Strategies to Make Differentiation Work

3. Compacting Curriculum assessing a student’s knowledge and skills, and providing alternative activities for the student who has already mastered curriculum content.

Differentiated Instruction

The Basic Steps TowardsDifferentiating

Let’s Define Differentiated Instruction

It means creating multiple paths

so that students of different abilities, interests, or learning needs experience equally appropriate ways to learn.

The Rationale for Differentiated Instruction

Different levels of readiness

Different Interests

Put always in mind that students have

Different Ability Levels

Different Cognitive Needs

Teachers can differentiate according to ….

The content

The process

The product

Differentiating Content Resource materials at varying

readability levels Audio and video recordings Highlighted vocabulary Charts and models

Differentiating Process (making sense and meaning of content)

Use leveled activities Hands-on materials Vary pacing according

to readiness Allow for working

alone, in partners, triads, and small groups

Differentiating Products(showing what is know and able to be done) Leveled product

choices use of technology

within products and presentations

Use related arts to help with student products

Strategies to Make Differentiation Work

1. Leveled Instructionmeet the developmental needs of the

students involved.

What Can We Adjust?

Level of complexity Amount of structure Pacing Materials

Strategies to Make Differentiation Work

1.Anchoring Activities A student may do at any time when they have

completed their present assignment or when the teacher is busy with other students.

They may relate to specific needs or enrichment opportunities, including problems to solve or journals to write. They could also be part of a long term project.

Strategies to Make Differentiation Work

2. Flexible Grouping This allows students to be appropriately challenged and avoids labeling a student’s readiness as a static state. It is important to permit movement between groups because interest changes as we move from one subject to another

Flexible Grouping

Homogenous/Ability -Clusters students of

similar abilities, level, learning style, or interest.

-Usually based on some type of pre-assessment

Heterogeneous Groups

-Different abilities, levels or interest

- Good for promoting creative thinking.

Individualized orIndependent Study -Self paced learning -Teaches time

management and responsibility -Good for remediation or

extensions

Whole Class -Efficient way to present

new content -Use for initial instruction

What Differentiation Is … Student Centered

Best practices

Different approaches

3 or 4 different activities

Multiple approaches to content, process, and product

A way of thinking and planning

Flexible grouping

What Differentiation Isn’t One Thing

A Program

The Goal

Hard questions for some and easy for others

35 different plans for one classroom

A chaotic classroom

Just homogenous grouping

In Summary…..

What is fair isn’t always equal…

and

Differentiation gets us away from “one size fits all” approach to curriculum and instruction that doesn’t fit anyone

BibliographyCampbell, Bruce. The Multiple Intelligences Handbook: Lesson Plans

and More. Stanwood, WA. 1996.

Daniels, Harvey and Bizar. (2005). Teaching The Best Practice Way: Methods that Matter, K-12. Portland, Maine: Stenhouse Publishers.

Gregory, Gayle. Differentiated Instructional Strategies in Practice. Thousand Oaks, CA. 2003.

Tomlinson, Carol Ann. The Differentiated Classroom. Alexandria, VA: ASCD. 1995.

Wormeli, Rick. Fair Isn’t Always Equal: Assessment and Grading in the Differentiated Classroom, Stenhouse Publishers, 2006.