THE JOURNEY TO

DIFFERENTIATED
INSTRUCTION

Kristy Staples
Sunday, August 16, 15

Thoughts To Ponder As We
Begin This Journey
Edutopias article,
Why is Project-Based
Learning Important? explains
how the old-fashion way of
learning information and
then simply reciting it is
no longer eective.

Carolyn Chapman, Rita

King, Carol Ann Tomlinson
& Bea McGarvey all discuss
our major role as teachers is
to advocate for the success
of all of our students.

All Learners
need your energy,
your heart and your
mind. (Tomlinson,
2001, pg 15)

We must prepare students to survive in the 21st century

Sunday, August 16, 15

What is Differentiated
Instruction
Carol Ann Tomlinson defines it as providing dierent
avenues to acquiring content, processing ideas and
producing products (2001).
In other words it is:
1.) Finding ways to Get at Students
2.) Adjusting the nature of
assignments to meet student needs
3.) Rooted in Assessment
4.) Providing multiple approaches to
content, process and product
5.) It is student centered
(2001, p 3-5)
Sunday, August 16, 15

The first t wo boxes are great examples of what

differentiation should look like in the classroom.
The third box is NOT differentiation.

Sunday, August 16, 15

Why is it Important to
Differentiate Instruction?
Bea McGarvey explains how
students learn in dierent
ways and at dierent speeds.
Howard Gardners theory
of multiple intelligences helps
explain why.
Carol Ann Tomlinson says
because students learn better
when tasks match their
readiness, interest and learning
profiles (2001, pg 45).

Sunday, August 16, 15

* Carolyn Chapman & Rita

King say its important
because people are unique in
the following ways:
1.) Knowledge Base
2.) Motivation
3.) Emotions and Desires
4.) Prior Experiences/
Backgrounds
5.) Attitude Toward a Topic
6.) Learning Styles
7.) Abilities, Interests & Talents
(2012, pg 2)

Gardners Theory of Multiple

Intelligences
Howard Gardners work was done in psychology
but has become extremely important in
explaining why differentiation is important in
education. Gardner explains how people have
different intellectual strengths, some stronger
than others and that these intelligences definitely
impact our ability to learn information. If we all
held the same one intelligence then we could all
learn the same thing, at the same time, in the
same way. But as the video, to the right, shows
there are many intelligences and our job as
educators is to embrace our students intelligences
and then plan lessons accordingly (Edutopia,
1997).

The 8 intelligences are:

1.) Verbal/Linguistic 2.) Bodily/Kinesthetic
3.) Musical/Rhythmic 4.) Visual/Spatial
5.) Logical/Mathematical 6.) Naturalistic
7.) Intrapersonal 8.) Interpersonal

Sunday, August 16, 15

This video was made by a teacher to help his students

understand the different intelligences and how they
impact learning.

To find out your students learning style, have them complete a

quiz such as the one shown below. Here is the link to the full
quiz. http://www.edutopia.org/multiple-intelligences-learning-styles-quiz

Sunday, August 16, 15

The Teachers Role in a

Differentiated Classroom!
Be the personal coach and cheerleader for each one of your students
Provide guidance, encouragement, expectations & assistance (Chapman & King,
2001).
We are no longer the dispenser of knowledge, we are the organizer of learning
opportunities (Tomlinson, 2001).
We must learn to read our students
Make our classrooms engaging

Sunday, August 16, 15

What Should We
Differentiate?
Content is what we want students to learn- the
information we teach.
Process is the students ability to make sense of the
information being presented.
Product is what students create to demonstrate what
they have learned.

Sunday, August 16, 15

How to Differentiate- Part 1

Teaching Strategies To Use:
Flipped Classroom- This idea is
a new and growing one. It requires
the teacher to create videos or work
that will be done outside of class so
that when students enter the room
they can deal with more higher level
activities/assessments. Khan
Academy is a great example of a
flipped classroom. Students can
learn math from the video or simply
refer back to it for assistance.
Flexible Grouping- be willing to
use multiple groupings throughout
a unit to allow dierent students to
work together at dierent times.

Sunday, August 16, 15

How To Create
Flexible Groups
TAPS- T= Total Group
A= Alone P= Partners
S= Small Groups

Ability Groups- learners

of similar ability are
grouped together

Knowledge-Based
Groups= made by
students background

Cooperative Groupseach member has a role

Interest Groups= based

on what students like.

