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Differentiated instruction
is a philosophy of teaching and learning which recognizes that each learner is
unique.
3 strategies with applications for
differentiating instruction: 1 for content, 1 for process, and 1 for product
Differentiated
instruction usually implies modifications or variations in response to student
needs in one or more of the following areas: content, process or product.
Content
Content
refers is what the student must know and understand as a result of the lesson.
Content is differentiated by focusing on the unit’s most relevant and
essential components and varying them to meet learners’ needs by
providing them choices. For example, if some students need more time to grasp
the essential skills needed for the unit, the teacher might provide them more
direct instruction, more concrete examples and practice. Other students may
quickly understand the concepts and need to be challenged by more complex activities.
A learning
center—a classroom area containing a collection of materials or
activities designed to teach, reinforce, or extend a particular concept or
skill can be used to differentiate for content. Learning Centers for Exploring Literature is one such
example in which students gain background knowledge of a story’s setting,
the historical and cultural perspectives in which it takes place, and the
biographical background of the author.
Great for a Spanish class!
Process
Process refers to the ways
students make their own sense of the content. To modify the process, the
teacher can apply a variety of different grouping strategies such as ability
grouping, interest grouping, or grouping by learning profile.
For example, in designing a
unit around traveling, a teacher could find reading selections about three
different Spanish speaking countries. In differentiating based on multiple
intelligences theory, one group might practice demonstrating a country from the
target culture as a kinesthetic option; another group could collaborate on
designing a poster with the typical meals for the country as a visual-spatial
option. Yet another group could develop a presentation or report on a country,
thus touching on the verbal-linguistic intelligence. Process can also be
differentiated by modifying the complexity or abstractness of tasks and by
engaging students in critical and creative thinking. Other options include
choice boards /menus, a differentiated strategy that provides options for
learners to practice skills, try new products, and work with a variety of
resources as they learn. The Tic-Tac-Toe menu is an example of a
skills-based set of practice options from which learners can choose in order to
make sense of the structure section of a unit on the family. There are
opportunities to practice questions, necessary verbs to enhance the topic, or
vocabulary to support the unit.
Having the autonomy to
select what to do or how to do it gives them more responsibility and
accountability for their learning because they must manage their time and select the options that
will help them reach their full potential. From the teacher’s
perspective, the sophistication of menu creation follows a continuum from those
that differentiate solely for when students
choose to do the tasks to those that provide choices in the what and/or the how.
Product
A product is the output of
the unit or the ways that students demonstrate or exhibit their understanding
of the content. Both Bloom’s Taxonomy and
An R.A.F.T assignment
helps students understand their role as writer, their audience, the format of
their work, and the expected content of their writing. It is designed around
unit objectives and standards and also provides an easy, meaningful way to
incorporate writing into content-area instruction.
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strategies with application for differentiating instruction for students who
have difficulty reading and gaining information from print materials
It is equally important to
differentiate instruction to students who have difficulty reading and gaining
information from print materials. A
teacher should collaborate with the school reading specialist.
Content can also be modified by
providing a variety of
texts: simpler or more advanced, authentic documents or adapted ones,
electronic or print—or simply a variety of text types such as brochures,
music, film, field trips, guest speakers, etc.
It is important to read a text outloud in class
before assigning a reading selection to help students preview new vocabulary
and word pronunciation, to motivate
students, and activate their prior knowledge. An interesting technique in a
Spanish classroom is the story –mapping that helps students
identifying the major elements of a story using a visual representation. For
example:
Students read a selection of Spanish-language
folk legends from a variety of countries. Before reading Spanish-language legends,
students work in pairs to brainstorm English-language legends with which they
are familiar from their childhood or family. After, learners have begun thinking
about the role of legends in society; they are ready to begin reading some in
Spanish. To begin, students read a Spanish language legend. Working together in groups,
students read the legend, completing a story mapping. The story mapping helps
students identify main characters and their characteristics, important events,
central themes, plot development and climax.
Summarizing a text is great
to enhance the comprehension of a text.
As a strategy, summarization should be effective for two
reasons. First, the act of summarizing requires students to attend to
important concepts within the text and then generate meaningful relationships
between those concepts. Students must distinguish important information
from unimportant, and state how important concepts are related to each
other. Second, because summarizing requires students to express the main
ideas in their own words, there is a transformation or recoding process
involved (deep processing) in which students mentally manipulate the
information. Without this transformation, the task is reduced to a form
of rehearsal in which students merely copy out the main idea.
