Bethany A. Rayl
Overview
 What is differentiation?
 Why should we differentiate?
 How do we differentiate?
 Implementing differentiation
Think of a Time…
 Turn to a partner at your table and talk
about a time when you were really
engaged in learning…
 What did that look like?
 What did that sound like?
 Why do you think you were so engaged?
What is differentiation?
 Differentiated instruction is a process to approach
teaching and learning for students of differing
abilities in the same class.
 Tailoring instruction to meet individual needs.
“Differentiation is not so
much the ‘stuff’ as the ‘how.’
If the ‘stuff’ is ill conceived,
the ‘how’ is doomed.”
Carol Ann Tomlinson
What is the intent ?
 The intent of differentiating instruction is to
maximize each student’s growth and individual
success by meeting each student where he or she
is, and assisting in the learning process.
When a teacher tries to teach something to the
entire class at the same time, chances are,
one-third of the kids already know it; one-third
will get it, and the remaining third won’t. So
two-thirds of the children are wasting their
time.
Lillian Katz
What differentiation is not!
 Developing a separate lesson plan for each student
 A program
 “Watering down” the curriculum
 Hard questions for some and easy questions for others
 A chaotic classroom
 Just homogenous grouping
Why should we differentiate?
 Not all students are alike.
 Differentiation provides all students access to all
curriculum.
 All students can learn.
 Students learn in different ways at different times.
The biggest mistake of past centuries in
teaching has been to treat all children as
if they were variants of the same
individual and thus to feel justified in
teaching them all the same subjects in
the same way.
Howard Gardner
Comparing Traditional and
Differentiated Classrooms
 Consideration of student differences
 Use of assessment
 Use of student interest and learning styles inventories
 Instructional format
 Assignment options
 Factors guiding instruction
Traditional Classroom
 Assessment takes place at the end of a unit of study
 Dominance of whole class instruction
 Textbooks are the main instructional resource
 Teacher is the main problem solver
Traditional Classroom
 There is a quantitative focus on assignments
 Commercially designed worksheets are used to
practice skills
 Convergent questions dominate – single correct
answers are rewarded
 Instruction time is predetermined and inflexible
Devastating Conclusion of 30 years of
Research
“Little evidence of instruction of any kind was
observed in the classes.”
What was/is happening?
 Teachers spend most of their time —
 Assigning activities.
 Monitoring to be sure the pupils are on
task.
 Directing recitation sessions to assess
how well children are doing.
 Providing corrective feedback in
response to pupil errors.
J.W. Lloyd, E.J. Kameanui, and D. Chard (Eds.) (1997) Issues in educating students with disabilities.
Differentiated Classroom
 Assessment is ongoing, diagnostic, and influences
instruction
 Variety of instructional strategies and arrangements
 Multiple types of materials are used as resources
 Students engage in problem solving
Differentiated Classroom
 Qualitative focus to assignments
 Students use multiple methods to practice skills
 Questions are frequently asked by students as well as
the teacher
 Questions are open-ended to spark divergent thinking
 Assessment determines time spent on tasks
Obstacles
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
I Long to return to the Good Old Days
I thought I was differentiating
I teach the way I was taught
I don’t know how
I have too much content to cover
I’m good at lecturing
I can’t see how I would grade all those different
assignments
Kathie F. Nunley, Differentiating in the High School, Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin Press, 2006.
Obstacles
8. I thought differentiation was for the elementary
9.
10.
11.
12.
13.
school
I subscribe to ability grouping
I have real logistic issues
I want my classroom under control
I don’t know how to measure my student’s learning
styles
I have neither the time nor the funding for all that
Kathie F. Nunley, Differentiating in the High School, Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin Press, 2006.
Obstacles
14. I’ve been teaching this way for years and it works
15. There’s no support for it at my school
16. My district requires me to follow a prescribed text
17. Parents expect lecture format in high school for
college prep
18. The bottom line – if they are learning, you are
teaching
Kathie F. Nunley, Differentiating in the High School, Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin Press, 2006.
Differentiation
Is a teacher’s response to learner’s needs
Guided by general principles of differentiation
Quality Curriculum
Flexible grouping
Respectful Tasks
Building Community
Assessment for Instruction
Teachers Can Differentiate Through:
Content
Affect/Environment
Product
Process
According to Students’
Readiness
Interest
Learning Profile
Through a range of strategies such as:
Multiple intelligences…Jigsaw…4MAT…Graphic Organizers…RAFTS
Compacting…Tiered assignments…Leveled texts…Complex Instruction… Learning
Centers
I have come to a frightening conclusion.
I am the decisive element in the classroom.
It is my personal approach that creates the climate.
It is my daily mood that makes the weather.
As a teacher I possess tremendous power to make a child's life miserable or joyous.
I can be a tool of torture or an instrument of inspiration.
I can humiliate or humor, hurt or heal.
In all situations, it is my response that decides whether a crisis will be escalated or deescalated, and a child humanized or de-humanized.
Haim Ginott
Differentiation
must be an extension of
not a replacement for
high quality
curriculum.
Differentiating for Content







