Differentiation Is... So, how would you define differentiated instruction? In her newly revised book, The Differentiated Classroom: Responding to the Needs of All Learners, 2nd Edition, Carol Ann Tomlinson discusses the meaning of differentiation and how teachers can modify their instruction to engage all students. The book highlights key principles of differentiation, including: An invitational learning environment that encourages and supports learningQuality curriculumAssessment that informs teaching and learningInstruction that responds to student variance Take a look at the infographic below that highlights some of the best and worst practices for differentiation in today’s classrooms. Post it in your office and share it with your colleagues as a reminder to refine your teaching strategies to meet the learning styles of all students. Want to read more?
There's No Time to Differentiate: Myth-Busting DI, Part 2 The microwave oven is a great timesaver for getting any food on the table. Yet it's a taste killer. The more I use the grill and oven to cook meals for my family, the more I experience the diversity of tastes that come from grilled or baked salmon, chicken, and burgers, plus sautéed vegetables. A microwave oven dries everything out, and thus limits the tastes. There are days when I get home exhausted with work still to be completed, but I bypass the microwave most times. I value my family's need for flavorful meals over dried-out, tasteless food that I nuked just to check off a chore. So why would I not do the same for my students by differentiating based on their needs, instead of using one-size-fits-all methods? Does one-size-fits-all really save time if students haven’t learned? In an earlier post, I looked at a few common differentiated instruction myths. Myth #1 I teach 180 students across five classes. The greater number of students means there is a higher urgency to differentiate.
How to Plan Lessons to Engage 21st Century Students About ETR Community EdTechReview (ETR) is a community of and for everyone involved in education technology to connect and collaborate both online and offline to discover, learn, utilize and share about the best ways technology can improve learning, teaching, and leading in the 21st century. EdTechReview spreads awareness on education technology and its role in 21st century education through best research and practices of using technology in education, and by facilitating events, training, professional development, and consultation in its adoption and implementation.
List of Great Tools for Different Kinds of Learners About ETR Community EdTechReview (ETR) is a community of and for everyone involved in education technology to connect and collaborate both online and offline to discover, learn, utilize and share about the best ways technology can improve learning, teaching, and leading in the 21st century. EdTechReview spreads awareness on education technology and its role in 21st century education through best research and practices of using technology in education, and by facilitating events, training, professional development, and consultation in its adoption and implementation.
Differentiation Central Digital Differentiation This is part of a Digital Differentiation model, my way i of weaving a web of flexible tools together for teaching and learning. To keep the model relevant, frequent updates are required, as new tools and trends emerge. To access the most current resources, please click on the tab at the top of this blog: Digital Differentiation - Current Updating Ten months ago I published a Digital Differentiation model on this blog. Technology is a tool that can be used to help teachers facilitate learning experiences that address the diverse learning needs of all students and help them develop 21st Century Skills, an idea supported by the Common Core. At it's most basic level, digital tools can be used to help students find, understand and use information. The goal is to design student-driven learning experiences that are fueled by standards-based Essential Questions and facilitated by digital tools to provide students with flexible learning paths. 3 Components: Essential Questions Flexible Learning Paths
Parents' Phone Use Is Taking a Toll on Their Children's Development We see parents on their phones at playgrounds, at restaurants, in cars, seated around dinner tables, on mass transit, on vacation—everywhere. For about five years, I've researched what happens when parents are on their phones, with findings that you might expect: When parents' attention is directed at a smartphone, we talk to our children less, miss their bids for attention, overreact to their annoying interruptions, and think less clearly about what their behavior means. Some cities and municipalities have begun public-service campaigns to increase parents' awareness of the toll their heavy technology use may be taking on child development and well-being. A German boy even organized a rally to protest modern parents' preoccupation with technology. There's good reason to want parents to talk, play, and relate to their children more positively and sensitively. Yet many still felt compelled to dive back into their devices. As parents, we can act, for our own good and as role models.
The Jigsaw Classroom Position Statement on Flexible Scheduling The library program is fully integrated into the educational program so that students, teachers, and school librarians become partners in learning. This integration strengthens the teaching for learning process to ensure students are active learners who guide and continually assess their learning process. Open access to a quality school library program is essential for students to develop the vital skills necessary to analyze, evaluate, interpret, and communicate information and ideas in a variety of formats. The integrated library program philosophy requires an open schedule that includes flexible and equitable access to physical and virtual collections for staff and students. Collaboration with classroom teachers to design, implement and evaluate inquiry lessons cultivates high level learning experiences for students and is the catalyst that makes the integrated library program work. The PARENTS advocate for a library program that provides their child with access 24/7.
10 Assessments You Can Perform in 90 Seconds 10 Assessments You Can Perform In 90 Seconds by TeachThought Staff Good assessment is frequent assessment. Any assessment is designed to provide a snapshot of student understand—the more snapshots, the more complete the full picture of knowledge. On its best day, an assessment will be 100% effective, telling you exactly what a student understands. This makes a strong argument for frequent assessment, as it can be too easy to over-react and “remediate” students who may be banging against the limits of the assessment’s design rather than their own understanding. It is a huge burden (for both teachers and students) to design, write, complete, grade, and absorb the data into an instructional design sequence on a consistent basis. Simple Assessments The word “simple” here is misleading. Then, due to their brevity, they’re simple to grade–in fact, you can grade them as exit slips–which makes taking the data and informing instruction (the whole point of assessment) a much simpler process as well.
Why students should study sign language | IB Community Blog It is a common misconception that there is only one universal sign language. In fact, there is an estimated 144 different signed languages, according to the Ethnologue. American Sign Language (ASL), for example, is quite different from British Sign Language (BSL), despite the fact that English is spoken in both countries. Sign languages are as rich, complex and creative as spoken languages, and are composed of hand movements, facial expressions and body language. Learning sign language at school gives students the chance to explore a rich aspect of the cognitive, creative, linguistic and cultural diversity of humanity.
Questioning That Deepens Comprehension Editor's note: This post is co-authored by Nancy Frey, a Professor of Literacy in Educational Leadership at San Diego State University and a credentialed special educator, reading specialist, and administrator. Questions are a common way for teachers to check for understanding, right? The answer we’re looking for is "yes." Who hasn't questioned a group of students to determine whether or not they understood the content? Unfortunately, not all questions are created equally. What does the text say? What does the text say? The questions in this category require students to think literally about the text. The amount of time that teachers spend at the literal level will vary based on student responses. Questions at this level could include: What is the relationship between the narrator and the main character? How does the text work? When students have a grasp of the text at the literal level, we move to the structural level. For example, questions at the structural level could include:
Collaboration and reflection Proactivity and Reflection: Tools to Improve Collaborative ExperiencesMinnesota Media, 2004 Collaboration is the Holy Grail of librarianship. It’s how we become indispensable to others, but it is arguably the most challenging part of our jobs. There never seems to be enough time. Many teachers are very independent. Library media specialists can and should add genuine value to the educational process through collaborative planning and teaching. A book worth reading is Reflective Practice to Improve Schools. Below are a few suggestions drawn from professional reading (see appended bibliography), from watching really good library media specialists at work, and from reflecting on my own successful collaborative efforts. Please don’t just read the suggestions. That’s it. I. Use student mastery of content area objectives as the goal of the planning and activity. II. III. Practice Covey’s philosophy of win/win or no deal when collaborating. IV. V. Bishop, K., & Larimer, N. (1999, October).