A flexible approach to teaching using teaching methodologies for learners with different needs
Providing tailored instruction to meet the differences among all learners

34% of 4th graders and 27% of 8th graders score below basic level of proficiency (2007 –
NEAP)
Students reading below the basic level have trouble:
Demonstrating understanding
Making obvious connections to their experiences
Extending ideas by making simple inferences

Increase in low-achieving students
Decrease in resources
On & Above-grade level students
Gifted students need engagement and in-depth problem solving

“Georgia among 17 states with the lowest overall graduation rates in the country.”
AJC, July 23, 2009
State Graduation rate: 79.9%
2010 – GA DOE
Lanier County Graduation rate -
74.8%
Lower among minority populations:
72.6% - Blacks; 69% - Hispanics; Whites – 82%

Not enough demanded of them
Could have if they had tried
58% had two or less years left to complete school

We must use it or lose it
Provide the learner with the appropriate amount of challenge to prevent anxiety or boredom
Appropriate level of challenge is needed to ensure curiosity and learning

Tier I
Universal strategies for all children
Tier II
Customized intervention to meet the specific needs of the student
Tier III
Intensive interventions for students with severe or chronic needs

students in your class
It is NOT giving up control in your classroom
It is NOT classifying “like-learners” together
It is NOT “tailoring”
It is NOT giving MORE or LESS

It is providing different avenues to
Acquiring content
Processing ideas
Developing Products
It is proactive
It is rooted in assessment
It is responsive
It is labor intensive at first

You have to differentiate ALL of the time
Only for SPECIAL ED students
It is not FAIR to all students
Uses gifted & talented students as TUTORS
Makes assessment EASIER

Content
What students learn?
Process
How do students make sense of ideas and information?
Product
How do students demonstrate what they have learned?

The Engine that drives effective differentiation is...
Wiggins &McTighe

Motivation increases when we feel a kinship with, interest in, or passion about what we are attempting to learn.

Learner
Learning

Needs of Advanced Learners
SELF-
Efficacy
Failed

Continually raise the ceiling of expectation
Students need to compete against themselves, rather than against a norm.

Maximize Capacity for the
Struggling Learner
Look for Positives-
Relevance
Enhance Strengths-
Use all avenues
Power Learning-
Teach UP

• Avoid Teacher FOG
• Set Goals
• Make learning relevant
• Teach using multiple modalities
• Reinforce legitimate success
• Think of multiple avenues to learning
• Maximize growth for each student

Organizers of Learning Opportunities
Create ways to learn that both capture students’ attention and lead to understanding
Gives students as much responsibility for learning as they can handle, ...and then a little more.
A coach or mentor for your students
Understand students’ interest and learning preferences
Create a variety of opportunities to gather information, explore ideas, present information and expand understandings.

Build a Sense of Community
Organize and focus the curriculum on essential information
See and reflect on individuals as well as the group
Know your students, look beyond actions and erase stereotypes
Share responsibility for teaching and learning, ensure students are prepared for their role
Move students among varied work arrangements to help them see themselves in new way
Give students a voice
Be flexible with time
Think of many ways to accomplish a common goal
Craft learning experiences based on diagnosed need
Think of what could go wrong and structure to avoid potential problems
Keep track of student growth toward personal and group benchmarks

Be clear on the key concepts and principles that give meaning and structure to the lesson you are planning.
Think of assessment as a road map for your thinking and planning.
Lessons for all students should emphasize critical and creative thought.
Lessons for all students should be engaging.
There should be a balance between student-selected and teacher-assigned tasks and working arrangements.

Everyone feels welcomed
Mutual respect is nonnegotiable
Students feel safe
There is a pervasive expectation of growth.
Fairness is evident
Teacher and students collaborate for mutual growth and success.
The teacher teaches for success!

Understand student readiness, interest, and learning profile
Begin at a pace that is comfortable
Time differentiated activities to support student success
Use and anchor activity
Plan how students will turn in work
Teach students how to rearrange the furniture
Have a plan for “quick finishers”
Make a plan for “Calling a Halt”
Let students talk about classroom procedures and group work
Create and deliver instructions carefully
Assign students into groups or seating areas smoothly
Have a “home base” for students
Be sure to plan for students to get help when you are busy with another student or group
Minimize noise
Minimize stray movement
Promote on-task behavior
Give students as much responsibility as possible for their learning