Copyright © 2008 Mississippi Department of Education Module 2: Effective Instruction, Differentiated Instruction, Behavior Management and PBIS

Copyright © 2008 Mississippi Department of Education

Module 2:

Effective Instruction,Differentiated Instruction,

Behavior Management and PBIS

Agenda OverviewDay 1 Questions from Module 1 Training Effective Instruction Differentiated Instruction Understanding by Design

Day 2 Behavior Management Positive Behavior Intervention and

Supports (PBIS)

October 2008Copyright © 2008 Mississippi Department of Education

2

Questions from Module 1

October 2008 Copyright © 2008 Mississippi Department of Education 3

Essential Elements Matrix: Tier 1

5. Instructional delivery supported by scientifically based research

Classroom observation demonstrates high quality classroom instruction


October 2008

Tier 1: Effective Instruction

Research-based effective teaching principles include: active engagement of students, high success rates, increased content coverage, direct instruction, scaffolded instruction, instruction that addresses the critical forms of

knowledge, instruction in the organizing, storing, & retrieving of

information, strategic instruction, explicit instruction, and instruction that teaches across subjects.


Effective Instruction: High Student Engagement

Students’ exposure time should be significant, worthwhile, and the appropriate level of instruction.

Active engagement with instructional tasks leads to higher student learning and should be incorporated into the classroom.


Effective Instruction: High Student Engagement

Increased academic engagement occurs through: effective lesson delivery and design, culturally and instructionally relevant

selection of interesting materials, increasing opportunities for appropriate

responses from the students, and student reinforcement for classroom

participation.


Effective Instruction: Successful Academic

Experiences Providing successful experiences for

students is assessed by how well students relate positively with their learning experiences in the classroom.

For example, changing the materials to a more instructionally appropriate level for a struggling student may create outcomes that are more successful.


9

Skill Development

Entry Level

Acquisition

Proficiency

Maintenance

Generalization

Adaptation

Entry Level

Accuracy

Fluency

Permanence

Expansion

Extension

Basic

Permanent

Advanced


Effective Instruction: Successful Academic Experiences

Instructionally appropriate level is defined as:

At least 70-80% of the material presented is at a fluency level or proficiency level

This is extremely important when conducting independent seatwork.


Effective Instruction: High Teacher Expectations

Academic teacher orientation and emphasis should be on learning academics through spending the majority of classroom time on curriculum based learning activities.

This leads to high teacher expectations of students where the teacher must expect and project those expectations, that all children can master each stage of the curriculum.


Effective Instruction: Equal Access for All Students and Effective

Questioning The teacher should actively seek to do

the following: engage all learners consider all aspects of classroom interaction and

instruction provide equal access for all students

Effective questioning that gives a general measure of the students’ understanding of new and old concepts while encouraging the students to think critically and deeper should also be utilized.

October 200812Copyright © 2008 Mississippi Department of Education

Effective Instruction: Teacher Assistance and Curriculum Alignment

Teachers should provide assistance in making sense of the content by communicating clear explanations throughout the lesson.

Teachers should state learning goals as well as review knowledge needed to master the skills or learn the new concept.

Teachers should teach the skills explicitly.


Effective Instruction: Teacher Assistance and Curriculum

Alignment

Methods to teach explicitly include: stating goals, structuring the entire lesson in a

format that is obvious to the student, and

presenting information clearly.



6. Differentiated instruction

Classroom observation demonstrates differentiated instruction


Differentiated Instruction

Differentiated instruction is a teaching theory based on the premise that instructional approaches should vary and be adapted in relation to individual and diverse students in classrooms (Tomlinson, 2001).


October 2008

Tier 1: Differentiated Instruction

Planning and providing alterations to - curriculum - instruction - assessment

Recognizing the following- varying background knowledge- readiness- language- preferences in interests

Differentiated instruction is a process to approach teaching and learning for students of differing abilities in the same class.

The intent of differentiating is to maximize each student’s growth and individual success to assist in the learning process.


Differentiated Instruction IS:1. Having a vision of success for all students. 2. Providing a variety of assignments within

units of instruction, realizing that students do not all learn in the same way.

