UB EDUC – 503 November 5, 2012 Instructional Strategies that Support Differentiation

What does ACHIEVEMENT mean? Has the definition changed in the last 5 years? (If so, how?) What are the most important aspects of achievement as they relate to our schools and classrooms? As a NEW teacher (especially), achievement will be a critically important topic for you. WHY?

Achievement and YOU Success in the 21 st Century Common Core State Standards Smarter Balanced Assessment Increasingly diverse classrooms Budget constraints Evaluation and job security

Everything to think about… So far… Learning environment Assessment Multiple Intelligences UbD Framework Components Learning Styles Differentiation of Content, Process, & Product

Game on! The argument of this book (Focus by M. Schmoker) is simple: If we choose to take just a few well-known, straightforward actions, in every subject area, we can make swift, dramatic improvements in schools. Some believe we could virtually eliminate the achievement gap within a few years. An Australian study indicated it would take seven years (Garnaut, 2007); another student estimates about five years (Kane & Hanushek in Haycock, 2005).

Marzanos BIG Nine StrategiesPercentile gain Identify similarities and differences45% Summarizing and note taking*34% Reinforcing effort and providing recognition29% Homework** and practice28% Nonlinguistic representations27% Cooperative learning27% Setting objectives and providing feedback23% Generating and testing hypotheses23% Questions, cues, and advance organizers22%

R-I-G-O-RR-I-G-O-R FOR ALL!

R-I-G-O-Rous Teaching I want to be as emphatic as possible: the impact of the actual taught curriculum on school quality, on student learning, is indescribably important. - M. Schmoker, 2006 as quoted in Assignments Matter by Eleanor Dougherty BUY THIS BOOK NOW!

Instructional Strategies Only teachers who utilize a variety of instructional models will be successful in maximizing the achievement of all students…Teachers need to play to students strengths and to mitigate students learning weaknesses. This can be done only through the use of instructional variety. Thomas J. Lasley & Thomas J. Matczynski Strategies for Teaching in a Diverse Society

Instructional Strategies When they are correctly used, many instructional strategies invite teachers to respond to students differences in readiness, interest or learning profile. Some instructional strategies last only a short time during a lesson and require little planning.

Instructional Strategies Others help teachers help shape an entire way of life in the classroom and require extensive planning and ongoing reflection.

Instructional Strategies Some strategies emphasize organization or arrangement of students for learning. Others focus predominately on the nature of instruction itself.

There are MANY avenues to creating an instructionally responsive classroom.

Universal Design for Learning (UDL) Is a set of principles for curriculum development that give all individuals equal opportunities to learn. UDL provides a blueprint for creating instructional goals, methods, materials, and assessments that work for everyone – not a single, one-size-fits-all solution but rather flexible approaches that can be customized and adjusted for individual needs. FANTASTIC RESOURCES at

TEACH ME SOMETHING NEW and WORTH LEARNING Preparing for the learning and the project In groups of 4 students will TEACH the class something new and worth learning. Ideas about worth: Common Core State Standards Praxis Exam: The Principles of Teaching and Learning Parallel Text Other ideas?

Required project elements include: A comprehensive description of the class including the environment and the profiles of the various learners. A lesson plan* in the UbD framework and includes instructional strategies that will lead to fully differentiated lessons. A comprehensive description of how the lesson was designed to meet the needs of the various students in the class. Basically, what were all of the things you considered and responded to when developing the lesson plan? Suggestion: use Top 10 Questions to Ask Myself as I Design Lessons to guide your planning and descriptions

Instructional Strategies Skim Chapter 5, Read Chapter 6 in required text, and Assignments Matter 3 Things you learned from reading 2Things that you already knew 1Question that you have about Instructional Strategies and Differentiation. Start preparing for project. What will you TEACH your classmates that is new and worth knowing? What assessment tools could you use to get data about students (classmates) prior knowledge, skills, and interests related to the learning?