Milwaukee Public Schools:
Another Way to Differentiate: Parallel Tasks
March Academic Coach-Math Training
March 15, 2013
Presented by:
Bernard Rahming
Cynthia Cuellar Rodriguez
Prime Leadership Framework
“Math education leaders need to assume
and exercise professional responsibility
and accountability for their practice and
the practice of the teachers they lead.”
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What is my progress on the PRIME
indicators for Teaching and Learning
Leadership?
Use the handout to reflect on your progress.
Learning Intention
Success Criteria
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We are learning to advance our PRIME
Teaching and Learning Leadership.
We will know we are successful when we
can actively plan for and integrate into
practice two strategies to make
differentiation manageable.
Unofficial Professional Practice
from February
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Review the Open Question created last
month.
Discuss the work you have done around
differentiation as you modeled lessons
and/or worked with teachers.
Transfer the Open Question to the
modified Lesson Planning template.
Parallel Tasks
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Read pages 10-12 (pages11-13)
Focus Questions:
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How would the use of parallel tasks lead to
valuable discussions about the underlying
mathematics of a situation?
What role does questioning play in parallel
tasks?
Questioning
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Blooms
Resources on MMP
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PBS
Questions sheets
Question rings
Theory into Practice
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All open questions must allow for correct
responses at a variety of levels.
Parallel tasks need to be created with variations
that allow struggling students to be successful
and proficient students to be challenged.
Questions and tasks should be constructed in
such a way that all students can participate
together in follow-up discussions.
Turn and Talk
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What are some benefits of differentiating with Open
Questions and Parallel Task?
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Open Questions
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Teacher
Student
Define
5 strategies
Parallel Task
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Define
Besides creating the parallel task, why must we also be prepared
with follow-up questions?
1 Approach for 2 Strategies
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Three-Step Process
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Review Examples
Create the Question or Task
Plan for Follow-up
Writing Parallel Tasks
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Goal: Complete the modified Lesson
Planning template
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Option 1: Create Parallel Tasks that matches
the area of focus of the Open Question
created last month.
Option 2: Create Parallel Tasks that aligns to
the current area of focus, and create an Open
Question that also aligns to this area of focus.
Learning Intention
Success Criteria


We are learning to advance our PRIME
Teaching and Learning Leadership.
We will know we are successful when we
can actively plan for and integrate into
practice two strategies to make
differentiation manageable.
Professional Practice


Complete the modified Lesson Planning
template.
Be prepared to discuss at least one
lesson you modeled using one of the
differentiation strategies (Open Questions
or Parallel Task).
Reflection Question
As a Leader in Mathematics, how will you
integrate the ideas of differentiation
presented to move from Leadership of Self
to Leadership of Others?
Math Formative Assessment
75 Strategies for Linking Assessment,
Instruction, and Learning
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#2 Agreement Circles
#16 Fist of Five
#20 Give Me Five
#24 I Used to Think…But
Now I Know…
#34 No-Hands Questioning
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#47 Response Cards
#58 Think-Aloud
#59 Think-Pair-Share
#63 Thumbs Up, Thumbs
Down
#44 Popsicle Stick Questioning
Milwaukee Public Schools:
Another Way to Differentiate: Parallel Tasks
MPS Board of School Directors
Dr. Michael Bonds, President
Larry Miller, Vice President
Mark Sain, District 1
Jeff Spence, District 2
Annie Woodward, District 4
Dr. Peter Blewett, District 6
David Voeltner, District 7
Meagan Holman, District 8
Terrence Falk, At-Large
Senior Team
Dr. Gregory Thornton, Superintendent
Naomi Gubernick, Chief of Staff
Darienne Driver, Chief Innovation Officer
Tina Flood, Chief Academic Officer
Dr. Karen Jackson, Chief Human Resources Officer
Michelle Nate, Chief Operations Officer
Gerald Pace, Esq., Chief Financial Officer
Anita Pietrykowski, Chief School Administration Officer
Denise Callaway, Executive Dir., Community Engagement
Patricia Gill, Executive Director, Family Services
Sue Saller, Exec. Coord., Superintendent’s Initiatives