Catering for the Range of Learners: Differentiation

Whole School Action Planning• School Action Plan – - includes a statement of beliefs about inclusive practices

– strategies used to implement inclusion– indicates how needs will be met– involves parents, teachers and support personnel in the planning, on-

going monitoring and evaluation of the plan– Involves students in decision making

• Effective leadership by principal and staff• Coordinated strategies• Attention to inquiry and reflection• Teachers responsibility for the design and

documentation of the classroom teaching program• Capacity building

I am the Teacher

• Clear learning intentions

• Challenging success criteria

• Range of learning strategies

• Know when students are not

progressing

• Providing feedback

• Visibly learns themselves

John Hattie 2010

Students …

• Understand learning intentions

• Are challenged by success criteria

• Develop a range of learning strategies

• Know when they are not progressing

• Seek feedback

• Visibly teach themselves

John Hattie 2010

Six Principles for Differentiation

1. Every child can learn

2. Every teacher can learn

3. Learning is a dynamic process which requires mutual responsiveness

4. Progress will be expected, recognised and rewarded

5. Every child is entitled to high quality education

6. Environments and people can change

(O’Brien 2003)

Knowing the Learner

• Knowing student strengths & affinities• Knowing what students know, understand &

can do in the learning areas/curricula• Understanding the issues that impact on their

learning• Knowing their social/emotional state, self

esteem, self concept

Types of Students in the Classroom

• Successful• Social• Dependent• Alienated• Phantom

Range of Assessment Tools• Psychometric assessment• Observation• Peers assessment• Product assessment – conferencing, interviews• Anecdotal records/checklists• Criteria based assessment video/photo assessment• Norm-referenced tests• Informal assessments

Barriers to Learning

• Language based difficulties

• Attention based difficulties

• Executive function difficulties

Appropriate Challenge

• Too easy - Success takes very little effort• Too difficult - Effort doesn’t pay off• On target - Effort leads to success• Vygotsky’s Zone of Proximal Development

Adapted from Tomlinson, C. 2006

Teachers can differentiate at least four classroom elements based on student readiness, interest, or learning profile:

• Learning environment / how class feels

• Content / what to learn, how to access

• Process / learning experiences

• Products / final level of thinking task

(Tomlinson, C. 2000)

Learning & Teaching

Learning Environment

• What does the learning area look like?• Desk arrangement, visual information, word

walls etc, atmosphere.

Content- the Big Ideas

• What will all students learn- information, concepts, rules, skills, strategies.

• Know your curriculum area thoroughly• Identify what

– All students will learn– Some will– A few will

Process

How the students will learn and how you teach.• e.g. the language you use, importance of

vocab.• Use of visuals• Direct and explicit instruction

Product

• Detailing the outputs required- rubrics• Personalise learning goals• Variety of formats available to demonstrate

learning

Wiggins & McTighe (1998)

Plan learning experiences &

activities

Determine acceptable evidence

Identify desired results

Learning & Teaching What do you need to do to have all students

achieve?

• Program for all• Differentiate the curriculum• Provide explicit teaching• Strategy Instruction with scaffold• Technology• Participation

Levels of InstructionLevels of Instruction

All, Most, Some Planning Matrix

Outcomes Activities Assessment

All

Most

Some

Resources

Alternative Teaching Methods to Whole Class Instruction

• Peer tutoring/reciprocal tutoring• Cross-age tutoring• Small learning groups – teacher lead

groups of 3 to 10 students• Combined grouping formats

Group Instruction

• Groups need to be fluid with opportunities for interchanging roles

• Contracts• Learning Centres• Support personnel

Program Modification

• Content• Methodology• Expectations (?)• Time• Resources• Outcomes

Program Adaptation

• If modifications aren’t providing a high level of success, adaptations may be required:

• Substitute a similar but easier task• Provide an alternate task with a similar

outcome

STRATEGIES FOR MANAGING A DIFFERENTIATED CLASSROOM

tasks and products designed with a multiple intelligence orientation

group / peer investigation

assessment for/as/of learning

rubrics & moderation

use of multiple texts and supplementary materials

use of technology interest centres / authentic experiences

product criteria negotiated jointly by student and teacher

Explicit teaching, Prior Knowledge,

independent learning contracts / goals

Questions, Practice

Learning Styles

• All students benefit from being taught to their learning style strength.

• Teaching students about their personal learning styles empowers them to learn more effectively.

• Providing opportunities for students to select and use the most effective learning style as they are working and learning.

EFFECTIVE STRATEGIESKnow your Student Learning Styles

VISUAL LEARNERS

Student can use

• Clear visual cues

• See the big picture cues

• See information on WB

• Notetaking / visual images

• Computer typing

• Concept mapping

• Genre / report processes

Teacher can offer

• Charts, worksheets,diagrams

• Webbing, mapping, graphic

organisers

• Seating in class

• Use Frameworks

• Diary notes,

• Organizational checklists

• Assessment timetables

Know your Student Learning StylesTHE AUDITORY LEARNER

Student can use

• Clear instructions & directions

• Oral Expressive Language

• Listening oral presentation /

multimedia supports

• Praise

• Sight word vocabularly

• Computer programs

• Calculators

• Reading aloud

Teacher can offer

• Brief - to the point verbal cues

• Written supports

• Media supports - video’s

• Spelling supports

• Computer programs

Know your Student Learning StylesTHE KINESTHETIC LEARNER

Student can use

• Hands on activities

• Quick writing activities

• Memory strategies

Teacher can offer

• Responsible rules

• Breaks

• Workbook requirements

• ICT & Assistive Technology

• Seat changes

• Guided practice support

• Meta-cognitive strategies.

