CREATING DIFFERENTIATED LEARNING EXPERIENCES THROUGH TECHNOLOGY-INFUSED MULTIGENRE RESEARCH PROJECTS Diane D. Painter, Ph.D. Special Education-General.

CREATING DIFFERENTIATED LEARNING EXPERIENCES THROUGH

TECHNOLOGY-INFUSED MULTIGENRE RESEARCH PROJECTS

Diane D. Painter, Ph.D.Special Education-General Education

Professional Studies Certificate ProgramShenandoah University

IASE Conference- The University of AlicanteJuly 14, 2009

Blending Genre, Altering Style: Writing Multigenre Papers (Tom Romano)

Teachers:• One sixth grade language arts teacher

• One sixth grade social studies teacher

• One special education teacher and her instructional assistant

• One technology resource teacher

• One school librarian

Deer Park Elementary School The Multigenre Project

Concepts and Strategies Integrating Differentiated Instruction (DI) with

Understanding by Design (UBD) elements when planning instruction (Diane Heacox, Carol Tomlinson, and Grant Wiggins & Jay McTighe)

Universal Design for Learning (UDL) framework (CAST.org)

SETT Framework for successful inclusion and transition (Joy Zabala)

Differentiation involves…

Changing pace, level and/or kind of instruction in response to a learner’s:

– needs

– styles

– interests

and it involves rigorous, flexible, varied and complex instruction.

Heacox, 2002, p. 5

Multi-step Process involved:1. Challenging students to learn and provide

them with a variety of learning experiences.

2. Challenge our traditional ways of teaching: how could we modify, adapt, and design new approaches to instruction based on the needs, interests and learning preferences of our students?

Step One: Identify Cognitive StylesWho…• Thinks outside the box? Conforms to the

norm?• Sees whole to parts, or parts to whole?

Who are linear thinkers? Nonlinear thinkers? Inductive thinkers? Deductive thinkers?

Who have long attention spans? Short attention spans and distract easily?

Identify Individual Learning Preferences…

Who are…?

• Visual learners?

• Auditory learners?

• Kinesthetic, tactile learners?

• Individual learners?

• Social learners?

Step Two: Decide What Will Be Differentiated

• Content (curricular topics, concepts, themes)• Process (how things will be taught)• *Products (showing what students know and

what they can do.)

Step Three: Management

Plan for…• High levels of challenge• Rigorous, relevant, significant engaged learning

Affirm..• the importance and value of student work

Allow..• students to work independently in order to

demonstrate what they know and can do

One Way- Not For All

• Diagnose and prescribe tasks/assignments that match learning styles and preferences

• Nurture students’ abilities to make appropriate choices about how they learn and how they prefer to show that learning

• Use flexible instructional groupings• Create fair and equitable evaluation processes

and procedures

Goals for theThe Multigenre Project

Goal- 1) Allow students to construct their own learning related to social studies topics of interest to them.

Goal- 2) Allow students to demonstrate skills related to reading, writing and the use of technologies when creating genres.

Elements of Universal Design for Learning (UDL)…

In order to provide equal access for all our learners, plan opportunities for:

• Multiple representations of information

• Multiple methods of expression

• Multiple means of engagementwww.cast.org

Teacher Research Questions

• What resources do students access?• How do students express what they learn in

different genre formats?• What technology skills do students

independently demonstrate?

Essential Questions

• How are things, people and events connected to one another?

• How can one express one’s ideas in a variety of genres?

• How do effective writers hook and hold their readers?

