Running Head: ACTION PLAN TO IMPROVE DIFFERENTIATED
INSTRUCTION PRACTICES AT ERMINESKIN ELEM. SCHOOL
Action Plan to Improve Differentiated Instruction
Practices at Ermineskin Elementary
Kayla Aubichon
Brian Boese
EDLM 580
January 6, 2015
ACTION PLAN TO IMPROVE DIFFERENTIATED INSTRUCTION
PRACTICES AT ERMINESKIN ELEM. SCHOOL
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Introduction
This paper will provide a comprehensive action plan for the improvement of
differentiated instruction practices used by teachers at Ermineskin Elementary School (EES). It
will present a summary of why this specific area needs to be improved and provide a detailed
step-by-step implementation plan that will include indicators of success for each step. It will also
identify the role of the stakeholders, discuss potential roadblocks and obstacles, and finally, it
will include a plan for leading and managing the improvement of differentiated instruction
practices.
Action Plan for Ermineskin Elementary
For many years, Ermineskin Elementary School divided students into separate
classrooms by their cognitive intellectual levels and learning abilities. Two years ago, they
moved to a differentiated instruction (Tomlinson, 2013) model. Since then, the administration
team has noticed that many of the teachers are having difficulty effectively teaching the variety
of levels and abilities in their classrooms. Some of the classrooms have such huge variances in
levels that teachers feel as though they are unable to accomplish their main goal of helping all
students learn. They are essentially unable to achieve desired “flow” (Frase, 2005, p. 445)
resulting in low teacher efficacy. Frase (2005) believes that “helping teachers find success in
helping students learn is a powerful method for stimulating more frequent teacher flow
experience” (p. 447) accordingly, the administration team needs to assist teachers in improving
their differentiated instruction practices. This paper will put forth a comprehensive step-by-step
implementation plan for improving these differentiated instruction practices.
Step-By-Step Implementation Plan
ACTION PLAN TO IMPROVE DIFFERENTIATED INSTRUCTION
PRACTICES AT ERMINESKIN ELEM. SCHOOL
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When implementing any change in schools there are many factors an administrator
should consider. Administrators need to create an atmosphere and context for change, develop
and communicate a shared vision, plan and provide resources, invest in professional
development, check progress and continue to give assistance as the plan moves forward (Roy,
2013). Sullivan & Glanz (2013) note that teachers need to trust administration and not feel
intimidated by the change and that implementation should be done in “several stages” (p.166) or
steps as listed below.
Before Implementation
 Administrators should define objectives for differentiated instruction
Time Frame:
improvement.
September/Beginning
 Review budget and expenses needed to implement changes and meet with
of The Year
school board to discuss proposed plan.
 Share vision and engage moral purpose (Sullivan & Glanz 2013) with
stakeholders (faculty at first staff meeting, parents at parent information
night, school board during proposal).
 Clarify responsibilities of all stakeholders involved.
 Arrange informal one-on-one meetings with teachers to discuss change at
which time administrators can then individualize approach reflecting
teacher responses to make change less intimidating or even appealing
(Sullivan & Glanz 2013).
Indicators of Success: School board will agree to proposed changes, budget and
expenses will be covered, mainly positive feedback from informal meetings,
vision will be clear and all stakeholders will understand the direction the school is
headed.
Beginning of Implementation (start small)
Step 2
 Ask for 5 volunteers who are interested and will join a PLC on
Time Frame:
Differentiated Instruction. This group will meet weekly to discuss,
End of Septemberbrainstorm, research, and create ideas for differentiation practices that
January
they will implement in their classrooms. Administrators will have no
participation in this. This may increase teacher participation, as they will
see this as their chance to have a voice without feeling threatened or
judged by administrators (Sullivan & Glanz 2013).
 At monthly staff meetings, the PLC group will speak to fellow teachers
about the results of the newly implemented differentiated instruction
practices. Success of the PLC group’s initiatives will create teacher “buy
in” which can then lead to expansion (Sullivan & Glanz, 2013, p.168).
 PLC group will conduct teacher surveys to identify the differentiated
instruction needs in classrooms.
 PLC group will determine resources and professional development needs
of teachers from the survey results.
