A Pathway to Differentiation:

Sean M. HildebrandtSecondary High Potential Specialist

Email: shildebr@shakopee.k12.mn.usPhone: (952) 496 - 5768

Sean M. HildebrandtSecondary High Potential Specialist

Email: shildebr@shakopee.k12.mn.usPhone: (952) 496 - 5768

Differentiation is a teacher’s response to learner needs shaped by mindset and guided by general principles. Teachers can differentiate through content, process, or product according to students’ readiness, interest, or learning profile.

- Carol Ann Tomlinson (1999)

Definition: a differentiation strategy used with students who have already mastered the skills or content to be taught

Two avenues can be taken to compact curriculum:

•Acceleration•Enrichment

An valid pre-assessment has been designed and administered to class

Students have mastered 80% of the content before the unit has even begun!

Student and parents and/or guardian agree

Research suggests that project based learning is more effective than traditional instruction:be more effective than traditional instruction for preparing students to integrate and explain concepts. (Capon & Kuhn, 2004)in increasing academic achievement on annual state-administered assessment tests (Geier et. al., 2008) long-term retention, skill development and satisfaction of students and teachers (Strobel & van Barneveld, 2008)

Revisit Student Learner Profiles. They can help you build appropriate and engaging enrichment projects.

Each individual has a unique Learner Profile consisting of:

Personal Interests Individual Aptitudes Multiple Intelligences Learning Styles

Select one or two literacy and content standards to address

Consider whether this project will serve as the summative assessment or prepare student for the summative assessment.

Bloom’s Hierarch were updated in the mid 90’s to better incorporate 21st Century thinking skills:

Projects can be designed to intentionally address specific levels of thinking.

Visual (29%): embrace pictures, videos, graphics, diagrams, charts, models Auditory (34%) embrace lectures, recordings, storytelling, music, verbalization, questioning Kinesthetic (37%) embrace acting, role-play, clay modeling

Run Bloom’s Levels across the top and Learning styles down.

Define Expectations

Learning Conditions

Working Conditions

Evaluation Methods

Timeline

Geier, R., Blumenfeld, P.C., Marx, R.W., Krajcik, J.S., Fishman, B., Soloway, E., & Clay-Chambers, J. (2008). Standardized test outcomes for students engaged in inquiry-based science curricula in the context of urban reform. Journal of Research in Science Teaching, 45(8), 922-939

Strobel, J. & van Barneveld, A. (2008) "When is PBL More Effective? A Meta-synthesis of Meta-analyses Comparing PBL to Conventional Classrooms," Interdisciplinary Journal of Problem-based Learning, 3(1), 44-58. Retrieved from http://docs.lib.purdue.edu/ijpbl/vol3/iss1/4.

Capon, N, & Kuhn, D. (2004). What’s so good about problem-based learning? Cognition and Instruction, 22, 61-79.

Miller, P. (2001). Learning styles: The multimedia of the mind. ED 451340.