Develop a Curriculum Map• Curriculum Standards: Inquiry, reading and

writing, oral language• Content/Topics/Resources: Social studies topics

of interest (people, places, events) and resources (digital, hard copy, experts)

• Skills: collaborative learning, technology, oral presentation

• Products: produced through a variety of technology means (PowerPoint, PAINT, Word, Publisher, digital image and movie editors)

Student Groups

• Fluid group membership as needed

• Ability/aptitude groups based on general performance or achievement

• *Cooperative groups made up of students working on the same task or one facet of a task to complete a group project

Cooperative Pairs• Artist- drew a political cartoon• Storyteller- wrote a narrative from the

historical person’s point of view• Linear thinker- created a timeline to show

major events• Entertainer- became game show host• Actor- portrayed different characters in an

audio file in a PowerPoint• Poet- wrote about how the flag felt as bombs

burst in the War of 1812

Project Planners

Project planners helped students:

• Take ownership of their learning

• Stay organized and on task

• Self-evaluate progress and reflect on accomplishments

Project RubricThe project rubric looked for evidence of:• Cooperative working relationships• Different kinds of genres creating a quality

integrated project paper telling what was learned

• Evidence of process writing: revision and editing

• Creativity- especially the cover reflecting the topic

Interviews:

Students said they liked…

• Taking control of their own learning

• Being able to choose a topic of interest to them

• Deciding on which genres to create

• Having a variety of technologies available to use

Teachers’ observations:

• Every student, regardless of ability, produced quality work.

• Many students voluntarily giving up free time to work on projects.

• Students shared new skills and ideas for using technologies with other students.

• The great variety of genres that were created showed student learning in many creative ways.

Facilitators of Learning

As teachers, we found…• very little directed teaching took place.• we provided mostly technical assistance or were

involved in the final editing process of written work.

• we had the freedom to work individually with students with little interruption since students were so engaged in what they were doing.

Identified Feelings of Success

When there is an appropriate degree of challenge or degree of difficulty with what students seek to learn…

And when allowed to work in classrooms with a high level of success…

Students feel better about themselves and the subjects they are studying and they learn more.

Tomlinson & McTighe, 2006

SETT FrameworkStudents- determined what they wanted to

do based on their learning preferences.Environment- what materials, physical

arrangements, support and resources were needed?

Tasks- What needs to be accomplished in order to complete the project?

Tools- What resources could be used to complete those tasks?

Land of the PharaohsUnderneath the ground;

Below our very feet,

Lie secrets so dark,

They haunt us in our sleep.

As queens and kings alike,

Ruled over all,

Nothing got past their wondering eye,

Until came their fall.

Pharaohs they were called,

And proud they were of that.

They were waited on hand and foot!

And they loved that!

Now buried and all dead,

They rest in peace.

They are waiting;

In their undisturbed sleep.

They are waiting to pass into their afterlife.

They believe that when they died,

All go to a world exactly the same as the last,

Except it’s perfect.

Some ruled for only a year.

Others ruled for a lifetime!

Some died extremely young-

Others lasted very long.

All had numerous wives,

With 100 children or more!

Some even married…

To keep friendships with other countries strong!

Only few females became Pharaoh,

And that was because…

When their husbands died,

They were the only worthy ones.

Female or male,

With power they ruled!

And when they left this world,

Mummification was really cool!

They were wrapped in simple cloth,

From head to foot.

That way their bodies were preserved,

For those who would later survey them.

They shook the foundations of all,

In that mighty land of theirs!

From the tall pyramid to the underground tomb,

That’s were they belonged.

In that desert they called home,

As Egyptians they were known.

But where they ruled was more commonly known,

The Land of the Pharaohs!

~Valerie

Web Resources

• CAST, a nonprofit organization that works to expand learning opportunities for all individuals (www.cast.org)

• Get SETT for Successful Inclusion and Transition by Joy Zabala. Retrieved from www.ldonline.org/article/6399

Written References

Heacox, D. (2002). Differentiating instruction in the Regular Classroom. Minneapolis, MN: Freespirit Publishing.

Painter, D. (2009). Providing differentiated learning experiences through multigenre projects. Intervention in School and Clinic, 44, 288-293.

Romano, T. (2000). Blending genre, altering style: Writing multigenre papers. Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann.

Tomlinson, C., & McTighe, J (2006). Integrating differentiated instruction and understanding by design. Alexandria, VA: ASCD.

Contact information

Dr. Diane De Mott PainterProgram Head: Special Education Professional Certificate

Chairperson, Curriculum and Instruction

Shenandoah University- School of Education and

Human Development

20 South Cameron Street

Winchester, Virginia (USA) 22601

540-678-4304 e-mail: [email protected]