Indicators of Success: PLC group has been formed, PLC group will produce
Step 1
ACTION PLAN TO IMPROVE DIFFERENTIATED INSTRUCTION
PRACTICES AT ERMINESKIN ELEM. SCHOOL
Step 3
Time Frame:
January-February
Step 4
Time Frame:
February-March
Step 5
Time Frame:
March-June
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positive results with their personal classroom changes, teachers will want to join
PLC, and surveys will be comprehensive and provide a guide of where plan needs
to head next.
Purchase Resources and Professional Development
 Administrators will purchase and/or distribute the following resources:
Diane Heacox’s book Making Differentiation a Habit
McTighe and O’Connor’s “Seven Practices For Effective Learning”
McQuarrie and McRae’s “A Provincial Perspective on Differentiated
Instruction: The Alberta Initiative for School Improvement (AISI)”
VanTassel-Baska and Woods’ article “The Integrated Curriculum Model”
all of which discuss assessing students and offering appropriate choices
designed for their strengths and levels. Administration team will
encourage staff to consider how their classroom practices align with
practices discussed in these resources and how they can apply to their
personal pedagogy. Administrators will host a staff meeting to discuss
findings.
 Professional development dates will be booked and planned for the rest of
the year.
Indicators of Success: Readings and resources will create faculty empowerment
and eagerness to apply new practices in classrooms.
Staff Training
 Administration team will provide the teachers with meaningful learning
opportunities and professional development centering on differentiated
instruction.
 School wide professional development on differentiated instruction.
 Create mentor program as mentioned by Zepeda (2000), PLC members
will now act as mentors.
 Grade group meetings for planning, teams will work collaboratively to
drive student achievement (Marshall, 2005, p.731).
 Teachers will be provided more time for collaboration on differentiation
practices.
Indicators of Success: Teachers will embrace change and become self-motivated.
Grade group meetings will result in valuable ideas and ways to differentiate, that
teachers can take and use in their classrooms. Mentor program will have positive
feedback.
Implementation into Classrooms
 PLC group members will assist with integration of new practices into
classrooms through modeling or team teaching.
 Administrators will ensure needs of stakeholder groups are being met.
Teachers are able to improve their instruction and the students are
learning.
 Teachers will apply newly learned differentiated instruction practices in
their classrooms.
 Create a culture of evaluation by gathering various student learning data
and surveys (Sullivan & Glanz, 2013, p.173).
Indicators of Success: PLC members will have assisted most teachers.
Administrators can see the differentiated instruction practices in the classroom
through informal observations and student work. Teachers will work hard to
apply these new skills to their daily practice. Data will show the differentiation
ACTION PLAN TO IMPROVE DIFFERENTIATED INSTRUCTION
PRACTICES AT ERMINESKIN ELEM. SCHOOL
Step 6
Time Frame:
Ongoing Into The
Next Year
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practices are working and all students are learning.
Maintain and Continue Learning
 Administrators and PLC group will have a meeting at the beginning of
the new school year to refresh differentiated instruction ideas and
motivate teachers.
 PLC group will expand with a lead teacher from each grade.
 PLC group will continue to do regular updates at meetings.
 PLC group will provide support when needed.
 Professional development will be ongoing, interactive, cumulative,
(Briggs & Sommefeldt, 2002, p.107).
 During staff meetings, faculty will discuss their successes and fails with
differentiated instruction and share best practices.
 Active support of administration (Briggs & Sommefeldt, 2002, p.107).
 Mentor program will grow with the new lead teachers becoming
involved.
 Administration team will continue to evaluate the success/goals and work
on areas for improvement.
Indicators of success: All teachers will be using differentiated instruction
practices and are able to teach to the various achievement levels in their
classrooms. Students are learning. Faculty learning will be ongoing.
Role of Stakeholders
The following chart shows the role of all stakeholders involved in the implementation
process:
Administration
Teachers
Students
Parents
Admin will successfully implement the new change, provide
training and support for teachers and staff, ensure the initiative
is valued, and create a PLC and eventually a mentorship
program.
Teachers will learn to use the differentiated instruction practices
effectively in the classrooms and will become active learners.
Students will learn more effectively as teachers will be able to
accomplish their main goal of helping them all learn.
Parents will understand the new initiative (updated with
newsletter) and support the school’s decision to implement.
Roadblocks and Obstacles
One obstacle the administration team may face is teacher “resistance” (Sullivan & Glanz,
2013, p. 170). This can be mollified by arranging informal meetings as mentioned in step 1 and
by creating an all-teacher PLC group with no administration role as mentioned in step 2.
