1) The document discusses differentiation and how technology can aid in the process. It defines differentiation as tailoring instruction to meet individual student needs through content, process, products, or learning environment.
2) Several impacts of technology on learning are described, including that technology is most effective when integrated with curriculum content, provides opportunities for collaboration and feedback, and is used regularly in the classroom.
3) Teachers can differentiate instruction by content, process, product, and learning environment based on student readiness, interest, and learning profile. A variety of strategies are provided for each area of differentiation with examples of how technology could support these approaches.
3. What is differentiation?
―Differentiation means tailoring
instruction to meet individual
needs. Whether teachers
differentiate
content, process, products or the
learning environment, the use of
ongoing assessment and flexible
grouping makes thus a successful
approach to instruction‖
Carol Ann Tomlinson
5. Impacts of technology on
learning #1
―Technology improves student performance
when the application directly supports the
curriculum objectives being assessed.”
In other words, technology is most effective when
integrated with curriculum content.
6. Impacts of technology on
learning #2
―Technology improves performance when the
application provides opportunities for student
collaboration.”
Studies show that paired and collaborative
learning in conjunction with technology enhances
student performance.
7. Impacts of technology on
learning #3
―Technology improves performance when the
application adjusts for student ability and
prior experience, and provides feedback to the
student and teacher about student
performance or progress with the
application.”
This finding supports the differentiated instruction
practices of coaching and mentoring as well as
sharing responsibility for learning.
8. Impacts of technology on
learning #4
“Technology improves performance when the
application is integrated into the typical
instructional day.”
This finding supports classroom
and content learning with technology as opposed
to lab learning with technology.
9. Impacts of technology on
learning #5
“Technology improves performance when the
application provides opportunities for
students to design and implement projects
that extend the curriculum content being
assessed by a particular standardised test.”
Student-created products, multimedia, and video
streaming are examples of how technology can
extend curriculum content.
10. Impacts of technology on
learning #6
“Technology improves performance when used in
environments where teachers, the school
community, and school and district administrators
support the use of technology.”
In addition to performance improvements tied to
administrative support for technology, findings show
that integration of technology with
instruction, professional development for
teachers, and computer use at home and school with
differentiated products and student entry points
combine to improve performance.
14. By
Content
Different levels of reading or resource
materials, reading buddies, small group
instruction, curriculum compacting, multi-
level computer programs and Web
Quests, tape- recorded materials, etc.
By
Process
Activity choice boards, tiered activities,
multi-level learning center tasks, similar
readiness groups, choice in group work,
varied journal prompts, mixed readiness
groups with targeted roles for students, etc
By
Product
Tiered products, students choose mode of
presentation to demonstrate learning,
independent study, varied rubrics,
mentorships, interest-based investigations
Teacherdependentwaysto
differentiate:
15. By
Interest
Options in content, topic, or theme,
options in the tools needed for production,
options in methods for engagement
By
Profile
Consideration of gender, culture, learning
styles, strengths, and weaknesses
By
Readines
s
Identification of background
knowledge/gaps in learning, options in
amount of direct instruction, options in
amount of practice, options in pace of
instruction, options in complexity activities,
options in level of analysis/exploration of a
topic
Studentdependentwaysto
differentiate:
16. Differentiating by CONTENT:
Differentiating by content can happen in a variety
of ways, but the two primary means include:
1) Using different content to teach the same
subject to students with different needs, and
2) Enhancing or augmenting existing content to
make it accessible to all students.
27. And don’t forget…
Online course platforms like ClassE (Blackboard)
provide a structure for content, allowing teachers
to organise material in such a way to make them
easily accessible to students.
28. Differentiating by PROCESS
The process of how the material in a lesson is learned
may be differentiated for students based on their
learning styles, interest and readiness. This stage of
differentiation allows students to learn based either on
what method is easiest for them to acquire
knowledge, or what may challenge them most: some
students may prefer to read about a topic (or may
require practice in reading), and others may prefer to
listen (or require practice in listening), or acquire
knowledge by manipulating objects associated with
the content.
29. Process =
1) Flexible Grouping
2) How information is Processed and Recorded
3) Manipulating Information
4) Extending learning time – without extending
your work day!
40. And don’t forget…
One of the easiest differentiation tools for a reading passage is
a software program that most teachers have readily at hand —
Microsoft Word.
Smaller reading passages, copied and pasted into Microsoft
Word, can be easily enhanced to aid comprehension using
standard formatting features within the program.
Using the highlighting feature can help students focus on
particular aspects of a text like parts of speech, literary
devices, or key elements of a paragraph or research paper.
Teachers can also use the comment feature to provide
scaffolding or context for a student who needs help with a
reading passage.
Comments allow a user to insert a call-out box elaborating on a
difficult vocabulary word, idiomatic expression, or complicated
idea.
41. Differentiating by PRODUCT:
Student deomnstrations of learning refect who they
are as individuals, who they are as creators and who
they are as learners.
Differentiating by product means offering options for
how students will express their understanding of the
learning goals and objectives.
Allowing students to ‗choose‘ empowers them and
increases their motivation and engagement.
53. There is a lot to consider…
O Learning styles, skill levels and rates
O Learning difficulties
O Language proficiency
O Background experiences and knowledge
O Interests
O Motivation
O Social and emotional development
O Various intelligences
Content can be described as the knowledge, skills and attitudes we want children to learn. Differentiating content requires that students are pre-tested so the teacher can identify the students who do not require direct instruction. Students demonstrating understanding of the concept can skip the instruction step and proceed to apply the concepts to the task of solving a problem. This strategy is often referred to as compacting the curriculum. Another way to differentiate content is simply to permit the apt student to accelerate their rate of progress. They can work ahead independently on some projects, i.e. they cover the content faster than their peers.
Differentiating the processes means varying learning activities or strategies to provide appropriate methods for students to explore the concepts. It is important to give students alternative paths to manipulate the ideas embedded within the concept. For example students may use graphic organizers, maps, diagrams or charts to display their comprehension of concepts covered. Varying the complexity of the graphic organizer can very effectively facilitate differing levels of cognitive processing for students of differing ability.
Differentiating the product means varying the complexity of the product (http://www.rogertaylor.com/reference/Product-Grid.pdf) that students create to demonstrate mastery of the concepts. Students working below grade level may have reduced performance expectations, while students above grade level may be asked to produce work that requires more complex or more advanced thinking. There are many sources of alternative product ideas available to teachers. However sometimes it is motivating for students to be offered choice of product.