Sunday, August 16, 15

Random Groupsassigned by random

selection

How to Differentiate- Part 2

The Equalizer is a great way to adjust
instruction for individual student needs. It
shows how students can be at dierent levels of
understanding for dierent topics, activities or
assessments.

Blooms Taxonomy provides a large array of

strategies to use for dierent ability levels of your
students.
Sunday, August 16, 15

How To Differentiate Part 3

Here is a chart that could assist you in planning a dierentiated
assessment.

Sunday, August 16, 15

How to Differentiate Part 4

How to Assess Students in a

Differentiated Classroom-

Project Based

What is it? The project-based model gives the

framework for, goals and objectives, topic
choices, outline for the task, progress checks
and assessment tools, the timeline and the
presentation format. (Chapman & King
2012, pg 168).
Why is it useful?The old-fashion way of
learning information and then simply reciting
it is no longer effective. A project-based
assessment will incorporate some oldfashioned ways, along with focusing on the
news skills required to survive in the 21st
century. These skills include: planning, critical
thinking, personal responsibility, decision
making and using technology (Edutopia,
2007).
Sunday, August 16, 15

Example
from my
high school
health class
that shows
differentiat
ed process
(variety of
tasks to
obtain info),
content
(choice of
eating
disorder)
and product
(choice for
visual) .
Sunday, August 16, 15

Project-Based Learning
Influences on Eating Disorders Project
Mission Statement: I, II, III, VI, VII, VIII
Standards: B3: Access School and community services.
D4: Analyze how the family, peers and community influence the health of individuals.
E6: Demonstrate the ability to work cooperatively as an advocate for healthy individuals,
families, schools and communities.
DIFFERENTIATING PROCESS: ****Your task is to create an educational message that
advocates for the prevention of, or treatment of a specific eating disorder. You will select
an eating disorder from the list provided by Mrs Staples, then you will choose to work
alone, with a partner or a group of three. You will use information from class
discussions, your I-chart, stories from class, the video and any other research youve
done to create an educational message that advocates, or speaks for, the prevention or
treatment of your chosen disorder.
Step by Step Tasks:
!
1.) By yourself, research your disorder
!
2.) By yourself you will write a one page summary about your disorder.
!
3.) By yourself you will complete the influences on eating disorder page.
!
4.) By yourself or in your group, create an educational message that includes:
!
information about the eating disorder you have selected, specific groups of
!
people at risk for this disorder, characteristics that put this group at risk, and
!
health care services available to help.
!
5.) If you worked in a group, you will grade the other students in your group by
!
completing the cooperative group work paper.
!
6.) By yourself or with your group, you will complete the accessing information
!
paper.
DIFFERENTIATING CONTENT: D4 & E6: You and/or your group will choose one of the
following eating disorders and research:
1.) Bulimia Nervosa!!
!
2.) Anorexia Nervosa
3.) Pica!
!
!
!
4.) Compulsive Eating
DIFFERENTIATING PRODUCT: E6: You and/or your group will choose one of the
following visuals to express your educational message:
1.) Newsletter!
!
!
2.) Brochure
3.) Poster! !
!
!
4.) Keynote
5.) I-Movie! !
!
!
6.) Play or talk show (script and video)
7.) 60 Second PSA! !
!
8.) Newspaper Ad
9.) Or any other way youd like
****See school wide rubric for grading for visual****

The second &

third pages of
the project
have other
differentiated
pieces as well.
The last page is
a group
evaluation
page for those
who decide to
work in
groups.

How To Assess Students in a Differentiated

Classroom
Choice Boards
According to Chapman and King, allowing
students to have a choice will enhance
confidence, independence, responsibility and
allow the student to take ownership of his/her
learning (2012).
Choice Boards give options to students when
doing an activity or assessment. These boards
can be created with the students, or given to
them already made.
You can require students to complete certain
parts of the choice board, such as vertical,
horizontal or diagonal. This will ensure
students are not just completing those which
match their strongest intelligences.

Sunday, August 16, 15

Other Teaching Strategies to Use:

BEFORE LEARNING:
CONTENT SURVEYS
BRAINSTORMING
PONDER & PASS
COLOR CLUSTERS
*RESPONSE CARDS COULD
ACTUALLY BE USED BEFORE,
DURING AND AFTER LEARNING.
THE TEACHER CAN FIND OUT
WHAT A STUDENT ALREADY
KNOWS, HOW HE/SHES DOING OR
DID LEARNING THE INFO.

