Music 8: Music of Multicultural America
On Campus Class Organization Effective Spring 2014
Interactive Lecture: 10:00-11:10 and 12:00-1:10: Instructor-directed presentation of
material alternating with Base Group discussion and application.
Differentiated Classroom: 11:10-11:40 and 1:10-1:40: Student-directed course-related
activities drawn from the following:
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Instructor presentation to clarify or expand upon lecture content to individuals or
small groups
Regular and Online Students work on or receive guidance on Travel Journals, “Share”
Prompts, or Digital Textbook Material, Questions or Problems as needed
Honors Institute Base Groups work on Collaborative Research Project
Pedagogical Rationale for Differentiated Classroom
Differentiation is a pedagogical strategy developed by Carol Ann Tomlison, a
professor at University of Virginia, in which the teacher 1) makes a special effort to
understand, appreciate, and build upon student differences and 2) designs the course
specifically to encourage all students to work at a level that is appropriately challenging to
them for maximum growth and individual success (Tomlison 1999, 2001, 2003, 2005, 2010,
2013). We are organizing the last half-hour of the on campus class session around
differentiation principles by differentiating the following course elements:
Process: Students can use this time to do activities in a range of modes (e.g., writing,
discussing, creating), at varied degrees of sophistication, in varying time spans, and
with varied amounts of teacher or peer support.
Material: Students will be encouraged to use this time to challenge themselves and
to work on material that is beyond their current understanding.
How Students Access Material: Students will access content through a variety of
delivery mechanisms such as teacher presentation or explanation, the digital
textbook, and online.