Differentiation
and the Brian:
How Neuroscience Supports the
Learner-Friendly Classroom
Sandra Gessner-Crabtree
Director of Teaching and Learning
OESD 114
Differentiation
“Differentiated instruction is a teaching philosophy
based on the premise that teachers should adapt
instruction to student differences. Rather than
marching students through the curriculum lockstep,
teachers should modify their instruction to meet
students’ varying readiness levels, learning
preferences, and interests. Therefore, the teacher
proactively plans a variety of ways to ‘get at’ and
express learning.”
Carol Ann Tomlinson
Activator
• Discuss Tomlinson’s quote with an elbow
partner or two elbow partners reflecting on
what you already do in your classroom that
fits this definition.
• Consider how your instructional framework
addresses differentiation.
• Jot down three ways differentiation is
already present in your instructional
practice.
• Be prepared to share.
Key Principles of a Differentiated Classroom
• The teacher is clear about what matters in subject matter.
• The teacher understands, appreciates, and builds upon
student differences.
• Assessment and instruction are inseparable.
• The teacher adjusts content, process, and product in response
to student readiness, interests, and learning profile.
• All students participate in respectful work.
• Students and teachers are collaborators in learning.
• Goals of a differentiated classroom are maximum growth and
individual success.
• Flexibility is the hallmark of a differentiated classroom.
Learning Targets
• Gain insight into the neuro science that supports
Differentiated Instruction
• Understand the essential elements of Differentiated
Instruction
Success Criteria
• Articulate: If the brain science says this ___________,
then I need to add this ______________ into my
instructional practice.
• Discuss with a colleague or significant other two or
three key findings from brain research that impact
the learning process
• Discuss with a colleague or significant other two or
three ways differentiated instruction could improve
learning outcomes for students
How Does Research
Support DI?
• Differentiated Instruction is the result of a
synthesis of a number of educational
theories and practices.
• Brain research indicates that learning occurs
when the learner experiences moderate
challenge and relaxed alertness –readiness
• Psychological research reveals that when
interest is tapped, learners are more likely to
find learning rewarding and become more
autonomous as a learner.
Brain Research
• Each brain is uniquely organized
• The brain is a lean pattern-making machine
• The brain’s frontal lobe is often referred to as the
“executive center” directing much of the brain’s activity
• Emotions are processed in the limbic system and play an
important role in pattern making
• Learning is as much a social process as it is a cognitive
one
• If content is meaningful, it is likely to be transferred from
working to long-term memory
• Learning for retention requires focus and extended
attention.
Diving In Together
• Protocol
• 3 Types of text
o Visually based with text bullets
o Research article
o Text from book
• Individual processing time
o During reading
• Check for “got it”
√
• Exclamation point for “love this” or “totally agree”
!
• Question mark for “I need to know more about this”
• Together In Triads to discuss
?
Take Aways
• Group Discussion
• Reflection
o Write down three “Take Aways” from the brain research that you feel is
relevant to your instructional practice.
Break
A Model for Effective Differentiation
What DI Is and Is Not
Differentiation Is
• …A philosophy rooted in
effective teaching and
learning
• …Regularly Examining
evidence of student
learning and making
thoughtful instructional
decisions accordingly
• …Tailoring instruction in
response to patterns in
student needs
Differentiation Is Not
• … A bag of tricks or set of
strategies that can be
plunked into low-quality
curriculum.
• …Either an everyday
necessity or a once-in-ablue-moon “event.”
• Writing individualized plans
for every student.
What DI Is and Is Not,
cont.
Differentiation Is
Differentiation Is Not
• …Designing respectful tasks
and using flexible grouping.
• …A way up to standards
and learning goals.
• …Critical to improving
instruction for all students.
• ... Sorting or pigeonholing
students into static groups or
levels.
• …A way out of standards
and learning goals.
• …More important for certain
groups of students (e.g.,
students with IEPS or English
Language Learners)
Five Key Principles of the
Model
• Work in a differentiated classroom is respectful of each
student. Every student’s work is equally engaging.
• Curriculum, or what students are asked to learn, is rooted
in the critical ideas of a topic or a discipline. It is
designed to promote understanding, rather than just
recall.
• Teachers regularly use flexible grouping. Just as they
plan the sequence of ideas necessary for learning, they
plan a variety of grouping configurations for each stage
of the learning process. Based on:
o Readiness
o Interest
o Learning preferences
Principles, cont.
• Teachers use ongoing assessment to inform their
instruction. Being clear at each stage of the
learning process about what students should know,
understand, and be able to do.
