instructional strategies
TRANSCRIPT
Something to think about…
We Learn...
10% of what we Read
20% of what we Hear
30% of what we See
50% of what we See and Hear
95% of what we Teach Others
80% of what we Experience Personally
-William Glasser
70% of what we Discuss With Others
Our Goal
10% increase in the number of students in our IEP population scoring Proficient or Advanced on PSSA Math
How?
Differentiated Instruction
Understanding by Design - Backwards Design
Bloom’s Revised Taxonomy and Higher-Order Thinking
Our Vision
Aide in the development of our students’ intellectual abilities.
Focus on all aspects of human development necessary for mature adult living
Educate and inspire a community of life long learners
Students are academically proficiency and have the ability to succeed in either higher education or productive employment.
Our Mission
To insure that all of our graduates achieve their full potential as persons competent to participate and interact intelligently in the complex and dynamic society of the 21st century.
It Fits
Higher-Order Thinking Students become problem solvers, not problem
do-ers
Backwards Design All students will gain the same core set of
knowledge and skills, meeting state standards
Differentiation All students will be successful!
Research
Cognitive Development Higher-order thinking engages frontal lobe of the brain.
This engagement helps learners make connections between past and new learning, create new pathways, strengthens existing pathways, and increases the likelihood that the new learning will be consolidated and stored for future retrieval.
Asking students for explanatory responses to higher-level questions prior to instruction activates prior knowledge and focuses attention, resulting in better learning.
Sousa, David. How the Brain Learns. Chapter 7: Thinking and Learning Skills. p. 245-274.
Pressley, M., (1984). Synthesis of research on teacher questioning. Educational Leadership, 42(3), 40–46.
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Research
TIMMS
High achieving countries had similarities
Rather than “covering” many discrete skills, primary aim is to develop conceptual understanding in their students.
Emphasize depth vs. superficial coverage
Emphasize problem-based learning, in which rules and theorems are derived and explained by the students, thus leading to deeper understanding
Martin, M., Mullis, I., Gregory, K., Hoyle, C., Shen, C. (2000). Effective schools in science and mathematics: IEA’s Third International Mathematics and Science Study. Boston: International Study Center, Lynch School of Education, Boston College.
Student Performance Data
2007-2008 11th Grade Demographics
General Information
Enrollment 399
Special Education Population 15%
11th Grade Math PSSA Performance
Total Number Assessed
Percentage* of Students in each Performance Level
Below Basic Basic Proficient Advanced
All Students
399 12 16 32 40
IEP 59 42 39 19 0
*percentages are rounded.
Our Concerns
Only 21% of our Special Education population scoring proficient or above.
32% drop in the number of IEP students scoring proficient or above between middle and high school.
DI: What is It?
A way of teaching in which:
The teacher proactively modifies the curriculum, instructional strategies, and student products
Lessons are designed around student readiness, interest, and learning styles
The teacher and students collaborate in learning
Teacher and students work together flexibly
Maximum growth and individual success are the ultimate goal
Three General Principals of DI
Respectful Tasks: Know your Students
Learning Profile: How a student learns
Learning Styles – www.howtolearn.com
Readiness: What does the student know already?
Interest: Students’ affinity, curiosity, or passion for a topic or skill
Flexible Grouping
Heterogeneous grouping
Individual, Small group, or Whole Group instruction
Three General Principals of DI
Ongoing Assessment and Adjustment
Instruction and assessment are inseparable
Content, process, and product are adjusted based on the needs of the student
Three General Principals of DI
What does DI look like?
Video: A Visit to a Differentiated Classroom
Small Group Discussion: What evidence of DI did you see in the video?
What questions do you have about DI after watching this video?
Whole Group Discussion: Share your observations and questions
The DI Continuum
Where are you on the continuum?
Place an ‘x’ on the line where you feel your classroom practices fall.
Are your practices more traditional or more differentiated?
