DIFFERENTIATED INSTRUCTION
WORK SESSION
Special Education Teacher Institute
Who are you?
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Make a creative name tag/tent
You will have 10 minutes to make your own name
tag.
Make sure you list hobbies, draw a picture or two,
give a self profile,etc.
Don’t forget your name, years of teaching
experience, and what you teach.
Introduce yourself and share out with the your table.
Ground Rules
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Please silence your cell phones
Please take breaks as needed. Due to our short
time together we will not have a scheduled break.
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Be open minded! 
Think of a Time…
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Turn to a partner at your table and talk
about a time when you were really
engaged in learning…
 What
did that look like?
 What did that sound like?
 Why do you think you were so engaged?
What is differentiation?
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.
-Tomlinson (2001)
Teachers Can Differentiate
Content
Process
Product
According to Students’
Readiness
Interest
Adapted from The Differentiated Classroom: Responding to the Needs of All Learners (Tomlinson, 1999)
Learning
Profile
Did you know…
When a teacher tries to teach something
to the whole entire class at the same time,
chances are, one-third of the kids already
know it; one-third will get it; and the
remaining third won’t.
Lillian Katz
So two thirds of the kids are wasting their time.
Willis, S (November 1993). “Teaching Young Children: Educators Seek
‘Developmental Appropriateness.” Curriculum Update, 1-8.
Pyramid of Learning
10 %
20%
30%
40%
70%
90%
READING
HEARING
SEEING
HEARING & SEEING
DISCUSS WITH OTHERS
TALK/WRITE OR DO/APPLY
We also know…
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.
We know from research…
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Students learn 90% of what they say or discuss
as they complete an activity.
Drawing figures helped improve critical thinking
skills in learning-disabled children.
Play is the brain’s link from the inner world to
reality and the foundation of creativity.
Mind mapping engages all the brain’s functions
and captures the total picture.
Laughter and humor maintain students attention,
reduce mental and physical tension, relieve
stress and make the school day shorter.
Flexible Grouping
Should be purposeful:
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may be based on student interest, learning profile and/or readiness
may be based on needs observed during learning times
geared to accomplish curricular goals (K-U-D)
Implementation:
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purposefully plan using information collected – interest surveys, learning profile
inventories, exit cards, quick writes, observations, etc.
list groups on an overhead; place in folders or mailboxes
“on the fly” as invitational groups
Cautions:
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avoid turning groups into tracking situations
provide opportunities for students to work within a variety of groups
practice moving into group situations and assuming roles within the group.
GRAFITTI FACTS
Discuss at your table for 2 minutes what is
differentiated instruction.
Pick someone from your table to go Graffiti on the
chart what you agree to share.
The Key
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The Key to a differentiated classroom is that all students are
regularly offered CHOICES and students are matched with
tasks compatible with their individual learner profiles.
Curriculum should be differentiated in three areas:
1. Content:
Multiple option for taking in information
2. Process:
Multiple options for making sense of the ideas
3. Product:
Multiple options for expressing what they know
Naturalist
Bodily-Kinesthetic
MusicalRhythmic
VisualSpatial
Verbal-Linguistic
LogicalMathematical
Interpersonal
Intrapersonal
VISUAL
KINESTHETIC
-CHOICE-
The Great Motivator!
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Requires children to be aware of their own readiness,
interests, and learning profiles.
Students have choices provided by the teacher. (YOU
are still in charge of crafting challenging opportunities
for all kiddos – NO taking the easy way out!)
Use choice across the curriculum: writing topics,
content writing prompts, self-selected reading, contract
menus, math problems, spelling words, product and
assessment options, seating, group arrangement, ETC . . .
GUARANTEES BUY-IN AND ENTHUSIASM FOR LEARNING!
Choice Boards
Purpose of
Choice Boards
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Homework
After Reading or Problem Solving
Learn a vocabulary word
Projects for a certain topic or book
Presentation or Demonstration
Independent Work
Demonstrate a Skill
Primary Consideration:
What is your learning
target?
What must ALL students:
•Know
•Understand
•be able to Do
Fractions Choice Board
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Learning Goals: Students will…
 KNOW:
Fractions show parts of a whole and
can be expressed numerically.
 UNDERSTAND: Fractions represent equal sized
portions or fair shares.
 Be able to DO: Use different materials to
demonstrate what the fraction looks like.
Turville, J. (2007) Differentiating by Student Interest
Turville, J. (2007)
Differentiating by
Student Interest
Insects Choice Board
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Learning Goals: Students will…
 KNOW:
The characteristics of insects.
 UNDERSTAND: Insects have particular
characteristics and parts and are different
from other kinds of bugs.
 Be able to DO: Create a product that
demonstrates an understanding of
characteristics that are particular to insects.
Turville, J. (2007) Differentiating by Student Interest
Turville, J. (2007) Differentiating by Student Interest
Differentiation Strategy:
STUDENT CHOICE
THINK-TAC-TOE
Book Report
Draw a picture of
the main
character.
Write a poem
about two main
events in the
story.
Create a Venn
diagram
comparing and
contrasting the
introduction to
the closing.
Perform a play
that shows the
conclusion of a
story.
Write a song
about one of the
main events.
