Differentiated Instruction:Add UbD to Your Tool Box!

Mary L. BettezSandra Clunan

Change is inevitable – exceptfrom a vending machine!

Robert C. Gallagher

Session Goals Responsive Teachers Review development of stage 1, 2,

and 3 of Understanding by Design Theory into Practice – “So how do I

do it?” Connect best practices with the

four elements of Differentiating Instruction and Understanding by Design (Environment, Content, Process, Product)

Portrait of a Thirteen Year Old

6 feet 2 inches in height

So awkward that she trips going up the stairs

Alcoholic, drug addict

Wears mouth braces

4 feet 7 inches

Olympic gold medal winner with a perfect 10.0 in parallel bar

Sunday school leader

Competes in Miss Teenage America

Turned off and looking forward to quitting school

Unable to read the comic page

Has trouble with whole numbers

A regular in juvenile court

Already a mother of two

Curious and enthusiastic learner

Reads the Wall Street Journal

Can solve geometry problems

An Eagle Scout

Still plays with dolls

“Twin Sins” Sin One

Sin One: “Activity Oriented” Occurs more widely at

elementary and middle levels. Teacher planning is focused on

activities that are engaging, hands-on, and kid-friendly.

Okay as long as activities are purposefully focused on clear and important goals and if they yield appropriate evidence of learning.

Sin Two Sin Two: “Coverage”

Occurs more widely at the secondary and collegiate levels

Teacher planning means reviewing the teacher’s edition and teaching involves a chronological march through the textbook. Covering the textbook vs. teaching for learning of all important content, checking regularly for understanding and making needed adjustments.

Okay to use textbook as a resource, but not the syllabus

Responsive Teachersrecognize that…

Good instruction begins with the focus on the student, not the content.

Students vary in biology, degree of privilege, positioning for learning, and preference.

Learning happens within students, not to them.

The implementation of patterns of instruction serve multiple students.

Social Context

All of the members of the classroom are working within and helping to create the social context, and the nature of that context determine its members’ abilities to remain engaged in their studies.

…..which means….

…More than Academics are involved in the Educational

Process The classroom itself is a social context in which students learn both academic and social lessons about…. Appropriate behavior in various

contexts; About one’s self as a learner and one’s

position in a status hierarchy; about relationships with other students; about the relative value of competition and cooperation, and about friendship.

Responsive Teaching

So, being a responsive teacher…I would like to know who wants to go

camping?

Power Thinking

Creating a Positive Social Climate

Learning each student’s name Who would like to go camping?

Alliteration Developing Class Norms Power Thinking Continuum 3=33 Rules, Procedures, and Class

Expectations Icebreakers

How does this connect to DI? The influences of Social Context,

Learning Structures, Rules and Procedures, and Classroom Climate directly impact student learning and achievement.

Teachers’ decisions have an impact on students’ perceptions and student engagement.

Teachers and students make up a social context that can influence each other’s motivation, attitudes, and self-perceptions.

Icebreakers Alliteration (Camping Trip) Class Line Ups/Value Lines Bingo/People Hunt Fact or Fiction – Who am I? Alligator River/Fall-out Shelter

Inhabitants Step Up to the Line Symbol Cards 3 Truths and a Lie KWIZ/4 Corners (Pop Culture)

Accountable Talk I want to add to… I want to build upon… I would like to tie into what … just said… I want to disagree with…because… I agree with… I can connect this to… I do not understand, could you tell me

more about… Could you clarify your statement… My evidence is… On page ___ it says…

So…now what?

Review the Understanding by Design Process

Stage 1: Identify Desired Results What BIG IDEA do I want students to

understand? What “Essential Question” will lead to

that understanding?

What key knowledge and skills will students acquire as a result of this

unit and what should they be able to do as a

result of such knowledge and skill?

Content Standards:What BIG IDEAS are embedded in the content standards?

Exemplary Essential Questions Arithmetic (numeration)

Can everything be quantified? Arts (visual and performing)

Where do artists get their ideas? Culinary Arts

What makes a safe kitchen? Dance

How and what can we communicate through the “language” of dance?

Economics What determines value?

Foreign Language What distinguishes a fluent foreigner from a native

speaker?

Geography How does where we live influence how we

live? Government

How should we balance the rights of individuals with the common good?

Health What is “healthful” living?

History Whose “story” is it?

Literature Can fiction reveal “truth”? Should a story

teach you something? Mathematics

When is the “correct” answer not the best solution?

Music How are sounds and silence organized in

various musical forms?

