Differentiated InstructionWhat does differentiated instruction look like? Find out how to use an effective differentiation strategy to help match kids learning styles. Teachers regularly utilize a differentiated strategy or two to effectively teach students with intellectual giftedness. Formal or informal assessment tools should be used regularly throughout units of study to drive differentiated instruction.
You may also find that many of the same tools that are good for gifted students are good for all learners, particularly English language learners. What is differentiated instruction?It is responsive teaching. It is not one-size-fits-all teaching. It is proactively planning for success for all students. A differentiated lesson is when a teacher targets the Zone of Proximal Development with a differentiation strategy. When a teacher adapts reading comprehension activities to meet the gifted student's needs, offering a choice to struggling students, and designing lessons to support English language learners, this is differentiated instruction. What Do Differentiated Instructional Strategies Look Like?
Differentiated instruction in the classroom allows children to work on skills that are appropriate to their level of readiness and extend their learning. Students who display high intellectual levels of giftedness and those who are high achievers will benefit from differentiating the instruction. When assignments are tiered, that means they are designed to provide different levels of complexity. Assignments can range from the knowledge aspect of Blooms Taxonomy all the way up to synthesis and evaluation. For example, at the comprehension level a student might illustrate the main idea, but at the evaluative level a student would conduct a debate with another over the possible solutions presented to the problem in the story. Allow students to choose their own sub-topic within a framework the teacher provides. A center is usually geared towards primary students, while an interest group is generally for intermediate. An example would be in math a center could focus on multiplication and showing it through designing arrays with tiles, drawing pictures, and creating word problems with objects. A group would have activities that could research how multiplication applies to statistics, art or engineering. This is an excellent application of brain research and learning. This is when a teacher adjusts the amount of instruction a student receives based on assessments of prior knowledge. After assessing the student's needs, a plan is created for what needs to be studied and mastered, as well as enrichment plans for accelerated study. I apply this on a regular basis in my own room through pre-assessing every math chapter. Students who show they do not need my instruction for most of the chapter (if any!) are then given an individual compact that states explicitly what they need to work on, what lessons I expect them to join the class with, and what activities will replace the regular classroom criteria. A choice board is an organizing tool that can be as simple as a tic-tac-toe board. It has a variety of activities on it that are geared towards different levels of Blooms Taxonomy. Students are to choose a set number of activities to complete. These activities are skills they need to work on or can be to develop a product. For example, if you are studying a science unit on Rocks and Minerals, there would be an inquiry activity such as sorting a variety of unknown materials by specific qualities, designing a new mineral to fit specific criteria, researching the history of Fool's Gold, or watching a video of how diamonds are mined and explaining the steps in the process. Just adjust your instructional techniques based on assessments while keeping in mind individual learning styles, and you will be using differentiation in the classroom.
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that understanding the neuroscience behind how the brain works is the key to differentiation. The great thing about this book is that it provides practical ways for teachers to implement brain research and education best practices.
