrated together in the reading of text Differentiating Reading Instruction: Small Group Alternative Lesson Structures for All Students (IRIS Center Document, 2005, p. 3)

Skills-Focused LessonsMastery of elements like:letter-sound knowledgePhonemic decoding strategiesCritical vocabularyReading comprehension strategiesOther ideasRather than one set of flashcards, giving them out one child at a timeRound Robin FlashcardsTeacher gives word sets out to kids; shows them larger word cards teacher keeps her cards under the table and pulls one out and reads it doesnt show it (great idea learning disabled kids are cunning) Tells students to find that word in their cards (they each have a set in their hands) Put it face down in front of them then all flip them over great way for teacher to see who takes longer, who knows. For either typeIn order to be effective, teacher has to have ongoing knowledge of the assessment data concerning each studentThen she makes centers and calls groupsGroups: 3-4 for struggling students5-7 for typically developing or above studentsANDShe has to know developmentally where a student is and what the most effective instruction for that student will be

Some of the programs that are available help to diagnose AND provide instructional supportIf the teacher is on her own

Center Activities Five Components of Reading

Support for Small Group Instruction

Best Quick Comprehension MeasureMaze passageWhat is a Maze Passage?A maze passage is an indicator of general reading healthThe maze passage measures the student's general reading performance.Its a good Curriculum-Based Measure (CBM) for comprehension.How do I create a maze passage?Select a passage from the students curriculum (basal reader, newspaper passages, etc.) (150 to 400 words)

How do I create a maze passage?Leave the first sentence intact. How do I create a maze passage?After the first sentence, delete every seventh word and create two distracter words as choices (should have the same number of letters as correct word plus or minus one letter; should be a different part of speech and should NOT be a possible choice for that sentence).Dolche words are great choice words

How do I create a maze passage?If the seventh word is a name, skip that choice and proceed to the next word.How do I create a maze passage?Make sure that all the choices fit on the same line.How do I create a maze passage?Give students 3 minutes to complete the maze passage.First Grade Maze Passage

Fourth Grade Maze Passage

5555Its Time We cant wait to begin differentiation.Childrens lives are at stake.

No ExcusesTimeEffortProfessional KnowledgeAdministrative LeadershipMonitoring

Differentiated InstructionIts best practiceIts required by law Its what we MUST do in Tennessee classroomsReferencesAllington, R. L. (2009). What really matters in response to intervention: Research-based designs. Boston: Pearson. Anderson, K. (2007). Differentiating instruction to include all students. Preventing School Failure, 51 (3), 49-54.Differentiating reading instruction: Small group alternative lesson structures for all students (2005), Retrieved April 28, 2009, http://iris.peabody.vanderbilt.edu/resources.htmlDifferentiation for reading (2005). Retrieved April 28, 2009, http://iris.peabody.vanderbilt.edu/resources.html

ReferencesFlorida Center for Reading Research website: http://www.fcrr.org/IRIS Center at Vanderbilt website: http://iris.peabody.vanderbilt.edu/Tomlinson, C. A. (2005). Differentiating instruction: Why bother? Middle Ground, 9 (1), 12-14.Tomlinson, C.A. (2000). Focus on differentiated instruction [Electronic version]. Curriculum/Technology Quarterly, 9(3). doi:http://webserver3.ascd.org/handbook/demo/ctq/8spr00.html