RIGOROUS TASKS

WITHIN

DIFFERENTIATED INSTRUCTION

Presented by Bureau of School Improvement

Differentiated Accountability Region V

Rigor in the Classroom

XtraNormal Video

BSI Summer Academy 2013 2

Objective

Participants will learn rigorous, innovative

and engaging instructional tasks that can

be implemented during differentiated

instruction to increase student

achievement .

Guiding Questions

• What is rigor?

• What does rigor look like?

• How can incorporating daily rigorous tasks within differentiated instruction build student comprehension?

BSI Summer Academy 2013 4 HO #1

WHAT IS RIGOR?????

WHAT DOES RIGOR LOOK LIKE?

What are the elements of rigor in a classroom?

How do you know rigor when you see it?

To agree…or disagree…???

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The more tasks the students have, the better they learn.

A rigorous curriculum is focused, coherent, and

appropriately challenging.

William Schmidt, Michigan State professor

Rigor is determined by what is taught.

Academic rigor is determined not just by what is

taught, but how it is taught and how it is

assessed. A demanding curriculum isn’t so

demanding if it’s taught in a way that students

can’t learn it or if, on tests, they’re not really

expected to know it.

Barbara Blackburn, 2008

Rigor is not for everyone.

There is a belief that the only way to assure success

for everyone is to lower standards and lessen rigor.

Such beliefs often mask an underlying sense that

some students are less capable and that their

success will hold back those who are more capable.

-Barbara Blackburn

Characteristics of Rigorous Instruction

• High Expectations

• Providing Support

• Demonstrating Learning

BSI Summer Academy 2013 14 H.O. #2

Definition of Rigor Examples of Rigorous Instruction

Quality of thinking, not quantity, can occur in any grade and at any subject.

Deep immersion in a subject which should include real-world settings and working with an expert.

Definition of Rigor Examples of Rigorous Instruction

Goal is helping students develop the capacity to understand content that is complex or ambiguous, and personally or emotionally challenging.

High expectations are important and must include effort on the part of the learner.

Definition of Rigor Examples of Rigorous Instruction

Quality of thinking, not quantity, can occur in any grade and at any subject.

• Higher order questions asked during whole group and small group

• Students being assigned tasks that are on or above grade level no matter their ability level

Deep immersion in a subject which should include real-world settings and working with an expert.

•Students involved in inquiry-based learning. •Students are given a variety of ways to demonstrate learning, which may include tests with a wide range of types of questions, or it may be that students are allowed to show their understanding through creative projects.

Definition of Rigor Examples of Rigorous Instruction

Goal is helping students develop the capacity to understand content that is complex or ambiguous, and personally or emotionally challenging.

Teachers facilitating Socratic Seminars, or having students engage in the Comprehensive Instructional Sequence to gain a deeper understanding of text?

High expectations are important and must include effort on the part of the learner.

•Students are engaged in student-led discussions, and referring to text to support their findings. • Students are responding to text daily in every class.

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RIGOR REDEFINED 7 Survival Skills

1. Critical Thinking and Problem-Solving 2. Collaboration Across Networks and Leading by Influence 3. Agility and Adaptability 4. Initiative and Entrepreneurialism 5. Effective Oral and Written Communication 6. Accessing and Analyzing Information 7. Curiosity and Imagination

Wagner, 2008

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Connection to 21st Century Learners

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“Rigor Redefined” by Tom Wagner

HO 2

1. How prepared do you feel students are with these seven skills? 2. How much opportunity within the classroom are students given to hone these skills? 3. Identify the steps will you need to take at your school to increase student proficiency in these competencies.

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Hmmmm…

RIGOR REDEFINED 7 Survival Skills

1. Critical Thinking and Problem-Solving 2. Collaboration Across Networks and Leading by Influence 3. Agility and Adaptability 4. Initiative and Entrepreneurialism 5. Effective Oral and Written Communication 6. Accessing and Analyzing Information 7. Curiosity and Imagination

Wagner, 2008

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Connection to 21st Century Learners

BSI Summer Academy 2013 24

Using Debate to Develop Critical

Thinking and Speaking Skills

Video

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How can incorporating daily rigorous tasks within differentiated instruction build

student comprehension?

Think-Write-Pair-Square

Differentiation of Instruction

Is a teacher’s response to learners’ needs guided by general principles of differentiation?

Respectful tasks Flexible grouping On-going monitoring

and assessments

Teachers Can Differentiate Through:

Content Process Product

According to Students

Readiness Interest Learning Profile

TEACHER RESPONSIBILITY

STUDENT RESPONSIBILITY

Focus Lesson

Guided

Instruction

“I do it”

“We do it”

“You do it

together” Collaborative

Independent “You do it

alone”

A Model for Success for All Students

Fisher, D., & Frey, N. (2008). Better learning through structured teaching: A framework for the gradual

release of responsibility. Alexandria, VA: Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development.

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Differentiated Rigorous Tasks

Teacher Read Aloud

29 HO 4, 5

The Man Who Went to

the Far Side of the Moon The Story of Apollo 11 Astronaut Michael Collins

By

Bea Uusma Schyffert

Consider This… “Tailor your whole class so that you move the

majority of your students in a way that has real traction, and then tailor small-group

teaching to support students who are earlier or more advanced in their level of skill

development.”

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Caulkins, Ehrenworth, & Lehman. 2012, p. 53. 2012.

Think-Pair-Share-Strengthen

What daily rigorous tasks within differentiated instruction can you use to

build student comprehension?

References • L. Broach, B.P. Laster , B.Marinak, C. McDonald Connor, D. Walker-

Dalhouse S. Watts-Taffe, (2012). Differentiated Instruction Making

informed teaching instructions. The Reading Teacher. 66(4), pp. 305-314.

• Williamson and Blackburn, (2010). Rigorous Schools and Classrooms:

Leading the Way.

• Florida Department of Education. Test Item Specifications. Retrieved May

1, 2012 from http://www.fldoe.org/fcat2/itemspecs.asp.

• Tomlinson, C. A., & McTighe, J. (2006). Integrating differentiated

instruction & understanding by design.

• Wagner, T. (2008). Rigor Redefined. Educational Leadership, 66 (2), pp 20-

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