Using Multiple Modes of Instruction to Differentiate Based on Student Needs
Levels of implementation for indicator 1.3 from Blended Observation Rubruc
Guided Practice and Teacher Station - Becky Schueth
Differentiation has been the greatest improvement I have seen in my BlendEd Geometry classroom. I am moving towards the fully integrated differentiation in my classroom which has been a personal goal since beginning teaching. BledEd has given myself the tools necessary to achieve the differentiation needed for students.
The students may be working on different guided practice activities or at the teacher station, but they are selecting what will help them to best understand the new concept. I love the ability to let students choose an online piece, an activity or paper practice problems; the students know whichever path they choose, they will have the correct answers and be certain that they understand the skill before moving on with the homework assignment.
At first, students just merely wanted the homework assignment to get it finished and move on to the next thing. I have helped them see the benefit in practicing and I intentionally make their homework assignments much shorter to reward them for practicing the material and becoming more confident in their skills.
The teacher station has been an excellent addition as well. I can work directly with a small group of students at their level. I try to touch base with every single student everyday to help ensure they are understanding the content. I have included challenge activities to many of my lessons to help challenge the students who understand the content very quickly. I have always wanted to differentiate more in my math classroom and BlendEd has provided the scaffolding to help me see how I can manage the classroom and be effective and deliberate in helping all students at their level.
I am attaching a sample of my guided practice stations for students to choose with a discussion prompt to get them thinking about the concept in a real-world application. I love the combo of online and hands on learning that occurs when the students are given choice in geometry.
Snapshot of a Teacher video with application problems
Station work
Using iXL in station rotation
LMS design with options in a module
Independent Split - Marshall Payer
One of the models I like to use is what I call the "independent split" method. In the method, students start the class period by taking a short formative quiz over the previous lesson's content. After the quiz is when the differentiation begins. Attached here (Links to an external site.) is a link to the quiz for one day in the Algebra class.
The first group to independently split off and begin the next lesson's content is the group that demonstrated that they understood the previous concepts in the quiz. By showing they understood the topic, they differentiate themselves from their classmates and are able to work independently on the topic for the day. Attached here (Links to an external site.) is a link to the place where students went to find their work for the next topic, which was located on the students' LMS.
Usually, about half of the class is left, which turns into a discussion about the common mistakes shown in the quiz. After a few minutes and the discussion comes to an end, I ask some students who looked like they had a particularly tough time getting the correct answers on the quiz to work through some problems with me in a small group. The rest of the students are then able to move onto their independent work.
This differentiation allows the students who understood the concept to move at their own pace ahead of the rest of the class. The students who had small issues were given a chance to reinforce their understanding through a discussion. Finally, those students who struggled greatly were not only part of the discussion to reinforce the concept, but also get time to work through those issues in a more one-on-one way with the teacher. Attached here (Links to an external site.) are different problems that were gone over for the previous lesson to the independent split guide above.
Using Assessment and Student Choice - Lauren Rabourn
Differentiation is absolutely created when it is necessary. I don't know that it is always observable to someone that isn't aware of what is going on in my classroom or to someone that may have never been in there before. I think that if you spent some time looking through the units/modules that have been created and talking with students about their learning experiences, you would definitely see differentiation being integrated. Much of the differentiation happens throughout a unit. Assessments do play a role, but many of the learning experiences are created and then what comes out of those or what comes next is tailored for the student and/or group. My instructional modalities do change as I see a need for a more teacher-centered experience for any single student, group of students, or whole class. Otherwise, students are provided with new information in a variety of ways, and they are given a lot of different ways to practice using those new skills before being given an assessment. Oftentimes, students are provided a couple of options for how they want to demonstrate their mastery of specific skills - sometimes I give them their choices and other times they get to just choose.
I do have one class period again, which I am sure I have mentioned before, where one particular student's needs are WAY different than the other 9 students in the classroom. This particular student is definitely not on the same path as far as what background in ELA he had before coming to me and what he plans to do in the future. After much one-on-one time and getting the student equipped with as many tools to be successful in the classroom as possible the year prior, I made the decision to give this particular student his own learning path. He has still been present in my classroom and working on the same basic skills - composition and literature - but he is not writing the same types of essays, he is not demonstrating his learning in the same ways, he reads some different materials, and his vocabulary lessons are quite different. This was made much easier for me by creating 2 separate courses in Canvas and a separate grade book so I didn't have to create and assign all tasks/activities/etc. to just one student while leaving out the others. This is just one very clear example of what differentiation looks like in my classroom.
This is an image from my "12th English - Composition" class where one student sat in the same classroom with 9 others working through his own units. This student worked on making a resume, which was something that he would actually use real life when it comes to writing. This is a partial list of some of the activities he worked through...
It was easier to do this with a small group of students as no one else even realized that he wasn't doing any of the same things and I could easily work with him individually - the same as all others in the class that were working on something else.
Resume assignment in an LMS
And here is an image of the tasks that students in my "English 12 - Composition" completed for an alternative research project. Again, 9 students in the classroom were working through this unit/module while the other 1 worked on an entirely different one.
Alternative Research Project in LMS
Here is another way I have differentiated in my classroom with a novel unit using MAP data; I grouped students based on that data and had them work their way through a novel unit. The images show the groups split up and assigned a folder with a specific color. Within the folder is a calendar with the start date and end date of the unit. Each group was expected to fill in the rest of the calendar with the learning activities that they planned to complete each day (I expected at least a week's worth of planning at a time, which could be adjusted as needed). Students were also expected to rate their use of time and effort as well as rating their group members - there had to be a higher level of accountability. My lower level group spent a lot more time with me, the mid-level groups (2 of them) actually gravitated toward each other and helped each other much of the time, and the upper level group checked in with me most days and then went to work in the library. I kept a GoogleDoc up with the upper level group and based their work on what was submitted each day. I would add extra discussion questions, push them to further explain themselves when answering questions (right or wrong), etc. Feedback at the end? All groups liked what they were doing and how it turned out.
Book Club
This is an image of the calendars that each of the groups made to help keep up with progress moving through the unit as well as a way for me to see what each group planned to complete each day and what they actually completed.
Book Club Calendar
This is a picture of the group work directions and daily rubric that went along with the novel unit. They were hanging in the classroom during the entire unit right by the group folders and group accountability slips.
Directions and Rubric
Using an LMS to Differentiate in Language Arts - Jen Kastanek
I love how our LMS allows for differentiation. I almost always add an audio file for every story or novel I am teaching. Students have the option of listening to things on audio rather than reading. Of course, I encourage them to follow along, but by giving them a variety of ways to receive the information, the students really have no excuse not to learn or become familiar with the material. In addition to providing audio files, I also provide a powerpoint with background information if students need help understanding the depth of the material. Sometimes, depending on the resources I have available to me, I can link to YouTube videos with visual explanations or depictions or Sparknote summaries. One thing that I have found I also help struggling students in secondary is pictures to aid comprehension. I also include vocabulary. These are just tools for students to use if they need to. If they don't need them, they can simply keep scrolling by them in the LMS module.
Differentiation within Canvas