Make a poster
Dress up as your
that shows the favorite character
order of events in
and perform a
the story.
speech telling
who you are.
Write two
paragraphs
about the main
character.
Write two
paragraphs
about the setting.
Structures, Processes and Responses of Plants
Tic-Tac-Toe for Student Choice Activities
1. Draw some type of visual
that differentiates the two
types of reproduction in
flowering plants
2. Write a short essay
explaining the structures
flowering plants have for
defense.
3. Search the Internet for
information about a plant’s
response to external stimuli.
Print out what you find and
summarize your information
into your own outline.
4. Create a lesson plan on
the life cycle of a flowering
plant and teach this lesson
to the class.
5. Write a newspaper article
highlighting the poisonous
plants common to South
Carolina (i.e. Mississippi)
6. Write a short story about
the life cycle of an apple
seed.
7. Create a Venn Diagram
comparing and contrasting
vascular and nonvascular
plants.
8. Design a poster shows
the parts of a flowering plant
that function for survival.
9. Make a collage of various
organisms from the five
kingdoms. Label and give
the characteristics of each
kingdom.
Name: ________________________ I/We choose activities #____, #____, #____.
Today’s Date _________________________ Due Date ___________________
TIERED ACTIVITIES
WHAT CAN BE TIERED?
ASSIGNMENTS
 ACTIVITIES
 CENTERS & STATIONS
 LEARNING CONTRACTS
 ASSESSMENTS
 MATERIALS
 EXPERIMENTS
 WRITING PROMPTS
 HOMEWORK
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What is Tiered Instruction?
Teachers use tiered
activities so that all
students focus on
essential understandings
and skills but at different
levels of complexity,
abstractness, and openendedness.
By keeping the focus of the
activity the same, but
providing routes of access at
varying degrees of difficulty,
the teacher maximizes the
likelihood that:
1) each student comes away with
pivotal skills & understandings
2) each student is appropriately
challenged.
OPTIONS FOR DIFFERENTIATION OF INSTRUCTION
To Differentiate
Instruction By
Readiness
To Differentiate
Instruction By Interest
To Differentiate
Instruction by
Learning Profile
‫ ٭‬equalizer adjustments (complexity,
open-endedness, etc.
‫ ٭‬add or remove scaffolding
‫ ٭‬vary difficulty level of text &
supplementary materials
‫ ٭‬adjust task familiarity
‫ ٭‬vary direct instruction by small
group
‫ ٭‬adjust proximity of ideas to student
experience
‫ ٭‬encourage application of broad
concepts & principles to student
interest areas
‫ ٭‬give choice of mode of expressing
learning
‫ ٭‬use interest-based mentoring of
adults or more expert-like peers
‫ ٭‬give choice of tasks and products
(including student designed options)
‫ ٭‬give broad access to varied
materials & technologies
‫ ٭‬create an environment with flexible
learning spaces and options
‫ ٭‬allow working alone or working with
peers
‫ ٭‬use part-to-whole and whole-to-part
approaches
‫٭‬Vary teacher mode of presentation
(visual, auditory, kinesthetic, concrete,
abstract)
‫ ٭‬adjust for gender, culture, language
differences.
useful instructional strategies:
- tiered activities
- Tiered products
- compacting
- learning contracts
- tiered tasks/alternative forms of
assessment
useful instructional strategies:
- interest centers
- interest groups
- enrichment clusters
- group investigation
- choice boards
- MI options
- internet mentors
useful instructional strategies:
- multi-ability cooperative tasks
- MI options
- Triarchic options
- 4-MAT
CA Tomlinson, UVa ‘97
THINK DOTS
Just a different approach
STUDENTS USE
THINKDOT’s
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ThinkDots:
Students begin ThinkDots by sitting with other students
using activity cards of the same color.
Students roll the die and complete the activity on the
card that corresponds to the dots thrown on the die.
If the first roll is an activity that the student does not
want
to do a second roll is allowed.
Teachers can create an Activity Sheet to correspond to
the lesson for easy recording and management.
THINKDOTS
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Suggestions:
Use colored paper to indicate different readiness
levels, interests or learning styles.
Have students work in small groups.
Let students choose which activities- for example:
choose any three or have students choose just one to
work on over a number of days.
After students have worked on activities individually,
have them come together in groups by levels, interest
or learning style to synthesize.
DIFFERENTIATED
LESSON PLAN
LET’S GET TO WORK!
You have time now to work as you please. Take
this time to work on Choice Boards, Tiered
Activities, a Differentiated Lesson Plan, or
whatever will benefit you the most.
There are some examples for you to look at
around the room and supplies for you to use.
Walkaway thought…
“In the end, all learners need your energy,
your heart, and your mind. They have that in
common because they are young humans.
How they need you, however, differs. Unless
we understand and respond to those
differences, we fail many learners.”
- Carol Ann Tomlinson
Thanks for your time
and attention!
We hope you enjoyed the
presentation and learned
something you can take back to
your classroom/school!
Instructional Facilitators with the
Exceptional Education Department
KRISTI COGGIN
KRISTI.COGGIN@MNPS.ORG
WWW.MNPSTEACHER.ORG
HTTP://DARETODIFFERENTIATE.WIKISPACE
S.COM/CHOICE+BOARDS