Differentiated Instructionand

Tiering By: Patrick Oruska

• When a teacher tries to teacher some thing new to the class at the same time, chances are:– One third already know it– One third will learn it– One third will not get it

• So two thirds of the kids are wasting their time

Scott Willis, ASCD Curriculum Update 1993

Why Differentiate?• People have different learning styles,

skills, abilities, and strengths • We need to make sense of our work

– Learning occurs when the intimidation factor is missing

The Teacher’s Role• The teacher must begin with the

assumption that different learners have different needs

• Plans a variety of ways to express learning thus “reaching out” to each child

• Materials and resources must be organized to avoid confusion and chaos

Why More Work?• Teachers do not give more work to

learners who are capable; instead the nature of the assignment is adjusted to fit the needs of that student – Levels of questioning– Levels of complexity– Steps in task

How to Differentiate?• Begins with assessment• Students readiness level are

determined by:– Pre tests– Conversations with the student– Test results– Interest surveys

Content Process and Product• When differentiating instruction, try

to provide multiple routes to these three key terms– Content: what students actually learn– Process: how students go about making

sense of ideas and information– Product: demonstration of what they

learned

DI is student centered• Students are given the opportunity to

take increasing responsibility for their own growth

• Teaching students to share responsibility allows a teacher to work with different groups or individuals for parts of the class time– This better prepares them for life

Differentiation Blends Several Types of Instruction • Whole-class Instruction• Individual Instruction• Flexible grouping• Cooperative/collaborative learning

Principals of Differentiated Instruction• Students are pre-assessed to

determine needs• Students can work alone in pairs,

groups, or individuals• The teacher must plan proactively to

provide several learning options• The teacher provides support as

needed• The teacher must provide

organization so learning is purposeful and not chaotic

Principles (continued) • The student takes responsibility for his/her

own learning and demonstrates understanding through a student designed project

• The teacher must give clear instructions and shares responsibility with the student

• Remember, there is no right one way to differentiate, as long as the basic principles are getting through and being followed

EXAMPLES

First Grade Reading• Create a flexible reading program• Post a weekly reading schedule and allow students to find

their name on it• Allow students to move to appointed parts of the room at

times designated on the chart• Sometimes the whole class will meet to listen to a story and

talk about it or volunteer to read it • Sometimes a small group meets with the teacher to work

on decoding, comprehension strategies, or to share ideas• Sometimes students will meet with their peers to read on a

topic with mutual interest regardless of their reading readiness

• Students can read books alone that fit their reading level (books will be color coded)

• Students can meet with a reading partner to take turns reading (stronger student will help the weaker student)

High School Algebra• Students can pre-test and “compact-out” of a unit

at any time during the first three days of instruction

• Students who opt out do an independent investigation of math in the real world, given guidelines by the teacher, who works with them as needed

• Students who did not opt out receive whole group instruction, and then based on understanding divide into cooperative groups for practice, or will meet in a small group with the teacher for practice

• When the class has finished the chapter everybody will meet for the mandatory two day review for the test

Tiering Instruction• Change the nature of the task, not

the work load• Remember to keep all students

above water by adjusting challenge levels so all students can make sense of their learning

Tiering Formats• Learning Contracts• Learning Menus• Cubing• Summarization Pyramid• Change the Verb

Learning Contracts• Students enter into an independent

study with an agreed upon set of tasks supporting the goals

Learning Menus• Students are given choices of tasks

in an unit for an assessment. – They must do one “entree” task– Select two from “side dish” task – Can do “dessert” for extra credit or

enrichment

Cubing• Students will receive a foam or

poster board made cube that has a different task on each side; having a different level for each face.

• Students, given a topic, will then analyze it, describe it, compare it, associate it, apply it, and argue for or against it.

Summarization Pyramid• Summarization pyramids are very versatile• They come in many formats, have many possible

sizes, and use many different prompts • Create a pyramid of horizontal lines, then ask

students at different readiness levels to respond to the tiered prompts as they interact with the topic

• Some great prompts, not limited to use, are: – synonym, analogy, question, three attributes,

cause and affect, reasons, arguments, opinion, insight, tools, sample, people, future of the topic

Change the Verb• This technique simply raises or

lowers the level by changing the verb in your prompt

• Analyze• Decide between• Recommend• Predict• Contrast • Construct• Critique• Define• Interpret• Classify• Identify• Argue for • Argue against

Some Tips To Remember…• All student need coherent lessons

that are relevant, powerful, resourceful, and meaningful

• Good curriculum pushes students beyond what is comfortable and easy

• Always offer encouragement to work up and go beyond their potential

Question

• Do you know why you have been looking at the ocean during this presentation?

Answer • Like being on the ocean when you

differentiate one must– Find exactly where students are at before

taking them some where new– Organize your resources– Adjust for varying degrees of depth– Support those who cant keep their heads

above water– Modify strategy as you go– Recognize that there are different ways to

reach the same destination

What I Learned….• What tiering is and examples of• What differentiating instruction is

and how it is applied • Why it is important to differentiate• Many things I have learned that I will

be using in my classroom when I start teaching

Resources• Swope, Lisa. Differentiated Instruction. Radford City

Schools. Retrieved from www.rcps.org/RCPS/misc/Differentiated%20Instruction.ppt April 26, 2009.

• Wormeli, Rick (2005) Summarization in any subject, ASCD, Alexandria, Virginia, p. 155-157. retrieved from www.independence.k12.ia.us/public/summarization%20pyramid.rtf April 26, 2009.