3. Allowing students to choose, with teacher direction, the route to their learning.


Differentiated InstructionDifferentiated Instruction IS:4. Providing opportunities for

students to demonstrate proficiency in an area they already know and allowing them to move forward.

5. Offering tiered lessons, of varying degrees of difficulty, dealing with similar content.



Differentiated Instruction is NOT:1. Individualization (a different

lesson for each student each day). 2. Giving all students the same work

or even identical assessments all of the time.

3. Assuming that all students learn by listening.



Differentiated Instruction is NOT:

4. Merely having centers in the classroom.

5. Assigning more work to students who have demonstrated mastery in an area.

6. Only for students who demonstrate a need for acceleration.


Obstacles1. I long to return to the Good Old Days2. I thought I was differentiating3. I teach the way I was taught4. I don’t know how5. I have too much content to cover6. I’m good at lecturing7. I can’t see how I would grade all those

different assignmentsKathie F. Nunley, Differentiating in the High School, Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin Press,

2006.


Obstacles8. I thought differentiation was for

elementary school9. I subscribe to ability grouping10. I have real logistic issues11. I want my classroom under control12. I don’t know how to measure my student’s

learning styles13. I have neither the time nor the funding to

differentiateKathie F. Nunley, Differentiating in the High School, Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin Press, 2006.

Obstacles

14. I’ve been teaching this way for years and it works

15. There’s no support at my school16. My district requires me to follow a

prescribed text17. Parents expect lecture format in high

school for college prep

Kathie F. Nunley, Differentiating in the High School, Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin Press, 2006.



The model of differentiated instruction requires teachers to be flexible in their approach to: teaching adjusting the curriculum presenting information to learners

Rather than expecting students to make modifications.





Tomlinson (2001) identifies threeelements of the curriculum that can

bedifferentiated: Content, Process, and Products.

Octoer 2008 Copyright © 2008 Mississippi Department of Education 27

Differentiated Instruction: Content

Several elements and materials are used to support instructional content:

acts, concepts, generalizations or principles, attitudes, and skills.

The variation is most frequently seen by how students gain access to important learning.



Alignment of tasks with instructional goals and objectives as essential. Goals are most frequently assessed by many

state-level, high-stakes tests and frequently administered standardized measures.

Objectives are frequently written in incremental steps resulting in a continuum of skills-building tasks.

An objectives-driven menu makes it easier to find the next instructional step for learners entering at varying levels.



Instruction is concept-focused and principle-driven.

The instructional concepts should be broad-based, not focused on minute details or unlimited facts.

Teachers must focus on the concepts, principles and skills that students should learn.

The content of instruction should address the same concepts with all students, but the degree of complexity should be adjusted to suit diverse learners.


Differentiated Instruction: Process

Flexible grouping is consistently used.

Strategies for flexible grouping are essential. Learners are expected to interact and work together as they

develop knowledge of new content. Teachers may conduct whole-class introductory discussions of

big ideas followed by small group or paired work. Student groups may be coached from within or by the teacher

to complete assigned tasks. Grouping of students is not fixed. Grouping and regrouping must be a dynamic process,

changing with the content, project, and on-going evaluations.


Differentiated Instruction: Process

Classroom management benefits students and teachers.

To effectively operate a classroom using differentiated instruction, teachers must carefully select organizational and instructional delivery strategies.

Carol Tomlinson (2001), identifies 17 key strategies for teachers to successfully meet the challenge of designing and managing differentiated instruction.


Differentiated Instruction: Product

Initial and on-going assessment of student readiness and growth are essential. Meaningful pre-assessment naturally leads to

functional and successful differentiation. Incorporating pre-assessments and on-going

assessments informs teachers to provide a menu of approaches, choices, and scaffolds for the varying needs, interests and abilities that exist in classrooms of diverse students.

Assessments may be formal or informal, including interviews, surveys, performance assessments, and more formal evaluation procedures.



Students are active and responsible explorers.

Teachers respect that each task put before the learner will be interesting, engaging, and accessible to essential understanding and skills.

Each child should feel challenged most of the time.



Teachers should vary expectations and requirements for student responses.

