Differentiating Instruction

1. Fariza Adliby, Rebecca Harvey, Dana Vasconcelos
MTE 533
January 27, 2014
Elizabeth Hastings

2. Learning Stations
 Learning centers are independent centers of the classroom in which students
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engage in self-directed learning activities
Promote independence
Help students become more responsible
Allows students to learn through self-discovery
Provides teachers with time to target detailed academic skills, adjust and
develop curriculum for individual students

3. Learning Stations
 Learning stations can be used for both math and science.
 Learning stations can make science lessons more hands on.
 A station for each part of the life span of a butterfly.
 Can be developed around a math lesson, move to the next station once
the first is complete.
 Stations developed around individual lessons. Multiplication, Money,
Place Value, Measurement.
 Organized independent study.
 Easy for diverse learners to get peer help.

4. Flexible Grouping
 Allows teachers to personalize learning activities according to students'
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needs
Grouping can consist of whole group, small group, or individual, or a
combination
Gives teacher time to provide additional instruction or extended learning
experiences to particular students or groups("Differentiating Instruction: Current Trends ", 2014).
helps students learn new skills both academically and socially by exposing
them to different people with different abilities
Helps students feel more involved, engaged, and confident because lessons
are personalized to their learning needs and preferences("Differentiatinginstructionintheclassroom
", n.d.).
 Grouping can be instructive or by ability
 Student led and Teacher led grouping

5. Flexible Grouping
 works good for diverse learners in both math and science classrooms
 Students are not singled out
 Think, Pair, Share- after class instruction, students individually think
of methods to solve the problem, then pair off to share their ideas and
strategies
 Whole-Class Instruction- used to introduce new lessons and
approaches to the entire class
 Circle Sharing- students sit in a large circle to answer with their own
deduction to an open-ended question

6. Team Teaching
 Team teaching is when two or more instructors work together to share
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an equal instructional task/lesson.
Teachers can work together through assessments and discussion to help
determine individual student learning levels and learning styles.
the main purpose is to assist in making sure students understand all
areas of math and science.
can increase student learning.
students can have the ease of asking for help from either teacher

7. Team Teaching
 Can be used for diverse learners in both math and science classrooms
 help to determine the students’ level of understanding and benefits in
instruction
 determine what the student needs to master in order to understand and prosper
in science and mathematics.
 Teacher always on hand during a lesson as well as after a lesson
 Teachers may have different key words or phrases that can help in different
ways

8. Cooperative Learning
 Teams, each with students of varying levels of ability, and diversity use different
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learning activities to increase their understanding of a subject.
Team members are responsible for learning what is taught and for helping teammates
learn.
Activities are carefully structured in a way that students are held accountable for their
contribution, and participation (Parveen,2012).
Students are also provided motivations to work as team in teaching others and learning
from others (Parveen,2012).
Improve and practice critical thinking skills and teamwork;
Encourage positive relations among diverse groups;
Implement peer coaching
Form environments where educational accomplishments are valued

9. Cooperative Learning
 Great for diverse learners in science and math classes
 Science classes use cooperative learning to do large projects such as a shoe
box habitat.
 Group Investigations are structured to stress higher-order thinking skills like
analysis and evaluation.
 can be an effective way to engage reluctant learners, accommodate students
that may have a learning disability and help advanced learners build
communication and cooperation skills
 Group problem solving is a way to implement cooperative learning within a
math class

10. Cooperative learning in Mathematics
and science classroom
 Cooperative learning is especially applicable to children learning mathematics
because of children’s natural power to reason mathematically and their curiosity
about numbers and size.
 Several studies have concluded that relational practices are important for teaching
mathematics.
 The opportunity for students to discuss, debate, and present their own and hear one
another's perspectives is the decisive element in cooperative learning.
 cooperative learning strategies do not have a significant effect on
mathematics achievement as compared to the use of more traditional methods (Gilbert,
2008).
 Cooperative learning strategies have a positive effect on students’ academic
performance in science when compared to traditional methods Parveen,2012).

