differentiation presentation
TRANSCRIPT
ClassroomDifferentiation
Developing student mastery:Their own way
Their own strengthsTheir own pace
C. Anderson, 2013.
Tailoring classroom activities and
content to encourage individual mastery.
Acknowledges all students learn in different ways.
What is it?
Research* differentiation can be planned
for and integrated across four areas of classroom practice:1. Content – the ‘what’ of the lesson content. 2. Process – the ‘how’ of the lesson; how it is
undertaken.3. Product – the ‘product’ that will demonstrate
and apply student learning.4. Learning environment – how the physical
‘space’ of the classroom/learning area encourages or discourages learning.
Ref: Reading Rockets.org
Classroom Implications
High expectations. Allows for mastery at own pace. Teacher guidance allows students to
show learning in varied ways. Flexible – varied throughout process
depending on student needs and strengths.
Applies across all learning stages – K-12
Differentiation is…
Not individualised learning – doesn’t
require separate lesson plans each student. Doesn’t have to be all the time: whole class
work still important. Doesn’t mean just giving extra work at the
same level for high-achieving students. Nor, does it mean busy work for others who aren’t.
See more on this at Curriculum Support, NSW DET, HERE.
Differentiation isn’t …
What it looks like in the English Classroom.
Maintain a clean, tidy and organised
classroom. Display plenty of relevant visual stimuli – keep
it current and refreshed. Think about seating arrangements – vary
depending on activity. If room-sharing, seek co-operation from other staff.
‘Borrow’ ideas from other classrooms/other teachers.
Consider a mini class library, with reading material to cater for varied interests and abilities.
1. The Learning Environment
Positive student-teacher perceptions one of
most powerful influences on student success – and, through that, teacher satisfaction (Marzono, 2011; et al.)
Know your students and you: Know their interests. Know their learning strengths and needs. Can apply this knowledge in differentiated
tasks.
2. Know your students
1. Show interest in their extra-curricular lives.2. Read the local paper.3. Listen out for your students’ achievements at
school assemblies. 4. Listen to them.5. Set writing, survey and game activities for
‘Getting to know you’ at beginning of class year. Some good examples in ‘Differentiated Instruction in the English Classroom’.
Know your students: 10 tips
1. Advocate for them – show them their welfare and
success is your top priority. Follow up and be consistent.
2. Offer after-class assistance.3. Collect books/tasks regularly – keep a personal record
of things you notice – will also be useful at report time.4. Find out what other student records you can access:
class reports; primary school reports; NAPLAN.5. Involve students – have them complete a Multiple
Intelligences/Learning Styles analysis. A good reference: Improving Thinking in the Classroom, Ralph Pirozzo,
10 tips – cont.
Analyse existing data on your students. EG:
NAPLAN See whether any of your students have
Individual Learning/Education Plans (ILP/IEP) or Personalised Learning Plans (PLPs), which focus on Indigenous learning needs and objectives. Do these identify prior learning assessments and specific details? Read more about these at
SLSP Effectively Supporting Students (NSW DET, 2010)
Assessing for Learning
Diagnostic Assessment and Activating
Prior Learning ‘T, H, ?’ – pre-teaching assessment: Do I
know [particular aspects of the topic] well enough to Teach, Heard of, ? New to Me
‘Think, Pair, Share’ – also good for activating prior knowledge.
‘K-W-L’ – model with students. A good example can be found in ‘Differentiated Instruction in the English Classroom’, p.48.
Other tips for classroom assessment – (1)
Every topic should be accompanied by a unit
outline and course outcomes, linked to the syllabus. Explicitly model what each of these outcomes ‘look like’ and ‘mean’. Return to each as they are learned.
Remember how at uni we learned there are 3 stages of assessment: BEFORE – ‘diagnostic’ DURING – ‘formative’ AFTER – ‘summative’
Other tips for classroom assessment – (2)
Examples of formative assessment –
applicable for whole-class, group and individual activities. See excellent listing on the following link. From ‘Toolbox for Planning Rigorous Instruction’.
Includes (among others): Teacher questioning techniques Sentence starters and other prompts Prediction and summary writing Graphic organisers Draft and peer-editing
Other tips for classroom assessment – (3)
Other tips for classroom assessment – (4)
Examples of summative assessment: Exit cards – see Read Write Think for
explanation and examples. Also see the excellent presentation from Westminster Secondary School:
‘Strategies to Help Struggling Readers, Grades 4-12’ suggests numerous reading-specific activities, for pre, during and after-reading comprehension assessment.
Using Multiple Intelligences and Bloom’s Taxonomy
‘42 Grid Matrix’ – Pirozzo (1997) Combines Gardner’s Theory of Multiple
Intelligences and Bloom’s Taxonomy. Develops higher order thinking Allows for differentiation of content, process
and product. Can be tailored to most topics and allows for
student self-direction and engagement. (Quality Teaching Framework)
Research supports effectiveness.
You can find examples of units created by
other teachers at various places on the Web. Adapt Share Evaluate after use.
A few sites to get you started…
42 Grid example units
Rural and Distance Education NSW Library MSC English Faculty’s wiki – requires an email
to request. Kevin Cummins at EdGalaxy.com has a fun
unit available for Roald Dahl’s Charlie and the Chocolate Factory.
Do a web search for more and remember… Adapt Share Evaluate!
42 Grid example units
Adapt, adapt, adapt!
Adapt existing programs to differentiate Work with school colleagues to combine
resources and share knowledge. Don’t feel you have to re-create the wheel
from scratch!
In school/local community
Faculty colleagues Other teaching colleagues Executive colleagues STLA/Student Learning Support Staff School Counsellor Teacher Librarian Parents
Collaborate!
Outside school…
English Teachers Association Facebook Group – an excellent resource of generous, skilled English teachers.
Twitter OzTweechers PLN Cybrary Man’s List of 300+ Twitter education
hashtags
Collaborate!