Technology
In Support of
Differentiated Instruction
Willa Spicer
Jennifer Hunsinger
Definition
“Differentiating instruction is not an
instructional strategy or a teaching model.
It’s a way of thinking about teaching and
learning that advocates beginning where
individuals are rather than with a prescribed
plan of action, which ignores student
readiness, interest, and learning profile.”
- Tomlinson
Differentiated Instruction
Teacher’s Response to Learner’s Needs
Assumptions
Guided By General Principles
Learning
Environment
Respectful Tasks
Flexible Groups
Ongoing Assessment
Teacher Can Differentiate:
Content
Process
Product
According to Student’s
Readiness
Interests
Learning Profile
Through A Range of Instructional Strategies
-Tomlinson
Assumptions
• The information can be useful for your purposes.
• Students and teachers have access to the
Internet.
• Teacher knows the 21st Century Skills and wants
to teach them.
– Search strategies
– Ability to evaluate information on the basis of what
you want to know
– Ability to recognize bias, falsehoods, propaganda
The Learning Environment
The Teacher
Click here to view
“How People Learn”
The Student
The Content
BALANCED ASSESSMENT
Summative
Learning
Formative
Content
Facts, Principles,
Concepts,
Generalizations, Skills
Which are
Relevant, authentic,
usable, essential
* Content doesn’t often change because we differentiate!!
Learning Styles Lens on the Learners
• Multiple Intelligences
• Jung - Myers-Briggs
• 4MAT
• Gender
• Cultural
Readiness
•Prior Knowledge and/or skill set
•Speed of Learning
NCREL’s Critical Issue: Promoting Children's
Readiness to Learn
Respectful Tasks
Guiding Principles
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Classroom is flexible
Instruction stems from ongoing assessment
Flexible grouping
All learners have tasks that are interesting,
engaging and moderately challenging.
• Students and teachers are collaborators in
learning
Process: Activities
Product:
Demonstrating Learning
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Tests
Interviews
Survey
Performance and
Exhibition
• Portfolio
• PowerPoint
Presentations
• Newsletters,
Publications
• Podcasts
• Blogs, Wikis
• Movies (YouTube)
• Inspiration Maps
Instructional Strategies
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Anchoring Activities
Jigsaw
Literature Circles
Tiered Lessons
Learning Contracts
Cooperative Learning
Independent Learning
Orbital Studies
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Questioning Strategies
Interest Groups
Varied Homework
Compacting
Group Investigation
Varied Supplementary
Materials
• Varied texts
Task
• Find a strategy that relates to the
needs of your students.
• Write one or two sentences on
that relationship.
Shift Happens on the Internet
Old
New
Closed proprietary content
Open source
Student produce content
Social collaborative construction of
knowledge for large audience
Reader as reader
Reader as editor, writer
One teacher
Many teachers
Use Internet for one way
consumption
Use Internet for authorship,
collaboration
Clusky Website
What do they know?
What do they contribute?
Additional Resources
• Virtual Tours
• Virtual Field Trips
• Web Quests
• Think Quests
• Video Conferencing
Auditory Learners
Edutopia
Blogging
Video Presentation
Google
Wiki
Online Learning
News Sources
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CBC Kids - from Canada
CBBC - from the UK for kids
Channel One
Discover
Earth & Sky Radio Show
Environmental News Network
Kid's Castle from Smithsonian
KidsNewsroom
LA Youth - by youth for youth
Newz Crew from PBS
National Geographic Kids
National Geographic News
National Geographic Today great list of stories; leads to
other stories
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Nature.com
News Hour Extra from PBS
NOAA.com
NY Times Student
Connections
Scholastic News Zone - listen
to scholastic radio
Student News Net
Time for Kids
Washington Post for Kids registration required
Weekly Reader - subscription
based
Why Files
World Wildlife Federation
Newsroom
Yahooligans News
Marco Polo
Problem Based Learning
How is this being
accomplished?
enGauge®: A Framework for Effective Technology Use
http://www.ncrel.org/engauge/
Your Task
Find what interests you the most within the
context of the technology shared in this
presentation.
Write one or two sentences that explain
why you found this topic most interesting.
What Differentiation is Not
• A set of strategies, but a way of thinking
about teaching and learning.
• Individualization of learning
• More work at the same level
• All the time differentiation, whole group
activities continue to have role
• Group work without accountability
• Limited to acceleration
Thank you
Willa Spicer at wspicer@njpsa.org
Jennifer Hunsinger at jhunsinger@njpsa.org
Materials available on www.njelite.org