II. Principles of Differentiated Instruction

Transcript of Speaker

II. Principles of Differentiated Instruction

B. Reason to Differentiate Instruction

Principles of Differentiated Learning

VOICEOVER:

Access the handout, “Principles of DI,” to follow along as Bruce outlines the

basic principles of differentiated instruction.

BRUCE STOUT:

The first three principles are: Learning experiences are based on student’s

readiness, interest or learning profile. Assessment of students needs to be ongoing, and

tasks are adjusted based on assessment data. And, third, all students participate in

respectful work. It’s a recap from this morning.

Next, the teacher is primarily a coordinator of time, space and activities rather

than primarily a provider of information. That’s a bit of a paradigm shift from traditional

classroom teaching.

Second, teaching and learning are focused on key concepts, understandings and

skills. I’m thankful we here in Saint Vrain we’re ahead of the national curve on being

standards-based. I know that varies building by building on where you are in that

process, but district wide we’re definitely standards referenced as far as what we’re

teaching.

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Third, students work in a variety of group configurations. Flexible grouping is

evident. Time use is flexible in response to student needs. I know that’s easier at the

elementary level than at the middle school and high school level because time isn’t

necessarily a luxury you can afford to be flexible with. Am I correct in that? Middle

school teachers really have to live, truly live, by your bells or by your time blocks,

especially if you’re on block schedules.

The teacher uses a variety of strategies to help target instruction to student needs.

Clearly established criteria are used to help support student success—and we

would call that rubric.

And, finally, student strengths are emphasized. And that comes about through

student choice. When given choices, students by and large choose their areas of strength

in that opportunity.

Any questions about these principles of differentiation?

PARTICIPANT:

Would student strengths be emphasized? At some point though, we have to work

with their weaknesses.

Bruce:

Absolutly.

PARTICIPANT:

How do you do that?


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BRUCE STOUT:

That would be one of those instances where sometimes we differentiate

instruction and sometimes we don’t.

PARTICIPANT:

Okay.

VOICEOVER:

Access the handout, “Differentiation,” to follow along easily with the next set of

video clips. This handout clearly outlines the principles of differentiated learning.

LINDA BLOCK-GANDY:

These are the principles of differentiation that you’re going to have the

experiences based on readiness, interest or learning profile. This assessment that you did

yesterday is ongoing. That formative piece is so important in differentiation. That

ongoing, formative piece is what drives your instruction. Because if you’re truly

differentiating, you’re going to be changing gears constantly. You’re going to be moving

and changing.

All students are involved in respectful work. I think that’s really, really important

because a lot of times we think about, particularly with gifted students, let’s give them

more work. The more we give them, the more they’re out of our hair. Because they’re

finishing quickly, they’re always finishing stuff quickly, and what do I do now? What

can I do now? Or we give them that role of being a tutor. I was guilty. Help him read

right now, or here’s another six problems to do. We want to make sure that we give

respectful work.


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Your job is more of a facilitator. You’re going to be coordinating everything

going on in your classroom. You have to kind of step back from being the instructional

giver to being the coordinator. That’s what you have to be. You have to be that person

that can step back and just kind of run the show.

Carol Ann Tomlinson talks about – she brings up music as ideas for

differentiation. She says, one, you’re the conductor of an orchestra. You’ve got all of

these musicians that you’re bringing together for a common goal, but they each play a

different instrument. If you think about it that way, your students each having different

learning styles, being at different levels of performance, having different interests, and

you’re somehow coordinating all of that to come to a common goal, which would be your

piece that you play at the end, your product.

One of the biggest pieces I can’t stress enough is that you focus on key concepts,

understandings and skills. If you understand what essential learnings are—and that

would be a whole course in and of itself—is that you’re going to have your students

definitely being directed and focused on what’s important.

How many of you have ever gotten off on a tangent about something you were

teaching because it was a passion of yours? Who’s done that? You just kind of keep

going with that, and you kind of lose focus of where you’re supposed to go. If you keep

track of where you’re supposed to go, which is sometimes hard—of course, it isn’t as

hard now with C-SAP. Can I get through what I need to get through. But back in the

olden days you could do a little bit more fluff, and you would kind of would get let’s do a

little extra activity in regards to this.

But you want to make sure you stay focused on those key concepts. That really

helps your special ed students because you’re going to know what’s essential for them.


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And it’s also going to make it easier for you to do something which you will experience

in the next few days called tiering. That allows you to move up to that level of

understanding for those higher level students.

Debby is going to talk to you later about a variety of grouping configurations.

How many of you are elementary? Great. The majority of you. How many of you have

kept kids in a reading group for a whole year? Be honest. How many of you have kept

kids, like you’ve identified their reading level, and you don’t go back and retest them

throughout the year? You kind of get them in that group, and you let them go with that

group? But you felt good because you had four different reading groups. Well, those

kids can change, and Debby will talk to you a little bit about that in the flexible grouping.

Here’s this happy little guy in hell saying, You know, we’re just not reaching that

guy. And you have those students where you’re just kind of going, They’re not quite

there. Marching to a different beat.

