Dawn Dos SantosUniversity of New England

Differentiation Theory and StrategiesEDU 610

This power point presentation will be

used to introduce members of the Science Department of my school to Differentiated Instruction.

June 18, 2009

IT’S REVOLUTIONARY!!

CORRECTING THE CHAOS:

A DIFFERENTIATED APPROACH!!!!!

ObservationObservationObservationObservation

Students are Students are •FailingFailing

•FrustratedFrustrated•FightingFighting

•Dropping out of schoolDropping out of school

Why?• Students are bored during the lesson• They lack interest, motivation and

purpose• They are not given enough opportunities

to succeed• They do not understand the concept and

when given a task don’t know what is to be done

• They do not enjoy their school experience

Problem• Teachers fail to recognise that every

student’s brain works differently to accomplish the same outcome

• Students have multiple intelligences which are not recognised

• Students exhibit different learning styles and these are not acknowledged

• Students are at different positions of readiness and the teacher does not try to find it

Hypothesis• The strategy of Differentiated

Instruction can raise students’ interests by meeting their diverse needs and improve their overall academic performances

What is Differentiated Instruction?

• It is the means by which teachers ensure that good curriculum is a good fit for each learner.

What is Differentiated Instruction about?

• Assessment is the root of DI– before, during and after the learning session

• It is about flexible grouping • It is about content, process, product and the

learning environment• It is about knowing your students, their

interests, their learning profiles, their readiness

• It is about effective learning for all students, the advanced learner, the slow learner and the learner in-between.

SPACIAL REPRESENTATION OF DIassessment

Advantages of Differentiated Instruction

It is an effective teaching strategy because• Students learn at their own pace• Instruction is orderly• Instruction is student centered• Students learn by a method that best suit their

learning style• Students learn in a flexible grouping

environment• Students sometimes have the opportunity to

select learning tasks

Learning: Points to note

• There is no teaching if there is no learning

• Teacher must do whatever it takes to make learning happen

• Students show learning when there is a change in behaviour

Another Look at DI • Differentiation is making sure that the

right student gets the right learning task at the right time (Lorna Earl, 2003)

• Offering multiple and varied avenues to learning is a hallmark of the kind of professional quality that denotes expertise. (Carol Tomlinson, 2001)

What can be differentiated?

Differentiated instruction

Content Process Product

Learning environment,

A: Differentiation by content

• Compacting the curriculum

Better students work ahead independently and cover content faster than their peers

B: Differentiation by Process

• Varying the learning activities to provide appropriate methods for students to explore concepts

• Providing alternative paths to manipulate the ideas embedded in the concept

C: Differentiating the product

• Varying the complexity of the product

• Giving students a choice of project/task

D: Differentiation by manipulating the

environment• Accommodating different learning

styles• Using various teaching strategies

for different learning styles

Implementing DIStep 1: Get to know your

students

This comes through pre-assessment.

Their interests, learning styles, previous knowledge and positions of readiness can be determined

Implementing DIStep 2: Grouping

Students may be placed into groups according their interests, positions of readiness or learning styles.

These groupings are not fixed. Students grouping can be flexible according to their competency in a particular topic or subject.

Implementing DIStep 3: Students are

given tasks

(note: giving students the opportunity to choose their task is good, but doing this too frequently make strengths stronger and weaknesses weaker)

At this point teacher may want to vary the strategy by which students learn or vary the complexity of the tasks which students are given. Faster students may be given the opportunity to work ahead. Slower learners will work at their pace.

Implementing DIStep 4: Students show what they have learnt

This requires some form of assessment. Formal or informal. Students must be given the opportunity to demonstrate what he/she has learnt as a result of completing the task or project. Remember – one tool does not fit all. The assessment must be tailored to suit the learning style of that student.

Support• To implement DI successfully the teacher

requires the support of the school’s administration, the parents and colleagues.

• DI requires resources and technical support. Students and their teacher require the support of the parent to ensure that home based assignments are completed

Additional support• Teachers can find additional support to

help them know their students and understand more about differentiated instruction on many different websites.

• A few are found listed here :http://changingminds.org/explanations/learning/kolb_learning.htmhttp://www.cast.org/publications/ncac/ncac_diffinstruc.htmlhttp://www.thomasarmstrong.com/multiple_intelligences.htmhttp://www.odu.edu/educ/roverbau/Bloom/blooms_taxonomy.htmhttp://school.discovery.com/schrockguide/

Expected Results through DI

• Students will be challenged and develop interest in their work. As a result they will participate in class activities with purpose which will result in learning.

• They will enjoy success more frequently and will be motivated to produce better work

• The tasks will not seem difficult. They will better understand the concepts.

• There will be more focused and independent students in a classroom without chaos. No fights, less drop outs.

TIP: Technology and Differentiated Instruction

• Computers and the internet are very effective in implementing differentiated instruction. The use of technology by a teacher, particularly the computer, can be used in a variety of ways to support the multiple intelligences identified by Howard Gardner. As a results it is suitable for every learning style that a student exhibits resulting in a rewarding learning experience for that student.

Differentiated Instruction in the science class

Miss Peets, plans to engage her grade 7 students in learning about energy. She must be guided by the general objectives found in the Science curriculum guide provided by the Ministry of Education, Education and Planning Unit.

