1. The Why and How of Differentiated Instruction
Leading and Learning
November 21-22, 2008

2. Change is constant in education
Change is constant in education. What teaching practices have you explored in an attempt to address the changing needs of your students? .

3. Changes in Teaching Practice

4. Workshop Objectives
Reflect on the changes in education that impact student learning
Make connections between where we have been and where we are going
Explore differentiated instruction as an effective teaching practice

5. Shift in Education Curriculum Instruction Assessment
Curriculum viewed as something to be manipulated by the teacher.
Traditional
Major focus on content
Content acquisition
Lock step progress
Evolving
Content & process balance
Learning to learn
Continuous progress
Instruction: Teacher is viewed as the facilitator of learning in the classroom.
Teacher-centered
Single textbook
Single instructional approach
Passive learning
Child-centered
Resource-based learning
Multiple approaches to instruction
Active learning
Assessment
Paper/pencil evaluation
Test and move on
Teacher directed
Triangulated evidence of learning
Specific/descriptive feedback that identifies next steps
Student involvement and reflection
Begin with the end in mind
Adjust teaching

6. Students with Special Needs in Red Deer Public 07/08
440 students with severe special needs
500+ students with mild – moderate special needs
95 children with severe special needs
56 children with mild-moderate special needs
Students with behavior disorders
Majority in regular classrooms

7. English as a Second Language
students in Alberta
1500 new students per month
200 students in RDPSD
35% increase in one year

8. Societal Changes Technology advancement Family structure
Economical influences
Societal expectations

9. Why examine teaching practice?
Increased student diversity
Increased awareness that students of same age differ in readiness, learning styles, interests, etc.
Decreased stigmas about being different
Decreased exclusion from curriculum, programs and activities of the school
Increased accountability for student achievement.
Student diversity is a given and is here to stay.
In any given classroom, students demonstrate an extensive range of learning needs – whether in reading, math or language ability.
Inclusive education is a right – move from placement of students to ensure we assist teachers to help every student achieve a higher level.
Differentiation is teachers reacting more responsively to the learning needs of all students.

10. Learning Result
Teacher

11. Getting students in the zone!
Too Easy
I get it right away…
I already know how…
This is a cinch…
I’m sure to make an A…
I’m coasting…
I feel relaxed…
I’m bored…
No big effort…
On Target
I know some things…
I have to think…
I have to work…
I have to persist…
I hit some walls…
I’m on my toes…
I have to re-group…
I feel challenged…
Effort leads to success…
Too Hard
I don’t know where to begin…
I can’t figure it out…
I’m spinning my wheels…
I’m missing key skills…
I feel frustrated…
I feel angry…
This makes no sense…
Effort doesn’t pay off…
THIS is the place to be…..This is the achievement zone…..

12. Responsive Teaching What do we want students to know and
be able to do?
Curriculum
How will
we respond
when students are
or are not
achieving the
objectives?
Instruction
How will we know
each student has
acquired the
intended knowledge
and skills?
Assessment

13. Curriculum and Instruction: A Planning Guide
Adapted from
Tomlinson 05
Differentiate between types of assessment
Assessment OF and FOR Learning
Plan learning opportunities with the end in mind
Differentiate Instruction
Make adjustments
Assess learning
ongoing assessment
Support
Extension
Define outcomes from the Program of Studies
in student friendly language

14. Assessment Plan questions Identify what achievement
looks like prior to teaching
Provide specific, descriptive feedback to promote next steps in learning
Assessment
Adjust teaching based on
assessment evidence
Use Exemplars
Involve students in
peer and self assessments

15. Differentiation Is a teacher's response to learner’s needs
Product
Through a variety of instructional strategies
Carol Ann Tomlinson (2006)
Differentiation
Is a teacher's response to learner’s needs
Respectful tasks
Continual assessment
Flexible grouping
Teachers can differentiate through
Content
Process
According to students’
Readiness
Interests
Learning Profile
Environment
Differentiated Instruction is one of many teaching strategies that we can incorporate to address students needs

