Improving Differentiated
Instruction through
Assessment Practices
and Action Research in
English Learner and
Bilingual Classroom
Settings
Trini Lewis, Ed.D
California State University Long Beach
Dual Language Development Program
Lucero Chavez
Montebello School District & CSULB/DLD
Anamay Delreal
Anaheim-Union School District & CSULB/DLD
Georgina Perez
Anaheim-Union School District & CSULB/DLD
1
The slides for this presentation can
be download at:
http://www.csulb.edu/~tlewis2
2
Agenda
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Welcome and Introductions
Overview – Trini Lewis
Case Study #1 – Lucero Chavez
Case Study #2 – Georgina Perez
Case Study #3 – Anamay Del Real
Ideas to Think About-Trini Lewis
Questions and Answers
3
In this presentation we share the
results from three case studies
conducted independently in three
different classroom settings. The
cases illustrate differentiating
instruction by modifying instructional
content, process, and products for
improving student’s learning
outcomes.
4
Relationship between
Differentiation and Informal
Assessment
• There are 3 important aspects for differentiating
instruction. Differentiation involves:
– Flexible grouping
• Students are grouped on a temporary basis in a small group
– Targeted skill
• Skill is identified that needs remediation or enhancement
– Ongoing assessment
• Assessment is informal and embedded in the instructional process.
• Instruction and Assessment are blurred!
5
Instructional Decisions Made by
Assessment Results
• What to teach?
• How long to teach? Pacing
• How effective was the instruction?
– Do you utilize the same methods, or are different methods
needed? This question is important in relation to students who
aren’t successful.
– Modify content, process, or product.
6
Relationship between
Differentiation and Informal
Assessment
• Why is informal assessment needed?
– If assessment is well-designed it leads to
• better instruction
• student performance
• monitoring of student progress that involves a systematic approach
for examining informal assessment results to guide the teacher’s
instructional decisions.
7
In-Class Model for Differentiating
Instruction with Interactive Writing
(in the general education program)
LUCERO CHAVEZ
8
Professional Background
• High School Spanish Teacher for 9 years
• 5-8th grades Teacher for 7 years.
• Currently teach 7th and 8th grade Language Arts and
Social Studies
9
School Demographics
• The School is located in Commerce, Ca.
• There are approximately 865 students in the school
population.
• English Learner population is 353.
• The 99% of the students are of Hispanic or Latino.
10
Class Demographics
•
•
•
•
7th grade Language Arts class has 28 students.
There are 14 girls and 14 boys in the class.
Of this students 6 are English Language Learners (ELLs)
The students range from ELD 3 through ELD 5
11
Maria’s background
• Maria was born in the United States
• She has been in a Mainstream English Instruction/
Sheltered English Immersion since Kindergarten
• She is currently in the 7th grade and is at an ELD
Intermediate level 3.
• Maria scored Below Basic (289) in Language Arts in the
CST in 6th grade.
12
Formal Assessment :District
Language Arts test Results-First
quarter test
• Maria’s scores
–
–
–
•
•
•
Overall she scored intensive or 40% of the material was correct.
There were various standards where Maria scored intensive.
The following three were focused on:
Narrative and Analysis 3.3
Comprehension and Analysis 2.4
Evaluation and Revision 1.7
13
Maria’s Progress with Informal
Assessment
Standard addressed
Informal assessment used to
teach this standard
• proficiency Using
ELD strategies to
reach
Narrative and
Analysis 3.3
Flow MapSequencing
Comprehension
and Analysis
2.4
Open MindCharacterization
Analysis
• Using ELD
strategies to reach
proficiency
Analyzing
quotesInferences
• Using ELD
strategies to reach
proficiency
Evaluation and
Revision 1.7
14
Flow Map
The Outsiders by S.E. Hinton
The Outsiders is a story about the
dilemmas teenagers face.
Ponyboy, the main character,
narrates the story of the
challenges he and his friends,
the Greasers, face due to living
on the East side. The East side
is a poor community where the
future seems bleak for Ponyboy
and his friends. What makes
their situation even more
detrimental is that they lack any
type of adult support. The
Greasers face conflicts with the
Socs . In the end, Ponyboy
realizes that the Socs and
Greasers have a lot of the same
problems.
15
The Outsiders
• Instructional Procedure
– Read a chapter (pair/share)
– Discuss the chapter to emphasize main points using pair/share
and/or whole class.
