Chapter 10Differentiation and Diversity

Rebecca Wendt and Jennifer Fields

Section 10.1:Differentiated Instruction

• Definition = instruction that is designed to flex to meet the varying needs of students within a class

Principles that guide differentiated classrooms:

– The teacher focuses on the essentials– The teacher attends to student differences– Assessment and instruction are inseparable– The teacher modifies content, process, and

products

More Principles..

– All students participate in respectful work

– The teacher and students collaborate in learning

– The teacher balances group and individual norms

– The teacher and students work together flexibly

Helpful things to facilitate differentiation

• Centers – can be a natural setting for activities at varied levels

• Stations - set out areas of the classroom in which students can work on varied tasks simultaneously

• Contracts - can be used for individual assignments or as a class activity with two or three possible contracts – each with challenging options appropriate to a particular level

• Agendas - provide students with an individualized list of tasks to be completed in a specified amount of time

Tiered activities

• a key strategy when teachers want to ensure that students all work on key skills or essential ideas, but still address varied learning needs

Reading Workshop Program

• A great approach for dealing with varied reading levels.

• In a reading workshop, skills lessons are targeted at either the whole class or small groups, depending on need

• The bulk of reading time is spent on self-selected reading and responding

Heterogeneous Cooperative Groups

• One of the key skills for teachers who want to differentiate instruction is learning to differentiate within heterogeneous cooperative groups

• This can link the advantages of working with many types of students to the strengths of assignments targeted to specific needs

Peer Tutoring Activities

• Carefully planned peer tutoring activities can benefit many students

• Students learn best from a model they perceive is similar to themselves

• Tutoring should represent only a limited portion of the school day

The key to successful planning for elementary classes is to

remember that classes never learn anything…only individual children learn, one at a time.

Prioritize Lessons • It is important for teachers to

prioritize lessons to determine when differentiation is most important: – Consider the content– Consider the students themselves,

particularly those with the most extreme individual needs

– Consider each student’s experience over a period of a day or week

All students should spend at least part of every day engaging in

activities that specifically target their needs!

Section 10.2: Teaching Students With Educational

Disabilities• Disability = a condition that results in a

reduced competency to perform some task or behavior, whether the condition is physical, emotional, or intellectual

• Educational disabilities = disabilities that impede regular educational activities

Major Classifications and Impairments

• The major classifications of disabilities include students with these impairments:

• Mental impairments• Physical or other health impairments• Sensory impairments• Speech impairments• Emotional impairments• Learning disabilities

- All of the listed impairments may occur in a range from mild, to moderate, to severe, to profound

Disability Categories

• 91% of the children and youth receiving special education services are reported in four disability categories:

• Learning disabilities (51.1%)• Speech and language impairments (20.1%)• Mental impairments (11.4%)• Emotional disturbances (8.6%)

- Children with disabilities in special education represent about 10% of the entire school-age

population

Handicap vs. Disability

• Handicap = the disadvantage one suffers from the effects of a disability– The extent to which an individual is

handicapped is a result of both the severity of the disability and the degree of assistance offered by society

• The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act is helpful in understanding the relationship between a disability and a handicap

IDEA and its 6 Major Principles

– Schools must educate all children

– Schools must use nonbiased and multifactored methods of assessing disabilities

– Education for students with disabilities must be provided at public expense, including an individualized education program (IEP) designed to meet the child’s unique needs

– Students must be educated in the least restrictive environment appropriate to their needs

– Schools must provide due process to protect the rights of students with disabilities and their parents

– Parents and students should have the opportunity to collaborate with schools in the design and implementation of specialized services

Disability Characteristics and Challenges

– Some students need special equipment, materials, and support personnel

– Some students qualify for government support because they are also economically disadvantaged; others do not

– Some disabilities are hard to identify, particularly in students with multiple disabilities or students for whom English is not the primary language

Least Restrictive Environment

• To provide all students with the least restrictive environment possible, a variety of services has evolved:

• Full-time regular classroom• Regular classroom for a majority of the school

program• Self-contained classroom for a majority of the school

program• Self-contained classroom for the instructional

program but within the regular school building• Separate school

Did you know…

It is likely that teachers will have one or more students with

disabilities in the classroom?