ACTION PLAN TO IMPROVE DIFFERENTIATED INSTRUCTION
PRACTICES AT ERMINESKIN ELEM. SCHOOL
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Administrators can also use the various tools for addressing individual concern and ways to
alleviate resistance as noted by Patricia Roy (2013).
Another obstacle that the administrators may face is the time constraints. As indicated by
Sullivan & Glanz (2013), allowing for lunch hour meetings, providing incentives for before or
after school meetings and having administrators cover classes for teachers may work to allay
these concerns.
Administrator Plan for Leading and Implementation
“The role of the school administrator through every stage of implementation is critical.
The attitudes and actions of school leaders…will encourage and support teachers as they engage
in learning opportunities and explore new tools” (CITEd, n.d.).
Administrator
Role Model
Leader
Motivator
Resource Provider
Facilitator











Responsibilities
Engage in learning about differentiated instruction alongside staff
Lead by example
Encourage teachers to try new things in regards to differentiated
instruction
Set the tone for change implementation
Set high standards for collaboration, cooperation and learning
Make differentiated instruction a priority
Encourage and support teacher efforts
Ensure teachers have the resources they need to achieve goal of
improved differentiation practices
Provide teachers with PD and learning opportunities
Ensure that we are moving through each stage of implementation plan
Identify barriers to implementation and resolves problems
The chart above has been adapted from the article entitled Technology Implementation in
Schools: Key Factors to Consider (CITEd, n.d.).
This paper has explained how Ermineskin Elementary has recently taken on a new
venture by switching from a leveled-classroom school to a multi-leveled classroom school. A
comprehensive plan was created and put forth that provided a complete step-by-step timeline,
discussed the roles of the stakeholders and noted the role of the administrator through the
ACTION PLAN TO IMPROVE DIFFERENTIATED INSTRUCTION
PRACTICES AT ERMINESKIN ELEM. SCHOOL
implementation process which will thereby assist teachers in achieving their main goal of
helping all students learn. By helping teachers find success in helping students through
improvement of differentiation practices, administration will enhance student learning at EES.
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ACTION PLAN TO IMPROVE DIFFERENTIATED INSTRUCTION
PRACTICES AT ERMINESKIN ELEM. SCHOOL
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References
Briggs, A. K., & Sommefeldt, D. (2002). Managing change for effective learning and teaching.
In Managing effective learning and teaching (pp. 105-111). Thousand Oaks, CA:
Sage. Retrieved from
http://site.ebrary.com.ezproxy.royalroads.ca/lib/royalroads/docDetail.action?docI
D=10076744
Marshall, K. (2005). It’s time to rethink teacher supervision and evaluation. Phi Delta
Kappan, 86(10), 727-735. http://www.jstor.org.ezproxy.royalroads.ca/stable/20441897
McTighe, J., & O'Connor, K. (2005). Assessment to promote learning. Educational Leadership,
63(3), 10-17.
McQuarrie, L. M. & McRae, P. (2010). A provincial perspective on differentiated instruction:
The Alberta Initiative for School Improvement (AISI). Journal of Applied Research on
Learning, 3, Article 4, pp. 1-18.
Roy, P. (2013, December 1). School-Based Professional Learning For Implementing The
Common Core Chapter 1: Managing Change. Retrieved January 5, 2015, from
http://learningforward.org/docs/default-source/commoncore/tplchange.pdf
Sullivan, S, & Glanz, J. (2013). Supervision that improves teaching and learning: Strategies and
techniques. (4th ed.). Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin
Technology Implementation in Schools: Key Factors to Consider. (n.d.). Technology
Implementation in Schools: Key Factors to Consider. Retrieved July 23, 2014, from
http://www.cited.org/index.aspx?page_id=187#leadshp
Tomlinson, C. (2013). What is differentiated instruction?. In Reading Rockets. Retrieved
December 8, 2014, from www.readingrockets.org/article/263
ACTION PLAN TO IMPROVE DIFFERENTIATED INSTRUCTION
PRACTICES AT ERMINESKIN ELEM. SCHOOL
VanTassel-Baska, J., & Wood, S. (2010). The integrated curriculum model (ICM). Learning &
Individual Differences, 20(4), 345-357.
Zepeda, S.J. (2000). Supervisory practices: Building a constructivist learning community for
adults. In J. Glanz, & L. Behar-Horensein (Eds.), Paradigm debates in curriculum &
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Garvey.
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