– Flow Map is introduced to help student restate their
understanding of the chapter in sequential order of events.
– Completed interactive reading activity with a partner.
16
Flow Map on The Outsiders
chapter 3
Ponyboy, two bit and
Johnny walk Cherry and
Marcia home.
The socs drove up to them
in their mustang. Cherry
and Marcia go with them
because they do not want
them to start fighting.
Ponyboy starts telling
Marcia things about his
family that are personal.
Ponyboy tells Cherry that
he and Darry do not get
along. Ponyboy got mad at
Johnny and says he is not
important in his house
either.
Ponyboy and Johnny fall
asleep in the lot. Johnny is
sad because his parents do
not care about him. Pony
goes home at 2am and
gets in trouble with Darry.
17
Example of Paragraph Written
before/after using the Flow Map
•
•
Before
Ponyboy walks back after the
movies. These enemy guys come
out and jump him. They yell at him
and tell him he needs a haircut and
they take out a knife. Ponyboy feels
scared and starts to yell for his
gang. They come and rescue him.
•
•
After- Chapter 3 summary
Ponyboy, two bit and Johnny walk
Cherry and Marcia home. Ponyboy
starts telling Marcia things about his
family that are personal. Ponyboy
tells Cherry that he and Darry do
not get along. Ponyboy got mad at
Johnny and says he is not
important in his house either. The
socs drove up to them in their
mustang. Cherry and Marcia go
home with the guys in the car
because they do not want them to
start fighting. In addition, Johnny is
sad because his parents do not
care about him. They both fell
asleep after talking. Ponyboy goes
home at 2am and gets in trouble
with Darry.
18
Open Mind: Ponyboy Curtis
baffled (confused)
loyal(true)
compassionate (caring)
scholarly(smart)
alone
19
Vocabulary (Isabel Beck)
• Why use vocabulary words from tier 1, 2 (provide
rationale as to the effectiveness of this vocabulary
procedure for ELLs)
• Tier 1-Basic words or sight words
– Example-Nice, smart, kind ect.
• Tier 2-Words that occur in high frequency. They are
important in order to understand a text. Used across a
variety of domains.
• Example- loyal, witty, bizarre ect.
Tier 3-Words with low frequency. Limited to specific
subjects.
• Examples- metamorphic, Revolutionary War ect.
20
T-Chart
Using quotes to help analyze character traits
Quote
• ―He’s as hard as a rock
and about as human…he
thinks I’m a pain in the
neck. He likes Soda—
everybody likes soda—
but he can’t stand me.‖
(Chapter 3, page 42)
Interpretation by Maria
• Ponyboy says these
words. He thinks his
brother Dally doesn’t
care. Ponyboy thinks
Dally is mean. He thinks
that everybody likes
Soda.
21
Evaluation of Informal
Assessments
• Flow Map (plot of the chapter—sequential order of
events with beginning, middle, and end with each part
worth 2 pts.)
• Open Mind (Five characteristics using Tier 2 words, etc.
worth 1 pt each)
• T-Chart (one quote and one interpretation worth 5 Pts.
22
Profile Sheet on Each Child’s
Performance
Flow Map
Open Mind
T-Chart
Notes
Names
12 pts
5 pts
5 pts
Maggie
8
3
4
Needs to add
sentences and
details to flow
map.
Pedro
12
4
3.5
Tier 2 word
missing for full
credit for
Open Mind.
Maria
8
4
3
Needed more
details in the
Flow Map.
Missing a tier
2 word.
Needed
details for the
T-chart.
Esteban
12
5
3.5
More detail
needed in the
T-chart
23
Next steps: T-Chart with quotes
Quote:
• ―He’s as hard as a rock
and about as human…he
thinks I’m a pain in the
neck. He likes Soda—
everybody likes soda—
but he can’t stand me.‖
(Chapter 3, page 42)
Interpretation
• Have students use the
words from the text to
explain their
interpretations of the
quotes.
• For example:
• ―He’s as hard as a rock
and about as human…‖,
means that Dally is mean
and does not show his
feelings.
24
Next Steps Flow Map: Add
transitions words
Initially, Ponyboy, two bit
and Johnny walk Cherry
and Marcia home.
The socs drove up to them in
their mustang. Cherry and
Marcia go with them because
they do not want them to start
fighting.
Ponyboy starts telling Marcia
things about his family that are
personal.
