Differentiation Made Easy and Effective

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Differentiation Made Easy(and Effective!)

• Minimum Day
• Staff In-Service
• West Covina High School
• December 7, 2007

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Definition

• Differentiation Modifying curriculum and
  instruction according to content, pacing, and/or
  product to meet unique student needs in the
  classroom.

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Issues of Differentiation

• What are people really thinking about it?
• What do they want to know about it?

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Issues on Parade

• How do I do it without leaving out needed
  information? And the time constraint is an issue.

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Issues on Parade

• Applying it consistently No one wants to be
  known as the slow kid and no one wants to be the
  advanced kid expected to do extra work.

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Issues on Parade

• Sometimes we try so hard to present things in a
  different way that we overlook the fact that
  maybe it isnt always necessary.

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Issues on Parade

• It is very difficult to adequately cover all
  the standards in our content area its easy to
  accelerate the pace for highly motivated/capable
  students, but what about those who need a slower
  pace?

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Issues on Parade

• Recognizing ones level of current
  differentiation should be the first step.

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Issues on Parade

• If there are a few small manageable things, I
  would attempt them.

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Our Teaching Standard as the Objective for the Day

• I will explain a new strategy for more students
  to master the content standard, and then draw a
  plan to implement it.

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The objective is NOT To differentiate!

• Note the distinction

Differentiation
Mastering the content standard
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Here is OUR Teacher Assessment
What are the ways you differentiate in your
classroom?
Friendly WASC Evaluator
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Here is what we hear
Do you like green eggs and ham?
Friendly WASC Evaluator
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Here is how to hear that
How do you get every student to master the
content standards?
Friendly WASC Evaluator
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1. Nobody cares what you teach.

• People only care what students learn.

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Focus on Assessment

• What do I teach?
• How do I teach it?
• How I know they got it?
• What do I do next?

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Focus on Assessment

• Lets admit the system already has in place
  different classes for different levels. That
  helps.
• Differentiation still covers a lot!

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Overheard
How do you get graded in that class?
Just participate.
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Our dream
I will show that I know that specialization of
cells in multi-cellular organisms is usually due
to different patterns of gene expression rather
than to differences of the genes themselves.
How do you get graded in that class?
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Heres another real-life case
What do you think I want you to do?
Work.
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2. Fair is not the same as equal.

• To treat each student equally is to impede their
  freedom to get it.

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Each and every student can meet the standard

• in some way!
• (No matter how unequally God made them!)

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3. Start with the standard.

• Never drop below the standard! Start with it,
  and work up from there!

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This means!...

• We as teachers dont have to worry about trying
  to do things we cant do!
• The standard is our friend!

You
The Standard
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Focus on Assessment

• You give the instruction.
• Now you have an assessment.
• Assessment Comes from Latin for to sit beside.

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Really Easy Differentiation We All Already Do!
1

• Put different levels of questions into a single
  assessment.

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Making Questions

• Make sure your questions are getting the
  students to get at mastery of the content.

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Making Questions

• Which branch makes the laws?
• executive
• legislative
• judicial
• a. and b.
• not d. but c.
• most times a.

• maybe a. not e.
• b. and sometimes c.
• c. f. and h. but only on Tuesdays
• all of the above
• none of the above

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Making Questions

• Can the standard be to divine the correct
  answer from a convoluted splattering of possible
  choices?

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Therefore

• We must always be comparing our assessments with
  the students content standard objectives.

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Multiple Attempts at Mastery
2

• The idea that a student may have a repeat
  attempt to master material already presented and
  assessed.
• Also considered credit recovery.

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Credit Recovery

• For They meet the standard at some point, even
  if they didnt the first time. The goal is
  mastery, even if it takes a while.

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Credit Recovery

• Against They know they can be unnecessarily
  negligent the first time. As long as there is
  some later deadline, theyll just wait until then.

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Credit Recovery

• Even more extreme, this quote against I suggest
  that the faculty band together and announce that,
  from now on, every student will receive an A on
  every assignment in every class. If your school
  wants to abolish any meaningful system of
  grading, you might as well go all the way.

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Credit Recovery

• For Most students will still take our cue and
  make the best use of their time, however it is
  arranged. No one wants to do something twice!
• The key! That we are making sure they are
  mastering the content standard!

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Credit Recovery

• Against How long does repeated attempts have
  to go on! Weve got other things to get to, and
  students have lives (we do too!)

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Credit Recovery

• Against It is drudgery if we make them do it the
  same way they didnt get it before!

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Credit Recovery

• A question How much, and in what way, should
  we TELL our students about our multiple attempts
  at mastery plan?

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What do I do with this?...

• Standard as objective I will explain the
  notion of the inverse to a square matrix and
  apply that concept to solve systems of linear
  equations.
• Students request Interpretive Dance

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The three key things to look at

• What is the standard? Could the student
  demonstrate mastery of it?
• What reasonable time / capacity do I have?
• How much can I still rock the boat?

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Specified Differentiated Assessment

• May not require you to do a whole lot!
• Maybe 34 students are great with the essay
• Would you allow one student to do an
  interpretive dance?

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Could you ask a student the following question,
and how would you ask it?

• You didnt master the standard that time
• what are you willing to do to master it this
  time?

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Where can I go on the student self-assessment
scale?

• Green area (Safe) My own regiment of
  assignments and tests.

• Red area (Danger!) Interpretive Dance.

There is a lot in-between!
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Technology

• Would you accept something a student would do
  with technology?

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What NOT to grade

• Effort. Get rid of the idea Here are points for
  trying.
• Only award credit for mastery of the standard.

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What types of assessments are there?

• Performance
• standardized (tests, checklists, observations,
  rating scales)
• less standardized (work samples, journals,
  anecdotes, activity notes)

• Authentic
• Keep students connected
• to real world
• to how they themselves learn
• to their teachers teaching style

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Three Critical Components of Differentiated
Assessment

• Portfolios
• Rubrics
• Student Self-Assessment

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Student Self-Assessment
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• Use students negativity in their favor!
• Ask them what they hate about a particular
  lesson / standard.

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Lesson Menu

• Lay out a number of different approaches to
  demonstrating mastery of the standard.
• Can the student decide which ways he/she may be
  assessed?

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Lesson Menu

• Put it together like a restaurant menu!
• They choose which items they want to eat but
  must choose however many will get them to get it.

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Tiered Assignments
4

• Ratchet the challenge up or down.
• (But dont go below the standard!)

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RAFT
5

• Offer a number of different ways a student may
  respond based on
• Role
• Audience
• Format
• Topic

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The question has still come up

• If I let them do x, y, or z crazy assessment
  option, they still have to pass the standardized
  tests what about that???

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My answer

• While an objective is still Demonstrate how to
  take a standardized test,
• the entire point of them taking the tests is for
  them to show they got it.

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Much of this is just moving forward, step by step

• A key component of that is consultation with
  colleagues.
• Become familiar with the many questions that
  should be part of the vibrant discourse.

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• By Rick Wormeli

• By Carol Ann Tomlinson

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Two quotes from Rick and Carol

• We are not about being perfect teachers, we are
  about pursuing the understanding of important
  things.

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Two quotes from Rick and Carol

• What students learn is the greatest testimony
  for us as teachers, as schools, as communities.

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Acknowledgment

• Much of the material in this presentation was
  mined from the work of
• Rick Wormeli
• Carol Ann Tomlinson
• Larry Lewin

http//www.winsc.org/diff_assessment.htm