Rahesha Amon
Frederick Douglas Academy III
3630 Third Avenue
Bronx, NY 10456
How can we successfully train key players to implement differentiated instruction that
changes the quality of instruction over time?

I explored the following questions along with the administrative team, and
learning community members:
1. Was there already a practice of differentiated instruction in place?
2. How could we formalize the practice without making it and additional
responsibility for teachers?
3. What was the best way to ensure that differentiation was taking place and used as
a way to enhance the current practices?
Process
 Introduce the initiative. This was easy because it came from the findings of the
School Quality Review. These were shared in a letter to the LC (Appendix A).
 Determine monetary cost. During the summer we spent time working out a
reasonable budget for the implementation of DI by considering issues such as
which professional readings would be purchased, what type of professional
development were we seeking, what changes would need to be made to the budget
in order to support coverages for inter -visitations and planning, and finally what
additional supplies and / or supports would need to be built in to support the
initiative.
 Teachers’ programs were created in order to support common planning with
common preparation periods. Resources from the Association of Curriculum and
Development were purchased.
 Training in DI. Volunteers were sought out to be trained at the national
conference on DI in California. This core group of teachers became known as the
“DI Learning Leaders.” They were and still are responsible for turn keying the
information learned at the conference. We observed DI experts within our school
and designated their classrooms as lab sites.
 Weekly updates were included in the SPIRIT, my weekly newsletter as a DI tip
of the week (Appendix B)
Tiered Approach:
In order to successfully insure the smooth implementation of DI I created a tiered
approach.
 Tier I - The key players were identified. They consist of the administrative team,
department chairpersons and the DI learning leaders.
 Tier II - Identify effective professional development in order to train all of the key
players. Several members of the staff attended a professional development workshop
on DI in California. In addition materials were purchased for the remaining key
players and study groups were organized. Study groups currently meet once per
week.
 Tier III- Surveys were administered to all learning community members and students
took place in a learning modality interest inventory
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Tier IV - Ongoing informal and formal observations took place in order to assess the
teachers’ levels of knowledge of DI.
Tier V- Those teachers who had expertise in the area of DI were identified and their
classrooms were used as lab sites.
Tier VI - The “DI learning leaders” developed a series of workshops on DI and
created a DI resource kit for the school.
o Background on DI
o How to incorporate DI into your lessons and assessments
o Understanding DI and how it relates to your content area
o DI and the School Quality Review
o Introduction to Renzuli
o Next Steps.
Tier VII – The final step will be to evaluate the effectiveness of the professional
development and to assess the impact on teaching and learning. In time we will be
able to assess whether the approach had a long term effect on the quality of
instruction over time. Over the course of the next few years we will continue to
assess our progress in order to measure effectiveness. Eventually we hope that DI
will become an engrained part of our culture.
Collecting information
 We were able to gather student work, teacher reflections, and survey results,
materials from conferences, lesson plans, assessments, and professional resources.
 The DI Learning Leaders began to find the sorting of the information for
relevance as the obstacle and spent hours trying to determine what we needed to
archive.
 We decided to create a DI resource kit for new teachers. The kit is still a work in
progress.
 Once we identified the purpose for which we were collecting the data we were
then able to sort with a clearer understanding and focus.
Obstacles
 Time commitment necessary for the successful sustainability of DI and the
second is determining the most effective way to measure our success and overall
effectiveness.
 Developing instruments that will accurately measure the overall effectives will
take some time.
 Presently we have administered surveys and are working on alternative methods
to assess student work and progress.
Lessons Learned
 I am amazed by my LC’s overall willingness to accept new challenges and
expectations.
 From this challenge new leaders and relationships emerged. The three teachers
who ended up being DI Learning Leaders would have never been selected. This
process taught me that at times there should be opportunities to see who steps up
to the challenge.
 Overall, I was most pleased to see how many of my teachers were already
incorporating DI practices within the school.
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Outcomes
 A new dialog has opened up around meeting the needs of all learners. As a result
of this work the Student Assessment Management System (SAMS) has been fine
tuned and implemented in all departments.
 Included in the SAMS system is a data tracking system which incorporates
conferences with student and parent reflections. The binder also allows teachers
to reflect on their units and assessments. Teachers have developed an anecdotal
approach to meeting the needs of the students.
 Through the weekly progress reports, wide variety of assessments and
conferences students have been more interested in their own progress and
learning.
Resources
In order to support the work we are doing with DI the following have been used as
reference materials:
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Differentiating Instruction: A Facilitators Guide published by ASCD
A Visit to……. A School Moving Toward Differentiation by ASCD
How to Differentiate Instruction in Mixed Ability Classrooms by Carol
Ann Tomlinson, 2nd Edition
The Differentiated Classroom: Responding to the Needs of all Learners by
Carol Ann Tomlinson
Integrating Differentiated Instruction and Understanding by Design by
Carol Ann Tomlinson and Jay McTighe
Fulfilling the Promise of the Differentiated Classroom by Carol Ann
Tomlinson
Additionally the DI leaders attended a conference on DI in Newport Beach, California
where we were trained intensively on how to successfully launch DI in your school.
