Meeting the Needs of all Learners

Dr. Elana Milstein

“Diversity has become the norm among the students in the classrooms of today” (Johnson, 1990)

Languages Families Cultural backgrounds Economics Experiential background

Student Diversity

Aptitude Achievement Interest Motivation Needs Ability

Paradigm Shift in Education:

Curriculum

Traditional

Major focus on content Content acquisition Lock step progress

Evolving

Content & process balance

Learning to learn Continuous progress

Instruction

Traditional

Teacher-centered Single textbook Single instructional

approach Passive learning

Evolving

Child-centered Resource-based

learning Multiple approaches to

instruction Active learning

Environment

Traditional

Competitive System level management Supervision of learners Hierarchical structures

Evolving

Cooperative School-site

management Empowerment of

learners Professional/collegial

structures

Students need to become…

Independent Active Self-organizing Responsible Empowered

Brain ResearchConfirms what teachers have always known:

No two children are alike.  No two children learn in the identical way.  An enriched environment for one student is

not necessarily enriched for another.  In the classroom we should teach children

to think for themselves. 

--Marian Diamond

DifferentiationDifferentiation

is a philosophythat enables teachers to plan

strategically in order to reach the needs of diverse

learners in the classrooms.

is a philosophythat enables teachers to plan

strategically in order to reach the needs of diverse

learners in the classrooms.

Differentiation

IS NOT Tracking A New Strategy Static Teaching to the

Middle Synonymous

with Individualization

IS

Flexible Grouping Student Centered Based on Readiness For all Learners Changing all the Time Meeting Personal

Needs

Differentiate? What?

Content & MaterialsProcess & Strategies

Assessment & AssignmentsTime

Based on readiness and interests

When considering differentiating, all of the ELEMENTS must be considered and addressed.

Elements of

Differentiated Instruction

Climate

Knowing the Learner

Assessing the Learner

Adjustable Assignments

Instructional Strategies

Curriculum Approaches

Climate

Effective teachers believe that all children can learn and be successful.

Effective teachers create a climate where all students feel included.

Effective teachers feel that there is potential in each learner and commit to finding the key that will unlock that potential.

Knowing the Learner We need to know the learner so that

we can make sure that the curriculum fits.

We need to know how students access, process, and express information- We need to know their learning

styles. We need to know their thinking

styles.

Assessing the Learner

Just as one size of learning doesn’t fit all, one size of assessment doesn’t suit either.

We need to pre-assess the learner so that we can find out what they already know.

We need to assess during the learning- use ongoing assessments.

We need to assess after the learning.

Adjustable Assignments Allow teachers to help students focus

on essential skills and understanding key concepts, recognizing that they may be at different levels of readiness.

Students have the opportunity to develop essential skills and understanding at his or her appropriate level of challenge.

Adjustable

Instructional Strategies

Cooperative Learning

Graphic Organizers

Assignments

Content

Grouping Alone

Total Group

Partner

Small Group

Curriculum Compacting

Instructional Strategies

Teachers who use a variety of instructional strategies add novelty, choice, and individuality to learning.

As teachers build their repertoire of instructional strategies, they will see how they can adjust the learning for a group of learners and how different strategies appeal to different learners.

Curriculum Approaches

Curriculum can be delivered in many ways so that it will appeal to individual learners Centers or stations Projects Problem-based learning Inquiry Contracts

Adaptations in…

Content Process Product

Content

Multiple texts Varied time Contracts Compacting Group investigation

Process

Learning centers Multiple intelligences Graphic organizers Simulations Learning logs

Product

Independent study Community–based projects Multiple intelligence-based orientations Presentations Arts Multimedia

A New Direction

“Teachers guide students down many paths to a common

destination”

Mary Anne Hess

“If children can’t learn the way we teach, we should teach them

the way they learn”.

“Differentiated instruction means shaking up what goes on in the classroom so that students have multiple options for taking in information,

making sense of ideas, and expressing what they learn”.

Carol Ann Tomlinson

Differentiated Classroom: What is it?

“Differentiated instruction is not a strategy to be used from time to

time, not a bag of tricks approach .

It’s a way of thinking about teaching and learning”.

~Carol Ann Tomlinson~

“Differentiated instruction is not a strategy to be used from time to

time, not a bag of tricks approach .

It’s a way of thinking about teaching and learning”.

~Carol Ann Tomlinson~