Effectively Differentiate
Instruction for
All Learning Styles with
EduSmart Science
Getting to Know You
“It’s in the Bag”- Activity
 Decorate the outside of a bag with your name
and campus/district/ information and
grades/subjects you teach
 Choose 3 objects from the table or provide three
objects that describe you in some way.
 Pair- share explaining what the items represent.
 Partners will introduce each other and
briefly share what they learned about
each other
Group Norms
 Take care of your needs
 Mute cell phones
 Share ideas with the whole group
- jot ideas on sticky notes
- place sticky notes in the “parking
lot”
- notes will be shared following breaks
Goals
 to explore how to successfully address all
student learning styles within the same lesson
using effective instructional strategies, inquirybased “hands on activities” and EduSmart
Science – a multimedia science resource for
grades 3-8
 to connect science concepts to environmental
issues
Agenda
 Overview of Learning Styles
 Overview of effective instructional strategies
 Implement effective strategies and address
learning styles using Edusmart Science
 Time permitting, apply the information presented:
- use an Edusmart subtopic to design and present a
“mini-lesson” implementing an effective
instructional strategies and a subtopic from
one of the EduSmart Science modules
 Door Prizes!!!
A word about
Journals!
Learning Styles
What are learning styles?
 identify the way a student learns best
 have nothing to do with a student’s
intelligence or ability
 describe the way a student’s brain
processes, stores and retrieves
information most effectively
Three Main Learning Styles

Visual

Auditory

Tactile/ Kinesthetic
Characteristics of Visual
Learners
 learn best by seeing information and can recall
visual details
 remember information presented in pictures,
charts, graphs, diagrams, movies, and
demonstrations
 visualize while they are reading and writing
 doodle and have difficulty following lectures
and oral instructions
 can remember faces but have difficulty
remembering names
 prefer to read silently
 like to write down instructions
Characteristics of Auditory
Learners
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learn better by listening to explanations than by
reading about them
follow spoken directions well, but have trouble
following written directions
read slowly and prefer to read out loud
enjoy oral discussions, working in groups and giving
oral reports
are good at explaining
talk to themselves while learning something new
need to have things explained orally
can’t keep quiet for long periods of time
Characteristics of Tactile/
Kinesthetic Learners
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process information best through “hands on”
experiences and whole body movements
like science labs, role playing and building models
have trouble sitting still, but writing things down
makes learning easier
like adventure books and movies
like to move around while listening or talking
talk with their hands
remember by recalling who did what
like to touch things in order to learn
about them
Learning styles research
shows:
 65% of students are predominantly visual learners
 20%-30% of students are predominantly auditory
learners
 5%-15% of students are predominantly tactile/
kinesthetic learners
How can you determine
a student’s predominant
learning style?
Learning Style Inventories
Free online:
http://ttc.coe.uga.edu/surveys/LearningStyleInv.html
Printable:
http://www.greenville.k12.sc.us/hillcrm/lstyles/lsurvey.
htm
Think- Write- Pair- Compare
How can this information be used to enhance
instruction and impact student achievement?
1. Think for 30 seconds.
2. Write down your thoughts.
3. Pair with a partner and take turns
sharing for 30 seconds.
4. Group share with those at your table for
1 minute, taking turns.
5. Choose 1 group observation to share
with the whole group.
Let’s take a quick
break!
Instructional Strategies that are
Effective for All Learners
 establish learning goals/ objective(s)
 cue thinking, assess and activate prior
knowledge
 effective questioning
 non-linguistic representations
 cooperative learning
 generate and test hypothesis
 provide specific and timely feedback
 identifying similarities and differences ****
 summarizing and note taking ****
 journaling facilitates reflection and
metacognitive thinking
Disclaimer!!
The Rock Cycle
Establish Objective(s)
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students can’t hit a target they can’t see - restate
objectives in student friendly language
enables progress to be tracked
revisit them at the end of the lesson so students
can evaluate their level of mastery in relation to
the target (Assessment for Learning)
Effective questioning
can be used to:
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pre-assess level of knowledge
cue and activate prior knowledge
focus learning
maximize student engagement
assess mastery
uncover misconceptions
Assess/Activate Prior Knowledge
and Cue Thinking
• provides students with a preview of what they will
experience
• helps students recall what they already know about a
topic
• activating prior knowledge is critical for learning and
retaining new information
• should focus on information that is essential for
understanding the concept
Non-linguistic Representations
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generating mental pictures
using graphic organizers
creating physical models
drawing pictures and pictographs
engaging in whole body movement
facilitates building vocabulary
comprehension and retention as students
construct their own meaning
Cooperative Learning
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assigning roles holds students accountable to the
group
creates positive interdependence
promotes interactions and academic discourse
provides for group and individual accountability
groups should be 3-4 students
should be applied consistently and systematically
but not overused
includes formal, informal and base groups
Provide Feedback
 focus feedback on specific knowledge and skills and
provide as soon as possible following the task
 feedback provides students with information that
enables them to determine where they are in relation
to the target (goal or learning objective)
 should point out what is correct as well as what is not
 student initiated feedback is most beneficial
(assessment of learning)
 rewarding genuine effort has a positive effect
Identifying Similarities and
Differences
 comparing important characteristics is
the basis used to identify similarities
and differences
 classifying is the process of grouping
things that are alike on the basis of
characteristics
 creating analogies show how seemingly
dissimilar things are similar

Similarities and Differences
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
through note-taking
using a foldable to create a
graphic organizer
Summarizing
• a skill that must be taught and practiced
• choose information that is essential in
order to understand the concept
• discard information that is not essential
• add or substitute words for clarity
Creating a Group Summary
 Give each student 3 index cards per
subtopic
 On each card, students write one thing
that is important to remember about
the subtopic
 Students share cards, combine statements
in common
 Add statements they agree need to be
added
Using Edusmart Science to support
inquiry-based, 5E instruction:
Force and Motion
How does this work
with 5E?
Engage
Explore
Explain
Elaborate
Evaluate
Links
Teaching Academic Vocabulary
Marzano’s Six Step for Teaching Academic Vocabulary and Games
• http://jc-schools.net/tutorials/vocab/strategies.html