General ObjectivesStudents must be able to• list the forms of energy• Describe energy conversion• Describe energy resources• Discuss electricity and its uses• Describe heat energy

Did someone say pre-assessment?

• YES!!!• The students must be pre-assessed to

determine their position of readiness for this topic

• The more advanced students can skip the basics for this topic

• The not so ready students may have to start with the basics.

Pre-assessment exercise

• What is energy?• Name three forms of energy.• Draw a flow chart showing how one form

can be converted to another and then to another and name a situation for when this happens.

• What is renewable energy?• Name a non-renewable source of energy.

How to differentiate the teaching of energy

• In a grade 7 class setting with students of mixed ability the choice board is most suitable to engage students in the learning activity and assessment. Students can work independently in groups or individually. This strategy is student centred. The choice board allows for differentiation of content or product.

What are choice boards?

• These are grids of different sizes depending on the amount of choices to be given

• Grids could be 3x3 for nine choice, 4x4 for sixteen choices, or 5x5 for twenty-five choices.

A simple choice board that can be used by Miss

PeetsList 6 forms of energy. Use 3 situations to draw flow charts showing how energy is converted from one form to

another in our everyday life.

List two renewable and two non-renewable sources of energy. Choose one of each type and describe how it can be used to provide energy.

Discuss the advantages and disadvantages of using alternative forms of energy

What is fossil fuel? How is fossil fuel formed?Discuss the effects of fossil fuel on the environment

How to use the choice board?

• Students can be divided into groups and allowed to work on one box at a time until the entire grid is complete, or teacher would give the students the choice of doing 2 boxes.

• With a larger choice board students may be asked to complete 3 odd number and 2 even number boxes. The type of choice will be decided by the teacher.

• Students may use their text books, encyclopaedias from the library or the internet as their source of information.

• Teacher can assess students work after each box is completed

• After each group completes the assigned work groups can be given an end of unit assessment

A more suitable choice board for energy

Describe how 3 different forms of energy are used in the home. #1

Describe the advantages and disadvantages of the use of alternative sources of energy. Name 2 examples. #2

What is conservation of energy? List 5 ways of how energy can be conserved. #3

Write a paragraph about the contributions of Benjamin Franklin to science. #4

What is fossil fuel? What are some of its uses? Discuss the effects of its use on the environment. #5

If there was no electricity at school, describe ways in which this would affect your learning. #6

Draw the diagrams of a series and a parallel circuit and state two differences between them. Use components and a circuit board to make a series circuit. #7

Describe the ways in which heat energy is transferred. List suitable materials suitable for the transfer of heat. #8

Discuss the importance of the three types of heat transfer to man. #9

Final assessmentThis can take the form of• a written assessment• an oral presentation by group on energy• Building a device which uses at least 3

forms of energy, with consideration of energy conservation

• a poster about some aspect energy e.g. conservation of energy, alternative sources of energy

Simple Rubric for Evaluation of group work

Criteria 4 3 2 1

Accuracy of Content

All of the information is accurate

Most of the information is accurate

A few pieces if information is accurate

Information is inaccurate

Use of Resources

Five or more resources support information

Four or three resources support the information

One or two resources support the information

No resources to support the information

Teamwork Shared in all or the responsibilities

Shared in most of the responsibilities

Shared in some of the responsibilities

Shared in none of the responsibilities

Using the guidelines

Followed all directions

Followed most directions

Followed some of the directions

Followed none of the directions

End of Unit• With this plan Miss Peets will successfully

complete the unit on energy since all the objectives will be completed and most importantly all the students will be able to demonstrate their understanding about energy, its types, forms and sources, uses, effects on the environment, advantages and disadvantages of it use and so much more.

Other models for the science class of mixed ability students

• The problem based model• cubing• The project based model• The contract model can all be

used in Differentiated Instruction of a science class

Additional Points to note about Differentiated

Instruction• It is not individualized instruction• It is proactive• It is qualitative• It provides multiple approaches to

content, process and product• It is dynamic

When working with advanced learners

remember to• Raise the ceiling of expectations

and the support system to allow students to reach their goals

• Make clear what would constitute excellence

• Balance rigor with joy of learning

When working with the struggling learner remember

to• Affirm positives. Let student know you

believe in him• Don’t dilute the goals but build

scaffolds to lead him to accomplish them successfully

• Plan learning that will allow students to connect ideas and skills to their life experiences.

Before wrap- up•Any questions?

References

• Tomlinson, Carol Ann (2001) How to Differentiate Instruction in Mixed-Ability Classrooms. (2nd ed.). Virginia:

ASCD

• Chapman, C and King, R (2005) Differentiated Assessment Strategies – One too Doesn’t fit all. California :

Corwin Press.

• Hall, T. (2002). Differentiated instruction. Wakefield, MA: National Center on Accessing the General Curriculum. Retrieved [6/2/09] from http://www.cast.org/publications/ncac/ncac_diffinstruc.html

• Armstrong, Thomas (2000) Multiple Intelligences www.thomasarmstrong.com/multiple_intelligences.htm

• Kolb, D.A. (1984) Kolb’s Learning Styles http://changingminds.org/explanations/learning/kolb_learning.htm

• Overbaugh, R.C. Bloom’s Taxonomy http://www.odu.edu/educ/roverbau/Bloom/blooms_taxonomy.htm