RIGOROUS TASKS
WITHIN
DIFFERENTIATED INSTRUCTION
Presented by
Bureau of School Improvement
Differentiated Accountability
Region V
Rigor in the Classroom
XtraNormal Video
BSI Summer Academy 2013
2
Objective
Participants will learn rigorous, innovative
and engaging instructional tasks that can
be implemented during differentiated
instruction to increase student
achievement .
Guiding Questions
• What is rigor?
• What does rigor look like?
• How can incorporating daily rigorous
tasks within differentiated instruction
build student comprehension?
BSI Summer Academy 2013
HO #1
4
WHAT IS RIGOR?????
WHAT DOES RIGOR LOOK LIKE?
What are the elements of rigor in a classroom?
How do you know rigor when you see it?
To agree…or disagree…???
7
The more tasks the students have, the better
they learn.
A rigorous curriculum is focused, coherent, and
appropriately challenging.
William Schmidt, Michigan State professor
Rigor is determined by what is taught.
Academic rigor is determined not just by what is
taught, but how it is taught and how it is
assessed. A demanding curriculum isn’t so
demanding if it’s taught in a way that students
can’t learn it or if, on tests, they’re not really
expected to know it.
Barbara Blackburn, 2008
Rigor is not for everyone.
There is a belief that the only way to assure success
for everyone is to lower standards and lessen rigor.
Such beliefs often mask an underlying sense that
some students are less capable and that their
success will hold back those who are more capable.
-Barbara Blackburn
Characteristics of Rigorous
Instruction
• High Expectations
• Providing Support
• Demonstrating Learning
BSI Summer Academy 2013
H.O. #2
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Definition of Rigor
Quality of thinking, not quantity, can
occur in any grade and at any
subject.
Deep immersion in a subject which
should include real-world
settings and working with an expert.
Examples of Rigorous Instruction
Definition of Rigor
Goal is helping students develop the
capacity to understand content that
is complex or ambiguous, and
personally or emotionally
challenging.
High expectations are important and
must include effort on the part of the
learner.
Examples of Rigorous Instruction
Definition of Rigor
Examples of Rigorous Instruction
Quality of thinking, not quantity, can •
occur in any grade and at any
subject.
•
Deep immersion in a subject which
should include real-world
settings and working with an expert.
Higher order questions asked
during whole group and small
group
Students being assigned tasks
that are on or above grade level
no matter their ability level
•Students involved in inquiry-based
learning.
•Students are given a variety of ways
to demonstrate learning, which may
include tests with a wide range of
types of questions, or it may be that
students are allowed to show their
understanding through creative
projects.
Definition of Rigor
Goal is helping students develop the
capacity to understand content that
is complex or ambiguous, and
personally or emotionally
challenging.
Examples of Rigorous Instruction
Teachers facilitating Socratic
Seminars, or having students engage
in the Comprehensive Instructional
Sequence to gain a deeper
understanding of text?
High expectations are important and •Students are engaged in student-led
must include effort on the part of the discussions, and referring to text to
learner.
support their findings.
• Students are responding to text
daily in every class.
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Connection to 21st Century Learners
RIGOR REDEFINED
7 Survival Skills
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
Critical Thinking and Problem-Solving
Collaboration Across Networks and Leading by Influence
Agility and Adaptability
Initiative and Entrepreneurialism
Effective Oral and Written Communication
Accessing and Analyzing Information
Curiosity and Imagination
Wagner, 2008
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“Rigor Redefined”
by Tom Wagner
HO 2
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Hmmmm…
1. How prepared do you feel
students are with these seven
skills?
2. How much opportunity within
the classroom are students given
to hone these skills?
3. Identify the steps will you need
to take at your school to increase
student proficiency in these
competencies.
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Connection to 21st Century Learners
RIGOR REDEFINED
7 Survival Skills
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
Critical Thinking and Problem-Solving
Collaboration Across Networks and Leading by Influence
Agility and Adaptability
Initiative and Entrepreneurialism
Effective Oral and Written Communication
Accessing and Analyzing Information
Curiosity and Imagination
Wagner, 2008
23
Using Debate to Develop Critical
Thinking and Speaking Skills
Video
BSI Summer Academy 2013
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Think-Write-Pair-Square
How can incorporating daily rigorous tasks
within differentiated instruction build
student comprehension?
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Differentiation of Instruction
Respectful tasks
Flexible grouping
On-going monitoring
and assessments
Teachers Can Differentiate Through:
Content
Process
Product
According to Students
Readiness
Interest
Learning Profile
Is a teacher’s response to learners’ needs guided by general principles of differentiation?
TEACHER RESPONSIBILITY
“I do it”
Focus Lesson
Guided
Instruction
“We do it”
Collaborative
“You do it
together”
Independent
“You do it
alone”
STUDENT RESPONSIBILITY
A Model for Success for All Students
Fisher, D., & Frey, N. (2008). Better learning through structured teaching: A framework for the gradual
release of responsibility. Alexandria, VA: Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development.
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Differentiated Rigorous
Tasks
Teacher Read Aloud
The Man Who Went to
the Far Side of the Moon
The Story of Apollo 11 Astronaut Michael Collins
By
Bea Uusma Schyffert
HO 4, 5
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Consider This…
“Tailor your whole class so that you move the
majority of your students in a way that has
real traction, and then tailor small-group
teaching to support students who are earlier
or more advanced in their level of skill
development.”
Caulkins, Ehrenworth, & Lehman.
2012, p. 53. 2012.
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Think-Pair-Share-Strengthen
What daily rigorous tasks within
differentiated instruction can you use to
build student comprehension?
References
• L. Broach, B.P. Laster , B.Marinak, C. McDonald Connor, D. WalkerDalhouse S. Watts-Taffe, (2012). Differentiated Instruction Making
informed teaching instructions. The Reading Teacher. 66(4), pp. 305-314.
• Williamson and Blackburn, (2010). Rigorous Schools and Classrooms:
Leading the Way.
• Florida Department of Education. Test Item Specifications. Retrieved May
1, 2012 from http://www.fldoe.org/fcat2/itemspecs.asp.
• Tomlinson, C. A., & McTighe, J. (2006). Integrating differentiated
instruction & understanding by design.
• Wagner, T. (2008). Rigor Redefined. Educational Leadership, 66 (2), pp 2025