Ponyboy tells Cherry that he
and Darry do not get along.
, Ponyboy got mad at
Johnny and says he is not
important in his house either.
, Ponyboy and
Johnny fall asleep in the lot.
Johnny is sad because his
parents do not care about him.
Pony goes home at 2am and
gets in trouble with Darry.
25
Open Mind-Next steps
Using the words in a paragraph
compassionate
Ponyboy is a
compassionate teenager.
He cares about his friends
and family members. In
addition, he is also a loyal
friend because he always
there when his friends need
him. For example, when
Johnny needed help
Ponyboy was there to help
him.
loyal
26
Maria’s Goals
Narrative and
Analysis 3.3
Comprehension
and Analysis
2.4
Evaluation and
Revision 1.7
Flow Map with
ELD strategies
Mastering the
standard and
Independent
Practice of skill
Open Mind
with ELD
Strategies
Mastering of
standard and
Independent
practice of skill
T-Chart with
quotes using
ELD Strategies
Mastering the
standard and
Independent
practice of skill
27
Teacher goals for Maria
Informal
Assessment
:Flow map,
Open Mind,
T-chart
Group
practice
Mastery of
Standards,
Independent
practice and
work!
28
Examining an
In-Class Model Using
Existing Curriculum
Resources
(In an English Development Program)
Georgina Perez
29
My Professional Background
• I am currently an ELD 1 teacher at Sycamore Jr. High School in
Anaheim, CA. This is my 7th year at Sycamore. Prior to Sycamore, I
was an elementary school teacher in Fullerton School District for 9
years.
• Some of the challenges I’ve encountered with ELLs are that it is a very
transient population. Many arrive/leave in the middle of the school
year. This is very challenging, especially when I have covered most of
the curriculum and these students need the basic fundamentals of
English that was covered at the beginning of the school year.
• Another challenge is that some ELLs have not experienced consistent
schooling or appropriate instruction. As a result, these students
experience greater difficulties reading and writing in English.
• Informal assessments have helped me differentiate my instruction to
improve student learning. Furthermore, it has helped me by showing
me my student’s strengths and weaknesses.
30
School Demographics
•Sycamore Junior High School is located on 1801 E. Sycamore St. in Anaheim,
CA. 92805. Sycamore is part of the Anaheim Union High School District in
Orange County.
•Sycamore is on a ten month traditional school calendar.
•Sycamore serves only seventh and eighth grade students. Presently, the total
enrollment is 1,607 students; 93% are Hispanic.
•There is a 43% enrollment of English Learners (ELs) at Sycamore and 36% of
them are Spanish speakers.
•There are also 1,446 students (90% of the student population) participating in
the free and reduced lunch program.
•In addition, Sycamore is a Title 1 School.
31
Class Demographics
• I have a total of 15 students in my ELD 1 class. I have the same
students for two consecutive periods (block).
• I have 9 boys and 6 girls in my ELD 1 class. I have 7th and 8th
graders.
• All of my students have been in this country for less than 2 years.
Consequently, my students are not proficient in English. Some
are at the Beginning level of English and others are at an Early
Intermediate level.
• I have students from Iraq, Saudi Arabia, Vietnam, Guatemala,
Honduras, El Salvador and most are from Mexico.
32
Title & Purpose of Lesson
Lesson Title: Verbs with –ing Ending
Purpose of Lesson: English language learner students will
learn to spell and read verbs with
–ing endings fluently.
Materials Used:
• Rules Chart (for adding -ing to verbs)
• A stack of cards of verbs with –ing endings & its root words
• Small white boards & erasers
• A list of verbs
• Story entitled Celebrate the Past
33
Instructional Procedure
•
First, I taught the students the rules when adding
–ing to verbs. I had the students take notes.
Rules:
A. For some verbs, you can just add –ing.
Ex. jump + ing = jumping
B.
Some verbs end in silent ―e.‖ Ex. smile
When you add –ing, drop the ―e.‖
smile + ing = smiling
C.
Some verbs end in 1 vowel and 1 consonant.
Ex. tap
When you add –ing, double the consonant.
Ex. tapping
34
Instructional Procedure
•Next, I modeled by adding –ing to several verbs and
demonstrating which rule was used. I gave the students a list
of verbs and they had to practice writing the verbs with -ing
endings. The students wrote the words on small white
boards and wrote which rule they had used. Students would
show me their answers on the white boards. This was a
quick way to check for understanding and give immediate
feedback.