Items to which students respond may be differentiated

so that different students can demonstrate or express their knowledge and understanding in different ways.

A well-designed student product allows varied means of expression and alternative procedures and offers varying degrees of difficulty, types of evaluation, and scoring.


Strategy for Differentiation

Primarily Used to Differentiate

Example

Tiered Assignments Readiness Give assignments for various ability levels

Tiered Products Readiness, Interest Assessing projects for various ability levels

Drill-focusedCooperative Tasks Low-End Readiness

Use flash cards to instruct and obtain mastery

Thought/Production Focused Cooperative

Tasks

InterestAllow higher level students to decipher through a difficult dilemma

Alternative Assessments Readiness

Allow student to write a poem rather than take a test on the poem’s components

Graduated RubricsReadiness

Develop a plan with a student to reach a particular academic goal by a specified time

Choice BoardsReadiness, Interest

Give the student a choice between 3 activities

Learning CentersReadiness

Have students do math drills at one center, graph at another, and work on an assignment at another

AnchoringReadiness

Allow students to read, write in journals, manage a portfolio and practice while others are still working on their assignment

Video On

Scaffolding


Scaffolding: Key Characteristics

ZPD - 80% Mastery Level: The gap between what a learner has already mastered (actual level of development) and what a child can achieve (potential development) with the guidance of an experienced and capable teacher or more capable peer.

Scaffolding: The key characteristics for effective teaching (supports needed for a student to succeed in work slightly beyond his/her comfort zone) include:

Provide clear directions. Clarify purpose for instruction by asking essential

questions. Keep students on task. Provide clear expectations for quality. Point students to worthy sources for help and information. Reduce uncertainty, surprise and disappointment to

maximize learning efficiency. Deliver efficiency by requiring hard work, not wasted work.


Tiering Assignments

Designed to provide different levels of complexity, abstractness, and open-endedness. The curricular content and objective(s) are the same, but the process and/or product are varied according to the student’s level of readiness.


Tiering Instruction

Change the nature of the task, not the workload

Change the sophistication of the prompt and/or the student’s response to it

Keep all students “above water” by adjusting challenge levels so all students can make sense of their learning


Tiering Formats

Learning Contracts Learning Menus Cubing Summarization Pyramid Changing the Verb


Learning Contracts

An agreement between the student and the teacher (may or may not be written, but written often works better)

Teacher specifies the necessary skills Student identifies the methods for completing the

task (there may or may not be debate on establishing and there may or may not be amendments)

Allow students to: Work at an appropriate pace Target their learning style Work independentlyCopyright © 2008 Mississippi Department of Education

Learning Contracts

This is an excellent way for students to understand what is EXPECTED of them.

Students enter into independent study with an agreed-upon set of tasks supporting adjusted goals.


Choice Boards

Organizers that contain a variety of activities

Students choose activities to complete as they learn a skill or develop a product

These may contain small groups, pairs, or individual assignments


Flexible Grouping

Students work as part of many different groups depending on the task and/or content.

Groups assigned: Readiness Assigned by teacher Randomly Chosen by students

Allows students to work with a wide variety of peers and keeps them from being labeled.


Learning Menus

Students are given choices of tasks in a unit or for an assessment. They must do one “entrée task”, may select from two “side dish” tasks, and may choose to do one of the “dessert” tasks for extra enrichment.


Cubing

Students receive foam or poster board cubes with a different task written on each face; each task has a different complexity level than the others. Given a topic, students: Describe it, Compare it, Associate it, Analyze it, Apply it, Argue for or against it.


Summarization Pyramid

Create a pyramid of horizontal lines, then ask students at different readiness levels to respond to tiered prompts as they interact with the topic.

SOME GREAT PROMPTS

SynonymAnalogyQuestion

Three attributesAlternative title

CausesEffects

ReasonsArgumentsIngredients

OpinionFormula/sequence

InsightLarger category

ToolsSamplePeople

Future of the topic


Changing the Verb

Raise or lower the challenge level by changing the verb in the prompt:

CONSIDER USING:

Analyze

Revise

Decide between

Why did

Defend

Devise

Identify

Classify

Define

Compose

Interpret

Expand

Imagine

Suppose

Construct

Recommend

Predict

Argue for (or against)

Contrast

Critique


Some Tips

All students need coherent lessons that are relevant, powerful, and meaningful.