I.E.P (Individualized Education Plan)

• Each student will require an IEP, which must include the following:

• A statement of the child’s present levels of educational performance

• A statement of annual goals, including short-term objectives

• A statement of the specific educational services to be provided and the extent to which the child will be able to participate in regular programs

• The projected date for initiation and anticipated duration of such services

• Appropriate objective criteria and evaluation procedures and schedules for determining whether instructional objectives are being met

•The IEP must also be developed by the student’s teacher and the student’s parents or guardians, and approved by the school administrator

Inclusion

• Inclusion = when students with disabilities spend all or part of the day in regular classrooms

Inclusion

• In an inclusion classroom, the test is whether the severely disabled students benefits from participation in the regular classroom work and not whether the student is able to maintain a work performance level similar to that of other students

Inclusion

• Where inclusion is common, the student does not follow assistance personnel and services; rather, the personnel and services follow the child– These personnel may include resource

teachers, paraprofessionals, translators, therapists, readers, and many others

Successful Inclusive Education

• A school that successfully implements inclusive education has been characterized as a place where the following occur on a daily basis:– Heterogeneous grouping– A sense of belonging to a group– Shared activities with individualized outcomes– Use of environments frequented by people

without disabilities– A balanced educational experience

It is not that simple!

• Simply placing students with disabilities in general education does not constitute inclusion and will not guarantee that children with disabilities will learn or that they will be accepted by other students– It is important that teachers educate non-

disabled students about their classmates– The levels of support provided, type and

severity of disabilities, and number of inclusion students in a particular classroom all contribute to the success or failure of the effort

Strategies for Successful Inclusion

– Allow peers to facilitate learning– Structure class activities to make peer support

available– Prepare students to be successful– Give students valued roles– Use existing expertise– Use independent prompts– Vary the amount of work required– Adjust delivery of information– Allow students to express information in

varied ways– Present alternative activities

Strategies for teaching students with disabilities:

– Learn as much as you can about the needs of students in your class

– Avoid calling special attention to the student’s disability– Do not make assumptions based on the disability– Establish a classroom environment in which it is

common for students of different background and capabilities to learn from each other

– Be enthusiastic and give positive reinforcement – Be sure to have a systematic framework to organize

your classroom activities– Consider using a criterion-referenced evaluation

approach in judging the performance of a student with a disability

– Become an advocate for the student with a disability

Advantages of Inclusion

• The integration of students with disabilities into regular classrooms has been a consistent element of local, state, and federal education policy since the 1970s

• There are a number of advantages to inclusion:– The opportunity for cooperative learning– The lessening of isolation experienced by special

students– The democratic values that are strengthened– The reduction in stereotypes, prejudice, misconceptions,

and superstition concerning individuals with disabilities– The promise it holds for the continuation of such values

into the adult world

Disadvantages of Inclusion

– The increased costs of enhances support needed for educating these students in multiple environments

– The instructional demands on the regular classroom teacher

– The additional paperwork burden on school districts

Section 10.3: Teaching Gifted and Talented Students

• There is no consensus on what constitutes a “gifted” student

• Traditionally, giftedness has been identified by a high score on an IQ test; however, that is not a particularly good predictor of adult giftedness

• There is no doubt that students’ prior knowledge, cultural background, and previous school experiences have a significant impact on test scores

• IQ scores cannot assess an individual’s total intellectual or academic potential – or identify giftedness

U.S. Dept. of Education Definition

• In 1993, the U.S. Dept. of Education proposed a definition that limited use of the word “gifted” to adults and focused on developing talent in children

• It defined young people with outstanding talent as those who:– Show the potential for performing at remarkably

high levels of accomplishment when compared with others of their age, experience, or environment…in intellectual, creative, and/or artistic areas…leadership capacity…or specific academic fields

• This definition marks an important shift from an emphasis on giftedness as a trait to a characteristic that is developed over time and affected by experience

Creative Producers

• Creative producers = producers of information and art rather than simply consumers– Those who were responsible for a major

invention, made a scientific discovery, or created a work of art or literature

Schoolhouse Giftedness and Creative Productivity

• Schoolhouse giftedness = the ability to consume, analyze, and reproduce information