16. Differentiation Is a teacher's response to learner’s need
Respectful tasks
Flexible grouping
Continual assessment
Interesting
Engaging
Challenging
In the ZONE
Graffiti
Four Corners
Preassessment
Rally Table
Jigsaw
Formative
Round Robin
Place Mat
Gallery Walk
Summative Assessment
Think Pad Brainstorming
Think, write, pair, share
Think Pair Share

17. Differentiation Differentiation
Is a teacher's response to learner’s need
Respectful tasks
Continual assessment
Flexible grouping
Teachers can differentiate through
Content
Process
Differentiation
Is a teacher's response to learner’s need
Respectful tasks
Continual assessment
Flexible grouping
Teachers can differentiate through
Content
Process
Product
Process
Content: What is taught and how all students are provided access to the program of study.
Process: How students develop the knowledge, understanding and skills to master the learner outcomes.
Product: How the student is able to demonstrate what he/she knows, understands and is able to do as a result of learning.
Activity 3: Jigsaw

21. Differentiation Is a teacher's response to learner’s need
Respectful tasks
Continual assessment
Flexible grouping
Teachers can differentiate through
Content
Process
Product
According to students’
Differentiated Instruction is one of many teaching strategies that we can incorporate to address students needs
Readiness
Interests
Learning Profile
Environment
Through a variety of instructional strategies
Carol Ann Tomlinson (2006)

22. Teaching according to:
INTEREST
LEARNING
PROFILE
ENVIRONMENT
READINESS
Interest Surveys
Interest Centers
Self-Selection
Still/Active
Flexible/Fixed
Warm/Cool
Quiet/Noisy
Many Displays/
Few Displays
Areas of Strength
and Weakness
Work Preferences
Self Awareness
Content
Knowledge
Skills
Readiness is for growth
Draw on current knowledge, skills, and understanding a student has in relation to the learner outcomes
A good readiness match pushes the student a little bit beyond his or her comfort zone and then provides support in bridging the gap between the known and unknown.
Interest is for motivation
Connect activities to what students enjoy or are interested in to motivate learning
Relating big ideas to student interests
Providing choice of tasks and products to demonstrate learning
Accessing varied materials and technologies
Learning Profile is for efficiency
The goals of learning profile differentiation are to help individual learners understand modes of learning that work best for them, and to offer those options so that each learner finds a good learning fit in the classroom.
Use student’s preferred mode of learning to extend learning – for example MI,
Flexible grouping ( alone/ peers)
Teacher varies mode of presentation (visual, auditory, kinesthetic, concrete, abstract)
Adjustments for gender, culture, language differences, etc.
Some prefer auditory modes – others visual channels – touch or movement.
It is possible to provide different looks in different portions of the classroom.
Environment:
Learn best when they can move – others need to sit still
Some enjoy a room with lots to look at, color, things to touch and try- other a more plain room because the busy room is distracting.
Some prefer a great deal of light and others prefer a darker room.
Flexible learning spaces and options within learning environment
Traditional/ Evolving
Competitive/Cooperative
Supervision of learners/ Empowerment of learners
Concepts

23. Differentiation Is a teacher's response to learner’s need
Respectful tasks
Continual assessment
Flexible grouping
Teachers can differentiate through
Content
Process
Product
According to students’
Readiness
Interests
Learning Profile
Environment
Through a variety of instructional strategies
Carol Ann Tomlinson (2006)

24. Time is a factor! Grading Meetings Teaching Recess Duty Report Cards
Phone Calls Conferences
Planning

26. LO-PREP Tools are Your Solution!

27. Quick Assessments Fist of 5 Hardest First Continuum Line Four Corners
Graphic Organizers
Cards
Voting Techniques

28. Windshield Check Clear – “I get it!”
Bugs – “I get it for the most part, but I still have a few questions.”
Mud- “I still don’t get it.”