I want you to say along with me these three terms: Readiness, interest, learning

style. These are like puzzle pieces. They really kind of interlock with each other. It’s

really important that you know that you’re never just doing one thing in differentiation.

Readiness is going to be impacted by their interest in the subject area. Readiness is going

to be impacted by their learning style. All of that plays hand-in-hand. It goes back and

forth, and you need to know that.

They also interlock with content, process and product. I’d like you to say that for

me – content, process, product. Those six things are what you’re going to differentiate

by, and they all kind of fit together in different ways.

Top 10 Reasons to Differentiate Instruction


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BRUCE STOUT:

What I have here in my hand are the top ten reasons to differentiate instruction.

There’s a variety of reasons why. In true David Letterman style, we’ll start with number

ten and work backwards down to the number one reason to differentiate.

I’ll start with number ten. In essence, what number ten is about is that people

learn best when they use what they already know to construct new meaning. That just

makes sense to me. In anything you do when you think about adult life, if you start with

at least some kind of knowledge of something you already do have, it’s all in that whole

theory of connections. Once you know something and can connect it to something that

you don’t know, it makes more sense for you. That, to me, knowing students come in

knowing a variety of different things, I need to preassess. I need to ask what they know

and what they don’t know, so that I can decide instructionally what’s the next thing for

them to connect to. That’s number ten.

Reason number nine.

PARTICIPANT:

It’s the happy, happy, joy, joy reason. It’s all about having—you still have the

caring, learning environment for students so that they really—that equals growth. If they

feel safe and they’re secure, that’s growth. But remembering that what works for one

student, what’s safe for one, is not necessarily going to be safe and secure for another.

Using respectful teaching and remembering each student’s uniqueness.

BRUCE STOUT:

Reason number eight.

PARTICIPANT:


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People learn best when they acquire and use strategies. To me, this is application.

If you don’t use it, you’re going to lose it. I was talking to Marissa about her Spanish

over there. It’s metacognition and making connections. It kind of reminds of learning to

play the flute. They could teach me all they wanted to, but if I didn’t practice it, it wasn’t

helping me.

BRUCE STOUT:

Well done. Thank you. Reason number seven.

PARTICIPANT:

It talks about social interaction. To me, what comes to mind is the ten-two theory,

and correct this quote, but, “The mind will only absorb what the rear can endure.” Is that

how it goes? After you sit and learn for a long amount of time, you need to get up and

move and talk and think-pair-share, that kind of thing.

PARTICIPANT:

That people learn best when what they learn is appropriate to their developmental

level, and they’re saying that not all students think concretely or abstractly all the time.

They think differently at different times, and they work independently. Some work better

dependently. You have to modify your planning to all those situations and include your

content, process and product modifications to address those needs of the students.

BRUCE STOUT:

Reason five.

PARTICIPANT:

This is the student’s background and they’re culture. They’re learning

predisposition and probably they’re preferred mode of processing information through


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from all of the multiple intelligences. Just having probably awareness not to apply

prejudices of students; to acknowledge diversity in the teacher.

BRUCE STOUT:

Reason number four.

PARTICIPANT:

I have matching learning styles. It leads to improved learning, and it goes with a

lot of what we were talking about today – the learning style. This is really how students

can achieve really to their highest potential if you can find something that they can

connect with like environmental or emotional. It can influence their achievement and

attitude about learning. Obviously, they need to be excited about it. Diversity and style

will obviously mean having a variety of different outlets for these kids will maximize

what they can do. By giving them different choices, you can really get them excited

about it and maximize their learning.

BRUCE STOUT:

Reason number three.

PARTICIPANT:

People learn best when they learn in their own way and have control or feel in

control. It’s basically providing for the multiple intelligences, having the kids be able to

make their choice, and when they make a choice they feel empowered, and then they

learn in their own way and it’s more meaningful. As teachers, we just have to provide

that situation.

BRUCE STOUT:

Reason number two.


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PARTICIPANT:

People learn best when what they learn is personally meaningful, not something

that you see often in social studies classes. Basically, I call this the so-what factor. When

I get to the end of my lesson and my students are still saying, So what, obviously, I

haven’t reached out and learned them well enough to know what they find useful in

making connections with them. Once you make that connection and they feel part of the

learning process, and they’re more a part of what you’re doing.

BRUCE STOUT:

Drum roll, please. The number one reason for differentiating instruction is. . .

PARTICIPANT:

People learn best when what they learn is challenging and they learn to accept the

challenge. I’m drawing a blank. Sorry, guys.

BRUCE STOUT:

I can help you out, if you don’t mind. I just heard this on Friday. Susan

Winebrenner, the writer of Teaching Gifted Kids in the Regular Classroom, there is so

much research that says students build self-esteem only when they perceive the activities

given to them are just beyond they’re reach, or challenging enough that they had to invest

some kind of intellectual stimulation in that lesson or that activity.

SUE RILLING:

They have to feel the stretch.

BRUCE STOUT:


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Not the teacher, but the student. If you know your students well by collecting

data and realizing that wherever they are when you’re planning for their challenge, they

will feel not only self-esteem but a sense and achievement in their academic promotion.


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II. Principles of Differentiated Instruction

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