DIFFERENTIATED INSTRUCTION
The Brain and Learning
Today’s Classroom
• 32 students
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–
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2 Attention Deficit
4 have IEPs
2 ESL
4 Unidentified special needs
• Total of 38%
Brain-Based Learning
• Definition: Involves using
approaches to schooling
that rely on recent brain
research to support and
develop improved teaching
strategies.
• Researchers believe that the
brain is constantly searching
for meaning and seeking
patterns and connections.
The Brain and Learning Quiz:
Question #1
• Correct answer is #2.
– Our brains are designed to ensure
survival.
– Brains can only fully attend to one
thing at a time.
– Because our brains are built to act
first and ask questions later, our
attention will immediately go to any
unusual, unexpected, or potentially
threatening event.
– Strong emotion takes over! Strong
emotional links create strong
learning.
The Brain and Learning Quiz:
Question #2
• Correct answer is #1.
– The brain functions as a whole at
all times
– The brain is a system and as with
any system all of its many parts
must be functioning all of the
time to be optimally effective.
– HOWEVER, these many parts
won’t necessarily all function at
the same level all of the time!
The Brain and Learning Quiz:
Question #3
• Correct answer is #4.
– Study: 124 subjects divided
equally into exercisers and
nonexercisers found that those
who exercised 75 minutes a week
demonstrated quicker reactions,
thought better, and remembered
more!
– Stress releases the chemicals that
kill neurons in the hippocampus,
the area of the brain that’s
responsible for memory formation.
The Brain and Learning Quiz:
Question #4
• Correct answer is #3.
– Our brains are NOT like a
computer! There is no limit to
what we can learn and your
brain never stops processing and
storing information.
– You may be tired and that does
affect how efficient your brain will
be.
– As we learn new information, our
brains form associations which
can help us retrieve specific
information.
The Brain and Learning Quiz:
Question #5
• Correct answer is #3.
– Primary emotions – universally
shared by all people: joy, fear,
surprise, disgust, anger, sadness
– Secondary emotions – learned
behaviors that develop as a
result of cultural and
environmental circumstances:
confidence, worry, anticipation,
frustration, cynicism, and
optimism
Brain Development
• Developmental problems
• Nutrition (iron deficiencies)
• Learning disabilities (right side of
the brain is larger/most
academic learning is
associated with the left side of
the brain
• ADD, ADHD, and LD students
produce a low amount of Beta
brain waves (focused
attention)
• There are structural and
functional differences in the
brain of children that are
dyslexic
Use Brain Research in the Classroom
• Emotion increases retention
• Keep challenge high and threat
low
• Laugh and learn
• Give students a chance to stand
and move
• Involve multi-sensory approaches
• Use graphic organizers to form
patterns
• Use metaphors
• Pay attention to lighting
• Utilize the primary-recency effect
• Use guided practice
LEARNING STYLES
• Different people learn in
different ways
• Take a TEST!
The Four Modalities
Auditory Strength
• Students who have an auditory
strength or preference like the
teacher to provide verbal
instructions. They find it easy to
learn by listening. They enjoy
dialogues, discussions, and plays.
They often remember names but
forget faces. They often do well
working out solutions or problems by
talking them out. They are easily
distracted by noise and often need
to work where it is relatively quiet.
Students often do best using
recorded books.
………………………………..
• Students who are not
auditory often sit in a
lecture and do not really
know much of what is
being said. They find it
difficult to concentrate or
listen for long periods of
lecture. They will often tune
out what is being said or
find it hard to stay with the
speaker or lecturer.
Visual Strength
• Students who have a visual strength
or preference like the teacher to
provide demonstrations. They find it
easy to learn through descriptions.
They often use lists to keep up and
to organize thoughts. They often
recognize words by sight. They
often remember faces but forget
names. They often have well
developed imaginations. They are
easily distracted by movement or
action in the classroom. They tend
to be unaware of noise.
…………………………………
• Students who are not visual
often read a page and
then realize they don't
know what they have read.
