THE DIFFERENTIATED JOURNEY:
EXPLORING NEW TERRITORY
June Preszler, TIE,
Wall School District
Dec. 7, 2007
http://jpreszler.tie.wikispaces.net/
GOALS:




Defining differentiation
Considering choice
Finding differentiation through choice
Using differentiation and choice
PATH OF DIFFERENTIATION

What exactly is differentiation?
ONE POSSIBLE DI DEFINITION

Differentiation is classroom practice that
looks eyeball to eyeball with the reality
that kids differ, and the most effective
teachers do whatever it takes to hook the
whole range of kids on learning.
(From Carol Ann Tomlinson, ASCD)
BEAUTY OR HAG?
WHAT DI IS…
 Multiple
approaches
 Student centered
 Ebb and flow
 Different learning modalities
 Student competes against self
 Flexible use of classroom time

Carol Ann Tomlinson, The Differentiated Classroom, 1999
BELIEFS BEHIND DI
Learning profiles differ
 Making meaning priority
 Opportunity for choice

Differentiation of Instruction
Differentiation Strategy Booklets, 4-6
guided by general principles of differentiation
such as:
respectful tasks
flexible grouping
ongoing assessment
teachers can differentiate
Content
Process
Product
according to students’
Readiness
Interests
Learning Profile
through a range of instructional and management strategies
PREP STEPS



Start small—one strategy, one area.
Start with what is—mine ideas;
determine what all students will do,
what some students will do; identify
basic and advanced activities.
Get students ready—discuss
differences, organize, “fair” not
“same.”
POWER OF CHOICE
Choice Theory (Glasser and Erwin)
 Five basic needs that drive all
behavior:

 Survival
 Love
and belonging
 Power
 Freedom
 Fun
POWER
Power over
 Power within
 Power with

COUNTING COUP
The concept: Counting Coup
 What do you think it means?
 Think-Ink-Pair-Share—Content Area
Writing, 12-13

THE ENEMY IN FRONT OF US
Not a person
 But a thing
 “The biggest enemy our children have are
those things sitting in front of you and
they’re called books.”—Gerard Baker

THE WARRIOR
“What do you do with your enemies? You
conquer them.”
 “We have to redefine our enemies and
conquer them.”

COUNTING COUP
“We have to count coup on books.”
 Three-Minute Pause (Write) (Struggling
Readers, 21)
 Vocabulary Notebook/Map

 Define
Counting Coup in your own words
 Compare it to something else
 Draw it
 Explain it
HOW DID WE DO?
In what ways did the Counting Coup
activity differentiate?
 How could you use this type of activity or
a variation of it when teaching vocabulary?

THE (BATTLE) PLAN
Identifying the enemy
 Empowering the student
 Becoming a warrior
 Conquering the enemy

BEFORE YOU BEGIN…
 Know
 Understand
 Do

Differentiate, 4-12, pages 6-7
 Let’s
apply it to Counting Coup
I WANTED YOU TO



Know the historical context of counting coup.
Understand that counting coup can be applied to
more contemporary situations, including the
struggles that students face in schools.
Do a drawing depicting your understanding of
the concepts and be able to explain that
interpretation to group. Furthermore, I wanted
you to consider how this concept might affect
the way you approach students.
BEFORE YOU BEGIN…



Unit: Virtual Worlds
Lesson: Second Life—Virtual Communities
Know:


Understand:


What it is, what it looks like, its economy, its
residents and visitors
Blurring boundaries between virtual and reality,
how its evolution may impact us
Do:



Show how your understanding has evolved.
Navigate the world.
Share what you’ve learned with a colleague.

On Target, Differentiating Grades 4-12, pages 6-7
ACTIVATION THE ABC WAY
Virtual World of Second Life
 Independently work chart
 Share with partner or small group
 Share with class
 Write a prediction of what you think you’ll
learn

 On
Target, Reading Strategies to Guide Learning,
page 7
IRA LEVIN’S SCIENCE FRIDAY
HTTP://WWW.SCIENCEFRIDAY.COM/VIDEOS/WATCH/14
CNN enters
the virtual
world
reporting the
news as it
happens in
Second Life
(11/13/07)
CNN I-REPORT HUB IN SECOND LIFE
CSI: SOLVING CRIMES IN SECOND LIFE
HTTP://WWW.YOUTUBE.COM/WATCH?V=KFXB6ZB6UPC
HTTP://ALPHA.CBS.COM/PRIMETIME/CSI_NY/SECOND_LIFE/#
EVEN 2ND LIFE HAS TO UPGRADE!
SECOND LIFE INVESTIGATION
In your group, read the article provided.
 As you learn more information, jot down the
ideas on your ABC chart.
 As you read, mark on the text as follows:

