Differentiated Instruction
Lisa Swope
Radford City Schools
People learn differently—we have various
learning styles, learning strengths, abilities, and
interests.
We also learn alike in that we need to find
meaning and make sense of what we
study. We learn best from work that demands
we stretch ourselves, but does not intimidate us.
Differentiated Instruction is
Proactive
• The teacher begins with the assumption
that different learners have different
needs.
• She proactively plans a variety of ways to
“get at” and express learning.
• She organizes materials and resources so
learning will be purposeful and not
chaotic.
Expect BETTER work,
not MORE work!!!
• The teacher does not simply give more
work to learners who are more capable;
instead, he adjusts the nature of the
assignment to meet student needs.
• The level of complexity, steps in a task,
and levels of questioning can be geared to
student ability.
Begin With Assessment
Students’ readiness level is determined
through standardized test results, pre-
testing, conversations with the student,
interest surveys, and/or instruments
indicating preferred learning styles and/or
multiple intelligences.
Provide Several Routes
to Content, Process,
and Product
• Content—what students learn
• Process—how students go about making
sense of ideas and information
• Product—how students demonstrate what
they have learned
Differentiated Learning is StudentCentered
• Students are given the opportunity to take
increasing responsibility for their own
growth.
• Teaching students to share responsibility
allows a teacher to work with different
groups or individuals for parts of the class
time………….and it better prepares
students for life.
Differentiation Blends Several Types
of Instruction
• Whole-class instruction
• Individual instruction
• Flexible grouping
• Cooperative/collaborative learning
Differentiation is Fluid
• Teachers participate in ongoing
collaboration with students
• Lessons and assignments are adjusted as
needed
• There is no one “right” way to
differentiate as long as the basic principles
of differentiated learning are followed.
Some Principles
• Students are pre-assessed to determine learning needs.
• The teacher plans proactively to provide several learning
options.
• Students work alone, in pairs, and in small groups.
• Students sometimes receive whole-class instruction.
• The teacher gives clear directions and shares
responsibility with students.
• The teacher provides organization to the degree that
learning is purposeful and not chaotic.
• The teacher provides support as needed.
• The student takes responsibility for his/her own learning
and demonstrates understanding through a studentdesigned product.
For First Grade Reading
• Create a flexible reading program.
• Post a weekly reading schedule and allow students to find their
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names on it.
Allow students to move to appointed parts of the room at times
designated on the chart.
Sometimes the whole class will meet to listen to a story and talk
about it or to volunteer to read it.
Sometimes a small group meets with the teacher to work on
decoding, comprehension strategies, or to share ideas.
Sometimes students will meet with peers to read on a topic of
mutual interest, regardless of their reading readiness (different
level books on same topic).
Students read alone (from books in discovery boxes based on
various topics or from boxes designated by colors to match levels
of reading readiness).
Students may meet with a reading partner to take turns reading
or, at the direction of the teacher, to “choral read” so stronger
readers can provide leadership for a peer who doesn’t read as well.
From Tomlinson
Third Grade Reading
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Design a variety of centers based on student learning profiles
Assign students to centers based on formal or informal assessments
At centers related to people the students are studying, students can
choose to work alone, in pairs, or within a small group
Some possible centers include:
Students select a person they’ve studied and make an annotated time
line of the person’s early life, noting events that shaped the person. The
student chooses whether to write a paper, draw a storyboard, or act out
the events.
Students select a biography and a fictional work each has read. Then
they write about real-life events they and some of their friends have
had. Students then look in all three works for common themes about
growing up and decide to present their work as a matrix or through
conversations between or among the subject of the biography, the
fictional work, and a 3rd grader.
From Tomlinson
Seventh Grade Science
• As part of an exploration of life science, students
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chose a living creature and develop questions of
interest to them individually.
Students figure out how to find answers to their
questions.
Each student determines ways to share their
findings with their peers.
(Questions can vary in complexity.)
High School Algebra II
• Students can pre-test and “compact out” of a unit at any time
during the first three days of instruction
• Students who opt out do an independent investigation of math in
the real world, given guidelines by the teacher, who works with
them to tighten or focus plans, as needed
• Students who did not “compact out” receive whole group
instruction, and then—based on understanding—divide into
cooperative groups for practice, or meet in a small group with the
teacher for further instruction
• When the class has finished the chapter, everyone participates in
two days of mandatory review and the entire class takes the test.
From Tomlinson
High School U.S. History
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Students read biographies of their choice from a suggested reading list. Each student
chooses to do one of the following:
Write a two-page summary of the person’s life.
Note transforming dates in the subject’s life and make a timeline.
Choose three events that most impacted the subject’s life and make a poster explaining each.
Students read names from a posted list and go to pre-assigned groups, which
include:
Students meet in small groups and “tell the story” in first person of the subject of each
biography
Students make a chart listing similarities and differences in their characters’ personalities, lives,
and accomplishments
Students brainstorm qualities of “greatness” and create a matrix they will use to rank all of their
subjects
Students choose one or a few topics making news in their lifetimes and conduct a timetravel/round-table discussion in character as their subjects.
