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“Differentiated instruction: unpacking the concept”
Nicos SifakisAssoc. Professor
H ll i O U i i
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Hellenic Open UniversitySerres, 22.02.2014
http://eap.academia.edu/NicosCSifakis
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http://eap.academia.edu/NicosCSifakis
https://www.facebook.com/nicos.sifakis
FB differentiated instruction page
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“The illiterate of the 21st
century will not be those who cannot read and write, but those who cannot learn,
unlearn and relearn”
Alvin Toffler
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S f thSome of the problems…
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• When all learners receive the same instruction through which they arethrough which they are expected to learn the same thing in the sameway on the same day
One-size-fits-all approach
way on the same day
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Teaching English For No Obvious Reason (Abbott 1981)
• Typical secondary-school learners
• Little or no motivation to learnLittle or no motivation to learn
• Learning needs hard to define
• A situation where no obvious learning objective is envisaged
• Curriculum: typically conservative
T.E.N.O.R.14
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Wh t l tiWhat a solution might look like…
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“Differentiation is making sure that the i ht t d t t thright students get the
right learning tasks at the right time.”
Differentiated instruction(Earl, 2003: 86)
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• Autonomy
• Belonging• Belonging
• Competence
Key human needs17
Key skills for the 21st century
• Digital-Age LiteracyBasic scientific economic and technological– Basic, scientific, economic, and technological literacies
– Visual and information literacies
– Multicultural literacy and global awareness
• Creative-Inventive Thinking– Adaptability and managing complexity
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Adaptability and managing complexity
– Self-direction
– Curiosity, creativity, and risk-taking
– Higher-order thinking and sound reasoning
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Key skills for the 21st century
• Effective CommunicationTeaming collaboration and interpersonal skills– Teaming, collaboration, and interpersonal skills
– Personal, social, and civic responsibility
– Interactive communication
• High Productivity– Prioritizing, planning, and managing for results
Effective use of real world tools
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– Effective use of real-world tools
– Ability to produce relevant, high-quality products
(NCREL, 2003)
“The main crisis in schools today isschools today is
irrelevance”
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Dan Pink (2002) Free Agent Nation
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Age of AgricultureI d t i l AIndustrial Age
Age of Information IntensificationAge of Creation Intensification
[Source: M. Teruyasu, Nomura Research Institute]
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“My wife and I went to a [kindergarten] parent-teacher conference and were informed that our budding refrigerator artist, Christopher,
would be receiving a grade of Unsatisfactory i t W h k d H ld hildin art. We were shocked. How could any child – let alone our child – receive a poor grade in
art at such a young age?”
“His teacher informed us that he had refused t l ithi th li hi h t t
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to color within the lines, which was a state requirement for demonstrating ‘grade-level
motor skills’.”[Source: Jordan Aryan “AHA!”]
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“How many artists are there in the room? Would you please raise your hands. FIRST GRADE: En masse the children leapt
from their seats, arms waving. Every child was an artist. SECOND GRADE: About half the kids raised their hands,
shoulder high, no higher. The hands were still. THIRD GRADE: At best 10 kids out of 30 would raise a handGRADE: At best, 10 kids out of 30 would raise a hand,
tentatively, self-consciously. By the time I reached SIXTH GRADE, no more than one or two kids raised their hands, and then ever so slightly, betraying a fear of being identified by the
group as a ‘closet artist.’ The point is: Every school I visited was participating in thevisited was participating in the
suppression of creative genius.”Gordon MacKenzie, Orbiting the Giant Hairball: A Corporate Fool’s Guide to Surviving with
Grace
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• Learner-centredness
• Learning-centredness
• Teacher autonomy
• ICT-enhanced
“New School – New Learning”27
• NOT a set of instructional strategies…
• BUT a philosophy, a way of thinking about teaching and learning; essentially, a set of principles…essentially, a set of principles…
• which REQUIRES rethinking our classroom practice and results, an ongoing process of trial, reflection, adjustment in the classroom itself.
What isdifferentiated instruction?
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• Every student is worthy of dignity and respect
• Diversity is both inevitable and positive
• The classroom should mirror the kind• The classroom should mirror the kind of society in which we want our students to live
• Most students can learn most things that are essential to a given area of
Essential assumptions of DI
study
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Guided by:
• Respectful tasks
• Flexible grouping
• Ongoing assessment/adjustment
Differentiation of instruction30
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Teachers can differentiate:
• Content
• Process
• Product
Differentiation of instruction31
…according to learners’
• Affect
• Readiness
• Interests
• Learning
Differentiation of instruction32
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1. ‘Attributes’: who they are– Age
– Aptitude
– Personality– Personality
– Learning disabilities
– Social identities
In what ways are learners different?
