Great Minds do NOT think Alike

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Great Minds do NOT think Alike

• A closer look at differentiating in your
  classroom!
• Presented by GT Department

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A Few Thoughts for Today

• The district is taking steps to increase the
  rigor in the middle school honors program.
• Teachers will be asked to incorporate the State
  Department Honors Framework as well as begin
  using various instructional strategies aimed at
  differentiating learning for the honors student.
• Today is all about giving you the foundation and
  the information you would need to begin
  implementing these changes.

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Vacation Time Which spot appeals to you?
Bergen, Norway
Phuket, Thailand
Rocky Mountains, Colorado
Paris, France
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• THE BIGGEST MISTAKEIN TEACHING HAS BEEN TO
  TREAT ALL CHILDREN AS IF THEY ARE VARIANTS OF THE
  SAME INDIVIDUAL AND THUS TO FEEL JUSTIFIED IN
  TEACHING THEM ALL THE SAME SUBJECTS IN THE SAME
  WAY.
• HOWARD GARDNER

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Summers over kids! Now, all you round pegs
get back into your square holes!
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• Objectives for today.
• I can define differentiation.
• I can use tiered assignments, choice
• boards, and project based learning to
• add rigor and depth to the curriculum
• for Honors students.
• I can label the types of differentiation
• and TEAM components within a given
• lesson plan.

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I can define differentiation.
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Test Your DI Knowledge.
Sorting Activity
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Differentiation is NOT.

• Doing only the harder problems
• Doing MORE of the same
• Grouping where all students complete the same
  activities
• Designed for students with the highest
  achievement/grades
• Teaching standards as separate, individual
  learning components
• Another way to provide homogeneous grouping
• Chaotic
• Expecting less of struggling learners
• A substitute for specialized services

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Differentiation IS

• Different styles and multiple approaches of
  content, process, product, environment and
  assessment
• Qualitative Provides rigor and relevance, as
  well as respectful tasks
• Blended instructional techniques (some whole
  group, small groups, and individual)
• Choice
• Maximizing learning for ALL students
• On-going assessment and using pre-assessments to
  group students
• Flexible grouping
• Student centered

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Sohow does differentiation work?
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Differentiation is NOT a replacement for high
quality curriculum, but is instead an extension
of it.Effective teachers focus on BOTH students
and content.
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Content, Process, and Product

• CONTENT
• Options for EXPLORING the information to varying
  degrees
• What in the world do you want them to understand?
  (at a deeper level)
• PROCESS
• Options for ACCESSING information
• How do you want them to organize their stuff?
• PRODUCT
• Options for EXPRESSING what they know
• How do you want them to prove to you they know
  their stuff?

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What do you need in order to differentiate?

• Accommodations for multiple learning styles and
  needs within regular units
• Safe classrooms in which students feel valued
• No fuzzy curriculum or busy work
• Multiple forms of assessment
• Flexible groupings
• Rigor something students do WITH effort there
  needs to be a certain amount of struggle for ALL
  students
• Strategies are ALIGNED with instructional
  objectives. This is how you separate creative
  thinking from fluff.

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What should come first?

• Have some students already achieved some of my
  learning goals? How and when might I
  differentiate the curriculum for these students
  so they remain challenged and engaged?
• Pre-Assessment is the key!
• Pre-assessments help you know who needs
  differentiation.
• Pre-assessments can be both formal and informal.
• Informal sweeps of your class, Ticket in/out
  the Door
• Formal tests, DE

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Multiple ways to skin a cat!
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Take A 15 Minute Break!
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HOW IS MY HONORS CLASS DIFFERENT THAN MY
FRIENDS NON-HONORS CLASS?
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THE DIFFERENCE IS NOT WHAT WE TEACH BUT HOW WE
TEACH.
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What is Rigor?

• Rigor is the goal of helping students develop
  the capacity to understand content that is
  complex, ambiguous, provocative, and personally
  or emotionally challenging.
• Strong, Silver, and Perini
• Teaching What Matters Most Standards and
  Strategies for Raising Student Achievement
• Rigor is high engagement, cognitive dissonance,
  probing questions, depth not coverage, student
  choice, reflection, flexible grouping,
  scaffolding, purposeful, critical thinking
  instruction..

