221+Agenda+-+11.13.14

Whadya think? Post questions, comments, ideas to discuss based on your professional engagement research on Differentiation. (To post - 1) Sign in, 2) Click "edit", 3) Type your entry, 4) Sign your post (three tildes ~), 5) Click "save")



A teacher might choose to implement differentiate instruction for a variety of reasons. First, it is viable and can be extremely effective. Second, students might find its uniqueness to be interesting. Third, it has the capacity to engage several types of learners. One of the articles that we had to read regarding differentiate instruction states that the primary goal of differentiation is that the outcomes of student learning "demonstrate understanding or mastery." The process of differentiate instruction is the combination of activities and input from the teacher that engage the learner in the content. The content of differentiate instruction is the information that must be learned. The product of differentiate instruction is the outcomes of student learning that demonstrate understanding or mastery. A specific instructional strategy that can be used to differentiate is combining a variety of stations. Mary's teaching demo on Thursday is a good example of this. She had three stations. One had a video, one had pictures, and one had an article. Each station was different, and totally different types of learners could benefit from the same lesson. A potential benefit of differentiating is that it is so unique and different, which might interest students. On the other hand, it could also be a potential challenge of differentiating because it might overwhelm some students because it is so novel and different. user:channa5

One of the articles we had to read was an intro to differentiation.I thought it was interesting that it brought up the fact that many kids are starting their education early due to games and applications on the phone and computer. Many parents are taking advantage of these educational online programs and starting their kids early. This leads to having younger learners within the classroom, who are academically at the same grade level as their peers, but their social level is not up to speed. As teachers, we need to take this into consideration. This can also lead up to students developing into introverts. So we have to make sure to include everyone, and make sure no one is left out. We have to also keep in mind that everyone learns differently so we might have to alter a lesson to fit the needs of a student. We can't just assume that every students learns the same way. user:dcisherwood

I really like the idea of differentiation, because I believe as teachers it is our job to administer to each child's needs, so it is hard to imagine a classroom without differentiation. I think the tiered way of instruction is really handy; however, I am not sure how much I like the classification of students in a tier, because it labels them as different rather than just acknowledging the different levels and knowledge of each student. I think the process is the most important component in differentiation, because each student needs to learn the content, and the product has to come from the process. Therefore, the differentiation that is implemented during instruction is key to each child's learning. I also understand the arguments that can be brought up in differentiation, that the students are not learning the same things because different students are working on different things, but I think defining a criteria for fairness is crucial, if not necessary, for implementing differentiation. I like the criteria that every student will be challenged, because it adheres to each individuals skill level and knowledge. Overall, as I said before, I think differentiation is essential in every classroom. It can be tricky due to all the components of ensuring learning from every student and ensuring fairness; however, if done correctly I think it is the best way to teach all students. user:cnye5

I'm sure most of us would agree that differentiation is a necessity to every classroom because more often than not, there are students who sit at different academic levels and students who need various amounts of assistance. Therefore, any type of instruction that is individualized to students is important and helpful. I think differentiation is wonderful idea, especially for ELL students, immigrant students, and students who are struggling because it gives the student a lot of choice as to what kind of work they would like to do and the level of complexity. However, I can definitely see how students who don't need as much, if any, help could either slide by or remain unchallenged because the focus could be too centralized on struggling students. This idea is something I would like to discuss in class because I think it is key to an effective differentiation. I would be interested to hear about techniques to make sure these students are still challenged as well. The first video we watched with the dinner menu seemed like an awesome idea. However, what if students decided to choose an option that was too easy for them because they didn't want to push themselves because there were different levels of complexity? I may have understood this method incorrectly, but it seemed like that type of problem could occur. I look forward to our class discussion. user:JennJoralemon



This might be the hardest PET for me to relate to my music classroom. The thing with choir is that I'm asking everyone to come in that day and sing the same things. They all don't have to be perfect, but I can't hand them different songs suited to their ability level. What I CAN do is asses where each student is at, musically, and then try and structure my rehearsals so that I don't lose those who are just getting in to music theory and bore the students who are already established musicians. The problem I run into is how to do this in my classroom. I can't hand out different pieces of music, everyone has to literally be on the same page. So I don't think I can do tiering when teaching choir? In the "Who Cares?" section, the teachers and students talked about how relating a topic to a career, or person who needs this info, was really helpful. But what if the field of music is really small? It's hard for me to ask, "who cares about Grieg?" because the answer would be people who like post-Romantic Norwegian music? Or, "who cares about the song 'Silent Night'?". The careers in music can be vast, but they are very, very, specific. Would this tactic alienate some of my students? Going back to my first point, what I can do is try and structure my rehearsal in a way that engages all levels of musicians. Problem? What differentiation techniques, like tiering or perspectives, will work here? Solution: have them be outside of choir time. Some differentiation IN choir would be like having a gifted student write the notation on the board, or explain the concept to their peers in their own words. Or having the concept presented in different ways: visual, audio, physical. Outside of choir, some differentiation techniques could include tic-tac-toe for songs- have boxes be things like "write in rhythm notation", "write in solfege" "write a paragraph about the composer" which would allow students to work at their own pace- the goal being have the board completed by the end of the semester. Tiering the tic-tac-toe boards could work well, too. user:staciac

