Date post: | 31-Mar-2015 |
Category: |
Documents |
Upload: | anna-hartland |
View: | 213 times |
Download: | 0 times |
Differentiating Math Instruction
Challenge the Stars, Reach the StrugglersNCTM Annual Meeting 2006
Susan PhillipsMeadow Lane Elementary
Lee’s Summit, MO
??
Successful learners who find math rewarding and enjoyable
Our Goal
Our Reality
Different Personalities
Different Mathematical Backgrounds
Different Abilities
Meet the diverse needs of the students in your classroom
by implementing
Curriculum Compacting
Flexible Grouping
Curriculum Compacting
Curriculum CompactingAn instructional technique for modifying the curriculum for above average ability students
(Reis, Burns, &
Renzulli, 1992)
Purposes of Curriculum Compacting
To facilitate learning experiences that are rewarding and enjoyable for all studentsTo relieve students of the repetition of work in areas they have already masteredTo provide time for in-depth learning or enrichment activities
Rationale Findings of Curriculum compacting study
by Renzulli:Ninety-five percent of teachers were able to identify high ability students in their classes and document students’ strengthsApproximately 40-50% of traditional classroom material could be eliminated for targeted students
These student behaviors may suggest that compacting is needed:
Consistently finishing tasks earlyExpressing interest in pursuing alternate or advanced topicsConsistent high performance or motivationBuilding a complete replica of a human skeleton out of paper clips, pencils, and rulers while raising his hand to answer a question in class
Every person is gifted in some area. We just have to find out in what.
Evelyn Blose Holman
The Compacting Process
Determine the learning objectives of the regular curriculum for a single unit
Assess students for previous mastery of these objectives
Substitute more appropriate learning options for the students who show mastery
Step 1
• Select a learning unit, chapter, or topic in one content area
AveragesMean
Median
Mode
Step 2Develop a pre-test (and post-test) to assess the learning objectives for that unitDetermine criteria for “mastery” of the concept using the pretest
AveragesMean
Median
Mode
Pretest
Step 3Develop an enrichment activity or in-depth learning opportunity for the compacted topicDevelop a “compacting contract” for the project or another way of identifying student expectations
AveragesMean
Median
Mode
Pretest
Step 4Administer the pretestIdentify compacting students for this unit
Identify
Students
AveragesMean
Median
Mode
Pretest
Step 5Introduce the compacting project to the identified students
•Review student responsibilities and identify student expectations (contract, scoring guide, check list)
•Let them get to work!
Flexible Grouping
Flexible Grouping
Allowing students to work in differently mixed groups depending on the goal of the learning task at hand.
Michael Opitz
Flexible GroupingRoots in the “One-Room Schoolhouse”Students are grouped and regrouped according to specific goals, activities, or individual needsTends to make teacher’s job easier and students more productiveAllows teacher to work in small groups, taking all students to a higher-level of thinking about the learning experience
Flexible Grouping
Specific Performance
Ability Grouping
General Achievement
Fluid Static
All groups are given higher-level thinking activities
Different groups receive different instruction – “low” group is given lower-level activities
Flexible Grouping
Pre-test gives information needed to group students
Non-compacting group can be split into two sections to better meet the needs of the students:
Facilitated by the Curriculum Compacting process
The “I’ve almost got it” groupThe rest of the class
Two small groups for more individualized instructionor
Ideas for Differentiating Instruction for Groups
PowerPoint LessonsStudents work through “book lesson” in small groupsOne group “teaches” other groupOne group writes problems for other groupGroups working more quickly can take topic further enriching the learning
Curriculum Compacting and Flexible Grouping
Adjusting the presentation of the curriculum to fit the learners rather than expecting students to modify themselves for the curriculum
The challenge for educators is to begin to see students in inclusive ways and to value diversity in their classrooms so that those students who
have become a “ghost”… can become contributors.
C. Dudley-Marling and S. Stires