Differentiation: Why and How Teachers Practice This Important Strategy

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Differentiation Why and How Teachers Practice
This Important Strategy!

• Presentation for the
• Future Teachers Program
• California State University Fullerton

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What do these people have in common?

• Beethoven
• Babe Ruth
• Eleanor Roosevelt
• Magic Johnson
• Walt Disney
• Helen Keller
• John F. Kennedy

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Answer

• Each of these individuals had some type of
  exceptionality that could have been served by
  differentiated instruction.

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Why Do Teachers Differentiate?

• Teachers differentiate because
• there are many different learners in each
  classroom,
• each learner has their own learning style
• many learners have exceptionalities
• they want all learners to succeed!

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SoWhat is Differentiation?

• Differentiation is meeting the learning needs of
  all students.
• Teachers make curricular adaptations for learners
  with learning disabilities, attention problems,
  physical and emotional limitations, and other
  exceptionalities.

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Types of Differentiations

• Teachers may differentiate the
• Curriculum
• Example the number of items that the learner is
  expected to learn or complete
• Instruction
• Example the way the instruction is delivered
• Assessment
• Example the time allotted for completion
• Environment
• Example the amount of personal assistance or use
  of specialized technology

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Who Might Receive a Differentiate Curriculum?

• Any student in the classroom may need
  differentiation
• Some specific groups of students for whom
  teachers differentiate include
• Special Education and Resource Students
• English Learners
• Struggling Readers
• Gifted and Talented Students

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Special Education and Resource Students

• These students are good candidates for
  differentiation! They may have
• learning disabilities
• attention disorders
• physical handicaps
• personality disorders
• Or they may be achieving below their actual grade
  level placement.

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Differentiation for Special Education and
Resource Students

• To meet the needs of special education and
  resource students, teachers may adjust the
• number of items that the student is expected to
  learn or complete (student may do just odd
  numbered problems on the page, rather than odd
  and even).
• time allotted for completion of assignments
  (student may be given additional time to complete
  a quiz).
• amount of personal assistance the student
  receives (student may have an aide to help with
  the task).
• skill level required to complete the task
  (student may read the same literature but may be
  asked to process information at a lower thinking
  level)
• way the students instruction is delivered
  (student may listen to the text on tape rather
  than read it in written format).

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English Learners

• There are many students in every type of
  classroom for whom English is not their first
  language.
• The teachers responsibility is to make the
  course content accessible to these students.

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Differentiation for English Learners

• To meet the needs of English learners, teachers
  may
• Supplement text with pictures,
• Provide audio books to accompany and reinforce
  text,
• Provide partially completed notes where students
  fill in the key ideas
• Provide instruction in a variety of modalities
  including verbal, written, and visual
• Provide graphic organizers
• Teach vocabulary words specific to the unit prior
  to text instruction
• Team students with bilingual students who are
  proficient in English

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Alternative Assessments for English Learners

• Physical Demonstration - includes gestures,
  performing hands-on tasks, acting out vocabulary,
  etc.
• Performance-Based Assessments -such as
  interviews, oral reports, role plays, retelling
  text material
• Student Portfolios - including conference notes,
  completed assignments, checklists, descriptors of
  student achievement

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Struggling Readers

• Some students have been identified as struggling
  readers.
•  This means they have difficulty reading and
  understanding some material.
• They often require differentiation when they are
  asked to read complicated textbooks like science
  books.

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Differentiation for Struggling Readers

• To meet the needs of struggling readers, teachers
  may 
• Build students' background knowledge about the
  information being taught through discussion,
  pictures and video clips.
• Introduce vocabulary that is unfamiliar or
  difficult before asking students to read the
  assignment independently.
• Give students an overview or summary of the
  material before asking them to read
  independently.
• Jigsaw the reading by dividing the
  assignment among small groups.

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Gifted and Talented Students

• Some students have been identified as
  academically gifted.
• This means they have exceptional cognitive
  abilities.
• These students are exceptional learners too!
• They also require differentiation.

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Differentiation for Gifted Students

• To meet the needs of GATE students, teachers may
• Focus more time on higher order thinking skills
• Compact their curriculum
• Provide independent learning opportunities
• Add additional depth and complexity to the
  curriculum

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Activity 1 Ask a Teacher

• Schedule an appointment with a special education
  or ELD teacher or student teacher at your school
  and ask them the following questions. Write the
  answers in your blue book.
• Why did you decide to become a special education
  or ELD teacher?
• What has been the most rewarding experience for
  you in your career thus far?
• What would you recommend to a high school student
  considering teaching as a career?

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Activity 2 Reflect on Learning

• In your blue book, please discuss the role of the
  teacher in working with struggling readers,
  English learners, gifted, or special needs
  students.
• Identify two concerns or questions you have about
  teaching special education or English learner
  students. You may wish to discuss these with
  your Future Teacher Advisor.

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Activity 3 Find Out More

• Use the Web resources on the next slide to
  complete the following in your blue book
• Write a one-paragraph summary of what you
  discovered about working with students who need
  differentiated instruction.

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Sources and Additional Information

• Child Development Institute
• www.childdevelopmentinfo.com
• California Association for Gifted
• www.cagifted.org
• Learning Disabilities Online
• http//www.ldonline.com/educators
• Resources for English Learners
• http//www.cde.ca.gov/sp/el/
• Strategies to Help Kids Who Struggle
• http//www.readingrockets.org/helping
• Focus on Struggling Learners
• http//www.reading.org/resources/issues/focus_stru
  ggling.html
• Tips for Helping Struggling Learners
• http//www.nwrel.org/learns/web-based/resources/mo
  tivate_struggling_readers.pdf