Differentiated instruction marilyn toro

... One Size Doesn't Fit All

It is a method in which lesson planning and instructions are offered to students with a vast range of techniques to increase their study skills.

Wikipedia establishes that differentiated learning involves providing students with different avenues to acquire content; to process, construct, or make sense of ideas; and to develop  teaching materials so that all students within a classroom can learn effectively, regardless of differences in ability.

All students are different./ Multiple Intelligences

The teacher has to keep in mind each student interests, preferences, readiness, and needs.

Teachers can structure learning environments that address the variety of learning styles, interests, and abilities found within a classroom.

Students learn best when they make connections between the curriculum and their diverse interests and experiences

Differentiated instruction is a teaching theory based on the premise that instructional approaches should vary and be adapted in relation to individual and diverse students in classrooms (Tomlinson, 2001)

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.

Students learn best when they make connections between the curriculum and their diverse interests and experiences.

Teachers DO:Provide several learning options, or

different paths to learning, which help students take in information and make sense of concepts and skills.

Provide appropriate levels of challenge for all students, including those who lag behind, those who are advanced, and those right in the middle

Students who are working below grade level and for those who are gifted in a given area.

Teachers using differentiated instruction match tasks, activities, and assessments with their students' interests, abilities, and learning preferences.

Get to know your students: ◦ Administer a learning style inventory to determine

how your students best learn◦ Ask students to identify topics that interest them

and activities that occupy their non-school time. Identify areas of your curriculum that could

be adapted to differentiated instruction.◦ Study the instructional goals and objectives for

your subject established by your state's department of education

◦ Brainstorm ideas for activities, tasks, and assessments that address a specific concept or skill

Examine your role as teacher in the differentiated classroom.◦ Brainstorm ways to vary your instructional

delivery methods. Target auditory, visual, and kinesthetic learners in your approaches.

◦ Identify alternative methods of assessing student performance and understanding.

With differentiated instruction, classroom teachers plan what the students will need to learn, how they will learn it and how they will demonstrate what they have learned.

Flexible grouping is consistently used.◦ As one of the foundations of differentiated

instruction, grouping and regrouping must be a dynamic process, changing with the content, project, and on-going evaluations.

Classroom management benefits students and teachers. ◦ teachers carefully select organization and

instructional delivery strategies

Provide a balance between teacher-assigned and student-selected tasks.

Build on what students know.  Teach skills for success

◦ Reinforce learning skills that will help all students be successful learners, such as note taking, summarizing, research strategies, and collaboration.

Engage multiple learning styles. 

Differentiation can be accomplished in a number of ways:◦ Content -What the students learn◦ Process -Activities used to assist the learning◦ Products- Demonstration of learning

The methods you use should be based on the student's needs: ◦ Readiness -Student’s academic standing ◦ Learning profile-How student learns◦ Student’s interest

 You may use a variety of techniques to pre-assess such as:

KWL graphic organizer Thumb It  Yes/No Cards  Graffiti Fact 

Choices give students a feeling of independence and ownership. Allow students to choose:

Journal topics/writing topics- A great resource for journal prompts is 5-Minute Daily Practice Writing by Marc Tyler Nobleman (Scholastic)

Reading books Varied graphic organizers Working alone or together Provide students with anchor activities

Based on Content:◦ Utilize pre-tests to assess where individual

students need to begin study of a given topic or unit.

◦ Encourage thinking at various levels of Bloom's taxonomy.

◦ Use a variety of instructional delivery methods to address different learning styles.

◦ Break assignments into smaller, more manageable parts that include structured directions for each part.

◦ Choose broad instructional concepts and skills that lend themselves to understanding at various levels of complexity.

Based on Process:◦ Provide access to a variety of materials which

target different learning preferences and reading abilities.

◦ Develop activities that target auditory, visual, and kinesthetic learners.

◦ Establish stations for inquiry-based, independent learning activities.

◦ Create activities that vary in level of complexity and degree of abstract thinking required.

◦ Use flexible grouping to group and regroup students based on factors including content, ability, and assessment results.

Based on Product:◦ Use a variety of assessment strategies, including

performance-based and open-ended assessment.◦ Balance teacher-assigned and student-selected

projects.◦ Offer students a choice of projects that reflect a

variety of learning styles and interests.◦ Make assessment an ongoing, interactive process.

Group investigation: Cooperative work WebQuests: teacher designed Internet lesson

developed with specific goals in mind. Teacher gives individual or small groups of learners the opportunity to use research, problem solving, and basic skills. WebQuest: http://questgarden.com/

Jigsaw: Cooperative strategy where students work in pairs to study one facet of a topic

Literature Circles: Allow students to read on topics of interest and share readings with others who read the same material.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2qDjADmeQao&feature=related / Differentiated Instruction

http://surfaquarium.com/MI/inventory.htm/ Multiple Intelligence Survey

http://www.spannj.org/BasicRights/appendix_b.htm / Multiple Intelligence Strategies in the Classroom

http://people.usd.edu/~bwjames/tut/learning-style/styleres.html / Learning Styles