The Explicit Teaching Cycle

Feedback Guided Practice

Teaching

Independent Practice

•(DECS,Cornerstones, Mods 6&7 1994-95)

Explicit Teaching

• Lessons should contain 75% known and 25% unknown

• Plan lessons so that students are successful 80% of the time

Guided Practice

• Initial student practice with teacher guidance

• Ask many questions• All students have chance to respond and

receive feedback• Success rate should be 80% and above

Correction/Feedback

• Student errors indicate a need for more practice

• We need to vary responses to student answers- immediate and correct

-hesitant and correct -incorrect• Regular feedback-at least once every half

hour when learning

Purpose of feedback

• provide alternative strategies to understand material

• increase effort, motivation or engagement

• confirm that the responses are correct or incorrect

• indicate that more information is available or needed

• point to directions that could be pursued

• to restructure understandingsJohn Hattie 2010

Feedback is evidence about:

• Where am I going?

• How am I going?

• Where to next?

John Hattie 2010

Independent Practice

• Provides additional practice to increase speed and automaticity

• Practice to over learning (95% and above)

Closure Activities• Key concepts and understandings are

reinforced through closure activities such as:• Turn to a partner and list the 6 most important

points from the lesson• Visualise/reflect on the lesson content –

discuss/share• Highlight work• Use graphic organisers –mind maps, flow

charts

Cumulative Review• We can’t assume that tasks performed

today will be retained next week, month or next term

• Use the 60%, 40%, 25% recall rate over 10 days

• We can’t assume generalization• Need to check understanding on an

ongoing basis Peter Westwood

Strategies for Understanding

• Show me• Tell me in another way• Draw it• Summarise • Key words – Dictogloss• Brainstorm• Retell/recount• Questioning – fat/skinny questions

Wait Time

• If children are slower in answering questions or providing information consider giving extra “wait” or “thinking time”

• Before supplying a word when listening to reading count quietly/slowly to five

• When listening to a child speak/give information count slowly to three before responding, this allows for any further comments/statements to be added

Praise, Prompt, Leave

• Praise on task behavior by describing specifically what the student has done correctly so far

• Prompt by telling the student what is to be done.

• Leave the student to work independently

Summarizing ExperienceActivity: Add, Zoom, Flashback & Squeeze• First person begins recounting “Red Riding Hood”• When they stop, the next person is asked to add,

zoom, flashback or squeeze• Add: continue recalling the story• Zoom: zoom in or add detail to the previous

speaker’s contribution• Flashback: allows the next speaker to return to any

previous point/description• Squeeze: a summarization of all that has been said to

that point Whitehead, D (1994) Language Across the Curriculum An Interactive Approach Australia:

Australian reading Association

Learning Plans, Goals, Assessment

Assessment• What does the goal look like when completed?• What evidence represents each stage of completion? • How will you assess each stage?• Is each stage of achievement equal?

Cognitive: Decision Making Matrix

1.Cooperating 2.Beginning

3.Consolidating 4.Established

5. Transferred 6. Completed

Goal: Is able to successfully complete a set task. SACSA H&PE

Achievement Assessment Strategies Evidence

Cooperating: Accepting assistance

BeginningAttempting a skill

ConsolidatingPractising a skill

EstablishedConsistently demonstrating

TransferredUsing across situations

CompletedAn activity /sequence

Cognitive: Comparison Matrix

How the Task was Completed

• Assisted• Prompted• Independently• Within set time• Required additional time• Verbal response• Written response

STRATEGIES

What scaffolding do I need to put into place to support students to demonstrate their learning?

Self Regulated StrategiesLook Say Cover Write Check

– SMP (self monitoring performance)• Spelling Rocket Bar Graphs• Question: Why important to

practice?• Practice goal setting – each day

Narrative Writing Strategy– www, what = 2, how = 2

• Self talk through content and self-regulation strategy

• Teach self statements to emotionally cope with negative feelings

• Teach how to self-reinforce Graham, Harris & Sawyer

A SELF HELP STRATEGY I must ask myself:

• Do I know this word?• How many syllables can I hear when I

say the word?• Do I know any other word that

sounds almost the same?• Which letter-groups do I need to

write?• Does the word I have written look

correct?• I’ll try again• Does this look better? Let me check.

Participation

• Classroom organisation & routines

• In-class support – “Who manages it?”

• Student Voice

• Leadership opportunities

• Community involvement

• Real life learning experiences

• Homework skills – school bag

• School Counsellor / SSO/ Parent Volunteers

RESOURCES• http://web.seru.sa.edu.au

– SERU UPDATE

– Special Ed Expo

• www.ldonline.org

• www.allkindsofminds.org

• http://cms.curriculum.edu.au/assessment/default.asp

• http://rubistar.4teachers.org/index.php

• http://www.autismsa.org.au/

• http://www.suelarkey.com/