• Creative productivity = the ability to generate new information

Three-ring Conception of Giftedness

• designed specifically to reflect research on creative producers, in the hopes that, it we identified the ways in which giftedness “works” in adults, we might be able to identify or encourage it in young people– Consists of three interlocking circles:

above-average ability, creativity, and task commitment

Characteristics Often Associated with Giftedness– Good memory– Persistence– Sensitivity to feeling of self or others– Highly developed verbal skills– Enjoyment of abstract ideas– Large knowledge base

Features may also be hidden

• Cultural differences and various types of disabilities may obscure teachers’ understanding of students’ abilities

Role of the School

• Some school districts allow gifted or talented students to spend part or all of the day in classes designed to provide challenging experiences

• Other schools offer advanced independent study options or seminars that allow students to investigate a variety of interests or strengths

• However, most gifted students spend the majority of their time in regular classrooms, under the direction of a classroom teacher

The role of the Teacher

• It is the obligation of every teacher to make sure that each student in the classroom has the opportunity to learn

• It is the teacher’s responsibility to set new goals for the students to reach

• The importance of examining curriculum goals for prior mastery is not limited to the top few students in a class– Assessing students’ regular curriculum is

important for all students, and it is particularly vital for able learners

Curriculum Compacting

• Curriculum compacting = involves diagnosing which of the skills in a particular unit of study some students have already mastered– This assessment is focused on

identifying areas of the curriculum that may be unnecessary or repetitious for some students

Contract

• Contract = generally identifies activities that must be completed to help a student master the regular content, as well as related enrichment activities– Periodic individual conferences can be helpful

in assessing students’ progress, as well as finding areas of difficulty and planning further activities

Acceleration

• Acceleration = the pursuit of the regular curriculum at a faster pace.

– It may encompass advancement in a single subject, grade skipping, or early entrance to college

Enrichment • Enrichment = the incorporation of

activities outside the regular curriculum

• One type of enrichment can be developed by adapting assignments or techniques in the curriculum to provide additional challenge

• A second category of enrichment is interdisciplinary teaching, which is particularly suited to students whose excellent abstract reasoning abilities allow them to make ties among ideas in various disciplines

• The third type of enrichment often recommended for bright students is independent investigations that culminate in some type of product

• Independent investigations is referred to as “Type III enrichment” – individuals or small groups pursuing real problems

Enrichment Triad Model: Type I

– The first consists of general exploratory activities designed to help students identify their interests and encourage them to investigate these interests further (guest speakers, movies)

– The most important objectives of Type I enrichment are to:• Expose students to as many varied topics as

possible• Encourage them to identify areas of interest

and learn more

Enrichment Triad Model: Type II and Type III

• Type II enrichment is composed of group training activities that can provide students with the tools they need to become independent investigators (using internet, problem solving)

• Planning both Type I and II enrichment for many students can help you identify students with the interest and motivation to pursue an individual Type III project

• Type III enrichment consists of individual and small group investigations of real problems

Affective and Cognitive Needs

• Like all young people, highly able students have affective as well as cognitive needs; Most are well liked and socially adept

• However, there are some characteristics of bright students that can impact their emotional needs

Differences that can impact emotional needs

– One of the factors is the differences in their levels of physical, intellectual, and emotional maturity

• It is important that gifted students have many types of peers and interaction with others working on the same instructional level

Perfectionism

• Teachers of bright young people must be wary of the dangers of perfectionism

– Sometimes students develop an image of themselves that demands that everything they do be done perfectly – anything less is seen as a failure

– This can be disabling and potentially dangerous to healthy emotional development

If many of the strategies recommended for bright students are used for all students, some teachers may be led to believe that gifted students’ needs are automatically being met within the regular curriculum

and teachers need to have no further concerns about them….

THIS IS NOT TRUE!

