Focus for the Year

What is this Differentiation Study Group all about?

What the Group Does

The ContentWe Cover

What youWill

Produce

Group 1

Group 2

Group 3

1st Read through the sheet your Group has. (5 min)

2nd Discuss what you read and Come to a cohesive understanding.

3rd If there is any uncertainty on whatYou read, ask Dan 2 clarifying

Questions.

4th Be ready to share and be an expertOn your sheet.

Jigsaw your knowledge . . .

What the Group Does

The ContentWe Cover

What youWill

Produce

Share with each other so that all 3 of you know about

all 3 topics.

If there are further questions that need tobe clarified in front of the whole group, get

ready to ask them . . .

Our Goals around Differentiation – Why we would bother to have this group . . .

1) Becoming a More Student Centered Teacher. The deeper the work becomes in your classroom, the more your focus will shift from thinking about what you are doing for each lesson, to thinking about what your students will be doing.

2) Adding to your Skill-set. There are many strategies, techniques, and practices we will go over this year. The point is to take them in, figure out how to adapt them to your classroom, and make them your own. The skills from this year should help you better close the gap between teaching and learning in your classroom.

3) Becoming More Creative with your Content. We will not spend much time on specific content area teaching, however, everything we do cover will allow you to more creatively deliver your content, as well as set up the room for your students to decide how to download the content.

Student

Teacher Content

Our Essential Questions for the Year

1) What does a differentiated classroom look like for teachers and students?

2) How do I best implement methods necessary for a differentiated classroom?

3) How does a differentiated lesson effect other aspects

of the classroom?

Assessment in A Differentiated

Classroom

Managing aDifferentiated

Classroom

DifferentiatedLesson

Techniques

The DifferentiatedCommunity

Differentiation

Defining DifferentiationIf we are going to spend a whole year together learning about Differentiation, let’s take the first step to define it . . . .

1st Take 2 minutes to jot down your definition of what differentiation is.

2nd Everyone goes around the table and just shares their definition. NoCommenting or judgment, just sharing. (1 min)

3rd Weave together a definition of Differentiation of less than 20 wordsAs a table that you all can reasonably agree upon. Be ready to share.(5 min)

1 person should jot down the definition, with all of your names on the index cardto turn into Dan.

What We Differentiate

Why We Differentiate

Content ProductProcess

StudentReadiness

StudentLearningProfile

StudentInterest

Essential Understanding 1: Tomlinson’s Framework

Think Multiple Intelligences

Essential Understanding 2: Mindset

Differentiation is a mindset that acknowledges the diversity in your

classroom, and addresses that diversity by creating multiple paths for learning

when necessary.

So we will delve into the nuts and boltsOf how to create multiple paths for

Learning when necessary

Essential Understanding 3: The Ripple Effect

Choosing to differentiate a lesson will have profound effects on your classroom’s community, your management style,

how you assess, and how you plan.

Your Lesson

Change the communitydynamics of your class

Demand more management on

your part

Change & Complicate how you assess

for learning

Change & Complicate how you plan for

lessons

Essential Understanding 4: You & The Kids

Your student’s needs, as well as your growth as a professional, will determine the speed and depth of adaptations

you make to create a differentiated classroom.

YouThe Kids

Principal

Dan

QualityReview

ProgressReport Readiness

Learning Style

Interest

Find Your Speed Take the Long View

Focus for our 1st Session

Creating a Differentiated Community

Assessment in A Differentiated

Classroom

Managing aDifferentiated

Classroom

DifferentiatedLesson

Techniques

The DifferentiatedCommunity

Differentiation

Building a Differentiated Community in Your Classroom

1st PillarFocus on Growth. As a teacher it is your moral obligation that all students have improved in your class regardless of where theystarted.

1Performance

2

3

4

5 6

7

8

But don’t worry, I have never realized this goal, only gotten better at managingtowards 100%.

Based on yourValues as a

teacherand outside pressure.

Two ways to get students focused on and believing in “growth”

Malleable Intelligence

Praising Effort, Not ability

1) Take 3 minutes as a table to discuss amongst yourselves about these two points – What do you already know about recent research in neuroscience and what Carol Dweck has done on praising effort?

2) Let’s share the understanding we have now as a group.

How can our current understanding help us create a classroom focused on Growth?

Malleable Intelligence – A brief run down . . .

