That students differ may be inconvenient, but it is inescapable. Adapting to that diversity is the inevitable price of productivity, high standards, and fairness to the students.

~Theodore Sizer

Sizer, T. (1984). Horace’s Compromise: The Dilemma of the American High School (p. 194). Boston: Houghton-Mifflin

Differentiation: Introduction 2

  Curriculum differentiation is a process used to maximize student learning by improving the match between a student's individual needs and the curriculum.

  A general term used to describe the range of strategies, which are used to ensure children’s needs are met.

  Curriculum differentiation is a broad term referring to the need to tailor teaching environments and practices to create appropriately different learning experiences for different students.

  Adapting the curriculum to meet the unique needs of learners by making modifications in complexity, depth, and pacing.

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Teachers can Differentiate the: CONTENT: Knowledge, skills and attitudes we want children to learn; differentiating content requires that students are pre-tested so the teacher can identify the students who do not require direct instruction

PROCESS: Varying learning activities / strategies to provide appropriate methods for students to explore the concepts; important to give students alternative paths to manipulate the ideas embedded within the concept (different grouping methods, graphic organizers, maps, diagrams, or charts)

PRODUCT: Varying the complexity of the product that students create to demonstrate mastery of the concepts; students below grade level may have different performance expectations than students above grade level (ie. more complex or more advanced thinking~ Bloom’s Taxonomy)

According to Students’: READINESS/ DEVELOPMENTAL: Some students are ready for different concepts, skills, or strategies; others may lack the foundation needed to progress to further levels

INTEREST: Student interest inventories provide information to plan different activities that respond to individual student’s interest

LEARNING STYLE Individual student preference for where, when or how students obtain and process information (visual, auditory, kinesthetic; multiple intelligences; environment, social organization, physical circumstance, emotional climate, psychological climate)

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• Essential Questions • Curriculum Map Template • Unit Design • Lesson Planning • Skills List

Differentiation: WHAT To Teach

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What to Teach???

  Essential Questions ~ conceptual understandings   (Mctighe & Wiggins, 2004, p. 91, 93-93)

  Curriculum Map/Unit Design  Curriculum Map Template  See other unit template

  Sample Skills List (Heacox, p. 61)

Turn, Share and/or revise Essential Questions or Skills for your Unit of Study

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Lesson and Unit Design

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DIFFERENTIATION STRATEGIES Parts I, II and III

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• Pre Assessment • Curriculum Compacting • Learning Contracts

Differentiation Strategies: Part I 10

I’ve mapped out the concepts I’ve already grasped to save you time. 12

Modify and/or streamline regular curriculum to:   eliminate repetition of previously mastered

material   upgrade the challenge level of the regular

curriculum   determine student “readiness”

  provide time for enrichment and/or acceleration activities

Eight Compacting Steps (Student Readiness)

1.  Identify objectives ( UbD Stage 1) 2.  Create pretest (end of unit expectations; UbD

Stage 2) 3.  Identify students to Pretest 4.  Administer Pretest 5.  Eliminate content in areas of mastery 6.  Streamline instruction (UbD Stage 3) 7.  Offer enrichment or acceleration activities

(Heacox, p. 139, 142) 8.  Keep records of progress

  A written agreement between the student and the teacher which includes opportunities for the student to work relatively independently on primarily teacher-directed material.

The student has:   Some freedom in acquiring skills and understandings   Responsibility for learning independently   Guidelines for completing work   Guidelines for appropriate behavior   Expectations tailored to readiness level

•  See sample: Compacting Form and Project Description (Heacox, p.142)

•  Turn & Talk: Explain how learning contracts support curriculum compacting?

• Differentiation by Interest, Learning Style (choice) & Readiness (challenge levels)

•  Choice: Gardner’s Multiple Intelligences •  Choice: Projects, Presentations & Performance (Heacox) •  Choice: Products & Performances/Performance Tasks (McTighe &

Wiggins) •  Readiness: Bloom’s Taxonomy~ Challenge Levels •  Choice by Challenge Level & Learning Style (Heacox)

• Flexible Grouping •  3 Kinds of Groups (Heacox)

Differentiation Strategies: Part II 16

Differentiate by Choice: Interest

  Interest Inventories (Heacox, p. 29-31)  Grouping Index Cards/Use for Centers:

  Item 5: Have students list topics they rated 1 and 2 (use to create teams of common interests)

  Item 7: Use to group for exploratory topics   Item 13: Use to identify “specialists” for particular areas

of study   Item 19/20: To create partnerships or learning groups

Review the inventory; how do you think and learn? Reflect upon how your strengths have been supported/neglected. Turn and share.