Using several elements and designs
Leveling materials/varying materials
Providing choice
Focusing on depth and complexity of concepts
Targeting readiness levels of students
Meeting with small groups to reteach/enrich content
Using selective abandonment
What Students Learn!
Content
Readiness:
 Reteach for students having difficulty
 Use text and highlight key portions
 Provide organizers to guide note-taking
 Provide key vocabulary list
 Use reading buddies or reading partners to work on
text
Content
Interest
 Provide opportunities for further explanation of the
topics
 Provide additional materials
 Use students questions and topics to guide lectures
and materials
 Use examples and illustrations based on student
interest
Content
Learning Profile
 Present in visual, auditory and kinesthetic modes
 Use application, examples and illustrations from a
wide range of intelligences (Garner/Sternberg)
Foundations of Differentiated Instruction:
KNOW YOUR LEARNER
Learner Profile Factors
Group Orientation
independent/self orientation
group/peer orientation
adult orientation
combination
Learning Environment
Gender
&
Culture
Cognitive Style
Creative/conforming
Essence/facts
Expressive/controlled
Nonlinear/linear
Inductive/deductive
People-oriented/task or Object oriented
Concrete/abstract
Collaboration/competition
Interpersonal/introspective
Easily distracted/long Attention span
Group achievement/personal achievement
Oral/visual/kinesthetic
Reflective/action-oriented
quiet/noise
warm/cool
still/mobile
flexible/fixed
“busy”/”spare”
Intelligence Preference
analytic
practical
creative
verbal/linguistic
logical/mathematical
spatial/visual
bodily/kinesthetic
musical/rhythmic
interpersonal
intrapersonal
naturalist
existential
Content
 Linguistic intelligence ("word smart")
 Logical-mathematical intelligence






("number/reasoning smart")
Spatial intelligence ("picture smart")
Bodily-Kinesthetic intelligence ("body smart")
Musical intelligence ("music smart")
Interpersonal intelligence ("people smart")
Intrapersonal intelligence ("self smart")
Naturalist intelligence ("nature smart")
Content
 Use applications, examples, and illustrations from
both genders and a range of cultures/ communities
 Teach with whole to part and part to whole
approaches
 Use wait time to allow for student reflection
Students in a differentiated classroom do
not need to work the system . . . . .
because the system works for them!
Differentiating for Process








Use of flexible grouping
Use of tiered activities (varied level of support and complexity)
Varying the pace of instruction
Coaching or facilitating learning
Providing interest centers
Developing personal agendas
Offering manipulatives or hands-on activities
Varying the level of time a student takes to complete a task
How students go about making
sense of the what!
Process
 Allow multiple options for how students express
learning
 Encourage students to work together or independently
 Balance competitive, collegial, and independent work
arrangements
 Develop activities that seek multiple perspectives
Differentiating for Product




Giving students options of how to express learning
Using rubrics that match and extend skill levels
Allowing students to work alone or in small groups
Encouraging students to create their own product
containing required elements
How students go about making
sense of the what!
KNOW (facts, vocabulary, dates, rules, people, etc.)
ecosystem
elements of culture (housing/shelter, customs, values, geography)
UNDERSTAND (complete sentence, statement of truth or
insight – want students to understand that . . . )
All parts of an ecosystem affect all others parts.
Culture shapes people and people shape culture.
DO (Basic skills, thinking skills, social skills, skills of the
discipline, planning skills --- verbs)
Write a unified paragraph
Compare and contrast
Draw conclusions
Examine varied perspectives
Work collaboratively
Develop a timeline
Use maps as data
Tomlinson * 02
Differentiating the Environment
 Make sure there are places to work quietly
 Make sure there are places that encourage




collaboration
Provide materials from various cultures and home
settings
Set out clear guidelines for independent work
Develop routines
Help students understand the needs of other learners
Keys to Differentiation
 Get to know your students
 Identify areas of your curriculum that could be
adapted to differentiated instruction
 Examine your role as a teacher in a differentiated
classroom
CRIME
 Curriculum: content, difficulty, standards
 Rules: explicit, implicit, written
 Instruction: teaching style, individual & group work
pace, teacher & student directed
 Materials: textbooks, trade books, tests, homework,
equipment, supplies
 Environment: furniture, seating, space, doors,
windows, barriers
Mary Anne Prater, “She Will Succeed!: Strategies for success in Inclusive Classrooms, Council for Exceptional Children
Discussion Question
Now that you have a general awareness of what
Differentiated Instruction is…
What examples of differentiated instruction can you identify in your
classroom and/or building?
What examples of differentiated instruction can you identify in your
building professional development?
Why would it be important to differentiate for adults, as well as
students?