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HONORS LEVEL EXPECTATIONS-TDOE (Tennessee Dept.
of Education)

• Substantially exceed the content standards,
  learning expectations and performance
  indicators.
• Teachers- model instructional approaches that
  facilitate maximum interchange of ideas among
  students independent study, self-directed
  research and learning, and appropriate use of
  technology.
• Multiple assessments (e.g. constructed-response
  prompts, performance-based tasks, and higher
  order responses)

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an honors course shall include a minimum of five
of the following components
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(i) Extended reading assignments that connect
with the specified curriculum.
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(ii) Research-based writing assignments that
address and extend the course curriculum.
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(iii) Projects that apply course curriculum to
relevant or real-world situations. These may
include oral presentations, power point, or other
modes of sharing findings. Connection of the
project to the community is encouraged.
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(iv) Open-ended investigations in which the
student selects the questions and designs the
research.
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(v) Writing assignments that demonstrate a
variety of modes, purposes, and styles. (a)
Examples of mode include narrative, descriptive,
persuasive, expository, and expressive. (b)
Examples of purpose include to inform, entertain,
and persuade. (c) Examples of style include
formal, informal, literary, analytical, and
technical.
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(vi) Integration of appropriate technology into
the course of study.
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(vii) Deeper exploration of the culture, values,
and history of the discipline.
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(viii) Extensive opportunities for problem
solving experiences through imagination, critical
analysis, and application.
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(ix) Job shadowing experiences with presentations
which connect class study to the world of work.
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Now Its your Turn

• Find 2 3 people from your grade level
• Using your content area curriculum and Honors
  Framework choose a standard or objective for
  which you would like to implement a component of
  the Honors Framework.
• Work with your group to create possible ways to
  implement the Honors Framework within the first 9
  weeks.

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Time for lunch!!
See you back here at 1230. Enjoy!
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How many times have you felt like this?
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Project-Based Learning
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I can use project-based learning to differentiate
the Honors curriculum.
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What Is Project-Based Learning?
Project-Based Learning is a dynamic approach to
teaching in which students participate in
projects and practice an interdisciplinary array
of skills from math, language arts, fine arts,
geography, science, and technology. With this
type of active and engaged learning, students are
inspired to obtain a deeper knowledge of the
subjects they're studying.
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Project-Based Learning

• Two Perspectives
• Teacher Facilitated student emphasis

• Students involved in complex, real-world projects
  through which they develop and apply skills and
  knowledge
• Significant learning taps into students' inherent
  drive to learn, ability to do important work,
  and the need to be taken seriously
• Curricular outcomes are identified up-front, but
  keep in mind that all
• outcomes may not be fully predetermined
• Experiences are provided through which students
  learn to manage and allocate resources such as
  time and materials
• Students are required to draw from many
  information sources and disciplines in order to
  complete their project

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Project-Based Learning
Two Perspectives 2. Teacher Guided
accountability is placed on the teacher  

• Pick the different skills and content you will
  teach
• Identify the essential knowledge you want all
  students to learn (key objectives)
• Craft a question that will focus the project and
  engage your students (essential question)
• Decide how students will demonstrate what they
  have learned (products/performances)
• Choose or create assessment tools to clarify
  expectations and evaluate student work (rubrics)

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Keys to Implementing Project-Based Learning

• Begin with the end in mind
• Focus on standards, but not too many
• Start small when youre new to the process
• Test-drive a final product BEFORE starting
• Hooks Even project-based learning needs a hook
• Topics should be relevant to student interest as
  well as academics

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Keys to Implementing Project-Based Learning

• Set clear guidelines and deadlines expectations
  should be clear
• Have an assessment plan rubrics, etc.
• End with a BANG!
• Allow student choice when possible
• Conference with students/groups at certain points
• This is not ADDED workit should be their
  classwork This is HOW you teach the curriculum

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Project-Based Learning Sample
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Project-Based Learning Samples
Reading Projects Number the Stars

• http//library.thinkquest.org/04apr/00065/

Project-Based Learning Lesson Plans

http//kidseducationalwebsites.blogspot.com/2011/0
1/project-based-learning-lesson-plans.html http//
wveis.k12.wv.us/teach21/public/project/MainMenu.cf
m?tsele14tsele20
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Differentiated StrategiesContract for Project
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Ok.Your Turn!