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Differentiate by Students’ Learning Style & Challenge Levels

  Learning Style: How We Think and Learn  Variety: Multiple Intelligences (Heacox, p. 36-37)

 Howard Gardner  (Projects, Presentations, Performances;

Heacox, p. 34-35)

  Challenge Levels (readiness): Rigor, Relevance & Complexity  Challenge! NOT more.  Blooms Taxonomy: 6 Levels of Thinking

 Challenge Levels (Heacox, p. 69 & 75)

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CHOICE: Challenge & Learning Style:

  Bloom’s Taxonomy & Gardner’s M.I. Brief Lesson Plan (Heacox, p. 73, 156)

  Content + Process + Product = learning experience   Content=what are students learning about?   Process=what level of thinking is required?   Product= how will the results of learning be represented/

assessed?   Ex: Compare and contrast a scene in a novel with

the movie version of the same scene by presenting your ideas in a storyboard of words and pictures.

  Your Turn…

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CHOICE: Challenge & Learning Style:

  Double-sided Lesson Plan Matrix (Bloom’s & Multiple Intelligences)   Heaxox, p. 78-79, 82-83

  Small group (triad/diad) plan to incorporate concepts into your unit of study using the matrix…

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“A hallmark of an effective differentiated classroom….is the use of flexible grouping, which accommodates students who are strong in some areas and weaker in others. ~Carol Tomlinson

Three Types of Groups: I.  Flexible (readiness, learning style…) II.  Ability/Aptitude III.  Cooperative

(Heacox, p. 87)

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• Tiered Activities • Choice: Tic Tac Toe • Anchoring Activity • Questioning & Discussion

Differentiation Strategies: Part III 22

Tiered Activities Tiered Instruction features:   Whole group introduction and initial instruction   Identification of developmental differences   Ladder Analogy (bottom – up; challenge/complexity)   Increase or Decrease the:

  Abstraction/Challenge Levels (ie. application, analysis & synthesis)   Extent of Support   Complexity of:

  outcomes   resources (reading levels, types of text [on-line, magazine, etc…], based on

prior-knowledge levels)   processes (way in which students obtain information)   products (M.I. products)

Tiered Assignment~ Middle School Unit: Dinosaurs

Objective: In their study of dinosaurs, the students will be able to research and identify various theories of dinosaur extinction.

Task 1 - After researching and identifying various theories of dinosaur extinction, students will be able to create their own theory and draw a picture or diagram illustrating that theory.

Task 2 - After researching and identifying various theories of dinosaur extinction, students will be able to create a visual representation of their theory (i.e. diorama, timeline, or three dimensional model).

Task 3 - After researching and identifying various theories of dinosaur extinction, students will be able to create a visual representation of their theory and defend their theory during a class debate.

  “Shipwreck at the Bottom of the World” example & planning template   Brainstorm your own!

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CHOICE:

  Use as a choice of required products   Code to identify challenge levels or learning

style   Warm-up/Cool-down activities   Pure “choice” time   Alternatives for students

(via curriculum compacting)  Project Menu Cards (Heacox, p. 106)  Tic Tac Toe

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Tic Tac Toe *see book report

example

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Anchoring Activity (See the Anchoring Activity for: The Giver)

  Self-paced, purposeful, content-driven activities that students can work on independently throughout a unit, a grading period, or longer

  Meaningful ongoing activities related to the curriculum  A list of activities that a student can do at any

time  A long-term project  An activity center/learning station located in the

room   These activities must be worthy of a student’s time

and appropriate to their learning needs

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  Explain the activity and the procedures with the whole class

  Make expectations clear – develop ground rules for:

 Behavior  Performance

  Use tasks that require time and thinking – this is not an extension of the “seat-work” concept

  Provide clear instructions, materials, responsibilities, check points, and expectations (rubrics)

Open Ended Questions

  have no “right” answer   can be discussed and debated   provoke and sustain student inquiry   raise other important questions   address the conceptual or philosophical

foundations of a discipline   stimulate vital, ongoing reflection of big ideas

and assumptions

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“Summer’s over kids! Now, all you round pegs get back

into your square holes!” 31