They then must reread the
page. They find it difficult
to concentrate on reading
assignments or overhead
notes.
Kinesthetic Strength
• Students who have a kinesthetic
strength or preference often do
best when they are involved or
active. These students often
have high energy levels. They
think and learn best while
moving. They often loose much
of what is said during lecture
and have problems
concentrating when asked to sit
and read. These students prefer
to do rather than watch or listen.
…………………………………
• Students who are not
kinesthetic rarely get
involved in action oriented
activities. They would
rather drive than walk.
They would prefer not to
participate and to watch.
Tactile Strength
• Students who have a tactile
strength or preference often
do best when they take notes
either during a lecture or when
reading something new or
difficult . They often like to
draw or doodle to remember.
They do well with hands-on
such as projects,
demonstrations, or labs.
…………………………………..
• Students who are not
tactile rarely take notes or
if they do take notes, it is
only for things that cannot
be remembered easily
such as numerical data.
They often do not do well
with hands-on and find it
hard to concentrate
during lab activities.
Success for All
• We are all trying to move education
from the "select and sort" model to the
"success for all" model. In order to
select and sort, intelligence is first
measured, and then distributed on a
bell curve.
• If we are to move from the
"select and sort" model to
the "success for all" model,
we must understand that
intelligence comes in many forms.
Gardner’s 8 Intelligences
• Multiple Intelligences
are eight different
ways to demonstrate intellectual ability.
• Dr. Gardner says that our schools and culture
focus most of their attention on linguistic and
logical-mathematical intelligence.
• We should also place equal attention on
individuals who show gifts in the other
intelligences
• It suggests that teachers be trained to
present their lessons in a wide variety
of ways using music, cooperative
learning, art activities, role play,
multimedia, field trips, inner reflection,
• and much more.
A new way…………………..
• Research has led many
educators to develop new
approaches that might
better meet the needs of the
range of learners in their
classrooms.
• One size fits all instruction is
NOT a good fit for many
learners in an academically
diverse classroom
Differentiated Instruction
What is it?
The new “IN” thing or is it?
• Over a half century ago, Dr. Virgil
Ward, coined the phrase "differential
education" to describe his ideas about
providing appropriate education for
gifted and talented students.
• He suggested, essentially, that we
could best maximize student growth
by beginning our work with children
based on where they were (what they
knew and how they best learned),
and helping them to progress from
there.
Differentiation is based on 3 beliefs:
• Everyone learns differently
• Quality is more important
than quantity (e.g.
significance trumps
coverage)
• “One-size-fits-all" curriculum
and instruction presumes
that content is more
important than students
Differentiated Instruction Means….
• Maintaining a commitment to
curriculum standards
• Increasing the variety in
teaching, learning, and
assessment in order to reach
more students
• Providing high levels of
challenge and active
engagement in rigorous,
relevant learning
…………………………………….
• Recognizing that students
do not all need to do the
same work in the same way
• Designing differentiated
(tiered) assignments to
better respond to students’
specific learning needs
…………………………………….
• Using flexible instructional
grouping to provide
opportunities for students
to learn with others who
have similar needs
• Creating fair and equitable
processes for evaluating
student learning and
assigning grades
Differentiated Instruction
Does Not Mean …………………….
• Individualization. It is not a
different lesson for each
student each day.
• Giving all students the
same work or even
identical assessments all of
the time.
• Assuming that all students
learn by listening.
……………………………………..
• Merely having centers in
the classroom.
• Assigning more work to
students who have
demonstrated mastery in
an area.
• Only for students who
demonstrate a need for
acceleration.
Beginning >>>>>>>>>>>>>>
• For the teacher who is beginning to
differentiate learning in the
classroom, differentiation may begin
by varying the content, processes,
or product for each group in the
class.
• As the teacher becomes more
proficient using these techniques,
differentiation can occur at all 3
stages of the process for some
students.
