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TRANSCRIPT
Differentiation
We are already doing it
Differentiation is a continuum
Not enough differentiation treats students as all being the same.
Too much can result in a frenzy of activity with too little focus.
Growth Mindset
Looking for each student to grow – all students grow at different rates. And good differentiation allows for this complexity. Through:
• Effort
• Motivation
• Hard work
• Challenge and support
• All students can become more able. – Growth mindset!
Differentiate for ability, not by ability
Differentiation for ability does not involve different provision for:
• the more able,
• the middle ability
• and the less able:
it involves provision for all students to develop their ability to the next level and beyond.
Stretch students and support
• Identify what a student can do independently today.
• Ascertain what a student can achieve with support and assistance.
• Determine what a student can now do independently; which before they could only do with assistance from an educator.
Differentiation ensures
• Engaged and motivated
• Challenges and progression
• Support to achieve
It must be planned
1. Tasks and Resources2. Student Focus, Choice and Negotiation3. Questioning and Lesson Structure4. Outcome5. Group Work6. Feedback, Criteria, and Targets7. Self-Assessment and Reflection
What we are already doing at CGS?
1. TASKS AND RESOURCES
Sum of the parts…….
Individuals and groups can be set different tasks that will feed into a greater whole.
Responsibility with students
Study in greater depth
Tasks with layered objectives
• Choose different learning objectives – continuum - be mindful of long-term development.
• Talk to students - inspire them to get to the next level
• Entry at appropriate level, progress will be maintained.
Resources
• Different Texts
• A range of texts
• Different levels of complexity
• https://www.kidzsearch.com/boolify/
Homework tasks
• Can they choose different activities?
• Can we allocate different activities as HW for different students?
• Choose different levels to work on.
Inductive learning and differentiated
thinking
Classifications and grouping ideas
2. STUDENT FOCUS, CHOICE AND NEGOTIATION
• Choice can personalise learning:
• Sequence
• Task
• Approach
• Ways to present work
• Level
(Claytons choices?)
Student Focus
Make this simple and meaningful!
• Students set own objectives
• Start with last set of Reports
• Personalise core objectives
• Plan backwards. Keep the forms of assessment in mind as you plan and teach.
• Manage time frame of learning - be realistic with your learning goals.
Choice
• When offering choice, success depends on setting clear parameters.
• Explicit purpose of the task
• Learning objectives
• The level students should be learning at
• How learning will be assessed
• Differentiate not just the type of choice but the degree of choice, gradually increase the choice over time.
Invite Negotiation
• Objectives and assessment criteria – NOT negotiable
• Allow students to propose what their vision is.
• ICT can keep track
3. QUESTIONS and LESSON STRUCTURE
Open ended questions
• Everyone can answer• Choose who to answer• Cross examine
Follow up questions
• After a student answers a question:
– What evidence can you provide here?
– How did you reach that conclusion?
– What would be the effect of that on?
– How cold be prove this right or wrong?
– Does anyone have any questions here?
– Could we look at this in another way?
– What does that imply about?
– Does everyone agree with that?
– Yes, but what if?
– How significant is that for?
– Can you explain …. A little more?
– Can anyone add to that point?
How long can you wait?
• Discussions are dominated by confident thinkers, or students who just like to talk?
• Thus ask a question – and wait.
• Ask the students to discuss the piece with the person next to them.
• Ask different pairs of people the answer
The end of the beginning
Ask students to reflect on the last lesson– Reflect on their progress
– Invite them to ask questions
– Leave students with something to think about, even it is just where their learning will go next:
• Don’t end a lesson with .
• End with !
• Or with ?
• Or with ….
Modelling
• Show students something live – not something you have whipped but before!
• Learn from the process; as you are working through a learning sequence – this shows the process to the students.
• It shows your thinking process.
• It shows your attitude!
• Ask students to help and to chip in
Language and communication
4. OUTCOMES
Making differentiation by outcomes work
• Clear Expectations
• Time
• Exemplars
• Know their level
• Challenge and support
• Step away!
5. Group Work
Flexible Grouping
• Try to form groups based on different levels of ability. This will allow students to work on skills in a collaborative fashion.
• Students will need to learn and master the same skills.
6. FEEDBACK, CRITERIA AND TARGETS
Assessment criteria How to apply it so students are not just reading it?
• Is it flexible and broad?
• Does it cover the potential performance of all students in the class?
• Learning continuums
• Set the criteria – choose the criteria
• Formative and Summative
Don’t feedback, feed forward
Ironically – the timing is often too late – at the end of the process
What about assessing half way through the piece??
Differentiated Targets
• Time
• Achievability
• Relevance
• Growth
• Effort
• Teacher
• Stretch
Extension
HOTS not MOTS
7. SELF ASSESSMENT AND INDEPENDENCE
Students take responsibility for differentiating their own learning
• Celebrate their work• Provide a bank of resources• Students assess their own work• Assessment measuring the current performance against
their own prior performance. – Students are used to comparing their previous scores– Beat one’s best score– This is a great motivator
Making displays powerful
• Notes, plans and mind maps
• Lists of key words
• Structures and guidance to hep student to negotiate their way through tasks
• Images and artefacts
• Students’ questions and responses
• Assessment criteria
• Lists of sources of further information.
How did you learn that?
Conclusion
• Faced with not enough challenges, students become complacent and fail to make progress.
• Pushing them too far occasionally will remind them of the importance of hard work in overcoming problems and will help them to get used to coping with failure.