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Appendix A
Frederick Douglass Academy III
3630 Third Avenue
Bronx, New York 10456
(718) 538-9726
Rahesha Amon, Principal
Francis G. Cassidy, Assistant
principal
May 2, 2007
Dear FDA III Learning Community:
The visit with Ken Bryan was rewarding and validating. Mr. Bryan was extremely impressed
with our school, scholars, staff and parents. He spoke very highly of the commitment to our
Scholars, the high expectations we hold for them and our overall drive for excellence. Mr. Bryan
is confident that we will see huge success next year with our first graduating class if we continue
on this path.
With praise, also comes room for improvement; the following are areas for improvement:
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Student attendance
Parental involvement
Review of our curriculum maps
Development of the Learning Community’s competence and confidence is the use of data
to inform differentiated instruction
The areas that Mr. Bryan suggested for improvement are of no surprise; we know the work that
we need to do here at FDA III. Together, if we continue to work as hard as we did in preparation
for our quality review, our school will be a great place for teachers, scholars, parents and staff.
In celebration of our glowing school quality review, lunch will be served during all lunch periods
in our teacher resource center tomorrow.
Thank you for your continued commitment to our Scholars and Learning Community.
Respectfully yours,
Rahesha Amon
Principal
Attach:
Quality Review Summary Feedback Draft
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Appendix B
Differentiated Instruction Tip of the Week
Week #3
Thank you so much for you work with DI thus far. It is evidenced from my daily
walkthroughs that you are all incorporating DI within your daily teaching practices.
Enjoy the following DI tip of the week. Hopefully, it helps to enhance your practice or
spark further learning.
A “Typical” Day in a DI Class
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
Predictable, not rigid, schedule
Blacks of time for units of study
Procedures defined and in place
Students assuming responsibility
Voice and choice for students
Daily/weekly/quarterly goal setting and reflection
Regular community gatherings
“Flexibility is the hallmark of a differentiated classroom.”
Have you accepted the DI challenge?
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Appendix C
Frederick Douglass Academy III
3630 Third Avenue
Bronx, New York 10456
(718) 538-9726
Rahesha Amon, Principal
Francis G. Cassidy, Assistant principal
Adam Cioffi, Assistant principal
In an effort to support teaching and learning at Frederick Douglass Academy III we will
continue to focus on Data as it relates to instructional practices and Scholar outcomes.
Our work centers on the theories of Boudett, City, and Murnane from their publication
Data Wise. In Data Wise the three authors break down the systematic approaches to
data in schools using three domains: Prepare, Inquire, and Act.
In the Prepare domain the following steps are involved:
1. Organize for Collaborative Work
2. Build Assessment Literacy
In the Inquire domain the following steps are involved:
1. Create Data Overview
2. Dig into Student Data
3. Examine Instruction
In the Act domain the following steps are involves:
1. Develop and Action Plan
2. Plan to Assess Progress
3. Act and Assess
See attached chart for the full description of the Data Wise Improvement Process.
This year we will continue with collecting Scholar data using our Scholar Assessment
Management System (SAM). In your SAM binder the following should be included:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
Baseline Data (state exam scores and notes from previous teachers)
Baseline Assessment (which should be administered by Friday, September 7)
Tools used for assessment
Interim Assessment Results
Teacher Created Assessment Results
Conference Notes
Progress Reports / Report Cards etc……
Parent Outreach
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Each teacher is required to keep a SAMS binder. These binders should be stored in a
place which is easily accessible by administration. Further explanation of these
binders will be discussed at your content area meetings.
Appendix D
CHECKLIST FOR ASSESSING STUDENTS' MULTIPLE INTELLIGENCES
Name of Student: ___________________________________
In each of the following categories, check all items that apply.
Linguistic Intelligence
_____ writes better than average for age
_____ spins tall tales or tells jokes and stories
_____ has a good memory for names, places, dates, or trivia
_____ enjoys word games
_____ enjoys reading books
_____ spells words accurately (preschool: does developmental spelling that is advanced
for age)