Teachers must ask 3 questions:
1. In the content you must teach, what
is it that you want all of your students
to know? Content
2. How can each student best learn
this in ways that are appropriate to
his/her specific needs? Process
3. How can each student most
effectively demonstrate what s/he
has learned? Product
Three (3) Ways to Differentiate
Instruction:
1. Differentiating the
Content/Topic
2. Differentiating the
Process/Activities
3. Differentiating the
Product
1. Differentiating the Content/Topic
• Readiness
– Provide texts at varied reading levels
– Reteach
– Provide audiotaped materials
– Provide key vocabulary lists
• Interests
– Use examples and illustrations based
on student interests
• Learning Profile
– Present in visual, auditory, and
kinesthetic modes
2. Differentiating the Process/Activities
• Varying learning activities
or strategies to provide
appropriate methods for
students to make sense of
the content
• Assignments must be tiered
to take into account
different ways to meet the
same goal.
3. Differentiating the Product
• A variety of means
students can use to
demonstrate what they
have learned (See Product
Choices Chart in
handouts)
ASSESSMENT
• Differentiation is rooted
solidly in two of the major
components of assessment
----- those that come at the
beginning of learning and
continue throughout the
process rather than the
one that comes at the end
and is incarnated in "the
test."
Placement Assessment
• Placement assessment, a
strategy which should
occur before the onset of
instruction. Assessment for
placement is a tool that
increases the probability
that instruction can be
made suitable for every
student
Formative Assessment
• Ongoing, formative assessment
gives teachers information that
they need to create
appropriately differentiated work
for students.
• It provides continuous feedback
to teachers and to students
• It gives teachers the data they
need to monitor and, if
necessary, modify both curricular
and instructional design.
Learning Cycle and Decision Factors Used
in Planning and Implementing Differentiated
Instruction
Strategies for Differentiating
• Readiness / Ability
• Adjusting Questions
• Tiered Assignments
• Acceleration/Deceleration
• Flexible Grouping
• Independent Study Projects
• Learning Contracts
• Learning Centers
• Anchoring Activities
Readiness / Ability
• Activities for each group are often
differentiated by complexity.
Students whose understanding is
below grade level will work at
tasks inherently less complex than
those attempted by more
advanced students. Those
students whose reading level is
below grade level will benefit by
reading with a buddy or listening
to stories/instructions using a tape
recorder so that they receive
information verbally.
Adjusting Questions
• During large group discussion
activities, teachers direct the
higher level questions to the
students who can handle them
and adjust questions accordingly
for student with greater needs.
All students are answering
important questions that require
them to think but the questions
are targeted towards the
student’s ability or readiness
level.
Tiered Assignments
• Used when the teacher wants
all students to focus on the
same essential ideas and key
skills.
• Create an on-level task first
then adjust up & down Clone the activity to provide
different versions at different
levels of difficulty
• When tiering, adjust level of
complexity, materials, pace,
number of steps, etc.
Above-Level Task
On-Level Task
Below-Level Task
Learning Contracts
• A learning contract is a written
agreement between teacher
and student that will result in
students working
independently. The contract
helps students to set daily and
weekly work goals and
develop management skills. It
also helps the teacher to keep
track of each student’s
progress. The actual
assignments will vary
according to specific student
needs.
Anchoring Activities
• This may be a list of activities that
a student can do to at any time
when they have completed
present assignments or it can be
assigned for a short period at the
beginning of each class as
students organize themselves and
prepare for work.
• These activities must be worthy of
a student’s time and appropriate
to their learning needs.
“Different” vs. “Differentiated”
• Creating activities (ex:
learning centers) without
directing them to specific
students provide things
that may be different but it
does not constitute
differentiation. Using the
principles of differentiation,
teachers design work that
is based on students'
needs.
EXAMPLE
• Students may be grouped by
interest but may also have
activities set at different levels of
complexity (questioning
levels/abstract thinking
processes) resulting in varying
products that employ students'
preferred learning modality
(auditory, visual or kinesthetic).
............
• Thus the content is being
differentiated by interest, the
process is being differentiated
by readiness (complexity of
thinking skills required) and the
product is being differentiated
by student learning modality
preferences.
THE END