Confused about differentiating instruction...?

Question

So, I'm working on completing my GT license and my brain is on information overload with everything that I've learned. But, after learning all of these things, I'm still extremely confused. Say I give a pre-assessment to my students and a handfull of them demonstrate mastery of the material. I, obviously, then don't necessarily want them to sit through instruction of material that they already know. So, I'm really confused about what I have them do. Do I just say "okay, the next thing you have to learn is...." and send the student on his way? That doesn't sound right to me. Do I find challenging activities related to the topic at hand and have the student work on those instead ? (but then the questions is, if the student has already mastered the material, then why are they still working on the same stuff??). Do I have several "classes" within the class with all students learning different things? If so, how do I monitor that so all students are learning? It's too confusing. HELP!

Answer 1

The different options should come up during your courses in GT.  You will learn about curriculum compacting, acceleration, differentiation, extension and project learning.  Sounds like a good question for your professor as the space it would take to explain would be enormous.

Answer 2

letting them work on more advanced material that covers the same topic is one option.  i would create a center that contains the materials necessary, but allows for independant work.  if you give them something entirely new, and they have questions, you are not going to be able to assist the students that are still working on the first skill.  computer lessons related to the skill are a possibility, too.  you could also do extensions.  if you are working on a skill, and a group has mastered it, you could have them do a writing activity that deals with it.  again that allows for independance, and you can focus on working with the kids that haven't mastered the skill.

Answer 3

Ok...first of all differentiating instruction is very important and highly effective BUT...you can NOT differentiate every lesson in every subject all day every day!! You will burn out before Halloween!!!  That said...you can pull more advanced material for your advanced learners.  I like to give them a learning contract.  It states that they will be responsible for the same material as the other students, but it also lists something else (they have chosen) in that same topic that they are responsible for learning about.  For ex.  If you are teaching about space and a student scores perfectly on a preassessment...they are still responsible for some of the work but the stuff I'm going to give the class that is lower level then I allow them to work on their special project.  It might be a computer presentation on their favorite planet or a model of the solar system or a a written report on haley's comet.  I would let their learning style and interest dictate specifics.

Answer 4

As a student teacher in the UK we are taught to differentiate in all lessons taught in our planning.  Try to find out what the class have already done and use this as a starting point or give the class an elicitation task to discover their knowledge.

When you know the ability of the class you know what level the children are working at and will be able to adapt work accordingly.  Group children of similar ability, this will allow you to keep a track of learning taking place.  Always plan an extension activity.

Answer 5

You have to have layers in your classroom. You did not say which subject you are teaching - I can give a few examples from my classroom.

I teach math - Say I have five students that show they understand integers. The rest of the class either needs support or needs intervention. (this is common to grade 7)

The thing is - im not limiting my classroom to simply the algorithms of integer manipulation. There are more things im interested in working on at the same time. I want the kids to be able to explain real-world examples of math problems, I want them to solve larger problems, I want them to understand how to show their thinking in multiple ways, I want them to be able to write about math coherently. (I could add dozens of other things to this list)

So question - are there any seventh graders who could on a simple test show me all these things? It takes time and work output to show mastery - this then goes to their portfolios. The time allows me to support the struggling students also.

no student should ever be *done* in my classroom. If they have met all the current benchmarks - yes they need to know these - then they can refine and reflect on their portfolios.

The student work expected from a child is set up in layers. there are simple calculations and practice - which may include problem practice and homework. I set up weekly and monthly word problem sets - designed to reinforce the math we are working on - they are to answer these in the fourfold format - (a UCLA setup - visually, algebraically, numerically, and verbally) I usually have multiple other mini-assignments each week.

For most other subjects - adding writing is a key skill - we all need to teach writing.

So - any student who shows mastery of one small facet of the standards can now have more time to show mastery of other related standards.

good luck to you!

Answer 6

Don't try to differentiate all lessons. Supplement lessons for students who finish early (i.e. really do get it). I try to have fun activities that students can do to extend the lessons. Of course, this depends on time allowed and available resources.

Answer 7

First of all, this is a lot easier than people tend to think if you are willing to put in the organization time. First all all, you have a general lesson that is taught on grade level. This lesson is taught to the entire class. When it is time for testing, the testing is also done on grade level. What you will find is that you will have some students (advanced) that should be getting 100% on everything that is tested. You will have some that will get about an 80% or above (grade-level) and then you will have some that score below the 80% (below level). Everyday, after the general lesson is taught, I have group time. I design a lesson based on what each group needs to present each day at group time. For example, if we are working on counting money, my advanced group may be ready to make change, so I do an activity with them on making change. My on level group may need more practice with counting money, and my below group may still have trouble recognizing the coins. Keep in mind that the goup lessons may have nothing o do with with the general lesson because the general lesson will have moved on while groups tends to come behind. On my weekly teast, I may add a page that is just for the groups for assessment, or I may do assessment totally within the group time. If you need more help please do not hesitate to email me [e-mail].

Answer 8

In the real world the students that know everything will sit and learn it all over again, because what teacher with a life has the time to differentiate lessons everyday.

I took a class on differentiating instruction and what this instructor is big on is working in groups.  You assign each group an assignment on the same topic but there are ways to make the problems harder, especially in math.  So the students that know everything will get the more challenging problems.  At the end of the lesson the students have to explain to the class on a transparency what they did.  So they all learn and review the same thing but the students that need a challenge have one and the ones that need more review get it.  My problem with this is I have a lot of weak students that would sit in the group and do nothing.