Differentiated Instruction Carolyn loverdi, David elkin, jonathan Eisen, Anna Shemyakina Preserve the wild life

Why to differentiate Instruction? No two students enter a classroom with identical abilities, experiences, and needs. Learning style, language proficiency, background knowledge, readiness to learn, and other factors can vary widely within a single class group.

What is differentiated instruction? Differentiated instruction is an instructional theory. It allows teachers to face this challenge by taking diverse student factors into account when planning and delivering instruction.

How does differentiated instruction work? Differentiated instruction is based upon the belief that students learn best when they make connections between the curriculum and their diverse interests and experiences. The greatest learning occurs when students are pushed slightly beyond the point where they can work without assistance.

What differentiated instruction means for teachers Provide several learning options or different paths to learning which help students take in information and make sense of concepts and skills. Provide appropriate levels of challenge for all students, including those who lag behind, those who are advanced, and those right in the middle.

What the research tells us about differentiate instructions There are three bodies of research we are going to talk about. Brain-based Research Learning Styles and Multiple Intelligences Authentic Assessment

Brain-Based Research The brain develops in an integrated fashion over time. Each brain is unique. The brain’s structure is actually changed by learning. The brain performs many functions simultaneously. Learning is enhanced by a rich environment with a variety of stimuli.

Human memory chart

Identifying ways to assess or evaluate student progress Traditional assessments.. usually multiple choice and true/false tests. Performance based testing.. uses a variety of techniques to test the student. For example.. may use oral technique where the child would explain what the subject matter is or use problem solving techniques. Portfolio based…this is an assessment that collects the works of the students over the entire marking period. It shows the progress the students has made and the mastery (hopefully) of the content area over time.

Identifying ways to assess or evaluate student progress Project based.. helps the students use higher level thinking skills to understand the lesson plan. A rubric is helpful to the students so they know what the expectations are of the project. Rubrics…a rubric give the students exactly what they need to include in their assessment regardless of the type of assessment so the student know what to expect. Knowledge mapping… the student needs to identify the correlation between multiple concepts in a visual matter.

DIFFERENTIATED INSTRUCTION PLANNING Know your students Determine ability level. Know your students’ interest… can gear learning toward this. Example… if teaching math to a group who loves sports the teacher can have the kids do an activity where would the best angle be to shoot the soccer ball. Determine classroom behavior…. What approach would work best with and behavior issues…for example, sometimes cooperative learning can be hard with a lot of behavioral issues because of the noise and independent work.

Teaching Strategies Direct Instruction….traditional lecture instruction. It is time saving. 4 essential elements: Patterns and meanings should not be hard to understand. Useful knowledge about the content should be structured. This knowledge that is structured should be useful, transferable and assessable to a range if situations. Should be able to be easily retrieved so that new information can be gain from the knowledge just learned. Questioning and finding answers is extremely important in inquiry based learning.

Teaching Strategies Cooperative Learning Group learning Teaches students how to work in groups and increases study skills Make sure teacher is still the “boss”, start small to make sure students understand what needs to be accomplished in the groups Need to know students well to form appropriate groups and projects for each group

Teaching Strategies Information processing Strategies Teach students “ how” to process information: Memorization Knowledge chart Reciprocal teaching Graphic organizing Scaffolding Webbing Teaching students to strategically organize, store and retrieve information taught to them

Identifying a variety of Instructional Activities Use activities to engage students that motivate and challenge them. In order to provide the appropriate activities need to KNOW your students.