Physical Education Who is a “winner”?

Reading and Language Arts How do you read “between the lines”?

Science To what extent are science and common

sense related? Technology

What are the pros and cons of technological progress?

Writing Why do we punctuate? What if we didn’t

have punctuation marks?Tomlinson and McTighe (2006) Integrating Differentiated Instruction +Understanding by Design, ASCD.

Essential Questions Essential questions are used as a

means of framing the big ideas that we want students to come to understand.

So….teaching for understanding demands particular roles for students and teachers alike.

Students are obliged to think, question, apply ideas to new situations, rethink, and reflect.

Teachers are expected to stimulate thought, show examples and counterexamples, ask probing questions, set up authentic applications, play devil’s advocate.

Let’s look at it another way…Essential questions bring subject

matter (content) to life through our teaching.

If the content we study represents the “answers,” then what were the questions?

In this respect, the questions stimulate student thinking about the reasons for the content, leading to a deeper understanding of its importance.

Then, teaching for understanding in skill and process oriented subjects cultivates a meta-cognitive awareness of how and why specific skills are beneficial and when best applied.

For example…

Essential Question: What might happen if people become too powerful? How might a country (or state) keep government leaders from abusing their power? Are there ways that power can be controlled?

Content: U.S. Government; 3 branches of govt.

Big Idea/Understanding: The need for a distributed system of checks and balances for controlling power, because unchecked power may lead to abuse of power.

Another example…Essential Question: How does what

you read influence how you read? How do effective writers hook and hold their readers?

Content: Reading genres; text structures; reading comprehension strategies; writing concepts and techniques; authors’ style; voice; genre; organizational structures; idea development; audience consideration; hooks, etc.

Big Idea/Understanding: Reading – The way you read is influenced by the type of text you are reading. The way you write depends upon your larger purpose.

The “Ladder” is a flawed metaphor for learning. Students do not need to learn important facts before they can address the more abstract concepts of a subject. Similarly they do not need to master discrete skills before they can be expected to apply them in a more integrated, complex, and authentic way.

Just as toddlers do not wait to master the rules of grammar before they begin speaking, neither must any school-age learners fully master the fundamentals before attempting to use them.

Stage 2: Determine Acceptable Assessment Evidence Through what authentic performance tasks will students demonstrate the

desired understandings? Use essential questions to guide the

development of performance tasks. Essential questions guide and scaffold

learning tasks.

By what key criteria will “performance of understanding” by assessed?

The Six Facets of Understanding When we truly understand, we Can explain Can interpret Can apply Have perspective Display empathy Have self-knowledge

Assessment Type Categories

Worth Being Familiar With Traditional quizzes and tests (paper-

pencil; selected response; constructed response)

Important to Know and Do Traditional quizzes and tests and

Performance tasks and projects Enduring Understanding

Performance tasks and projects (open-ended; complex; authentic

Inauthentic Versus Authentic Work Inauthentic Work

Fill in the blank Select an answer from given choices Answer recall questions at end of

chapter Practice decontextualized skills Diagram sentences

Authentic work Conduct research using primary sources Debate a controversial issue Conduct a scientific investigation Solve “real-world” problems Do purposeful writing for an audience

Using GRASPS to Design Authentic Performance

Assessments G – Goal: The goal of the performance R – Role: The role of the student as they

carry out the performance A – Audience: The target audience to

which the finished product/performance will be presented

S – Situation: The context P – Product or Performance: The result

of the performance task or activity S – Standards for Success: The criteria

by which the product/performance will be judged

Stage 3: Develop the Action Plan What learning experiences and

instruction will enable students to achieve the desired results?

This stage addresses the concerns for both content and students and combine in a plan for responsive teaching.

How will all the activities tie in to: Content Process Product Environment

Stage 3 –Learning Plan DifferentiateLearning Activities: What learning experiences and instruction will enable students to achieve the desired results? How will the design – W – help the students know where the unit is going and what is expected? Help the teacher know where the students are coming from (prior knowledge and interests)?H – hook all students and hold their interest?E – equip students, help them experience the key ideas, and explore the issues?R – provide opportunities to rethink and revise their understandings and work?E – allow students to evaluate their work and its implications?T – be tailored (personalized) to the different needs, interests, abilities of learners?O – be organized to maximize initial and sustained engagement as well as effective learning?Day Who-

StudentsWhat-Content Where-

EnvironmentHow-Process

So, how do I do it?