29. Directions: Complete the chart to show what you know about Voice
Directions: Complete the chart to show what you know about Voice. Write as much as you can.
Definition
Words that come to mind
Writing with Voice
Examples
Non-Examples
Pre and/or post assessment
Useful for Pre - Assessment

30. Picture
Words
Voice

31. Knowledge Rating Chart
I’ve never heard of this before
I’ve heard of this, but I am not sure how it works
I know about this and how to use
____ Direct Object
____ Direct Object Pronoun
____ Indirect Object
____ Indirect Object Pronoun
____ Object of Preposition
____ Adjective
____ Interrogative Adjective
Example of Pre-assessment Readiness

32. Questions

33. Cubing – Generic Cubes
What
Who
Compose
When
Where
Why
How
Create

34. My Family in the Past and Present Cube
Make a video or tape recording, interviewing members of your families telling about their responsibilities.
Create a timeline with pictures and/or words showing changes in your family over time.
Create a song or rap that tells about how your family has changed over time.
Present an argument that convinces others how your family is different today than it was in the past.
Create a collage with digital pictures showing changes in your family over time.
Create a play that demonstrates changes in your family over time.
Make a video or tape recording of a family member, describing how your family has changed over time.

35. Leveled Writing Prompts
Our school is considering having longer class periods. Do you believe this is a good idea? Why or why not?
As Canadians, we enjoy many freedoms. Which freedom do you believe is the most important? Why?
People have many choices of what to do during free time. What is your favorite thing to do during free time, and why is the best choice?

36. Leveled Questions with Reading
What were your feelings after reading the opening chapter(s) of this book?
Return to a place in the story that you loved, hated, or questioned. How did this event change the way you looked at the story?
What was the author trying to say
about life and living through this novel?

39. Exit Cards: Decimals and Fractions
Name:___________
How is a decimal like a fraction?
How are they different?
What’s a light bulb moment for you as you’ve thought about fractions and decimals?

40. Student Survey At school, I like _____________________
Because___________________________
I do not like_________________________
If I have free time, I prefer to __________ or _____________.
My favorite thing to read is_____________.
Interest surveys
Carolyn Chapman / Rita King 2005

41. Student Survey Name ________ Date_________
Answer the following questions with either a yes or no answer or fill in the blank.
Yes NO
I like to read
I like to make up songs
I am challenged by things that are difficult to do
Taking things apart and reassembling
them intrigues me.
I like to play outside
I prefer to work by myself
I enjoy working with others
I like to draw my own pictures
I like school
Carolyn Chapman / Rita King 2005

42. Interest Inventory
What is your favorite activity or subject at school? Why? Your least favorite? Why?
What are your best subjects: What makes them easiest for you?
What subjects are difficult for you? What makes them the hardest?
What subject make you think and work the hardest? Why is it the most challenging?
What are your favorite games or sports?
If you could learn about anything you wanted to, what would you choose to learn about?
Diane Heacox, 2002

43. • Pre-assessment of background knowledge
• On-going assessment for evidence of learning
• Summarization of key points taught
• Discussion board
• Results of a brainstorming session ( ie. Topics)
• Vocabulary building
• Your Idea Here~!

45. Other LO-PREP Tools Flexible groups Varied materials
Open-ended activities
Jigsaw
Digital Images
Interactive Websites
Online reading

46. Collaborate to add one high-prep per term
Cubing
Learning contracts
Varying organizers
Tiered activities
Choice boards
Literature circles
Learning stations

47. Cubing – Multiple Cubes
Compose
Number of cubes depends on the number of groups you would want
Create

48. Poetry Contract Create A Rhyming Wheel
Use your spelling lists as a w ay to get started
Use Your Rhyming Wheel
Write a poem that sounds like Shel Silverstein might have written
Write an Acrostic Poem
Be sure it includes alliteration
Write
A cinquain ( check with another cinquain writer to make sure you got the right pattern
Computer Art
Use clip art to illustrate a simile, metaphor, or analogy on your class list, or ones you create.
Write about you
Use good descriptive words in a poem that helps us know and understand something important about you
Interpret
“How to Eat a Poem”
Research a Famous Person
Take notes. Write a clerihew that uses what you have learned. (It can have more than one stanza.)
Illustrate a Poem
Find a poem we’ve read that you like or one on your own. Write about why you illustrated it as you did.
Student choice #1
Student choice #2
Student choice #3
Contracts take a number of forms that begin with an agreement between student and teacher.
The teacher grants certain freedoms and choices about how a student will complete tasks, and the student agrees to use the freedoms appropriately in designing and completing work according to specifications

