David Explains Differentiated instruction

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How we can break out of themold, create a culture of learning that draws in every student, andstill beat the MCAs!

Doing it Differentiated

An Explanation of the Principles ofDifferentiated Instruction with some Examples

of Method and Student Work and a shortDiscussion of the Theory of Multiple

Intelligencesand Differentiated Assessment

Presented by David Eden

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Many of us can still remember suffering in classrooms like this. A traditional elementary class. Row upon row, the teacher in front with the blackboard, the “poor” students in back asleep or

WORSE!

We couldn't wait to get to college, where our true individuality could be expressed, where we could stand out from the crowd, and where the most advanced and innovative methods of instruction would surely be offered!

Few students or teachers would tolerate Few students or teachers would tolerate this today, of course! But, will it take this today, of course! But, will it take another 4000 years for significant another 4000 years for significant changes in instructional style to take changes in instructional style to take hold?hold?

It took nearly 4000 years for real changes inclassroom design to take hold, as this schoolroomfrom Sumer, dated to 2000 BCE illustrates.

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HOW DO WE TEACH TODAY?HOW DO WE TEACH TODAY?

Today our classrooms are vibrant and colorful. Despite the ridiculous ruling that demanded all hallways and class walls be free of paper or other flammable materials, our school walls are covered with examples of student's work. Students sit in flexible clusters that change with the subject being taught. Materials and resources abound and are available to the students. There is much more movement and life in classes now, and few teachers would want to go back to the strict and deadly traditional style.

We can congratulate ourselves on our progress! We have addressed the physical space, and that is a big step.

But, we are only halfway there.

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WHO MINDS WHOSE MIND?WHO MINDS WHOSE MIND?

As teachers, it is our avocation to cultivate the minds of our students, but HOW do we approach this task? Traditionally, a teacher might develop a “technique” that could carry him through his career. A “good” teacher would reach many children, and those students who could not keep up were labeled as “slow” or “lazy.” The technique had to be good, as it worked with so many. Intelligence was an easily measured quantity, often reduced to a single number. Then, in 1983, Dr, Howard Gardner of Harvard, blew the old paradigm away. He proposed a new model of intelligence, one that posits the existence of 8 intelligences to “account for a broader range of human potential.”

Next we will see a modified set of nine posited intelligences and associated career choices...

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MultipleIntelligences

Existentialist“cosmos smart”philosopher, theorist

Musical/Rhythmic“music smart”musiciancomposerdisk jockey

Visual/Spatial“picture smart”artist, sculptorarchitect, navigator

Intrapersonal“self smart”entrepeneur, novelistresearcherNaturalist

“nature smart”naturalist, farmer, botanist

Logical/Mathematical“number/reasoning smart”engineer, programmeraccountant

Interpersonal“people smart”politiciancounselorgame show host

Verbal/Linguistic“word smart”teacher, authorjournalistlawyer

Bodily/Kinesthetic: “body smart” - actor,athletemountain climber

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So – what does this have to do with teaching?If we accept Dr. Gardner's theory, what are the

implications for pedagogy as we know it?

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Differentiated Instruction

I am glad you asked! An implication ofthe theory of multiple intelligences is that,for every type of intelligence, there is aunique, associated learning style thatworks best for the person with that sortof intelligence. There is a different way

of perceiving the world, of assimilating information, of processing information. A person whose main strength is in the area of visual/spatial intelligence, for instance, might have much trouble mastering a skill such as a theoretical math problem WHEN TAUGHT IN THE TRADITIONAL FASHION. Note the emphasis here. This is the nub. The visual person, when taught the same example in a manner which takes into account his or her individual type of intelligence, has a much better chance of mastering the material. Our task, then, is first to aid the student to discover her intelligence type. Fortunately, there are many resources on the Web which provide questionnaires and assessments to do this. Once the student's type has been determined, the teacher can then choose an instructional mode that best suits that child's intelligence palette. By offering several possible options to the class, the teacher enables several approaches to assimilating and mastering the subject matter.

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Hey, wait a minute! Doesn't this mean moreWORK for US?