Neuroscience Research

1) The Brain can grow more neurons and dendrite connections throughout its lifespan. 2) New & enriching experiences provide the opportunity for the brain to grow and change. 3) Constant, deliberate practice of a skill or piece of knowledge make the dendrite connections stronger in time. Effective Effort

Carol Dweck’s Work – A brief run down . . . How Students Think About Intelligence Has A Dramatic Effect on Their Work Habits

When You Praise theirIntelligence, or Ability

They Think of It as Fixed

When You Praise Their Effort, They Think of Intelligence as Malleable

Students with this fixed mind-set become excessively concerned with how smart they are seeking tasks that will prove their intelligence and avoiding ones that might not. The desire to learn takes a back seat.

Students that think this way tend to . . . .

• Care a lot about whether people think they are smart or not smart.

2) Avoid learning challenges where they might make mistakes.

3) Try to hide mistakes rather than trying to correct them.

4) Believe that if they have the ability, they shouldn’t have to try hard.

5) Believe that needing to apply a lot of effort means they’re dumb.

6) Not deal well with frustration and setbacks, sometimes giving up or cheating.

The Effects

When students believe they can develop their intelligence, they focus on doing just that. Not worryingabout how smart they will appear, they take on challenges and stick to them. They don’t necessarily believe that anyone can become an Einstein or a Mozart, but they do understand that even Einstein and Mozart had to put in years of effort to become who they were.

Students that believe in this growth model tend to . . .

1) Care about and invest themselves in learning.

2) Believe that effort is a positive thing, causing their intelligence to grow.

3) Try hard in the face of frustration and failure.

4) Look for new learning strategies.

The Effects

Two More Differentiated Community Pillars . . .

Student Interest

If students are to “grow” in your class, how are you includingtheir interests so they want to work hard for you and are

engaged in what you ask them to do?

Three Quick Ideas on how to pull off an interest survey with lots of data foryou to move forward . . .

IndexCards

GalleryWalk

Interviews

Student Learning Styles

If students are to “grow” in your class, how are you activatingother intelligences beyond verbal/linguistic to engage them

and give them multiple ways to “grow”?

Now we will have a simple contest . . . with a prize for the winning table . . .

Your 1st Two Tasks (short term) for Creating a Differentiated Community . . .

Conduct an studentInterest survey

For at least 1 class, or every single class you have, choosehow you want to share the insights you gained on your students in your digital portfolio, (will be explained in moredetail later), from conducting an interest survey.

Conduct a survey onthe learning styles

you use in your class

For one week in your classroom track the intelligences you allow your students to tap into during your lessons. Sharethe result in your digital portfolio.

Think multipleintelligences

Setting up the Community for Differentiation Turn & Talk to the

Person Next to YouWhat would be your response, a public response tothe entire class, when one student asks . . .

“Why are we working on different things?”

How can you use . . . .

Rituals Ceremonies TraditionsHistories

&Stories

Signs &

Symbols

LivingLogos

To proactively create a classroom community focused on growth.

Using Stations to Delve Deeper . . .

Rituals &

Ceremonies

Traditions &

Histories/ Stories

Signs/ Symbols

&Living Logos

1st Identify and briefly describeexamples from your own

School & Classroom

2nd Brainstorm some ideas that fallinto those categories that you could Implement in your classroom to focus

On growth . . .

Malleable Intelligence

Praising Effort, Not ability

Some examples from last year’s group . . .

Teaching is the Art of Theft – any ideas you want to take and make it your own?

Your 3rd Task (Long Term) to creating a Differentiated Community

For Next Session

Come back with a plan on how you will proactively promotea classroom community focused on “growth.” Use Deal & Peterson’sFramework to pick and choose what you will do . . . .

Rituals Ceremonies TraditionsHistories

&Stories

Signs &

Symbols

LivingLogos

By the 2nd

Observation

After October 20th, I will be in your classroom for the 2nd time – have the beginning of your plan up and running to coincide with and

support 1st Differentiated Lesson I will observe. The rituals and traditionsOr whatever you choose don’t have to occur in the lesson I see – rather

Your focus on growth should be evident in the room already.

I’m not going to give you a template for this one, everyone plans differently.

Picture Pause . . .