Good curriculum pushes students a bit beyond what is easy or comfortable.

Encourage students to “work up” and complete tasks that stretch them.


Using Anchor(ing) Activities


RAPID ROBIN

The “Dreaded Early Finisher”Copyright © 2008 Mississippi Department of Education

“I’m Not Finished” Freddie

“It takes him

an hour-and-a-half

to watch 60 Minutes.”


One premise in a differentiated classroom:

“ In this class we are never finished---Learning is aprocess thatnever ends.”


Anchor Activities

Anchor activities are ongoing assignments that students can work on independently throughout a unit of study or longer.


Some Anchor Activities“Brain Busters”Learning PacketsActivity BoxLearning/Interest CentersVocabulary WorkInvestigations Magazine Articles with Generic Questions or ActivitiesListening Stations Research Questions or ProjectsCommercial Kits and MaterialsJournals or Learning LogsSilent Reading (Content Related?)


The Purpose of an Anchor Activity is to:

Provide meaningful work for students when they finish an assignment or project, when they first enter the class or when they are “stumped”.

Provide ongoing tasks that tie to the content and instruction.

Free up the classroom teacher to work with other groups of students or individuals.

Using Anchor Activities to Create Groups

Teach the whole class to work independently and

quietly on the anchor activity.

Half the class works

on anchor activity.Other half works on

a different activity.

Flip-Flop

1/3 works on

anchor activity.1/3 works on a

different activity.

1/3 works with

teacher---direct

instruction.

1

2

3


ANCHOR ACTIVITIESCan be:

used in any subject

whole class assignments

small group or individual assignments

tiered to meet the needs of different readiness levels

interdisciplinary for use across content areas or teams Copyright © 2008 Mississippi Department of Education

ANCHOR ACTIVITIES

Work best: when expectations are

clear and the tasks are taught and practiced prior to use.

when students are held accountable for on-task behavior and/or task completion.


Planning for Anchor ActivitiesSubject/Content Area:

Name and description of anchor activity:

How will activity be introduced to students?

- Points - Percentage of Final Grade

- Rubric - Portfolio Check

- Checklist - Teacher/Student Conference

- Random Checks - Peer Review

- On-Task Behaviors - Other _______________

How will the activity be managed and monitored?


Differentiated Instructional Strategies

Anchor Activities: are on-going assignments tied to the curriculum and for which students are accountable that can be worked on independently throughout a grading period or longer.

Allowing for multiple right answers: are open-ended assignments that focus on the process of solving the problem and/or critical thinking.

Adjusting questions: In class discussions, tests, and homework, teachers adjust the sorts of questions posed to learners based on their readiness, interests, and learning profiles.

Agendas: These are personalized lists of tasks that a student must complete in a specified time, usually two to three weeks. Student agendas throughout a class will have similar and dissimilar elements. The agendas can be personalized (e.g., include IEP tasks, more challenging work) for individual students, if needed. Students work individually (or in small groups) to complete the agenda tasks.



Interest Centers

Interest centers are set up so that learning experiences are directed toward a specific learner interest. Allowing students to choose a topic can be motivating to them. The teacher may identify a variety of topics or areas for students or groups to select.


Interest Groups

Sidebar Studies Interest Centers Specialty Teams Real-Life Applications of Ideas and

Skills New Forms of Expression


Strategies That Support Interest-Based Studies

Studying concepts and principles through the lens of interest

Student choice of tasks Independent Study I-Searches Orbitals Mentorships Group Investigations Interest Groups Jigsaw Literature Circles WebQuests Student-selected audiences


Differentiated Instruction: Additional Guidelines

Clarify key concepts and generalizations. Ensure that all learners gain powerful

understandings that can serve as the foundation for future learning.

Teachers are encouraged to identify essential concepts and instructional foci to ensure that all learners comprehend.



Use assessment as a teaching tool to extend rather than merely measure instruction. Assessment should occur before,

during, and following the instructional episode, and it should be used to help pose questions regarding student needs and optimal learning.