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Well, yes, at first. But this is where the teamwork of the whole teaching staff can come together. In the beginning, small steps can be taken. A 5-year plan can be put into place to work towards full implementation. A library of differentiated learning plans can be started. The Web is full of resources, of actual plans which can be used as inspiration or as is. Histories of how other schools put DI in place can be found. “Music, cooperative learning, art activities, role play, multimedia, field

trips, inner reflection, and much more” can be integrated into each class activity, rather than spread among specials. On the following pages, I will show a series of projects done by a student whose intelligence is strongest in the visual/spatial area with verbal/linguistic strengths, as well. and whose choice of project tends towards the artistic. In each of the examples shown, the students were offered several choices of project to illustrate their understanding of the subject matter. These included a traditional written report, art work, video project, game design, oral presentation or dramatization.

But first......

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Differentiated Instruction is NOT “individualized instruction!” We cannot do something different for each of our 20+ students in each classroom – it is too exhausting! It does not assume a separate level for each learner.

Differentiated instruction is NOT chaotic! It isn’ta free-for-all of students doing whatever they want. Instead, teachers manage and monitor many activities simultaneously. The classroom includes purposeful student movement and talking...

Differentiated instruction is NOT just anotherway to provide homogeneous grouping! It is notseparating the class into thirds—advanced, middleand struggling. Itis the use of flexible grouping, where students may be in many different groups depending on the task and objective. Sometimes groups are formed by a common link, but most often they are groups that mix strengths and weaknesses of all students.

Differentiated instruction is NOT “tailoring thesame suit of clothes!” It is often more than just asking a few students to answer a more complex question in a discussion or to research and share more advanced information on a topic. While theseare not “bad” strategies, they are often not enoughto really differentiate instruction.

Differentiated instruction is NOT teaching to thelowest common denominator! Though the temptation is to slow down to not leave the struggling learners behind, it does not serve the interest of our advanced learners or our struggling learners to do this. Differentiated instruction is offering powerful teaching and learning opportunities for all students—not just for some.

Differentiated instruction is NOT adding extra work to keep advanced students busy! Addingwork is only adding to the workload—the way thischallenges an advanced learner is that it challenges his time management skills. It may be assigning advanced learners a more complex task to begin with so that they will finish in about the same time as the other students.

Differentiated instruction is NOT a strategy that is “done!” Teachers do not “do” a DI activity when there is extra time or apply it only to one aspect of teaching—it is a philosophy about teaching and learning that permeates every aspect of the classroom.

Let's clear our minds Let's clear our minds of some misconceptionsof some misconceptionsabout what is NOTabout what is NOTDifferentiated Instruction*Differentiated Instruction*

* Source - Wilmette School system PDF on Differentiated Instruction.

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The“Roger's Rangers Attack on St. Francis”

game

The subject was history, the period being studied was the French and Indian War. The student designed a game based on Richard Roger's 1759 attack on the Abenaki village of St. Francis, in Quebec. Players start their Ranger playing pieces at the old New Hampshire outpost at Number Four and move up through Lake Champlain to the attack. The goal is to reach the village and return to Number Four safely. The student made extensive use of the internet for visual components of the game, designed and made all the pieces, and created the “Fate” cards to add a degree of randomness. Use of theinternet as a resource is an important

aspect of differential education. Since students choose from a number of ways to demonstrate subject mastery, giving them access to the very wide range of informational resources available on the Web enables them to enrich their learning greatly. Indeed, it is hard to imagine a successful implementation of DI without access to the internet!

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The 6th grade English class had finished reading “The Yearling.” The students were told that they could write a classic book report, give a dramatic show, or do art work with a paragraph relating the work to the book. Our student here decided to do a diorama of the fawn lost in the Florida wilderness. Her writing described Jody's finding of the little animal.In this case, again,

use was made of the web to find the pictures of wild Florida woods to serve as background. Also, the student found directions for making shoe box dioramas that enabled her to enrich her presentation. With her note, she showed mastery of the story.

