Differentiated Instruction

Differentiated Instruction Rob Irwin Purpose • Develop shared and practical understandings of differentiation as related to the effective teaching of Mathematics • Tiering as a differentiation strategy • Tiering Math Games & Trailblazers lessons Processes/Payoff • Processes: Question Car Park; Think, Pair, Share; Paired/ Quad Brainstorm; Games Rotations; Discussion; Gallery Walk; Group Planning • Payoff: Leave the workshop with practical ideas for differentiating instruction through the strategy of tiering Protocols for working as a professional learning community • Adopt a sense of responsibility for the group as a community of learners • One person at a time talking so as to keep the meaning • Attend to and listen to others • Accept where others are at • Suspend judgement • Allow and give no putdowns • Common signal for gaining everyone’s attention “Question Car Park” • Write down your questions and issues on the post-it notes provided throughout the sessions and “park” them in the “Question Car Park” charts on the walls of the room • I will work at answering them at the beginning of the next two sessions Treasure Hunt for Diversity Using the Treasure Hunt grid, complete each section by finding colleagues who match the description Challenges of today’s students • As a group, brainstorm (and jot down in your reflective journals) all the needs of students you have worked with in your classrooms this year or in the past Challenges of today’s students The diversity of students in your classroom: • “Learning styles (visual, spatial, auditory, tactile, kinaesthetic) • Interests • Strengths/ Weaknesses • Cognitive abilities • ELL’s • Attitudes/ Motivation/ Persistence/ Confidence • Readiness • Socio-Economic and Family Factors • Learning Pace • Gender Influences • Cultural/Ethnic influences Challenges of Today’s Students “Normal is only a setting on the washing machine” Schmidt, M (2006) Losing Sight of the Shore: Differentiating Curriculum and Instruction A Once Upon A Time Story About AaBlonde Once upon time thereStudent was a lovely, young student named Goldilocks She was an adventurous sort, so one day she went walking through the forest in search of a teacher As Goldilocks rounded a bend in the path, she came into a bright clearing in the forest She was very excited to find a teacher presenting a lesson that at first captured her attention Goldilocks tried to stay engaged and learn, but she became frustrated as it was just too difficult Gallery Walk • One member from each group stays with the tiered games poster • All groups rotate and the poster leader describes the tiering • Ask questions • Get ideas • Complete template • Rotate on given signal Tiering a Daily Math Lesson in the Workshop Model Tiering the Student Activity Portion of the Workshop Model Lesson Whole Math Message/Warm-Up Whole * Mini-Lesson Part Whole Student ActivityGroup Group Group * Share Time Tiering a Trailblazer Lesson Your Turn… Using the template in your packet, choose some lessons from the program (eg first weeks of school in September) and, consulting the standards, tier the student activity portion of each lesson How I begin to differentiate? • Consider Low Prep/High Prep differentiation • See handout on “Hints to Begin” Let’s Recap Explicit Visuals of ExpectationsY Chart - Kindergarten Establishing a Co-operative FrameworkDeveloping a Y Chart for Group Work Flexible GroupsDifferentiated Games Using Assessment to Inform the Differentiation within each Game Varying Content of Games to Meet Students’ Needs Rubric for Differentiation (developed by Julie Howie A.U.S.S.I.E Math Consultant) • Use for reflecting on your practice Things Take Time Put up in a place where it’s easy to see, The cryptic admonishment, T.T.T When you feel how depressingly slow you climb It’s well to remember that THINGS TAKE TIME From Tomlinson, C Evaluation Form Thank-you for your participation today Please complete the evaluation form HAVE A GREAT NEW SCHOOL YEAR! ... ideas, and to developing products so that each student can learn effectively” (Carol Tomlinson, 199 9, p 1) How Is It Implemented? • Use diagnostic assessments to determine student readiness These