I feel that with differentiation it would be really easy to apply to my subject. This being said in my experience with school I did not see a lot of differentiation, actually I don’t think there was any at all. It was interesting to see in the videos how they set up differentiation. I was especially interested in the menu because it allows the students to work at their pace and in a way that they feel comfortable in. This allows the students to really get familiar with the material that they need to learn as they need to go through three different learning examples plus get quizzed out to proceed on to a different lesson. It allows them to study and learn in a way that fits them the best. I feel like differentiation could work well in a class I have and it can allow students to feel comfortable with learning Spanish. I can think of many different way to have differentiation in the my class and look forward to what others thought. user:Galex07

9:25 - 9:40 - Welcome and Review (Dawn)
 * Notetaker:Mary
 * Reviewer:Audrey


 * Objectives: **
 * **I can explain the rationale for differentiated instruction.**
 * **I can describe what it means to differentiate by product, process, and content.**

9:40 - 10:15 - Differentiation Discussion

What does this have to do with teaching and learning? []

- Differentiation Cue Card

__ Some Common DI Strategies __
 * R.A.F.T.S - http://daretodifferentiate.wikispaces.com/R.A.F.T.+Assignments
 * Student Choice Boards - http://daretodifferentiate.wikispaces.com/Choice+Boards
 * Tiered Curriculum - http://daretodifferentiate.wikispaces.com/Tiering

10:15 - 10:35 - __ Choice Board __

10:35 - 10:45 - Break

10:45 - 11:20 - Examples of differentiation
 * https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SaGgUsMqNPA
 * https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LGYa6ZacUTM
 * https://www.teachingchannel.org/videos/mixed-ability-classroom-management
 * https://www.teachingchannel.org/videos/student-daily-assessment
 * https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8G7f-4ruLLg
 * https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ek9jopHITIM

11:20 - 11:40 - Differentiation possibilities in your placement

11:40 - 12:00 - Learning discussions, continued


 * NOTES:**
 * You can't differentiate every single lesson, every single day.
 * Differentiation definitions:
 * Being sensitive to your learners and being proactive in finding ways to plan for them
 * Saying, "I'm not always going teach in the same way"
 * Mandatory differentiation - kids with IEPs/504s need a lesson tailored to them

DANCE VIDEO: NO.
 * 1) The dancers each had their own individual part, but they were all working towards the same goal
 * 2) Tiered roles all coming together to do one task
 * 3) "the end product is worth the risk of falling on your face" -Chanel Nye (metaphor extraordinaire)
 * 4) The goal is not to orchestrate every student to be on the same page at the same time everyone is the exact same.

<-- Anny? Also a NO.

FIVE PRINCIPLES: "You have to be clever to survive middle school" video [community]
 * 1) clear learning goals
 * 2) ongoing assessment and adjustment
 * 3) flexible grouping
 * 4) positive learning environment
 * 5) respectful tasks
 * Respectful tasks - the ethical aspect of differentiation
 * We wouldn't make Alex, the fluent Spanish speaker, spend a year in Spanish 1 again
 * It's a waste of his time, it's not respecting what he knows
 * We also wouldn't throw Anny in an AP Spanish class... "figure it out!" NO.
 * 1) Students who feel safe in the class community are more likely to speak up, more likely to share ideas.
 * 2) More ideas being shared --> more is being learned.
 * 3) fosters the idea that the teacher is not the only one with the answers - students have input too
 * 4) He built in choices to the activities
 * 5) not everyone does the same thing
 * 6) students get to think on their own - they are given the choice
 * 7) He highlights "excellence in writing"
 * 8) students feel personal value/representation
 * 9) drives other students to feel that too
 * 10) gives everyone a sense of being capable "I can..."
 * 11) a way to rattle the stereotypes that students have of each other - changes the way students see each other

Carol Ann Tomlinson... DIFFERENTIATION GURU!!!!!!! Differentiationasaurus? Yes. D-REX. Double Yes.

CAROL TOMLINSON APPROVES THIS MESSAGE.


 * Housekeeping:**
 * EdTPA Major Assessment Components
 * "Context for Learning" for one of your Garry classes
 * Two connected lesson plans using lesson design template (the observed lesson you taught at Garry plus a lesson that could come right before or right after that lesson); Be sure you align with the central focus! You must also demonstrate at least two __different__ instructional strategies.
 * Responses to EdTPA Task 1 planning commentary questions 1, 2, 3, 5
 * Scored on the Task 1 rubrics


 * Timeline for EdTPA Major Assessment
 * Context for Learning - Nov 20
 * Second lesson plan - Nov 25
 * Draft of commentary (must have at least 2 questions thoroughly answered) - Dec 2
 * Final product - Dec 11


 * Due Thursday, 11/20
 * P.E.T. Inquiry-Based Instruction
 * Collaboration at Garry - 7:45 a.m.