11. Instructional issues with using the identified trends for diverse learners
 Peer Tutoring and Cooperative Learning-While many cooperative learning training exist,
one study found that most teachers who use these methods have been self-taught (Sparapani,
Abel, Easton, Edwards, & Herbster, 1997). This resulted in very few activities that involved
higher-level thinking skills and most of the observations were of drill and review or routine
activities. Positive interactions do not always occur naturally and social skills instruction
must come first and be together with provided cooperative learning strategies. Although peer
tutoring and cooperative learning have numerous benefits for diverse learners, not all
students that are capable of peer tutoring are willing to participate or have the patience to
tutor.
 Flexible Grouping- Flexible instructional grouping is intended to provide a better
instructional match between students and their individual needs. However, if not match
properly it can cause critical issues to classroom behavior management and can take away
from the classroom's sense of community. Flexible grouping can be a key to differentiated
instruction when working with diverse learners when activities are personalized according to
students' needs and although flexible grouping may be time consuming, the outcome can be
far greater.

12. Instructional issues with using the identified trends for diverse learners
 Learning Centers/Stations- When creating math centers it can be very difficult
to make sure that all students understand the concept and the task at each
station/learning center, until the teacher circulates the room. Stations may need
to be changed frequently as well as grouping. Some students are able to
understand the concepts quicker than others. Developing Modified centers for
diverse learners can be helpful when planning Centers.
 Team Teaching-Team Teaching can be difficult for diverse learners when the co-
teachers have different views on learning and teaching. Teachers need to look at
team teaching as a chance to widen their practice by incorporating multiple
styles to reach all learners.

13. A lesson plan outline that implements Cooperative Learning
 Topic: Science “Parts of a Flower”
 Lesson Objectives:
1. Students will be able to activate prior knowledge of flowering plants from previous lessons by oral and in
written form, express their understanding of the parts of a flowering plant “lily” with the use of a K.W.L
chart. “I know, I want to know, what I learned”.
 2. Students will be able to illustrate their knowledge and understanding by filling out “Parts of a Flower”
task, labeling the parts of the flower.
 Learner Factors: This lesson will accommodate the different developmental levels of the learners by using various
methods when presenting material to the students. The students will be provided with multiple levels of questioning
and discussion in small group settings. The students will also be given the opportunity to apply their prior
knowledge while completing a K.W.L chart in a whole group discussion.
 Environmental Factors: Cooperative learning will be used during the lesson. The students will share ideas and work
together in small groups then return as a whole to complete the K.W.L chart .
Instructional Sequence:
 Teacher will lead a discussion with students
 Teacher will record response on the K.W.L chart
 Teacher will read-aloud the students responses
 Students then will be ask to break up into their pre-assigned groups to read information from the provided text and
record their groups important details , and complete “parts of a flower” task.
 For a closure the teacher will have student return to a whole group discussion to complete the K.W.L chart ”what
have we learned”
Assessment: Students will be assessed by observation during the lesson and on completion of the K.W.L chart, “Parts of
a flower” task and responses in their science notebook during group work.
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14. References
 DifferentiatingInstructionInTheClassroom . (n.d.). Retrieved from
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http://differentiatinginstructionintheclassroom.wikispaces.com/Differentiating+Instruction+Tre
nds
Differentiating Instruction: Current Trends . (2014). Retrieved from
http://teamccurrenttrends.wikispaces.com/Flexible+Grouping
Cooperative Learning Structures Can Increase Student Achievement: Jeanie M. Dotson
Culminating Project (Kagan Online Magazine, Winter 2001), http://www.kaganonline.com
Parveen, Q. (2012). Effect of cooperative learning on achievement of students in general
science at secondary level. International Education Studies, 5(2), 154-158. Retrieved from
http://search.proquest.com/docview/1009899672?accountid=35812
Gilbert, C. D. (2008). The effects of cooperative learning and teaming on student achievement
in elementary mathematics. (Order No. 3302009, TUI University). ProQuest Dissertations and
Theses, , 224. Retrieved from
http://search.proquest.com/docview/304368412?accountid=35812. (304368412).