KinectEDucation Differentiation - tools, tips and resources Differentiation is an important aspect of education. Students learn differently, have different needs, different backgrounds, different skills, different ability levels, different interests and more. As educators, we try to create engaging lesson activities that provide a variety of learning experiences and allow students to demonstrate their learning in different ways. Differentiation should occur in both how students learn and gain knowledge and skills, and in how they demonstrate and are assessed on what they have learned. “In the practice of education, differentiation is defined as working to address the abilities, interests, and needs (both perceived and real) of individuals. Here are some resources, tips, and tools on differentiation: Digital Differentiation - ideas and tools for differentiating with digital resources Tools for Differentiation - helping teachers meet the needs of all learners Differentiating with Web 2.0 Technologies
What Is Differentiated Instruction? Click the "References" link above to hide these references. Csikszentmihalyi, M. (1997). Finding Flow: The Psychology of Engagement with Everyday Life. New York: Basic Books. Danielson, C. (1996). Enhancing Professional Practice: A Framework for Teaching. Sternberg, R. Tomlinson, C. (1995). Tomlinson, C. (1999). Vygotsky, L. (1986). Winebrenner, S. (1992).
To MOOC or Not to MOOC - WorldWise MOOCs have become a media obsession. Why? In part because they are the continuation of a story that has been around since at least the 1990s and the first days of magazines like Wired and Fast Company. At that time, information technology was depicted as part of a revolution: Marxist rhetoric had been appropriated by capitalism. Information technology would change everything through a peculiar mix of a corporate charge and evangelism, expanded profit opportunities and enlightenment. I’d like to think that since then we’ve learned something. After all, universities have produced a substantial body of research that argues that information technology is not an epochal economy-changing technology. These sources must induce at least some suspicion about the wider claims concerning MOOCs, or massive open online courses. Why this obsession with MOOCs? Second, because it taps into a vein of middle-class anger over tuition costs. And there is a historical irony about all this, too. Return to Top
10 Habits Of Effective Teachers 10 Habits Of Effective Teachers Notice that we didn’t use the more vague “good teacher” phrasing. That’s an important distinction, because here we’re talking about something a bit more clinical. Not entirely scientific and analytical and icky, but not entirely rhetorical and abstract and mushy either. 1. To curriculum, pacing, assessment design, curriculum materials, etc. 2. Fresh data. 3. You know the pros and cons of project-based learning, scenario-based learning, learning simulations, and the like. While others spend their lunch breaks swilling Diet Coke and counting down days until the weekend, you sketch out scope-and-sequences for fun. 4. Speaking of instructional design, the design of experiences that promote understanding of the most important content is a huge part of what an effective teachers do. Which is what design is about. 5. What you plan backwards from is up to you, but you start with a goal in mind—a standard, habit, assessment, indicator, or some other goal. 6. 7. 8.
Evaluating Web Sites: A Middle School Lesson Plan Subjects Educational Technology Grade 6-8 [facebookbadge] Brief Description Students learn the six criteria for evaluating Web sites and then use those criteria to locate three sites that provide good information and three that do not. Objectives Students will Understand the six criteria for evaluating Web sites Identify Web sites with accurate, relevant, and current information on a given topic Keywords Internet research, Web site evaluation, information literacy Materials Needed Computer access Access to a word processing program, such as Microsoft Word or AppleWorks, or materials students can use to write their work. Lesson Plan To prepare for this lesson, review the Education World techtorial Improving Media Literacy, which explains the six criteria for evaluating a Web site: coverage, objectivity, currency, origin, accuracy, and purpose. Begin the lesson by asking students if they think everything on the Internet is accurate. Assessment Lesson Plan Source Education World Submitted By
The Differentiator Try Respondo! → ← Back to Byrdseed.com The Differentiator The Differentiator is based on Bloom's Taxonomy, Kaplan and Gould's Depth and Complexity, and David Chung's product menu. Try It In: French Dutch • Tweet It • Like Byrdseed • Pin It Students will judge the ethics of the [click to edit] using a textbook and create an essay in groups of three. Revised Bloom's Taxonomy adapted from "A Taxonomy for Learning,Teaching, and Assessing: A Revision of Bloom's Taxonomy of Educational Objectives" by Anderson and Krathwohl Depth and Complexity adapted from The Flip Book by Sandra N. Depth Big Idea Unanswered Questions Ethics Patterns Rules Language of the Discipline Essential Details Trends Complexity Multiple Points Of View Change Over Time Across the Disciplines Imperatives Origin Convergence Parallels Paradox Contribution Key Words Consequences Motivations Implications Significance Adapted from David Chung and The Flip Book, Too by Sandra N. Group Size One Two Three Four
Stop writing the objectives on the board How often have you been told that writing the lesson's objectives on the board is best practice? Can you think of even one reason why doing this might be a bad idea? Because the prevailing wind of conventional wisdom consistently blows in favor of content-bloated, prefabricated externally mandated standardized standards, it takes courage to pause and reflect. Mike Fishback offers this post titled Objectively Speaking where he identifies three reasons why we should question the wisdom behind writing the lesson's objective on the board. Communicating objectives to students sends a strong message about who is driving the learning.Communicating objectives to students gives away the ending before the uncovering even begins.Communicating objectives to students discourages students and teachers from pursuing potentially constructive lines of inquiry that appear tangential to the objectives.