Subsequently, learning is reduced.
The generation of a summary involves three important steps:
1) read the text (such as the
paragraph).
2) identify the main idea or main
ideas.
3) write a sentence that describes
what the main idea is, in the students' own words.
4) combine summary sentences from
paragraphs to form a summary for the section or chapter.
Example, consider the following paragraph:
Horns are useful to
animals. Many animals, such as elk and moose, use horns for fighting
their enemies. Goats, buffaloes, and cows use their horns to butt or
throw their enemies. The horn of the rhinoceros makes him a truly
dangerous foe.
To create a summary of this
paragraph, the student would need to read the paragraph and identify the main
idea. Here, the main idea is that animals have horns which they use for
protection. A summary sentence might be something like: many animals, such elk, moose, goats, cows,
and rhinoceros use their horns for protection from enemies.
Communicative reading strategies is the technique to help students
gaining information that I like the most in a Spanish classroom because I can
monitoring student’s text comprehension as they read and help them
understand the text as well. For example: Horns
are useful to animals. I will ask the class if they think that Horns are
useful to animals. The students read the second sentence: Many animals, such as
elk and moose, use horns for fighting their enemies. And I will ask again
some questions about animals that fight their enemies…I will be
monitoring student’s text comprehension and I will help clarifying any
errors that they will have.
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strategies with application for differentiating instruction for students from
diverse cultural and language background.
It is important that all students relate the lesson
taught with their real worlds.
Teachers should use examples and content that from a variety of cultures
and groups to illustrate important concepts, theories etc…For example is
necessary to include readings of different groups. In the Spanish classroom it is easy to
talk about different holidays and cultural events form different cultures.
A great strategy is using small-group instruction
and cooperative learning where students can work in small groups and use
cooperative learning arrangements including peer tutoring and cross-age
tutoring. Students can improve their vocabulary and their grammar in a Spanish
classroom. For example:
Students were to work in groups to plan and present an ESPN
style sports cast that included scores from a variety of sports and an
interview with an athlete. The presentation was to last three to five minutes
with each member of the team having equal speaking parts. The students were instructed to use as
much of the vocabulary as possible from the Unit which dealt with sports
activities. They were also
instructed to use the past tense correctly, which was one of the major
grammatical presentations in that Unit.
The presentation was to be typed and turned in to me before their presentation.
We provided students with
resources from sports magazines (in both English and Spanish) and biographical
material on several well-known sports figures (in English only). Students met in their groups a total of six
times before their presentation to plan and to practice. Most of those meeting times were limited
to 20 to 30 minutes. Some students
indicated that a longer period at the beginning when they were deciding on the
subject of the interview and at the end when they were practicing for their
presentation would have helped them.
Since we have block scheduling with 90-minute periods that suggestion is
feasible for next year’s plans.
I divided the classroom into
six groups. Students were assigned
groups based on second quarter grades so that there was a fairly even
distribution of grade groups in each small cooperative learning group. Since
one of my goals was to increase students’ comfort levels when interacting
with each other, I focused on small group process skills during the learning
experience. Students were given
written and oral examples of group process skills and given an opportunity to
practice those skills each time the group met, through assignment of small
group tasks and through a short group evaluation at the end of each planning
session. Records of these task
assignments and group evaluations were turned in to me when they did their
presentation. To keep students on
task they were also given a sheet to fill out that included decisions, task
assignments and deadlines as they progressed through the planning process. .
Another one is to focusing on real world
tasks. Introducing content,
language, and learning by relating them to student’s home, school and
community life and to their cultures experiences. For example: have students
read story that have teenagers as main characters that face the same problems
that they do. It makes students
motivate and interested. I
plan to create a way to present the material in a context that is relevant to
students and reflects their interests. I will use story-telling,
question/answer, and games. Bringing authentic objects to class can tune in
students and can also bring focus to new learning in a culturally sensitive
way.
Facilitating
divergent thinking. Divergent
thinking is taking an open-ended idea and building on it in many different
directions to create new discoveries. Students can read a story and come up
with different ideas, think of unusual ideas and add to their ideas to make
them better. When study other
cultural this activity is great to work in groups and to accept other point of
views. For example in a book about a girl from panama who lives in the California and attends
high school I can ask the students to list as many similarities as they can
think about life in panama and life in the united states.