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2. ‘Conceptualisation’: how they conceptualise FL acquisition– Motivation
Attitude– Attitude
– Cognitive style
– Beliefs
3. ‘Actions’: what they do to learnL i t t i
In what ways are learners different?
– Learning strategies
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Through a range of instructional/management strategies, such as:
• Multiple intelligences
• Jigsaw
V i d t t• Varied texts
• Literature circles
• Small-group interaction
• Group investigation
• Independent study
• Varied homework
Differentiation of instruction
• Varied homework
• ICT
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• stations
• agendas
• centers
ti d ti iti• tiered activities
• learning contracts
• compacting
• independent study
Strategies for DI
• portfolios
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• Delivering instruction online outside of class and moving “homework” into the classroom
• What’s driving it: (a) prevalence of online video (b) poor learning outcomes of one-size-fits-all
d ti d leducation model
• Khan Academy
• Ideal for task-based and CLIL-related classes, use Moodle to store all materials (files, activity rubrics, video links, etc) for
Reverse instruction(‘flipped classroom’)
(files, activity rubrics, video links, etc) for learners to access
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What should a language teacher KNOW?
What should a languageWhat should a language teacher BE?
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• Subject-matter– English language
–Teacher as Resource
• Pedagogy– Teaching & Learning
–Teacher as Pedagogue
• Educational psychologyp y gy– Handling group dynamics
–Teacher as Leader
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Group characteristic features:• Interaction among group members
• GM perceive themselves as a distinct unit and demonstrate a level of commitment to it.
• GM share some purpose or goal for being together
• Endurance for a reasonable period of time
• Development of salient ‘internal structure’ (rules, standard, regulation of entry/departure, interpersonal patterns, status hierarchy)
G i h ld t bl f it b ’ ti
What is a group?
• G is held accountable of its members’ actions
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A group/team is
a
WEBinin
FLUX56
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• A group is a living developing process (a “system”)
Part of a broader physical social– Part of a broader physical, social, economic and cultural environment
What are groups made of?57
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• A group is a living developing process (a “system”)
Enormous complexity of the in group– Enormous complexity of the in-group relations/communication channels
Y = X2 - X
What are groups made of?59
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• Forming
• Storming
• Norming
• Performing
• Adjourning/Mourning
Group dynamics stages
j g g
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Dr Nicos C. Sifakis Hellenic Open University [email protected] http://eap.academia.edu/NicosCSifakis
State English Teachers' Union of Serres, Serres, 22.02.2014
Seminar on Differentiated Instruction
Materials at varied readability levels General but useful resources for reading levels:
http://www.scholastic.com/bookwizard/: Scholastic’s Book Wizard allows teachers to search for books by level, but not all books are leveled for each leveling system
http://teacher.scholastic.com/products/guidedreading/leveling_chart.htm: guided reading levelling chart for grades kindergarten to 6th grade
http://www.fountasandpinnellleveledbooks.com/: the Fountas and Pinnell Leveled Books Website for subscribers includes a database of 18,000 leveled books as well as suggestions for reading instruction, supporting materials and teacher tips
Focus on one god readability levels online analyzer: Lexile. http://www.lexile.com/ http://www.lexile.com/analyzer/: The Lexile Difference: Measuring Reader and Text: The Lexile Framework evaluates both reading ability and text complexity on the same scale. Unlike other systems, the Lexile Framework uses assessment results to match readers with texts essential for growth and monitor their progress toward standards. A student gets his or her Lexile reader measure from a reading test or program. For example, if a student receives an 880L on her end‐of‐grade reading test, she is an 880 Lexile reader. Higher Lexile measures represent a higher level of reading ability. A Lexile reader measure can range from below 200L for beginning readers to above 1700L for advanced readers. A book, article or piece of text gets a Lexile text measure when it's analyzed by MetaMetrics. For example, the first "Harry Potter" book measures 880L, so it's called an 880 Lexile book.
Spelling assigned by proficiency http://www.spellzone.com/: an online English spelling course with hundreds of pages of
teaching, spelling tests and games (written mainly with older students in mind: teenagers and adults)
http://www.primarygames.com/reading.htm: free games for younger learners, such as hangman, scramble, etc.
http://www.ultimatespelling.com/: software, has a feature where the correct spelling is flashed onscreen when the user attempts to make an invented spelling. In that manner, the user eventually learns how to spell that particular word correctly each time it is encountered until such time that the 'reminder' no longer flashes.
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