Differentiated Instruction: Additional GuidelinesEmphasize critical and creative thinking as a goal in lesson design. The tasks, activities, and procedures

should require students to understand and apply meaning.

Instruction may require supports, additional motivation, varied tasks, materials, or equipment for different students in the classroom.



Engaging all learners is essential.

Teachers are encouraged to strive for the development of lessons that are engaging and motivating for a diverse class of students.

Teachers should vary tasks within instruction as well as across students. In other words, an entire session for students should not consist of all drill and practice, or any single structure or activity.


Provide a balance between teacher-assigned and student-selected tasks. A balanced working structure is optimal

in a differentiated classroom. Based on pre-assessment information,

the balance will vary from class-to-class as well as lesson-to-lesson.

Teachers should ensure that students have choices in their learning.


Differentiation in Action

Video

August 2008 Copyright © 2008 Mississippi Department of Education 72


For First Grade Reading Create a flexible reading program. Post a weekly reading schedule and allow students to find their names on it. Allow students to move to appointed areas of the room at times designated

on the chart. Sometimes the whole class will listen to a story and talk about it or read it. Sometimes a small group meets with the teacher to work on decoding,

comprehension strategies, or to share ideas. Sometimes students will meet with peers to read on a topic of mutual

interest, regardless of their reading readiness (different level books on same topic).

Students read alone (from books in discovery boxes based on various topics or from boxes designated by colors to match levels of reading readiness).

Students may meet with a reading partner to take turns reading or, at the direction of the teacher, to “choral read” so stronger readers can provide leadership for a peer who doesn’t read as well.

From Tomlinson


Third Grade Reading1. Design a variety of centers based on student learning profiles2. Assign students to centers based on formal or informal

assessments3. At centers related to people the students are studying,

students can choose to work alone, in pairs, or within a small group

4. Some possible centers include:Students select a person they’ve studied and make an annotated time line of the person’s early life, noting events that shaped the person. The student chooses whether to write a paper, draw a storyboard, or act out the events.Students select a biography and a fictional work each has read. Then they write about real-life events they and some of their friends have had. Students then look in all three works for common themes about growing up and decide to present their work as a matrix or through conversations between or among the subject of the biography, the fictional work, and a 3rd grader.

From Tomlinson

Seventh Grade Science

As part of an exploration of life science, students chose a living creature and develop questions of interest to them individually.

Students figure out how to find answers to their questions.

Each student determines ways to share their findings with their peers.

(Questions can vary in complexity.)


High School Algebra II Students can pre-test and “compact out” of a unit at any

time during the first three days of instruction

Students who opt out do an independent investigation of math in the real world, given guidelines by the teacher, who works with them to tighten or focus plans, as needed

Students who did not “compact out” receive whole group instruction, and then—based on understanding—divide into cooperative groups for practice, or meet in a small group with the teacher for further instruction

When the class has finished the chapter, everyone participates in two days of mandatory review and the entire class takes the test.

From Tomlinson


High School U.S. History

Students read biographies of their choice from a suggested reading list. Each student chooses to do one of the following:

Write a two-page summary of the person’s life.

Note transforming dates in the subject’s life and make a timeline.

Choose three events that most impacted the subject’s life and make a poster explaining each.



Students read names from a posted list and go to pre-assigned groups, which include:

Students meet in small groups and “tell the story” in first person of the subject of each biography

Students make a chart listing similarities and differences in their characters’ personalities, lives, and accomplishments

Students brainstorm qualities of “greatness” and create a matrix they will use to rank all of their subjects

Students choose one or a few topics making news in their lifetimes and conduct a time-travel/round-table discussion in character as their subjects.



Students complete an assignment from the following product list:

A PowerPoint presentation A scripted presentation to the class An argumentative or comparative essay.