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strategies with application for differentiating instruction utilizing
instructional technology and assistive devices.
The use of computer-based instruction is a great
strategy to differentiating instruction because students can work at their
skills level and at their pace.
There are different instructional games and software programs that
monitor students and give feedback.
Students can demonstrate what they learned in the content and
demonstrate to others.
Virtual
reality and
internet can help students in a Spanish classroom to visit museums, to learn
about other cultures in a fun way. Brain Pop en Espanol for instance is a web
site that uses animated Spanish to present educational content across the
curriculum.
Teachers can include reading strategies to help students read authentic documents on the web. These strategies will help students be more successful in decoding a challenging passage at every level. These steps can be built into any reading assignment:
The strategies can be incorporated into the instructions for the activity. See how they have been used in the following beginning level activities:
Pre-reading and prediction
Before the students begin to read, they can use prior knowledge to predict what information may be in the selection. They can get clues from the title, the subject, or even an accompanying picture.
Skimming/scanning
Students read through the selection quickly to find any additional information. This information can augment and modify information from the pre-reading stage.
Looking for cognates
To further refine the understanding of the passage, the students can look for words that are similar to words in English.
Looking for meaning through context
Students can sometimes get the meaning of unfamiliar words by looking at the context where the words are found.
Careful reading
Too often students begin reading with this step. They find the passage difficult, get discouraged, and quit reading. With the preceding steps, students are better equipped to read a selection.
Application
The application step taps the students' creativity and higher level thinking skills. In this step, the students apply the concepts of the reading passage to a new situation.
Another
great tool in a Spanish classroom is the CDs and DVDs. Students can visualized and
demonstrating different contents in a repetitive way that helps them memorize
easily verbs, vocabulary etc.. For
example teacher’s Discovery has different DVD that explains Spanish verbs
in a repetitive and fun way. http://www.teachersdiscovery-foreignlanguage.com/template.php?content=quiz_videos.php&sbj=Spanish
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Strategies with application for large-group instruction.
Fundamental to cooperative learning group work
is the recognition of each student's role and responsibility in the group. The
basic objective is to avoid the creation of status differences between groups
and to foster recognition of interdependence. Typically, group assignments can
be made weekly during the introduction to a theme; individual role assignments
can be made daily or weekly. It is essential that the children understand that
their active participation is critical to the success of the group.
The second phase
involves the implementation of content learning activities within these
multiple groups, or learning centers, which operate simultaneously under the
direction of the teacher and the teacher's assistant. The role of the teacher
in FO/D is that of a manager and a supportive catalyst of the learning process.
Moving from center to center, he or she provides essential assistance and
feedback while generating student interaction; asking questions; delegating
responsibility; talking about problem-solving strategies, role performance, and
cooperative behaviors; helping students to examine a problem without giving the
solution; and generalizing concepts and principles.
The most useful way to
set up a classroom to facilitate cooperative learning is by arranging it into
work spaces. Work spaces or learning centers might be thought of as areas surrounded
by either visible or tangible boundaries. They are not necessarily the same as
traditional self-contained learning centers but rather can take on a number of
spatial configurations, including: booths, mats, corners, flat surfaces,
vertical surfaces, and underneath furnishings (tables, canopies, umbrellas).
Arrange the classroom for cooperative learning
Children need clearly
defined and sufficient work spaces. Cooperative learning activities require
ample work space for materials and groups of four to six children to work
together. Since the majority of activities involve physical movement and
conversation, students might need even more space than the materials require
for a particular activity. Therefore, the teacher must carefully plan work
spaces. The most useful way to set up a classroom to facilitate cooperative
learning is by arranging it into work spaces. Work spaces or learning centers
might be thought of as areas surrounded by either visible or tangible
boundaries. They are not necessarily the same as traditional self-contained
learning centers but rather can take on a number of spatial configurations,
including: booths, mats, corners, flat surfaces, vertical surfaces, and
underneath furnishings (tables, canopies, umbrellas).