Sacagewea on the Voyage of Discoverya Differentiated Assignment

The last differentiated project by this student that we will examine was done in the fourth grade. The unit covered the Lewis and Clark Voyage of Discovery, and the chosen topic was a study of Sacagewea. The options provided by the teacher were to write a two page report, do a poster or other illustrative artwork, do a dramatic presentation (or at least write a short play), or to choose another option that the teacher would have to agree to. The student proposed a Power Point presentation on Sacagewea, which was approved. A traditional paper would have not engendered the creative outburst that followed. Giving full rein to her Visual/Spatial intelligence, she created a picture story using her siblings and their toys as actors. I have included several slides from that presentation as a sample of the quality of work and the mastery of subject demonstrated using what was then an unusual format.

Sacagawea was bornin 1788 or 1789. Shewas in the Shoshonetribe. Her olderbrother was namedCamewait

Sacagawea is captured bya Hidatsa warrior. Hidatsaraided the Shoshone for horses and slaves. TheShoshone lived in the Western Rocky Mountains. The Hidatsa lived on the Great Plains.

The Expedition left the Hidatsa village in April, 1805. Sacagawea was Carrying her two-month old baby, Jean Baptiste. On May 14th, one of the boats nearly tipped over. Charbonneau, who was steering, panicked.

Sacagawea saved the bags with the medicine and thescientific instruments

On August 13th, the Expedition metthe Shoshone. Sacagawea was so happy to see herbrother, Camewait.He was now a chiefand a great warrior!Lewis and Clarkwere happy she spoke Shoshone.

The Pacific Ocean At Last!

November, 1805

Well, that was a nice break, but now back to work! We have seen from these samples that the use of differentiated instruction does not imply poor or inadequate work, and that the mastery of material is not sacrificed. Indeed, DI can be imagined as an elaboration of such aids to learning as mnemonics.

We would not hesitate to help students who have trouble memorizing facts to use a mnemonic. Any biology student will remember “King Philip Come Out For Goodness Sake!” (The modern version can't be shown in a family PPT!) If we expand the concept to include a rap, say, or an image, or any of a number of other aids, such as graphic representations, we can see that DI is not so far from what we are used to practicing in a small way. It is the underlying theory that is radical and that implies the paradigm change. The fact that we can look for enhanced learning has good implications for the dreaded....

MCAS!MCAS!The Massachusetts The Massachusetts

Comprehensive Comprehensive Assessment Assessment

SystemSystem

It is this all-devouring set of standardized tests that make the idea of any new method of teaching, especially one that requires such an effort to implement, so intimidating. The standards must be maintained, and it is far safer to teach to the test than to risk all on some newfangled idea. The potential gains are great, however, and the possibility of stronger results is high. I propose that we form committee to examine the potential benefits of differentiated instruction. Some studies have shown a marked improvement in performance, so it merits serious consideration.

Center for Applied Special Technology - Differentiated InstructionFlemington-Raritan Regional School District - DI PageSacremento City Unified School District - What is DI?New Horizons for Learning - DI PageStaff Development for Educators

Just a few links to get you started! There are literally hundreds of sites on the web with definitions, implementation plans and histories, lesson plans cross-links, book lists, just everything we might need to investigate D. I. Use these as just the beginning of your investigation!

Wilmette School System DI Resource Page

Differentiated AssessmentA whole 'nuther kettle of fish

Although we can't cover the subject in any great depth here, once decide to go with differentiated instruction, assessment of student progress becomes a task which is more complicated than traditional methods of assessment. We are buying into a new philosophy and theory of learning, after all,

so we cannot expect the old methods of measuring a student's progress and mastery of a subject to remain entirely valid. The traditional method of basing grades on snapshots of student progress, such as quizzes and tests, gives way to a process that has been described as “formative dipsticking,” which is a continual checking for comprehension. This means that the teacher is able to get a more accurate image of the student's progress over time. One way to make this process easier is to make sure that your own mind is set on the goals of the particular unit and that clear and solid criteria for assessment have been established. As with DI, there are great numbers of assessment resources available on-line to learn more about this aspect of Differentiated Instruction.