_____ appreciates nonsense rhymes, puns, tongue twisters, etc.
_____ enjoys listening to the spoken word (stories, commentary on the radio, talking,
books)
_____ has a good vocabulary for age
_____ communicates to others in a highly verbal way
Other Linguistic Strengths:
Logical-Mathematical Intelligence
_____ asks a lot of questions about how things work
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_____ computes arithmetic problems in his/her head quickly (preschool: math concepts
are advanced for age)
_____ enjoys math class (preschool: enjoys counting and doing other things with
number)
Appendix D
_____ finds math computer games interesting (no exposure to computers: enjoys other
math or counting games)
_____ enjoys playing chess, checkers, or other strategy games (preschool: board games
requiring counting squares)
_____ enjoys working on logic puzzles or brain teasers (preschool: enjoys hearing
logical nonsense such as in Alice's Adventures in Wonderland)
_____ enjoys putting things in categories or hierarchies
_____ likes to experiment in a way that shows higher order cognitive thinking processes
_____ thinks on a more abstract or conceptual level than peers
_____ has a good sense of cause-effect for age
Other Logical-Mathematical Strengths:
Spatial Intelligence
_____ reports clear visual images
_____ reads maps, charts, and diagrams more easily that text
_____ daydreams more than peers
_____ enjoys art activities
_____ draws figures that are advanced for age
_____ likes to view movies, slides, or other visual presentations
_____ enjoys doing puzzles, mazes, Where's Waldo? or similar visual activities
_____ builds interesting three-dimensional constructions for age (e.g., LEGO buildings)
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_____ gets more out of pictures than words while reading
_____ doodles on workbooks, worksheets, or other materials
Other Spatial Strengths:
Appendix D
Bodily-Kinesthetic Intelligence
_____ excels in one or more sports
_____ moves, twitches, taps, or fidgets while seated for a long time in one spot
_____ cleverly mimics other people's gestures or mannerisms
_____ loves to take things apart and put them back together again
_____ put his/her hands all over something he/she's just seen
_____ enjoys running, jumping, wrestling, or similar activities (older: show this in a
more restrained" way, e.g., woodworking, sewing, mechanics) or good fine-motor
coordination in other ways
_____ has a dramatic way of expressing himself/herself
_____ reports different physical sensations while thinking or working
_____ enjoys working with clay or other tactile experiences (e.g., finger-painting)
Other Bodily-Kinesthetic Strengths:
Musical Intelligence
_____ tells you when music sounds off-key or disturbing in some way other way
_____ remembers melodies of songs
_____ has a good singing voice
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_____ plays a musical instrument or sings in choir or other group
_____ has a rhythmic way of speaking and/or moving
_____ unconsciously hums to himself/herself
_____ taps rhythmically on the table or desks as he/she works
_____ sensitive to environmental noises (e.g., rain on the roof)
Other Musical Strengths:
Appendix D
Interpersonal Intelligence
_____ enjoys socializing with peers
_____ seems to be a natural leader
_____ gives advice to friends who have problems
_____ seems to be street smart
_____ belongs to clubs, committees, or other group organizations
_____ enjoys informally teaching other kids
_____ likes to play games with other kids
_____ has two or more close friends
_____ has a good sense of empathy or concern for others
_____ others seek out his/her empathy or concern for others
_____ others seek out his/her company
Other Interpersonal Strengths:
Intrapersonal Intelligence
_____ displays a sense of independence or a strong will
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_____ has a realistic sense of his/her strengths and weaknesses
_____ does well when left alone or to play or study
_____ marches to the beat of a different drummer in his/her style of living and learning
_____ has an interest or hobby that he/she doesn't talk much about
_____ has a good sense of self-direction
_____ prefers working alone to working with others
_____ accurately expresses how he/she is feeling
_____ is able to learn from his/her failures and successes in life
_____ has high self-esteem
Other Intrapersonal Strengths:
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Appendix E
Scholar Learning Interest Inventory
Read each statement. If it expresses some characteristic of yours and sounds true for the
most part, jot down a "T." If it doesn't, mark an "F." If the statement is sometimes true,
sometimes false, leave it blank.
1. _____ I'd rather draw a map than give someone verbal directions.
2. _____ I can play (or used to play) a musical instrument.
3. _____ I can associate music with my moods.
4. _____ I can add or multiply in my head.
5. _____ I like to work with calculators and computers.
6. _____ I pick up new dance steps fast.
7. _____ It's easy for me to say what I think in an argument or debate.
8. _____ I enjoy a good lecture, speech or sermon.
9. _____ I always know north from south no matter where I am.
10. _____ Life seems empty without music.
11. _____ I always understand the directions that come with new gadgets or appliances.
12. _____ I like to work puzzles and play games.
13. _____ Learning to ride a bike (or skates) was easy.
14. _____ I am irritated when I hear an argument or statement that sounds illogical.
15. _____ My sense of balance and coordination is good.
16. _____ I often see patterns and relationships between numbers faster and easier than
others.
17. _____ I enjoy building models (or sculpting).
18. _____ I'm good at finding the fine points of word meanings.
19. _____ I can look at an object one way and see it sideways or backwards just as
easily.
20. _____ I often connect a piece of music with some event in my life.
21. _____ I like to work with numbers and figures.