Jigsaw
The jigsaw classroom is very simple
to use. If you're a teacher, just follow these steps:
Cooperative learning groups:
The
teacher has to:
1. Make Decisions before starting: In every lesson you formulate
objectives, decide on the size of groups, choose a method for assigning
students to groups, and decide which roles to assign group members, arrange the
room, and arrange the materials students need to complete the assignment.
2. Explain the Task and Cooperative Structure: In every lesson you explain the academic
assignment to students, explain the criteria for success, structure positive
interdependence, explain the individual accountability, and explain the
behaviors you expect to see during the lesson.
3. Monitor and Intervene: While you conduct the lesson, you
monitor each learning group and intervene when needed to improve task work and
teamwork, and bring closure to the lesson.
4. Evaluate and Process: You assess and evaluate the quality and
quantity of student achievement, ensure students carefully process the
effectiveness of their learning groups, have students make a plan for
improvement, and have students celebrate the hard work of group members.
3 strategies
with application for small-group instruction including cooperative learning.
Providing
an opportunity for students to apply what they learn in the classroom to
real-life experiences has proven to be an effective way of both disseminating
and integrating knowledge. The case method is an instructional strategy that
engages students in active discussion about issues and problems inherent in
practical application. It can highlight fundamental dilemmas or critical issues
and provide a format for role playing ambiguous or controversial scenarios.
Think-Pair –share
Think
–Pair –share helps students reflect and learn the content. For example in a Spanish classroom:
Using a
simple conversation, the teacher will introduce greetings.
Students
will work as a group to learn the pronunciation of greetings
In
partners, students will practice introducing themselves
In pairs,
students will take turns reading simple sentences to one another. The student listening to the greetings
will complete a chart checking off if the sentences were greetings or leaving.
Students will work in collective pairs to practice classroom directions in
Spanish.
Numbered
Heads Together
Numbered Heads Together is a cooperative
learning strategy that holds each student accountable for learning the material
by having students work together in a group. This is an excellent strategy for
teaching accountability in the classroom.
For example:
Number off the students
in each group, up to four. If one group is smaller than the others have no. 3
answer for no. 4 as well. The teacher can give numbers or students can give
numbers themselves.
Teacher asks the students a question or sets a
problem to solve. It must be stressed that everyone in the group must be able
to participate and answer the question.
Ensure enough
‘wait time is given for the group to do the task.
It can be used to look
into more details the Think –Pair-share example.
Send a Problem
3 strategies with application for teacher-directed
instruction
Example:
Title: Peter Pan
Grade Level:
8 grade Spanish
Time required:
45 minutes lessons
State
standards and Performance Indicators-Grade 8 spanish and subject level specific
NY1 standards: Listening and speaking are the primarily
communicative goals in modern language.
2 standards: reading and writing as communicative goals in
language other than English (Spanish)
Performer indicators: Understand the main idea, initiate and
sustain conversation, select vocabulary, express details and nuances and write
short notes. Students will express
opinions. Students will have a cultural understanding throughout the exploration
of Peter Pan.
Purpose
For teaching the lesson: It is
to help students to improve their ability to communicate in and understand
spoken and written Spanish.
Objectives:
Students expanded their knowledge of Spanish vocabulary.
Students will learn how to recognize adjective.
Materials
for student use:
Ÿ
Handouts
Ÿ
Pens\pencils
Material for Teacher
use:
Handouts
Instructional
Strategies:
Opening:
I ask the students if they had any questions about the
previous chapters that they read in the last lesson. Asked some questions to the students:
1. Who can
tell me the story?
2.
Who are pirates?
3.
Do pirates really exist?
Body:
Step
one:
Introduce the students to new vocabulary:
Plank: Long, rectangular piece of wood
Cheer: shout happily
Proud: pleased and satisfied
We read chapter 6 together. And I ask students to focus in
the following questions:
1. Do you
think that Captain Hook is afraid of the crocodile?
2.
Does Captain Hook falls into the sea
and into the mouth of the crocodile?
3.
Who is Smee?
Step
Two:
Students will read the chapter silently and answer the
questions in step one.
Step
Three:
Give the definition of adjectives and how they work. Adjectives are words that describe or
modify another person or thing in the sentence
Step
four:
Break the class into groups.
Step
five:
Students will do a quiz in adjectives. (Students will have participation points).
Created and maintained by Ana Cabo
My e-mail: acabott@hotmail.com
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© 2009 Ana Cabo
05/19/2009