Handout #2
Bloom’s Revised Taxonomy
Six levels of thinking provide a framework for planning units that incorporate low to high-level thinking activities
When used as a planning framework we can plan for student thinking at all levels.
Teach Higher-Order Thinking Skills (HOTS)
BLOOM’S REVISED TAXONOMY
CreatingGenerating new ideas, products, or ways of viewing thingsDesigning, constructing, planning, producing, inventing.
EvaluatingJustifying a decision or course of action
Checking, hypothesising, critiquing, experimenting, judging
AnalyzingBreaking information into parts to explore understandings and relationships
Comparing, organising, deconstructing, interrogating, finding
ApplyingUsing information in another familiar situationImplementing, carrying out, using, executing
UnderstandingExplaining ideas or concepts
Interpreting, summarizing, paraphrasing, classifying, explaining
RememberingRecalling information
Recognizing, listing, describing, retrieving, naming, finding
Handout #3
How to use it
Higher order thinking occurs at the top three levels of the taxonomy: creating, evaluating, and analyzing
We must teach students how to think, providing opportunities for:
Problem-solving
Open-ended responses
Teaching HOTS
Help students understand the thinking process
Incite discovery, invention, and creativity
Make learning meaningful to the student
Engage students in real life problem solving
Encourage questions and discussion
Make cross-curricular connections
Provide models, graphic organizers
The Top Three Levels
Analyzing:
Breaking information into parts to explore understanding and relationships
Analyzing Verbs:
Comparing
Organizing
Deconstructing
Attributing
Outlining
Finding
Structuring
Integrating
The Top Three Levels
Evaluating:
Justifying a decision or course of action
Evaluating Verbs
Checking
Hypothesizing
Critiquing
Experimenting
Judging
Testing
Detecting
Monitoring
The Top Three Levels
Creating:
Generating new products, ideas, ways of thinking, or ways of viewing things
Creating Verbs:
Designing
Constructing
Planning
Producing
Inventing
Devising
Making
Put your HOTS to the test
Take a Concept Up the Taxonomy Split your small group into pairs
Choose a concept that you teach in class
Using the handout, create a question or activity related to your concept for each level of the taxonomy.
Handout #4
What is Backwards Design?
An approach to designing curriculum or unit that begins with the end in mind and designs toward that end.
Viewed as backward because many teachers begin their unit with the means - textbooks, favored lessons, and time-honored activities - rather than deriving those from the end - the targeted results, as content standards or understandings.
(Grant Wiggins and Jay McTighe, Understanding by Design, 2005, page 338)
How to use it
Identify desired results Goals, knowledge and skills, essential questions,
enduring understanding
Determine acceptable evidence Tests or quizzes, academic prompts, formative
assessment, performance tasks, observations or dialogue
Plan learning experiences and instruction Based on desired results and acceptable evidence
Backwards Framework
This framework can be used to plan your lessons utilizing backwards design Stage 1 – Utilize the Standards
Stage 2 – Products and Assessments
Stage 3 – Implement DI
Video: Connecting Differentiated Instruction, Understanding by Design and What Works in Schools: An Exploration of Research-Based Strategies
Handout #5
Culminating Activity
Lets put it all together
You will need: Handout #2 – DI Continuum
Handout #4 – Take a Concept up the Taxonomy
Handout #5 – Backwards Design Framework
Culminating Activity
Your Task: Choose a concept you teach in class
Create a lesson using the Backwards Design Framework
Include differentiated instruction strategies
Include questions/activities related to Bloom’s Revised Taxonomy
Questions for Discussion
How can you implement DI in your classroom? Using HOTS
Using Backwards Design
How can we support you in this process?
What resources/support systems will you need to be successful?
Closure
Set a goal.
Choose an area from the DI continuum that you rated yourself more traditional
Brainstorm ways to make this are more differentiated
Create a Plan of Action describing how you will implement this change in your classroom
Share this with your principal for informal observations and feedback
See Handout #6 “Look-Fors”