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Appendix E
22. _____ Just looking at shapes of buildings and structures is pleasurable to me.
23. _____ I like to hum, whistle and sing in the shower or when I'm alone.
24. _____ I'm good at athletics.
25. _____ I'd like to study the structure and logic of languages.
26. _____ I'm usually aware of the expression on my face.
27. _____ I'm sensitive to the expressions on other people's faces.
28. _____ I stay "in touch" with my moods. I have no trouble identifying them.
29. _____ I am sensitive to the moods of others.
30. _____ I have a good sense of what others think of me.
Scholar Learning Interest Inventory Scoring Sheet
Place a check mark by each item you marked as "true." Add your totals. A total of four
in any of the categories A through E indicates strong ability. In categories F and G a
score of one or more means you have abilities as well.
Totals:
A
B
Linguistic
LogicalMathematical
C
D
M usical Spatial
E
BodilyKinesthetic
F
G
IntraInterpersonal personal
7 ___
8 ___
14___
18 ___
25 ___
4 ___
5 ___
12 ___
16 ___
21 ___
2 ___
3 ___
10 ___
20 ___
23 ___
1 ___
9 ___
11___
19___
22___
6 ___
13 ___
15 ___
17 ___
24 ___
26 ___
28 ___
27 ___
29 ___
30 ___
____
____
____
____
____
____
____
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Appendix F
Differentiated Instruction Survey
Differentiated Instruction: An assessment of teacher knowledge
Directions: Bubble in the answer that best describes your answer. Your participation is
voluntary, and you may choose to answer all, some, or none of the questions.
Section 1 – Demographics
Directions: Please complete the demographic information requested below.
1. What is your gender?
○ Male ○ Female
2. How many years of teaching experience do you have?
○ 0-3 yrs. ○ 4-7 yrs. ○ 8-11 yrs. ○ 12-15 yrs.
○ 16-19 yrs. ○ 20-23 yrs. ○ 24-27 yrs. ○ 18-31 yrs. ○ 32-above yrs.
3. How many years of schooling have you had?
○ Bachelors ○ Bachelors + 15 grad. hours ○ Bachelors + 30 grad. hours
○ Masters ○ Masters + 15 grad. hrs ○ Masters + 30 grad. hrs.
○ Doctorate
4. What subject area do you teach?
○ Language Arts ○ Math ○ Other
○ Social Studies ○ Science
Section 2 – Personal Beliefs/Opinions About Teaching Strategies/Techniques
Directions: How well prepared do you feel to plan and use the strategies/techniques
listed?
1. Teachers should use a variety of teaching materials rather than one standard text.
○ Strongly Agree ○ Somewhat Agree
○ Somewhat Disagree ○ Strongly Disagree
2. Teachers should vary tasks by students’ readiness levels, interest levels, and/or
learning styles.
○ Strongly Agree ○ Somewhat Agree
○ Somewhat Disagree ○ Strongly Disagree
3. Teachers should adapt lessons for individual students.
○ Strongly Agree ○ Somewhat Agree
○ Somewhat Disagree ○ Strongly Disagree
151
Appendix F
4. Teachers should provide accommodations and modifications for individual student
evaluations.
○ Strongly Agree ○ Somewhat Agree
○ Somewhat Disagree ○ Strongly Disagree
5. Teachers should have the opportunity for professional leave to work with master
teachers who use differentiated instruction effectively.
○ Strongly Agree ○ Somewhat Agree
○ Somewhat Disagree ○ Strongly Disagree
Differentiated Instruction 14
6. Teachers need extensive in-service training on differentiated instruction to be effective.
○ Strongly Agree ○ Somewhat Agree
○ Somewhat Disagree ○ Strongly Disagree
Section 3 – Personal Use of Differentiated Instructional Strategies/Techniques
Directions: How often do you use the strategies/techniques listed below to plan for and
accommodate individual differences in the classroom?
1. How often do you use specific strategies/techniques to accommodate individual
differences in the classroom?
○ Frequently ○ Sometimes ○ Rarely ○ Not At All
2. Do you use a wide range of teaching alternatives (oral, visual, musical, spatial, reading
buddies, graphic organizers, study guides to name a few)?
○ Frequently ○ Sometimes ○ Rarely ○ Not At All
3. Do you use a wide range of teaching materials?
○ Frequently ○ Sometimes ○ Rarely ○ Not At All
4. Do you use cooperative and flexible grouping?
○ Frequently ○ Sometimes ○ Rarely ○ Not At All
5. Do you vary your questions on assessments based on student’s readiness, interests,
and/or learning styles?
○ Frequently ○ Sometimes ○ Rarely ○ Not At All
6. Do you provide accommodations and modifications for individual student evaluations?
○ Frequently ○ Sometimes ○ Rarely ○ Not At All
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