???—To show questions that arise
 !!!—New and interesting ideas

 Variations
of Insert Notes, Reading Strategies to Guide
Learning, page 19

Share one new and interesting thing you’ve
learned.
THINK-TAC-TOE (CHOICE BOARDS)




Allows students choice
Incorporates learning preferences
Takes readiness into account (basic and advanced)
Provides framework


On Target Differentiated Instruction , Grades 4-12, pages 14-15
http://webtech.cherokee.k12.ga.us/littleriver-es/ewilliams/tictactoeoceania.htm
CHOICE BOARD
del.icio.us
Avatar
Argument
You Tube
Assessment
Code of
Honor
Science
Fiction
Island
Power Point
MENU APPROACH
Main dish: Everyone
 Side dish: Pick and choose
 Dessert: Optional but irresistible

 On
Target, Differentiated Instruction, Grades 412, pages 10-11
DID WE SUCCEED?

Know:

Understand:

Do:
 What
it is, what it looks like, its economy, its
residents and visitors
 Blurring
boundaries between virtual and
reality, how its evolution may impact us
 Show
how your understanding has evolved.
 Navigate the world.
 Share what you’ve learned with a colleague.

On Target, Differentiating Grades 4-12, pages 6-7
TIERED INSTRUCTION
Make slight adjustments within same
lesson to meet individual needs.
 Students learn same skills and concepts
but through varying modes and activities.
 Appropriately challenges ability levels

 On
Target, Differentiated Instruction, Grades
4-12, pages 8-9
STEPS IN TIERING





Identify key concepts and understandings
Pre-assess based on readiness, interests or
learning profiles
Identify how you will cluster groups/activities
Select elements to tier (content, process,
product)
Create variations for each group
CUBING
Looks at topics from different
angles
 Eliminates flat thinking
 Includes six commands and a
prompt

 Describe,
compare, associate,
analyze, apply or use, argue for or
against

On Target, Differentiated Instruction, Grades 4-12,
pages 12-13
THINKDOTS



Strategy used to review,
demonstrate, and extend
thinking
Can be developed to
respond to learner
readiness, learning
profiles, student choice
Variation of cubes; works
well with older students
LAYERED CURRICULUM




Kathy Nunley
Levels or layers of learning
The 3-layer model requires more complex thinking
to earn a higher letter grade.
Focus on quality of learning and thinking rather
than quantity of time and activities for higher
grades

On Target Grades, Differentiated Instruction, 4-12, page 19
THE LEVELS
A:
Critical
Thinking
B:
Application
C:
Basic Learning and Skills
C Level reflects
what EVERY
student must be
able to KNOW,
UNDERSTAND
and DO.
A LITTLE LIE GOES A LONG WAYS
Three Facts and a Fib
 Strategies to Help Struggling Readers,
page 25

THREE FACTS AND A FIB
1.When I took my son to college, I camped out
in the dorm parking lot for the first
night…just in case.
2.I played soccer for a championship youth
team in Brazil in the 1970s.
3.In one month, I traveled over 3000 miles for
education-related business, had one accident
in a BHSSC/TIE vehicle, and received two
undeserved speeding tickets.
4. I began my professional career as a recipe
writer for the Aberdeen American News.
EXIT CARDS
Easy strategy for assessing student
learning
 Students respond to prompts or questions;
turn in cards as they leave
 Teacher uses card to help create groups,
monitor student progress, revise lessons

 On
Target, Strategies to Help Struggling Readers,
page 27
EXIT CARDS
Today you began to
learn about Second
Life
 List three things you
learned
 Write at least one
question you have
about this topic
EXIT CARD GROUPINGS
Group 2
Group 1
Students who are
struggling with the
concept or
skill
Readiness Groups
Montgomery County Public Schools,
Rockville, Maryland
Students with
some understanding
of concept or skill
Group 3
Students who
understand the
concept or skill
UNDERLYING KNOW, UNDERSTAND, DO

Know:


Understand:


What Differentiated Instruction is, what it might
look like in the classroom
How DI might affect my teaching and students’
learning, the ways that DI synthesizes other
strategies (literacy, Marzano)
Do:

Develop a DI lesson to use with your students,
staff, audience
OUR EXIT CARD
List three things you learned today.
 List two questions you’d still like to
explore.
 List one method of differentiation and/or
choice that you might apply in your
classroom.

BUT BEFORE YOU GO…
Differentiated lesson plan handout—
(Return here at 2:45—I’ll be here along if
you need help or would like to look at
books.)
 When I return to Wall again:

 Share
what you’ve tried (successes and not so
successful )
 Technology and differentiation
 Feb. 8, 2008