•Then, I had students get into small groups. I gave each
group a stack of cards. The students had to match the verbs
with –ing endings with its root words. The students had to
read their matched pair aloud, showing the cards to the
students, and describe the rule that was being used when
35
–ing was added.
Instructional Procedure
•Finally, I had the students read a short story
aloud entitled Celebrate the Past that included
many verbs with –ing endings. I was checking
if students were able to read the verbs with –ing
ending fluently.
•The students read the story aloud in a small
group of 5 and each student took turns reading a
page.
***Celebrate the Past is on the next slide
36
37
Assessment
My assessment consisted of 5 parts:
• Part 1: I read a verb with –ing and the student had to choose the
word I read from the answers.
Part 2: I dictated 5 spelling words
with –ing endings and the students
wrote the words on the lines.
Part 3: From a short paragraph, the
students had to circle the verbs with
–ing endings, write them on the line,
and write its root word.
38
Part 4: Students were
given 4 verbs with –ing
endings. The students
had to identify if the
vowels in the verbs were
short or long.
Part 5: The students were given 5
sentences and they had to complete
the sentence writing a verb ending
with –ing. The root word was given.
39
Assessment Results
Part 1
Part 2
Part 3
Part 4
Part 5
Recognizing
the verb
ending
with –ing
when
dictated
(5 pts.)
Spelling
verbs
with –ing
ending
when
dictated
Writing
the root
word of a
verb
ending
with –ing
Identifyin
g if the
vowel is
short or
long
(4 pts.)
When
given the
verb/root
word,
adding
-ing
correctly
(5 pts.)
(5 pts.)
(5 pts.)
Javier
5
3
5
4
5
Lisa
3
3
5
4
4
Carlos
Amy
Malika
Herson
Abdul
Nathan
Pham
Jose
4
5
4
4
3
4
4
4
0
2
5
2
0
4
3
4
0
0
5
5
5
5
5
4
2
1
4
3
4
4
3
0
0
2
5
5
4
4
3
2
40
Next Steps
From the data I gather from the assessments, I
am able to differentiate my instruction by doing
the following:
•
•
•
•
•
•
Organize my groups
Re-teach specific concepts and skills
Review and practice
Provide enrichment lessons
Use graphic organizers
Scaffold
41
Next Steps
• According to the assessments, Carlos scored low on all of the
parts, except part 1 (recognizing the verb with –ing ending).
• As a result, I will put Carlos and all of the students who
performed low on the assessments in one small group. I will
work with this group reviewing, re-teaching, modeling,
scaffolding, and having students practice the skills. Informal
assessments will be performed.
• The other students will be working independently in small
groups on follow-up lessons (verbs ending with
–ing) which include components for maintenance or
enrichment.
42
Critical Thinking through Scaffolding
Examining an In-Class Model
(In an Spanish Language Arts Program)
Anamay Del Real
43
My Professional Background
• Taught Beginning and Intermediate ELD
• Teach 8th grade Spanish to Spanish Speakers
• Teach 7th grade Spanish to Spanish Speakers for
Dual Language Development
Program
• Classes are very diverse:
Beginning EL (4), Intermediate EL (6),
Advance EL (17) Honors Students,
Special
Ed and Mainstream Students
44
School
Demographics
• Sycamore Junior High School
• Anaheim Ca
• Total Enrollment
school year 2009-2010
1607
7th grade 789
8th grade 818
• 2010 API score 703
• 43% are English Learners
45
Class Demographics
• All Spanish Speakers
• Most Bilingual Students
• English Language Development (10)
• First time in Spanish Class
• Boys vs. girls
12 boys
13 girls
46
Formal vs. Informal
Assessment
• What the CSTs don’t reveal………..
• Our EL’s results indicate they are not proficient because they
did not have enough language knowledge to understand the
exam questions.
• The results cannot be used to guide instruction for the
students since the test is taken at the end of the school year.
47
In-class Differentiation
Model
• Pair an ELD student with a non-ELD student.
Builds social relationships, helps promote
social interaction for building community of
learners.
• More able learner with less able learner.
• Check for understanding with partner reading,
check dictionary for unfamiliar words.
• Teacher walks around observing and helping
(I’m planning to improve this by creating a log
to document my observations of strengths and
challenges).