DURING THE LEARNING:

KNOW-IT SHOW-IT
*RESPONSE CARDS
TEACHER OBSERVATION
LEARNING CENTERS
THINK-PAIR-SHARE

AFTER THE LEARNING

GRAPHIC ORGANIZERS
PORTFOLIOS
JAZZY JOURNALS
CHECKLISTS
I-SEARCH
DESIGN A GAME

EXAMPLES OF RESPONSES THAT

MIGHT APPEAR ON THE CARDS:
I KNOW!

I DO NOT KNOW!

UNDERSTAND

LOST

MY MIND IS WORKING
MY MIND IS SHUTTING DOWN
TRUE

FALSE

GOT IT!

NOT A CLUE!

(CHAPMAN & KING, 2012)

Sunday, August 16, 15

Two Types of
Graphic
Organizers

How To Differentiate Instruction Using

Technology

Quizlet is a wonderful website to help

students learn vocabulary words or
important concepts. Students can make
flash cards, play memory or matching
games, or be given the word and then have
to write the definition. For those students
who struggle to spell correctly, they can talk
into their computer and it will write for
them. For those who have a hard time
reading, the computer will read it to them.
For teachers it is also a wonderful tool
because there is so much information and
quizzes already available on the site.

Mind
Meister

Edmodo is a social networking site that

can be set up for communication in a
classroom. It allows teachers to send
messages students, to provide
discussions, issue class polls, post
calendars, post & grade assignments,
as well as provide resources and apps
to enhance learning.
The next slide provides a video to show
Edmodo in more detail.

The Mind Meister site is neat because you can

make your own concept map or brainstorming
web. It could be used with advanced learners to
make them pull out important concepts from a
lesson and map it. This would be more difficult
than making students fill in a pre made concept
map. On Mind Meister they can also share their
work with a parter, group or the teacher and/or
add on to them at a later time.

Sunday, August 16, 15

Video on How to Use Edmodo in

Your Classroom.....

Sunday, August 16, 15

Using Technology continued...

Web Quests
Webquests are created on the internet and are
inquiry based projects that a teacher designs.
They require students to follow specific steps
which help them complete a process. Most of
the work is done involving online sources.

GoAnimate
This is a wonderful website where students can
produce animated videos about a certain topic.
It will definitely appeal to those students who
like video games or making I-movies. Those
who are creative will love this program.

Sunday, August 16, 15

IN THE END:
THE GOAL FOR EACH
STUDENT IS MAXIMUM
GROWTH FROM HIS/
HER CURRENT
LEARNING POSITION
(Tomlinson, 2001 pg 15)
Sunday, August 16, 15

Keep these
images and
quotes in
mind as you
begin the
journey to a
dierentiated
classroom.
Good luck!!!!

Sunday, August 16, 15

References
A great blooms taxonomy wheel for teachers . (2011). Retrieved from http:// www.educatorstechnology.com/2013/03/a-great-blooms-taxonomy-wheel-for.html

Chapman, C., & King, R. (2012). Differentiated assessment strategies one tool doesn't fit all . (2nd ed.). Thousand Oaks, CA : Corwin A SAGE Company

Differentiated instruction strategies that promote student learning . (n.d.). Retrieved from http://differentiated-instruction.wiki.inghamisd.org

Educational quotes. (2014). Retrieved from http://www.funderstanding.com/educational-quotes/

Edutopia (1997, December 1). Big thinkers: Howard gardner on multiple intelligences . Retrieved from http://www.edutopia.org/multiple-intelligences-howard-gardner-video

Edutopia (2007, October 19). Why is project-based learning important?. Retrieved from http://www.edutopia.org/project-based-learning-guide-importance

Lieser, D. (2013, March 5). The flipped classroom: Myth vs reality . Retrieved from http://instructionalservices.blog.gustavus.edu/2013/03/05/the-flipped-class-myth-vs-reality/

Tomlinson, C.A.(2001). How to differentiate instruction in mixed-ability classrooms. Alexandria, VA: Association for Supervison and Curriculum Development.

(2011, January 22). What is edmodo? [Web Video]. Retrieved from http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nHtwgZEHzNs

(2011, February 27). Multiple intelligences song [Web Video]. Retrieved from http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RmW_3ZhQZpc
(2012, July 10). What is differentiated instruction? [Web Video]. Retrieved from http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bApuBiitL8Q
http://zunal.com/zunal-help/help-mywebquests.php

Sunday, August 16, 15

http://zulama.com/resources/project-based-learning/#.Uw1CUv1iHFI