DI Lessons in the Classroom

Tricarico (2012) indicates that differentiated instruction requires teachers to base the teaching process on the accommodations on the diversity of students’ strengths and weaknesses.  This aligns with Moore (2012) who wants the individual in a classroom of diverse students to learn with varied instructional approaches.

Individual instruction (D.I) can be implemented easily with new technologies.  To implement D.I. in the classroom will take strategic planning to ensure that all students grow academically and make learning gains throughout their learning process.  Differentiated instruction can work in a whole class setting as well as in small groups or with individuals as defined in individualized instruction (Moore, 2012).  

Modifying the curriculum for all students is what differentiation in the classroom means. Traditional materials and ancillary teacher’s additions do not always address the learning needs of all students.  With this notion, teachers must find the time to create and modify lessons with the appropriate learning curriculum to meet the needs of all diverse learners (Moore, 2012).

 This WebQuest will introduce the participant’s to the process of developing a Differentiated Instruction (D.I.) lesson.  It will provide the participant the opportunity to address all learning needs and learning styles while going through the process of developing content, products, and the learning environment for all students in a K-12 setting.

Upon completion of this lesson the participant will understand the significance of incorporating the content as related to objectives, using engagement activities as in integral part of instruction, having students develop products to convey learning in a manner that matches their learning style, brain based learning inventories, and how to provide a classroom that is conducive to active learning (Moore, 2012).

Rubric and assessment are available for review as we move through the D.I. development in the evaluation section.

This WebQuest is going to inform teachers about a differentiated classroom.  According to Moore(2012), four classroom elements; content products, learning environment, and process are the focal points teachers can differentiate based on students readiness, interests, and learning profiles. Differentiated instruction is blended with individualized instruction. This WebQuest will include how to develope the "learning pace, the instructional objectives, the learning method, and the learning materials" (Moore, 2012, p. 367).

 For this Assignment each participant will gain an understanding of the DI process by completing the following objectives:

1.  The participant will create objectives that will match the content criteria and are measureable.

2.  The participant will compare and contrast student centered and teacher center instruction to demonstrate understanding.

3. The participant will identify student products that convey learning

4.  The participant will identify components of a learning environment to meet the needs of all learning styles. 

To accomplish these objectives the participant will first research and develop content related objectives that will be measured by using student products to meet the learning styles of diverse learners. Second, the participant will compare traditional learning with student centered learning as a means to create various ways to learn. Third, the participant will identify 3-4 products that demonstrate student learning other than traditional tests. And finally, the participant will identify at least 2 learning components found in a DI classroom.

Resources

Use these websites to learn how to write objectives that are related to content and can be measured with student products

http://www.instructables.com/id/How-to-write-learning-objectives/

www.naacls.org/docs/announcement/writing-objectives.pdf

www.meded.ucsd.edu/faculty/writing_instructional_objectives.pdf

Use these websites to compare and contrast teacher centered learning and student centered learning.

http://learnteaching.wordpress.com/2011/03/01/teacher-centered-teaching-versus-student-centered-teaching/

http://chronicle.com/blogs/profhacker/teacher-centered-vs-student-centered-pedagogy/22714

http://www.nclrc.org/essentials/goalsmethods/learncentpop.html

Use these websites to identify the types of student products that can be used to measure learning outcomes in Differentiated Instruction

http://differentiation.asb-wiki.wikispaces.net/Differentiating+Product

http://www.gifted.uconn.edu/sem/exprstyl.html

http://www.rogertaylor.com/clientuploads/documents/references/Product-Grid.pdf

http://www.learner.org/jnorth/tm/StudentProducts.html

Use these websites to help identify what the learning environment looks like in the DI classroom

http://education-portal.com/academy/lesson/differentiated-instruction-adapting-the-learning-environment-for-students.html

http://kms.sdcoe.net/differ/49-DSY.html

https://suite.io/tammy-andrew/3aw721q

Activity 1

After reviewing the websites on writing objectives and student centered learning activities, write at least one learning objective from a content area of your choice that can be assessed with a student product.

For the objective(s) that you just wrote, list 4 learning activities that can be used in the DI classroom to support h objectives.

Activity 2

After researching the websites for student products, Create an assessments that require students to develop at least 4 different products to express their learning and are tied to the objective of the previous assignment.

Activity 3

After researching the components needed for a learning environment in the DI classroom, Make a list of 4 strategies that are needed to achieve this environment. 

From this WebQuest the learner was able to

1. Create objectives that will match the content criteria and are measureable.

2.  Compare and contrast student centered and teacher center instruction to demonstrate understanding.

3. Identify student products that convey learning

4.  Identify components of a learning environment to meet the needs of all learning styles.  

As Wilson (2009) noted when one looks at differintiated instruction it is "about making space, making space for meeting the individual needs of students to become even more powerful readers, making space for varied ways of demonstrating learning and achievement,..." (para. 3). With this notion, one can clearly see that if objectives are written with student  centered lessons, with the require products for expressing learning, then a conducive and active learning environment can be created. This lessons allow students to translate learninng using their own style of learning that allows them to convey what they have learned.  This can be done acccording to Wilson (2009) through brain-based learning, usingMultiple Intelligences as well as the many product based assessments that allow students to express their learning which is unique to them.

Moore, K. D.   (2012).  Effective instructional strategies: From theory to practice.   3rd ed.   Thousand Oaks, CA   Sage Publications

Tricarico, K., & Yendol-Hoppey, D. (2012). Teacher Learning through Self-Regulation: An Exploratory Study of Alternatively Prepared Teachers' Ability to Plan Differentiated Instruction in an Urban Elementary School. Teacher Education Quarterly, 39(1), 139-158.

Wilson, S. (2009). Differentiated instruction: How are design, essential questions in learning, assessment, and instruction part of it? New England Reading Association Journal, 44(2), 68-75. Retrieved from http://search.proquest.com/docview/206037551?accountid=35812

Title

Lesson on Differentiated Instruction

Author(s)

Cathy Balick, Woodland Middle School

Description

This WebQuest is going to inform teachers about a differentiated classroom.  According to Moore(2012), four classroom elements; content products, learning environment, and process are the focal points teachers can differentiate based on students readiness, interests, and learning profiles. Differentiated instruction is blended with individualized instruction. This WebQuest will include the "learning pace, the instructional objectives, the learning method, and the learning materials" (Moore, 2012, p. 367).

Keywords

Individualized instruction, differentiated instruction

 Learners

Adult educators