However…

• The challenge is to help all children learn

• Educators must still be open to recognizing special needs and advanced abilities that demand more challenge than even the best curriculum can offer

• Providing needed adaptations can help all students find school to be a place of learning, challenge, and opportunity

Section 10.4: Teaching Culturally Diverse and

Bilingual Students

• Home and family backgrounds are important in determining the

experiences, attitudes, interests, and beliefs that students bring to school

Cultural Pluralism

• Cultural pluralism = where ethnic groups retained their cultural heritage, traditions, and values while still adopting aspects of the Anglo-Western culture

• Unfortunately, this concept of cultural pluralism has not been completely accepted in our society

Students of color are 2.3 times more likely to be labeled as mentally impaired than a white child?

It is crucial that the evaluation of students’ abilities be based on their performance on appropriate tasks,

not on racial or cultural stereotypes!

Did you know…

Conditions of Cultural Pluralism

• Three main conditions support cultural pluralism in schools:– Positive teacher expectations– A learning environment that encourages

positive inter-group contact– A pluralistic (multicultural) curriculum

• Research has indicated that in classes where teachers held higher expectations for all students, higher general student performance resulted

Student Behavior

• Students tend to behave as teachers expect them to behave

• The view of a student’s expected performance is communicated to the student by verbal and nonverbal behaviors

How teachers view low achievers

• Provide general, often insincere praise

• Provide them with less feedback• Demand less effort from them• Interrupt them more often• Paid less attention to them• Criticized them more often

Students who are perceived as high achievers….

• Were given more opportunities for response

• Received more praise and detailed feedback

• Were given prompts or probes if they seemed to be having difficulty

• Were allowed more time to respond to questions

• Were provided supportive communications (compliments, physical closeness, active listening)

Lesson Prejudice in the Classroom

• Four basic conditions are necessary if social contact between groups is to lessen prejudice and lead to friendly attitudes and behaviors:– Contact should be sufficiently intimate to

produce reciprocal knowledge and understanding between groups

– Members of various groups mush share equal status

– The contact situation should lead people to do things together and should require inter-group cooperation to achieve a common goal

– There should be institutional support – an authority and/or social climate that encourages group contact

Teaching in Diverse Situations..

Teaching students from culturally diverse backgrounds requires a

restructuring of teaching attitudes, approaches, and strategies

Effective teachers in culturally diverse situations…

• Have a clear sense of their own ethnic and cultural identities

• Look at cultural differences among students as cultural assets

• Communicate high expectations for the success of all students and a belief that all students can succeed

• Are personally committed to achieving equality for all students and believe they are capable of making a difference in their students’ learning

• Develop a bond with their students and cease seeing their students as “the other”

Effective Teachers Con.t…• Provide an academically challenging curriculum

that includes attention to the development of higher level cognitive skills

• Add meaning to instruction in an interactive and collaborative environment

• Include contributions and perspectives of the various ethno-cultural groups that compose our society, by using a multicultural curriculum

• Encourage community members and parents to become involved in students’ education and give them a significant voice in making important school decisions related to school programs

• Use culturally congruent teaching methods

Multiculturalism

A multicultural curriculum is designed to promote and value the diversity of

all cultures in our country, while helping students to see the

commonalities among all groups

In a positive multicultural environment…

• Teachers expect all students to achieve, regardless of race, sex, class, or ethnicity

• The learning environment encourages positive contact between all students

• Instructional materials are reviewed for bias

• The curriculum includes the historical experiences of all cultures

Positive Multicultural Environment con’t…

• Efforts are made to develop an understanding of, and appreciation and respect for, all cultures

• Goals and strategies reflect cultural learning styles of all students

• Time is spent dispelling misconceptions, stereotypes, and prejudices

• Bulletin boards and classroom exhibits display people of many backgrounds

Goals for multicultural education should provide for… • The development of historical

perspectives and cultural consciousness

• The development of intercultural competence

• The reduction of racism and ethnic prejudice and discrimination

• The development of social action skills

Increasing Student Self-Esteem

• Because culturally diverse students and students from lower socioeconomic levels often feel less valued, it is important to find ways to increase their self esteem

– Check your perception of students– Encourage students to take a more challenging

educational path– Watch the language you use– Learn about the culture of your students– Let students know that effort is valued– Provide opportunities for students to discuss their

concerns regarding prejudice, discrimination, and other kinds of social injustices

