Differentiation: From Orator to Facilitator

DIFFERENTIATION:FROM ORATOR TO FACILITATOR

Kirsten Olson, Old Sow ConsultingBrian Anderson, MCCPSE

March 5, 2010

Do Now

.What do you think

differentiation is?

• Write a paragraph• Create a graphic organizer• Draw a picture• Choose your own way to communicate it

Why differentiate?

• “Neil learns better if I'm teaching with the interactive board and totally phases out when we're reading.• Desiree phases out when we're reading, but as long as someone's talking about the material, she's in.• Tien thrives in the computer lab.• The entire class wakes up if they stand up.• Seth has to be doing three things at once or he can't pay attention at all.• Armando needs everything to relate to him or he goes over to the Dark Side.• Jenny will do anything academic I ask of her as long as I allow her to use a pink pen.• Brandon’s writing will never be read unless he learns to type.• Every student loves coming in to find the room looking different.• Sarah will only work with Angy, but Fabiola can't work with Sarah.• Tin will function in a small group, but only one consisting of young ladies.”

-Middle school language arts teacher Heather Wolpert-Gawron, San Gabriel Unified (CA)

STUDENT AS IMPETUS FOR DIFFERENTIATION

Old School vs. New School

FROM ORATOR TO FACILITATOR

“The secret of education is respecting the student.”

Ralph Waldo Emerson

WHAT MAKES WORK MEANINGFUL FOR YOU? FOR STUDENTS?

•Choice•Novelty•Lack of interruption•Challenge•Relates to my life

DIFFERENTIATION IN ACTION

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uU25gNc024I

What do you see?

WHAT RESEARCH TELLS US ABOUT DIFFERENTIATION

•Allows us to teach to zone of proximal development (ZPD) through STUDENT control of activity (distance between what we know and what we are trying to know)

•Effective for keeping higher performing students challenged, especially purposeful flexible grouping (Tieso, 2005)

•Students with LDs hugely benefit from DI, especially small group and targeted instruction (McQuarrie, McRaie, and Stack-Cutler, 2008)

•Student attitudes towards learning, engagement improves (Baumgartner, Lipowski and Rush 2003)

WHAT IS DIFFERENTIATION?

•Offering a variety of ways to define content•Offering a variety of options for exploring content•Offering a variety of ways to demonstrate learning•Not having to control or choose for every learner•Gradual release of responsibility for learning to student

MIDDLE SCHOOL SOCIAL STUDIES: AMERICAN REVOLUTION

• Adalet writes a story about the life of a teenager during the American Revolutionary period•Jose makes a movie about American heroes then and now •Aaron creates a “museum” project showing how the Revolution influenced the development of science

WHAT A DIFFERENCE A TASK CAN MAKE!

If the student performed the instructional task, what would they know how to do?

How do the tasks compare on Blooms taxonomy?

How do you do it?

FROM STUDENT’S POINT OF VIEW

• Interests• Learning styles• Readiness (what do I need

to work on?)• Learning environments

FROM TEACHER’S POINT OF VIEW

• Content• Activities• Products• Learning Environments

Basics of Planning“Differentiation requires good planning.”

Differentiation Tools

• Do Nows• Tiered Assignments• Curriculum Compacting• Taxonomies of Questions• Learning Contracts• Achieve and Aspire Graphs• Independent Research • Exit Tickets

Sample Tiered Lesson

Helping You Do The Work

• Roles and Rules of Group Work

• Room Set up– Learning Centers

and Stations– “Gallery” Space

• Technology – Cameras/Video

Cameras– Computers– Smartboards– Projectors– Timer

Adirondack Mountain Project using a Wiki

• The Launch• The Investigation• The Synthesis• The Room

What are you thinking so far?

What stands out?

HOW HAS DIFFERENTIATION WORKED IN YOUR CLASSES IN THE PAST?

Triads:Let’s practice!

• Examine ONE model (math or poetry)• Analyze how this model differentiates (4 mins)• Determine what student needs or interests it

supports (7 mins) • Share your analysis (4 mins)

CHOOSE A TOPIC YOU ARE ABOUT TO TEACH…

First, on your own make a plan for how you are going to differentiate…

•Within lesson•Within unit

(10 minutes)

WITH YOUR PARTNER

1. Share your plan with a partner2. Listen 3. Switch 4. Repeat 5. Discuss and make improvements to

both plans

10 mins

“Anticipatory” planning

• How can I plan to address key patterns in my student’s learning?

• What barriers to understanding do students typically encounter?

• What are springboards to help them understand?

Big Ideas

• What differentiation is NOT: An IEP for every student• What differentiation is: Planning for CLUSTERS of student needs• Letting them choose• Release of control, with accountability

2 THINGS WE KNOW

1. Your care and encouragement matters more than anything else.2. No matter how unmotivated, never give up on a student or they will

give up on themselves.

HOW DO YOU INCREASE MOTIVATION?

•More choice about how content is defined•Assignments relate to real life•Opportunities to explore topic rather than be “told”•Many ways to show what you know•Students keep track of their own learning•Use the community to support learning (positive discipline, democratic decisions)•Humor, games, improv, movement

FOLLOW UP

With your learning colleague that you worked with on your topic you will:

Share how your lesson that you differentiated went and what you learned.

Do it by next Friday, March 12.

EXIT TICKET

3 Things That Stand Out

Why?