49. Compare and Contrast KWL Story Board Circular Venn Diagram Timeline
Graphic
Organizers
Flow Chart
KWL
Timeline
Venn
Diagram
Character
Map
Story
Board
Circular
Compare
and
Contrast
Listen-Draw-
Pair-Share
PMI
Retell-Relate-
Reflect

50. Concept to be Understood
Planning Tiered Assignments
Concept to be Understood OR
Skill to be Mastered
Create on-level task first then adjust up and down.
Below-Level
Task
On-Level
Task
Above-Level
Task
Another method for developing tiered assignments or activities is to first develop an on-level task and then make slight adjustments up or down. Some tasks in each tier may be the same while others might be changed to match student readiness levels.
Factors from the six-step framework should still be considered in this planning process.
Is differentiation according to readiness
Uses groups based on student’s readiness for a particular task
Is driven by pre-assessment.
Is NOT locking students into “ability boxes” because groups are flexible and vary according to task
Is NOT the only kind of differentiation, although it is foundational.
Adjust---
Level of Complexity
Amount of Structure
Materials
Time/Pace
Number of Steps
Form of Expression
Level of Dependence
“Adjusting the
Task”

51. Graphing and Measuring: Student Choices
Find a friend & measure the length and width of the classroom. Draw onto paper in centimeters.
Work at the Graphing Centre to complete 2 activities. Place into your Math folder when done.
Measure your height, the height of 2 friends and the height of an adult. Rank order from smallest to tallest.

52. Directions to one place to another Letter to the editor
Writing Bingo Try for one more BINGO this month. Be sure to use your writing goals and our class rubric to guide your work.
Recipe
Thank- you Note
Directions to one place to another
Letter to the editor
Rules for a game
request for Information
Invitation
Letter to a pen pal, friend or relative
Skit or scene
Interview
FREE
YOUR Choice
Newspaper Article
Short Story
Schedule for your work
Grocery or shopping list
Advertisement
Cartoon Strip
Instructions
Greeting Card
Poem
Proposal to Improve Something
Letter to Your Teacher
Journal for a Week
Design a web page
Book Think Aloud

53. Interest-Based Assignment
Select a person in one of the folders and write a composition describing that person as thoroughly as you can,
Athletes
Scientists
Authors
Musicians
Artists
Political Leaders
Film Stars
An interest based assignment is one of many strategies that support Interest Differentiation.
Other strategies that support Interest Differentiation include:
Literature circles
WebQuests
Orbitals
Apprenticeships

54. Differentiation Is a teacher's response to learner’s need
Respectful tasks
Continual assessment
Flexible grouping
Teachers can differentiate through
Content
Process
Product
According to students’
Readiness
Interests
Learning Profile
Environment
Through a variety of instructional strategies
Carol Ann Tomlinson (2006)

55. It is perfectly acceptable to take small steps
Set a Goal!
It is perfectly acceptable to take small steps
AS LONG AS WE ARE
STEPPING
FORWARD!

56. If you want to feel safe and secure, continue to do what you have always done. If you want to grow, go to the cutting edge of our profession. Just know that when you do, there will be a temporary loss of sanity. So know when you don’t quite know what you are doing, you are probably growing.
Madeline Hunter
Guru of Effective Teaching movement
Effective teachers are also learners.
It is important to always increase your expertise…
Expert teachers teach students the most important things in the most effective way
DI is to help teachers maximize their teaching expertise.

57. You deserve it. Teachers ROCK!
Give Yourself a Hand
You deserve it. Teachers ROCK!