– Look to the community and family for students’ role models and mentors

Culturally Relevant Teaching

• Culturally relevant teaching refers to methods of teaching that empower

students to grow intellectually, socially, and emotionally by using

cultural referents in teaching knowledge and skills

Stimulating Classroom and Flexible Learners

• The following strategies can help to make the classroom more stimulating and students more flexible learners:

– Take cultural characteristics into consideration when beginning instruction and selecting instructional strategies

– Check students’ prior knowledge– Relate content to students’ lives– Provide kinesthetic activities (physical games); visual

images (photos); auditory experiences (music); and interactive (group discussion) and haptic strategies (painting, drawing)

– Provide field trips and other background-enriching activities

Stimulating Classroom and Flexible Learners Con.t

• Engage students in meaningful real-world tasks

• Use cooperative learning strategies• Be flexible in grouping students• Teach students test-taking skills• Assess students through multiple

measures

Reducing Bias

• Bias must be removed from materials used in teaching

• Materials that are biased ignore the existence and often demean the personal characteristics of some students

Five Approaches for Restructuring Curriculum

• There are five approaches for restructuring curriculum to incorporate both cultural diversity and a focus on caring relationships:– Include themes in your curriculum that focus on language,

culture, power, and compassion

– Use a comparative orientation of study presenting diverse perspectives on the issue, theme, event, or concept

– Employ an issues-centered orientation

– Restructure existing units by using a culture/caring/justice filter

– Teach by example

Culturally Diverse Students

• Some culturally diverse students whose family traditions and customs are quite different from those associated with the majority culture may also be impacted by limited proficiency in English

• Bilingual students will benefit from good teaching and planning, as well as from many of the activities suggested for culturally diverse students

Helpful Ideas for Teachers• Review students’ files extensively• Make and maintain contact with parents• Learn as much as you can about the cultures of

students in your class• Consider a buddy system or cross-grade tutoring• Be cautious about cooperative learning in the

beginning, particularly structures in which groups compete with one another

• Present as much material visually as possible• Whenever possible, share information and positive

role models from diverse cultures, with emphasis on those cultures represented in your room

• Be patient

Reflection Activity

Section 10.5: Teaching Students in Urban Schools and

Other Settings

• It is in urban schools that the racial, cultural, and social contradictions between the teachers and students

often create barriers that significantly endanger learning

Teachers in Urban Schools

• Teachers employed in the future are likely to be teaching children of color, from African American and Latino cultures, but also children from families who recently emigrated from one of the many Asian or Middle Eastern countries

• It is a good bet that the urban school districts will be large, under-funded, and bureaucratic

• Too many students in urban classrooms come from families facing unemployment, financial problems, and health emergencies

Effective Teachers in Inner-City Schools

• In a recent study looking at high-achieving culturally diverse inner-city students and teachers, students were able to identify what they believed were characteristics of effective teachers– Culturally competent– Hold high expectations of all students– Use differentiation– Use role models and mentors– Provide a disciplined environment– Involve family and community

PREMIER

• In a recent study, researchers developed a model for teaching success in urban schools represented by the mnemonic PREMIER– are Purposeful– are Respectful of Diversity– employ Experience-Based Methods and

Activities– Manage the Urban Classroom Effectively– Individualize Instruction– are Excellent Communicators– are Reflective in Thought

Parental Involvement

• Research studies over a 30-year period have demonstrated the positive results on school performance from school/home partnerships

– When parents are involved with a school, their children perform better in that school

Home/School Involvement

• The National PTA describes 6 types of home/school involvement, which include:– Frequent and predictable two-way

communication between home and school– Enhancing parenting skills and capabilities– Assisting and enhancing student learning– Encouraging parents to engage in

volunteering activities in school– Participating in school decision-making and

advocacy– Enabling parents and schools to create

additional partnerships for collaborating with the community

Home and School Partnerships

• In addition to a solid academic program and a partnership between home and school, an integrated services school provides “basic health and counseling services for students, referrals for families, and a new calendar and clock, with after-school and summer enrichment programs for learning and creative play”

• In some areas, schools’ educational personnel have systematic communication with a variety of agencies, allowing for quick and convenient referrals and consultation

• In full-service schools, the school itself become the hub for services.

The End!