First: Content Strategies What really matters in learning? Determine what students should

know, understand, and be able to do. State Standards Content Strands Grade Level Expectations Curriculum

State provocative, essential questions that will guide students’ exploration of the big ideas.

Ways and Means of Differentiating InstructionTomlinson & McTighe, ASCD 2006 Pre-Assessment: How will you diagnose students

prior knowledge and skill levels? K-W-L Chart Misconception check Pre-test Informal Q & A Skills check Other:________

Ways and Means of Differentiating InstructionTomlinson & McTighe, ASCD 2006

Content – Input Develop context Use varied materials (e.g., texts for

different reading levels, audio-visuals). Use varied teaching methods/strategies

(e.g., manipulatives, group activities). Target instruction to readiness levels

(e.g., directed skill teaching, enrichments).

Provide scaffolded support (e.g., graphic organizers, step-by-step process guide).

Cooperative Literacy Directed Reading Sequence

Second: Process Strategies

Strategies that help students make-meaning of content or ideas.

Key components –

Are interesting to students

Call on the students to think at a high level

Causes the students to use a key skill(s) to understand key ideas

Uncovering the content is like an iceberg. A certain portion is visible above the surface of the water, but we cannot fully comprehend the iceberg without going below. Just as the bulk of the iceberg lies beneath the surface, the most powerful “big ideas” of content areas reside below the surface of basic facts and skills.

Ways and Means of Differentiating Instruction Tomlinson & McTighe, ASCD 2006 Process Use flexible groupings (e.g., skill

groups, interest groups). Use varied teaching

methods/strategies (e.g., manipulatives, group activities).

Create learning stations (e.g., self-paced centers, computer-based tutorials).

Establish learning contracts (e.g., self-directed practice, independent project).

Allow student self assessments and goal setting (based on established criteria).

Which strategies do you use in your classroom? Learning logs Journals Graphic organizers Creative problem solving Learning centers Interest centers or interest groups Learning contracts Literature Circles Role playing Cooperative learning

Debate Jigsaw Think-pair-share Mind-mapping Model making Labs Tiered assignments Socratic seminar Carousel Other

“…it’s crucial to remember that it’s the quality

and focus of what students do…

invite more flexible and responsive sense-making…”

Tomlinson, How to Differentiate Instruction in Mixed Ability Classrooms. (2001)

Third: Product Strategies

Culminating projects that ask the students to rehearse, apply, and extend what he or she has learned in the unit Performance Tasks Academic Prompts Tests and Quizzes Observations and Conferences Informal Checks

Ways and Means of Differentiating Instruction Tomlinson & McTighe, ASCD 2006 Product Provide tiered assignments/tasks

using the GRASPS elements. Assignments with choices Allow appropriate student choices

(e.g., product TIC-TAC-THINK, interest based).

Student choice – Geared toward interest, learning style, abilities

More Product Examples

Student work showcased Varied student work Different group work activities/end

products Different forms of assessment Every student has opportunity to

succeed Use of technology to complete work

Fourth: Learning Environment The way the classroom looks and feels Students should feel affirmation,

affiliation, a sense of contribution, growing autonomy, accomplishment, and shared responsibility for the welfare of the group

Routine/Expectations/Rules Movement/Materials Distribution Dignity, respect, safety, and value are

evident in the classroom Balance on individuals and the group

as a whole

Learning Environment Accountable Talk Comfortable Organized Consistent Positive displays of student work Choice Flexible Established Norms Teacher is approachable Listening

There is an important psychological principle that cognitive development is inseparable from social and cultural development…This view of learning places social interaction at the heart of learning.

Henry Trueba, DeanCollege of EducationUniversity of WisconsinMadison

Differentiation…

DOES NOT advocate individualization

DOES advocate implementing “patterns” of instruction

Where do your best practices fit?Content

Product

Process

Environment

The mediocre teacher tells.

The good teacher explains.

The superior teacher demonstrates.

The great teacher inspires.

-- William Arthur Ward

Tomlinson C., & McTighe, J. (2006). Integrating Differentiated Instruction + Understanding by Design Connecting Content and Kids. Alexandria, VA: Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development.

Helpful Websites http://www.frsd.k12.nj.us/rfmslibrarylab/di/differentiated_in

struction.htm

http://www2.scholastic.com/browse/article.jsp?id=3747932

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

http://www.ascd.org/ed_topics/cu2000win_willis.html

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

http://ct008.k12.sd.us/DIResources.htm

http://www.aea1.k12.ia.us/science/diffinstruction.html