Activities

Differentiated Instruction Activities

Scenario


A Good Resource

How to Differentiate Instruction

in Mixed Ability Classrooms

By: Carol Ann Tomlinson

University of Virginia


Websiteshttp://faculty.rmwc.edu/mentor_grant/Differentiated/differentiated_instruction.htm

http://www.weac.org/kids/1998-99/march99/differ2.htm

http://pdonline.ascd.org/pd_online/diffinstr/el199909_tomlinson.html

http://www.sresd.k12.mi.us/pages/resources/differentInstr.htm

http://www.njpep.org/pd/learning/differentiated_learning.html

Notetaking:http://www.englishcompanion.com/Tools/notemaking.html

http://www.frsd.k12.nj.us/rfmslibrarylab/di/differentiated_instruction.htm

http://eduscapes.com/tap/topic73.htm

http://www.internet4classrooms.com/di.htm

http://www.plpsd.mb.ca/division/differen.htm

http://www.kn.sbc.com/wired/fil/pages/listdifferensp.html

http://www.openc.k12.or.us/reaching/tag/dcsamples.html

http://www.funlessonplans.com/differentiated_instruction.htm

http://www.k8accesscenter.org/training_resources/differentiationmodule.asp


Essential Element 7

All of the following show evidence that theschool is implementing curricula andinstructional materials aligned to the

state’sstandards:

district’s instructional management plan; teacher lesson plans; and teacher interviews.


October 2008 93

Improving the alignment of classroom instruction to state standards can dramatically improve the quality and equity of education.

- Robert Marzano (2000)



Alignment is the core of standards-based education.

- Standards and Tests: Keeping Them Aligned. (Spring 2003). Research Points. American Educational Research Association


Alignment?

Curriculum Frameworks? YES

Performance Level Descriptors? YES

Focus on Outcomes!


Why focus on outcomes? Teachers must know the target.

If teachers are unclear about the outcome they are targeting, then . . . instruction will not be clear. determining where students are will be

difficult. students will not be clear as to what they are

working towards (and consequently students will be working towards a different outcome).


Why focus on outcomes?

If teachers know the desired result, then they have freedom.

Teachers are free to use a variety of means to help students reach the desired result.

Students will be free to take different paths to the desired learning.

Teachers are free to differentiate the learning process.


Take Note

Teachers are not differentiating the desired outcome.

This does not mean every student will reach the desired outcome, but that is the goal.


How will teachers know if the desired outcome has been reached?

Assessment aligned to the desired outcome

Formative assessment

Summative assessmentAssessment that is explicitly designed to promote learning is the single most powerful tool for raising standards and empowering life long learning.

– Assessment Reform Group (1999)

A Strong Assessment (Monitoring) System

State Assessments

District Assessments(2-3 times a year)

School Assessments(end of units, every few

weeks)

Classroom/Daily Monitoring

(teacher observation, a single question)

Local Decision

s

Aligned with the Curriculu

m

An assessment should never be about the results alone, but an opportunity to evaluate, learn, and improve.

October 2007 Copyright © 2007 Mississippi Department of Education


Assessment Again, teachers have to know the desired

outcome.

Teachers have to think about what performance will indicate that a student has achieved the desired outcome or one of the steps to the desired outcome.

The curriculum frameworks and performance level descriptors help teachers clearly understand the desired outcome.


Take Note Planning for the assessment helps.

The process is not strictly sequential. That is, teachers may start with the desired outcome, but as they work on the assessment, their understanding of the outcome may become clearer. This may lead to restating the desired outcome which may in turn change the assessment.


Instruction

It is only at this point—after defining the outcome and the assessment—that teachers should plan instruction.

This sequence is the essence of backward design or Understanding by Design (UbD).


UbD Stage 1 – Desired Results / Outcomes

State standards Understandings Essential Questions Knowledge and Skills

Stage 2 – Evidence / Assessment Tasks Other Evidence

Stage 3 – Learning Plan / Instruction Lessons and Events Calendar

Should not be differentiated

May be differentiated

Should be differentiated

Note: This depiction is based on Integrating Differentiated Instruction and Understanding by Design by Tomlinson and McTighe (2006), p. 36.


Aligning InstructionThe curriculum now clearly puts more emphasis on conceptual understanding (beyond the basic facts and simple procedures), and so must instruction.

UbD

Examine in groups the lesson plan using UbD.


Questions


Documents

Copyright © 2008 Mississippi Department of Education Module 2: Effective Instruction, Differentiated Instruction, Behavior Management and PBIS