Students complete an assignment from the following product list:
A PowerPoint presentation
A scripted presentation to the class
An argumentative or comparative essay.
The Equalizer: A Tool for Planning
Differentiated Lessons
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Foundational…………….Transformational
Concrete………………….Abstract
Simple…………………… Complex
Single Facet………………Multiple Facets
Small Leap………………..Great Leap
More Structured…………..More Open
Less Independence………More Independence
Slow………………………..Quick
Tiering Instruction
• Change the nature of the task, not the
workload
• Change the sophistication of the prompt
and/or the student’s response to it
• Remember to keep all students “above
water” by adjusting challenge levels so all
students can make sense of their learning
Tiering Formats
• Learning Contracts
• Learning Menus
• Cubing
• Summarization Pyramid
• Change the Verb
Learning Contracts
Students enter into independent study with
an agreed-upon set of tasks supporting
adjusted goals.
Learning Menus
Students are given choices of tasks in a unit
or for an assessment. They most do one
“entrée task”, may select from two “side
dish” tasks, and may choose to do one of
the “dessert” tasks for extra enrichment.
Cubing
Students receive foam or poster board
cubes with a different task written on each
face; each task has a different complexity
level than the others. Given a topic,
students: Describe it, Compare it,
Associate it, Analyze it, Apply it, Argue for
it or against it.
Summarization Pyramid
Create a pyramid of
horizontal lines, then
ask students at
different readiness
levels to respond to
tiered prompts as
they interact with the
topic.
SOME GREAT PROMPTS
Synonym
Analogy
Question
Three attributes
Alternative title
Causes
Effects
Reasons
Arguments
Ingredients
Opinion
Formula/sequence
Insight
Larger category
Tools
Sample
People
Future of the topic
Change the Verb
Raise or lower the challenge
level by changing the
verb in your prompt:
CONSIDER USING:
Analyze
Revise
Decide between
Why did
Defend
Devise
Identify
Classify
Define
Compose
Interpret
Expand
Imagine
Suppose
Construct
Recommend
Predict
Argue for (or against)
Contrast
Critique
Some Tips
• All students need coherent lessons that
are relevant, powerful, and meaningful.
• Good curriculum pushes students a bit
beyond what is easy or comfortable.
• Encourage students to “work up” and
complete tasks that stretch them.
• Sidebar Studies
• Interest Centers
• Specialty Teams
• Real-Life Applications of Ideas and Skills
• New Forms of Expression
Strategies That Support InterestBased Studies
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Studying concepts and principles through the lens of interest
Student choice of tasks
Independent Study
I-Searches
Orbitals
Mentorships
Group Investigations
Interest Groups
Jigsaw
Literature Circles
WebQuests
Student-selected audiences
Four Factors
• Learning Style Preferences
• Intelligence Preferences
• Culture-Influenced Preferences
• Gender-Based Preferences
Strategies for Learning Profile
Preferences
• Vary teacher presentation (auditory,
visual, kinesthetic)
• Vary student mode of expression
(Gardner’s Multiple Intelligences)
• Working choice arrangements
• Multiple modes of assessment
• Varied approaches to organizing ideas and
information
Strategies for Differentiating
Content
• Curriculum Compacting
• Learning Contracts
• Mini-lessons
Ways to Support Students
• Reading partners or audio/video recorders
• Note-taking organizers
• Highlighted print materials
• Digests of key ideas
• Peer and adult mentors
Processing: Making Sense of the
Content
• Present activities that are interesting to
the student
• Provide opportunities for students to think
at a higher level
• Cause students to use key skills to
understand key ideas
Strategies for Differentiated
Processing
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Cubing
Learning logs or journals
Graphic organizers
Centers or interest groups
Role playing
Choice boards
Jigsaw
Think-pair-share
PMI
Model-making
Labs
Tiered activities
Creating Product Assignments
• What students must know, understand, be able
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to do as a result of the study.
Identify the format of the project.
Determine expectations for quality (content,
process, product).
Decide on scaffolding (brainstorming, rubrics,
time lines, planning/goal setting, storyboarding,
critiquing, revising/grading).
Differentiate based on readiness, student
interest, student learning profile.
Why have you been looking at the ocean
during this presentation????????
Because……….
Like being on the ocean, when you
differentiate you must:
• Find exactly where students are before you know how to
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take them someplace new
Organize your resources
Adjust for varying degrees of depth
Support those who can’t keep their heads above water
Modify your strategy as you go
Recognize there are different ways to reach the same
destination
The content of this presentation is based on
the work of Carol Ann Tomlinson of the
University of Virginia and on her book,
How to Differentiate Instruction in MixedAbility Classrooms.
Supplementary Resources
• Glossary of terms
• Learning Style inventory
• Sample lessons
• List of additional resources