• Break into groups based upon geographic areas
• Use your content curriculum and Honors Framework
  to choose a topic
• Brainstorm ideas for Project-Based Learning that
  could be used for the first 9 weeks
• Write your ideas on your blank Project-Based
  Learning Planning Sheet

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Take A 15 Minute Break!
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Choice Boards
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I can use choice boards to differentiate the
Honors curriculum.
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What Are Choice Boards?

• Choice boards are organizers with a collection of
  curricular problems, questions, assignments,
  activities, or projects from which students are
  allowed to choose their tasks.
• Students may choose one or more of the activities
  and/or may be required to complete a teacher
  specified task in addition to choosing tasks to
  complete the assignment.
• Choice boards are only differentiated if they are
  designed with learning differences in mind.

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Keys To A Good Choice Board

• Identify outcomes and instructional focus of the
  topic/unit of study
• Use assessment data to determine student
  readiness, interest, or learning styles
• Design 9 different tasks using the Honors
  Framework (Blooms, etc. )
• Provide challenge without frustration
• Expectations are clear (due dates, work quality,
  behavior, etc.)
• Assessment in place rubrics, etc.

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Basic Structure for Choice Boards
Easier activity or something presented at the
beginning of unit
Easier activity or something presented at the
beginning of unit
More challenging
More challenging
More challenging
More challenging
Easier activity or something presented at the
beginning of unit
Easier activity or something presented at the
beginning of unit
More challenging
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Using Honors Framework
Extended Reading Research-Based Writing Project Applying Standards
Open-ended Investigations Technology History of Discipline
Problem Solving Writing in Content Connections to World of Work
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Framework Using Blooms Taxonomy
Knowledge Comprehension Application
Analysis Synthesis Evaluation
Comprehension or Evaluation Application or Evaluation Knowledge or Analysis
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Your Turn Again!

• Using your content curriculum and Honors
  Framework for the first 9 weeks, choose a
  standard or objective on which to base your
  choice board
• Brainstorm activities and assignments that can be
  integrated into your Honors Framework choice
  board
• Feel free to work with a partner, in a small
  group, or individually to get started on a choice
  board to be used in your class

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Its not an ADD on

• Its a BUILD on

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Lets ReviewWhy Differentiate?

• Places an emphasis on student responsibility
• Delivers content with varied instructional
  techniques
• Provides students with VOICE and CHOICE

• Provides valuable learning opportunities for ALL
  students
• Offers multiple approaches for content, process,
  product, environment, and assessment
• Meets standards in a meaningful way

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Scavenger Hunt!

• Now that weve talked about 3 ways to
  differentiate and have talked about how these
  correlate to the TEAM rubric, lets see if we can
  identify them.
• Your task will be to read through the lesson plan
  provided and to label the differentiation that
  you see. In addition, you will label the parts of
  the TEAM rubric that are evident.

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Lesson Development

• You started creating some things earlier today
  that could be used to help you get started with
  differentiation the first 9 weeks.
• Were going to give you a little time here at the
  end to finish getting some thoughts together on
  those.

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Ive mapped out the concepts Ive already grasped
to save you time.
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Bonus StrategyTiered Assignments
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I can also use tiered assignments to
differentiate the Honors curriculum.
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What Are Tiered Assignments?
When teachers used tiered assignments, they make
slight adjustments within the same lesson to meet
the needs of their students. All students learn
the same skills and concepts but through varying
modes and activities. The tiers appropriately
challenge students according to their ability
level.
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Keys To Good Tiered Assignments

• ALL students focus on essential skills at
  various levels of complexity, abstractness, and
  open-endedness
• Challenge is appropriate - rigor is provided at
  their level of understanding
• Some struggle should be experienced by ALL
  students
• Teaches students what they need to learn - NOT
  what they already know
• Different work - not more or less work
• Equally interesting and engaging
• Fair in terms of work expectations and time needed

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Exit Ticket

• Think, Write, Share
• Use your sticky note to answer the following
  questions.
• Define differentiation in your own words.
• Tell how you plan to use the strategies we
  talked
• about today in your Honors classroom.