5 Minutes

Methods of Differentiation1 2 3 4

Scaffoldingfor Support

Multiple Paths at 1 Point

Distinct Lessonsto create

multiple paths

Target Interestand/or

Intelligences

Multiple Pathsthroughoutthe lesson

We spend our year implementing methods 2 - 4

Sample Method 1 Lesson Review

Mini Lesson

Guided Practice

Independent Practice

Does a lesson involving soda get student’s interested?Do the three different versions provide support for multipletypes of students?

Does drawing the “atoms” provide a strong visual modelfor all students?

Does the experiment help students learn because it ishands-on and interactive?

Does having an extension activity help students move attheir own pace if needed?

Does my description of a Method 1 Differentiated Lesson Make Sense?

Coming Up with Anchor Activities

1) Even during “normal” lessons students move at different paces – so how canyou best manage this?

2) Once we try our 1st differentiation strategy, there will be lots of activityin the room, and students moving at different paces, on different tasks – How will you manage them?

An Anchor Activity is a management support you have in your roomto ensure that students can always be learning, no matter how fast

they move on the daily tasks.

You can have them on a daily, weekly, unit, or yearly basis in your room. However, once they are set up, they should not be a management hassle for you.

The Book

The Area

The Ongoing Task

Brainstorming Anchor ActivitiesBreak into subject specific groups and . . .

1) Consider the three types I just showed you2) Brainstorm variations on them3) Come up with entirely new ideas

But make sure the anchor activities you come up with are . . .

Relevant

Rigorous

Engaging

So that students that students see the point in trying thetasks you give them .

So it is not busy work, and you are helping your studentsgrow more neurons in your class .

So they actually want to do the work for you and be “done”with the day’s tasks and lessons.

4th Task – Be ready to share your idea for your Anchor Activity when we debrief after the 1st observation.

House Keeping Items

What we need to do to move forward . . .

The Calendar

Sept. 29nd

Oct. 27th

Observation of Your Classroom

1st Task – Student Interest Survey results posted in Digital Portfolio by

Oct. 25th

2nd Task – Multiple IntelligenceSurvey of your lessons -

Results posted in Digital Portfolio by

Oct. 25th

3rd Task – Bring back your plan for Building a community Focused on Growth

Oct. 27th

4rd Task – Be ready to discuss yourAnchor Activity plan with Dan

on site after 1st observation

1st

observation

1st Observation

Relax, don’t worry – just do the lesson you planned.

I don’t make judgements, I just collect data to share with you . . . .

Lesson Flow

I am going to sketchthe parts of the lessonand track engagement

IntelligencesActivated

I will record, of the8 types of intelligences,

which were availableduring the lesson.

Community of Your Classroom

I will gather examples ofwhat you and the students

do and say that bestcapture the environmentyou have created with

your students.

Tentative Dates for 1st Observation

Kurt Hahn

Dreamyard

BELHS

Validus

Univ. Heights

Bread & Roses

October 14th

October 18th

October 18th

Bronx HealthSciences October 20th

October 21st

October 22nd

October 22nd

Digital Portfolio – Its Easy . . .

https://sites.google.com/a/nycempowerment.org/implementing-effective-differentiated-instruction/

1) Go to our groups wiki page . . .

2) Click on the “Digital Portfolios” Link on the left.

3) Then click on the “Middle School Digital Portfolios” – then find your specific link.

All you have to do is hit the “Add” button to put the information on your site.

All the pictures will be posted by the end of this week for you to use.

Resources for you moving forward . . .

VideosThere are 16 Videos from last year’s group that I willPut on a “data disc” for you all to access for the entire year.

LessonsOn the wiki site, as well as on the data disc, you can findabout 40 lessons organized by the Methods, that can giveyou insight and ideas on how to carry out strategies in thefuture.

PicturesI have many pictures on “Signs & Symbols” that can get students focused on growth in terms of malleable intelligence, as well as classroom set up, and other management strategies. Ask when you need ideas . . .

BooksI have many many books that go into a lot more detail thenour workshop time, so if you want to delve further let meknow and I can bring the books with me when I visit.

The final Pre-Assessment & Feedback

How many times in today’s session did I conduct a pre-assessment on you all today?

What the study

group is and does

DefineDifferentiation

Malleable IQ & Carol

Dweck

So please let’s end this session with you all letting me know whatLevel of familiarity you have with the following topics before next session

So I can plan more effectively, and differentiate.

Choice Board

RAFT

Think Dots

Cubing

Plan for Help

Fred Jones