• The learning environment supports students in taking
the risk of learning. A positive environment attends
to students’ affective needs for acceptance,
respect, affiliation, contribution, challenge and
support.
Key Vocabulary
Learning Environment
Curriculum Quality
Assessment
Groupings
o Readiness
o Interest
o Learning Preferences/Profiles
• Classroom Management
•
•
•
•
Learning Environment
Positive Environment
Leads to
• Endorphins in
bloodstream, which
o Generate feeling of euphoria
o Raise pain threshold
o Stimulate the frontal lobe so
that the situation and the
learning objectives are
remembered.
Negative Environment
Leads to
• Cortisol in bloodstream,
which,
o Raises anxiety level
o Shuts down processing of lowpriority information( for
example, the lesson objective)
o Focuses frontal lobe on the
cause of the stress so that the
situation is remembered, but
not the learning objective
Curriculum: Course of Study
Quality
Curriculum
Organized
around
essential
content goals
Aligned with
content goals,
assessments,
and learning
experiences
Focused on
student
understanding
Engaging for
students
The nature of what we teach (curriculum), sharply
affects the impact of how we teach ( differentiation)
Authentic
Classroom Assessment
• Effective classroom assessment addresses
academic diversity:
o Formative assessment is the prelude to effective differentiation.
o Effective assessment practices ( pre-assessment, formative,
summative) is integral to ensuring that students and teachers alike
work from a growth mindset ( effort is the key determiner of
success.)
o Effective use of pre-assessment strengthens teacher-student
connections because information from the assessments helps
teachers learn about their students and support their growth
o Pre-assessment and formative provides instructionally relevant
information about student readiness, interest, and learning
profiles.
o Providing feedback rather than grades in the formative process
ensures that students who struggle with the content have
adequate practice time before their work is judged
o Using assessment for learning increases student ownership,
performance and efficacy.
DI in Response to Student
Readiness
• Readiness ≠ ability
• Vygotsky’s Zone of Proximal Development
• Content, Process and Product
o
o
o
o
o
o
o
o
o
Small groups for students with similar needs
Use complex or more straightforward task directions for some students
Differentiated homework
Use multiple materials at different reading levels
Learning contracts
Tiering
Providing supports
Frontloading key academic vocabulary
Assigning varied work at skill centers
DI in Response to Student Interest
• Interest refers to a feeling or emotion that causes an
individual to focus on or attend to something
because it matters to that individual.
• Content, Process, Product
o Provide instructional resources that can help students relate
essential content to their areas of interest.
o Show examples of skill applications in areas students are in and
how the skills apply in real-world settings
o Provide opportunities for students to apply skills in relevant areas
of interest
o Provide models of student or expert work in relevant areas
o Authentic product assignments- student choose context in which
to demonstrate their understanding of learning essentials
o Students set personal goals for their interest-focused products
DI in Response to Student Learning Profile
• Learning profile relates to how people “come at”
learning: learning styles, intelligence preferences,
culture and gender
• Content, Process, and Product
o Students examine their own preferred styles of learning
o Expand modes of presentations: visual, auditory, demonstration,
creative questioning
o Use graphic organizers
o Teach part to whole as well as whole to part
o Choice of working conditions
o Call on students equitably
o Include collaborative and competitive tasks
o Have students play roles that require them to examine other
perspectives
o Develop tasks with a more concrete focus and tasks with more
abstract
Activity
• Protocol
• Two Articles: preference based on interest and
relevance
Differentiation in a
Nutshell
• “Effective differentiation does not call on a
teacher to be all things to every student at
all times of the day. Rather, it calls on
teachers to be constantly mindful of three
things: 1) how their content is structured for
meaning and authenticity, 2) who their
students are as individuals, and 3) which
elements in their classrooms give them
degrees of freedom in connecting content
and learners.”
o Tomlinson and Sousa, Differentiation and the Brain, pl. 15
Resources
How Did We Do?
• Learning Targets:
o Gain insight into the neuro science that supports
Differentiated Instruction
o Understand the essential elements of Differentiated Instruction
• Success Criteria:
o Articulate: If the brain science says this ___________, then I
need to add this ______________ into my instructional practice.
o Discuss with a colleague or significant other two or three key
findings from brain research that impact the learning process
o Discuss with a colleague or significant other two or three ways
differentiated instruction could improve learning outcomes for
students
Thank You
Sandra Gessner-Crabtree
Director of Teaching and
Learning
OESD 114
sgessner@oesd114.org