48
La Niña Fea
(story in Spanish)
by Ana Maria Matute
. La niña tenía la cara oscura y los ojos como endrinas. La niña llevaba el cabello
partido en dos mechones, trenzados a cada lado de la cara. Todos los días iba
a la escuela, con su cuaderno lleno de letras y la manzana brillante de la
merienda. Pero las niñas de la escuela le decían: ―Niña fea‖; y no le daban la
mano, ni se querían poner a su lado, ni en la rueda ni en la comba: ―Tú vete,
niña fea‖. La niña fea se comía su manzana, mirándolas desde lejos, desde las
acacias, junto a los rosales silvestres, las abejas de oro, las hormigas malignas
y la tierra caliente del sol. Allí nadie le decía: ―Vete‖. Un día, la tierra le dijo: ―Tú
tienes mi color‖. A la niña le pusieron flores de espino en la cabeza, flores de
trapo y de papel rizado en la boca, cintas azules y moradas en las muñecas.
Era muy tarde, y todos dijeron: ―Qué bonita es‖. Pero ella se fue a su color
caliente, al aroma escondido, al dulce escondite donde se juega con las
sombras alargadas de los árboles, flores no nacidas y semillas de girasol.
49
La Niña Fea
• Supplemental Material from a college book.
• Spanish readability test score of 94 on the Fernandez
Huerta reading test online.
• Score 94- easily understandable by an average 11-yearold student
50
Instructional Procedure
Partner Reading
• Before we read aloud I give the students an opportunity to
read with a partner.
Students have an opportunity to rehearse before they read
aloud.
• They look up unfamiliar words in the dictionary.
• They check each other for comprehension.
If neither comprehends, they attempt to do so by using
context clues. If not able to comprehend, they raise their
hands for teacher help.
51
Instructional Procedures
Questions for Promoting CT
• Check for comprehension using Bloom’s Taxonomy
comprehension questions.
• We discuss the story and the open ending.
52
Blooms Taxonomy flip chart in
Spanish/English
• Spanish
• English
53
Blooms Taxonomy flip chart in
Spanish/English
• Spanish
• English
54
Comprehension Questions
• Oral examples
1. Was the place where she went to watch her classmates from afar a
positive or a negative place? Why?
2. Was she able to feel the thorn crown on her head? Why or why not?
• Written examples (assessment for reading comprehension) 1. Can you
or anyone you know relate to the little girl?
2. If you were the little girl what would you do differently?
3. What connection did the little girl have with the earth? Why did he tell
her she has his color?
4. Explain what is happening to the little girl when they decorate her.
5. What do you infer happened to the little girl? Why did it happen?
55
Assessment
• Critical thinking questions and complete sentence answers
with authentic answers not copy the text answers.
• Assess students critical thinking skills by checking their
written answers for comprehension, connections,
authenticity, writing conventions and elaboration of ideas.
56
Examples of Written Assessment
Questions and Student Responses
• Questions to connect self-to-text.
• What would you do differently? (empathy for the character)
• 5 questions 5 points each.
57
Profile Sheet
Question 1
Connections to Self (5 pts total)
C1
Comprehension of
the story
C2
Connections
Text to text
Text to self
Text to world
C3
C4
Writing
conventions
C5
Elaboration of
ideas
Nancy
-
+
-
-
-
Veronica
+
+
+
+
+
Vanessa
+
-
+
-
-
Paul
+
+
+
+
+
Christian
+
+
+
+
-
Kimberly
-
-
-
-
-
Jocelyn
+
+
+
-
+
Irwin
+
+
+
+
-
Maria
+
+
+
+
+
Estephany
+
+
-
+
-
Ernie
+
+
+
-
+
Brandon
+
+
-
-
-
Authenticity/Or
iginality
58
Next Steps
• The data sheet will help me pair up students.
• I will use the data results from the informal assessment to
better inform my instruction. I will either proceed with the
next lesson or go over areas from the current lesson. If 5-7
or less students need additional instruction I will reteach in
a small group after school.
• This process helps loop the assessment results back to my
instruction for better meeting the needs of the students.
59
Ideas to Think About
• What might be some of the consequences for El
or bilingual students when differentiation is not
included as part of their instructional routine?
• We hope you have been learned about some of
the important aspects of differentiating
instruction and the resulting benefits for students
and teachers---we hope you are inspired to
differentiate instruction or to continue
differentiating your instruction—Thank you!
60
Questions and Answers
61