Differentiated Instructional Strategies - Ch. 3

Below are my notes from Chapter 3 of:

Differentiated Instructional Strategies - One Size Doesn't Fit All

by Gayle H. Gregory & Carolyn Chapman

http://goo.gl/pvYu6F

Chapter 3 - Knowing the Learner

The fact is that we all learn in different ways, process information differently, and have distinct preferences about where, when, and how we learn.

Learning Profiles

A learning profile is a compilation of data to identify and share the ways in which each student learns.

Sweet Spot

In the sports realm, the term "sweet spot" refers to the point or area on a bat, club, or racket at which it makes most effective contact with the ball or a place where a commination of factors result in a maximum response for a given amount of effort.

It is imperative that teachers find the "sweet spot" that will connect the learners with new learning.

To identify the sweet spot, teachers should:

• Create and use surveys or inventories
• Make observations and notes
• Cast a broad set of opportunities so students can find their niche
• Provide strategies so students can reflect on their choices

Seven Categories

Seven categories should be considered to capture student preferences:

1. Differences in learning

• How do students access, process, and express information?

2. Differences in sensory-based learning

• Is the student an auditory, visual, or tactile learning?

3. Differences in thinking

• Which style of thinking do your students have:
• Gregorc:
• Concrete Random Thinkers
• Concrete Sequential Thinkers
• Abstract Sequential Thinkers
• Abstract Random Thinkers
• McCarthy/4MAT
• Dynamic Learner
• Commonsense Learner
• Analytical Learner
• Imaginative Learner

4. Differences in multiple intelligences

• Verbal/Linguistic
• Logical/Mathematical
• Visual/Spatial
• Musical/Rhythmic
• Bodily/Kinesthetic
• Interpersonal
• Intrapersonal
• Naturalistic

5. Gender differences

• Provide opportunities for gender-alike groups
• Recognize that girls pay attention and can listen longer than boys
• Provide movement
• Connect more at a verbal, emotional level for girls
• Provide healthy competition

6. Cultural differences

• It is important that we recognize our students' culture and make an effort to understand their beliefs, values, attitudes, and norms.

7. Students' interests

• It is important to connect and relate to what students are learning in their world.

Other factors to consider:

• Noise level - Do students prefer noise or quiet?
• Design structure - What is the arrangement of the room?
• Motivation and persistence - Are students able to engage for long or short periods of time?
• Responsibility - Are they independent or do they need guidance?
• Structure - Do they prefer to have more flexibility or do they need more detail?
• Individual/Peer - Do they like to work worth others or do they prefer to leave alone?

Microsoft Office Sway

Below is my first attempt at creating a Microsoft Office Sway

Website: https://sway.com/

What is Sway?

Sway is a new way to show content. It is like a one page website that can be published and shared anywhere in the world.

Ways to Use Sway:

1. Presentations
2. Picture Books
3. Reports
4. Display Artwork
5. Book Reviews
6. Portfolios

My First Attempt: https://sway.com/1rTA7JjXeznQilud

Differentiated Instructional Strategies - Ch. 1 & 2

Below are my notes from Chapter 1 and Chapter 2 of:

Differentiated Instructional Strategies - One Size Doesn't Fit All
by Gayle H. Gregory & Carolyn Chapman
http://goo.gl/pvYu6F

Chapter 1 - One Size Doesn't Fit All

As with clothing, one size doesn't fit all, so in classrooms one way is not the only way.
The challenge is how to reach the individual needs of each students.
Students bring their interests, personal experiences, and attitudes to each learning moment of every day in a classroom.
How does a teacher reach the diverse needs in a classroom today?

For years, we have planned the same lesson and taught it to all - knowing that we were boring some and losing others because they were not ready for that learning.

The standards and the needs of students should determine instructional decisions. Programs, materials, and resources should not determine the curriculum and instruction.

The mindset of teachers who are differentiating:

1. All students have areas of strength.
2.  All students have areas that need to be strengthened.
3. Each student's brain is as unique as a fingerprint.
4. It is never to late to learn.
5. When beginning a new topic, students bring their prior knowledge base and experience to the learning.
6. Emotions, feelings, and attitudes affect learning.
7. All students can learn.
8. Students learn in different ways at different times.

The Differentiated Classroom

A differentiated classroom is one in which the teacher responds to the unique needs of students.

Teachers can effectively differentiate the following:

• Content
• Assessment Tools
• Performance Tasks
• Instructional Strategies

Why Differentiate?

Through differentiation, we give all our students the opportunity to learn to their full potential.

Planning for Differentiating Instruction

1. Establish what needs to be taught. Develop essential questions.
2. Identify the content.
3. Activate. Determine what students know and what they need to learn. Assess prior knowledge.
4. Acquire. Decide what new knowledge and skills student need to learn and how they will acquire them to the level of understanding.
5. Apply and Adjust. Give students the opportunity to practice and become actively engaged with the new learning.
6. Assess. Have students demonstrate their knowledge. 

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Chapter 2 - Creating a Climate for Learning

What Do Learners Need to Succeed?

For students to succeed, they need to believe that they can learn and that what they are learning is useful, relevant, and meaningful for them.

A teacher's mindset influences students' mindsets. Everything we say and do should give the message of possibility and influence the students' perception of their capabilities while fostering optimism and tenacity.

 

Classroom Culture and Learning Communities

Culture many not necessarily be conveyed only through words, but also through actions. Sometimes what we do screams so loudly that we can't hear what is being said.

Each learner must know that he or she is an important contributing member of the classroom.

Emotions and Learning

Students living in fear cannot learn.

Emotional intelligence is a person's ability to use his or her emotions intelligently.

Self-awareness is one's ability to sense and name a feeling when it happens.

Managing emotions is recognizing and labeling feelings and responding appropriately

Self-motivation is defined as competencies such as persistence, goal setting, and delaying gratification

Empathy is the ability to feel for another person.

Social skills are competencies that one used to "read" and manage emotional interactions.

Classroom Climate

In a differentiated classroom, students feel safe and secure enough to take risks and express their understanding or lack of understanding.

In a differentiated classroom, the emphasis is on knowledge base and experience rather than IQ or ability.

Learning includes weeding out what students know with effective pre-assessments and ongoing formative assessments.

Use pictures and music to enhance the classroom climate.

Celebrate learning.

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Reflections:

Brainstorm ways you meet the individual needs of students.

Take a personal inventory of your use of differentiated instruction.

What are some ways you can create a classroom atmosphere in which students feel safe and can take intellectual risks?

How can you create an inclusive atmosphere in which students feel safe and included?