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HOW TO

Differentiate InstructionIN Mixed-Ability

Classrooms2ND EDITION

Carol Ann Tomlinson

Education

$20.95 U.S.

“Curiosity and inspiration are powerful catalysts for learning.”

In this 2nd edition of a book that has provided inspira-tion to countless teachers, Carol Ann Tomlinson

offers three new chapters, extended examples andinformation in every chapter, and field-tested strategies that

teachers can use in today’s increasingly diverse classrooms.Tomlinson shows how to use students’ readiness levels,interests, and learning profiles to address student diversity.

In addition, the author shows teachers how to differentiate,or structure, lessons at every grade level and content area toprovide "scaffolds"—as well as high-speed elevators—for

• The content of lessons,• The processes used in learning, and• The products of learning.

Teachers can draw on the book’s practical examples as they begin to differentiate instruction in their own class-rooms. Strategies include curriculum compacting, "sidebar"investigations, entry points, graphic organizers, contracts, and portfolios. As Tomlinson says, "Differentiation challengesus to draw on our best knowledge of teaching and learning. It suggests that there is room for both equity and excellence in our classrooms."

HOW TO

Differentiate InstructionIN Mixed-Ability


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ASSOCIATION FORSUPERVISION

AND CURRICULUMDEVELOPMENT

Alexandria, Virginia USA

VISIT US ON THE WORLD WIDE WEBhttp://www.ascd.org

Dif Instruction 6/4/02 12:17 PM

HOW TO

Differentiate Instruction IN Mixed-Ability


Carol Ann Tomlinson

Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development

Alexandria, Virginia USA

Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development1703 N. Beauregard St. • Alexandria, VA 22311-1714 USATelephone: 1-800-933-2723 or 703-578-9600 • Fax: 703-575-5400Web site: http://www.ascd.org • E-mail: [email protected]

Copyright © 2001 by the Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development (ASCD). All rightsreserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means,electronic or mechanical, including photocopy, recording, or any information storage and retrieval sys-tem, without permission from ASCD. Readers who wish to duplicate material copyrighted by ASCD maydo so for a small fee by contacting the Copyright Clearance Center (CCC), 222 Rosewood Dr., Danvers,MA 01923, USA (telephone: 978-750-8400; fax: 978-750-4470). ASCD has authorized the CCC to col-lect such fees on its behalf. Requests to reprint rather than photocopy should be directed to ASCD’s per-missions office at 703-578-9600.

ASCD publications present a variety of viewpoints. The views expressed or implied in this book shouldnot be interpreted as official positions of the Association.

e-book ($20.95): ebrary ISBN 0-87120-917-9 • Retail PDF ISBN 1-4166-0095-7

Quality Paperback: ISBN 0-87120-512-2 ASCD product no. 101043 ASCD member price: $16.95 nonmember price: $20.95

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data(for paperback book)

Tomlinson, Carol A.How to differentiate instruction in mixed-ability classrooms / Carol

Ann Tomlinson.— 2nd ed.p. cm.

Includes bibliographical references and index.“ASCD product no. 101043”—T.p. verso.

ISBN 0-87120-512-2 (alk. paper)1. Mixed ability grouping in education—United States. 2. Learning

ability. 3. Classroom management—United States. I. Title.LB3061.3 .T65 2001371.2’52—dc21

2001000344

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How to Differentiate Instruction in Mixed-Ability Classrooms2nd Edition

Foreword to the 2nd Edition . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . v

Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . vii

1 What Differentiated Instruction Is—And Isn’t . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1

2 The Rationale for Differentiated Instruction in Mixed-Ability Classrooms . . . . . 8

3 The Role of the Teacher in a Differentiated Classroom . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16

4 The Learning Environment in a Differentiated Classroom . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21

5 A Look Inside Some Differentiated Classrooms . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27

6 Strategies for Managing a Differentiated Classroom . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32

7 Preparing Students and Parents for a Differentiated Classroom . . . . . . . . . . . 39

8 The How To’s of Planning Lessons Differentiated by Readiness . . . . . . . . . . . 45

9 The How To’s of Planning Lessons Differentiated by Interest . . . . . . . . . . . . . 52

10 The How To’s of Planning Lessons Differentiated by Learning Profile . . . . . . . 60

11 Differentiating Content . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 72

12 Differentiating Process . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .79

13 Differentiating Products . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 85

14 Grading in a Differentiated Classroom . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 93

A Final Thought . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 97

Appendix: A Few Instructional and Management Strategies

for Differentiated, Mixed-Ability Classrooms . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 98

References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 107

For Further Reading . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 109

Index . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 111

About the Author . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 117

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I am often asked these days why I think there issuch a great interest in the topic of differentiat-ing instruction. My best guess is that the inter-est is sparked by the realization that it’s nolonger possible to look at a group of students ina classroom and pretend they are essentiallyalike.

Even in the few years since the first editionof this book, academic diversity has increasedin schools. Greater and greater numbers of sec-ond-language students take seats among stu-dents whose first language is English. Even thesecond-language learners vary greatly as agroup—not only in their native tongues butalso in their degree of experience with theirnative language and the sort of home supportsystem that follows them to school.

Greater numbers of students are being diag-nosed with attention-deficit and related disor-ders. Diagnosis of learning disability affectsstudents in virtually all classrooms. In addition,students come to classrooms with highly

advanced skills and understandings. They comewith an array of physical handicaps. They rep-resent cultures that vary in significant ways.Many students bring with them to schoolstresses from home that are too great for youngshoulders to carry. Many students, of course,represent several of these realities—a verybright student whose learning disability maskshis promise, a second-language learner whosefamily teeters on the edge of economic viability,and so on.

If we elect to use what we know aboutlearning, and, in fact, about ourselves, as wecraft classrooms, we acknowledge that studentslearn in varied ways—some by hearing, othersby doing, some alone, others in the company ofpeers, some in a rapid-fire fashion, others reflec-tively. We acknowledge, too, that individuals areintrigued or even inspired by different topics orissues, and that curiosity and inspiration arepowerful catalysts for learning. To teach well isto attend to all these things.

Foreword to the 2nd Edition` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` `

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Differentiation suggests it is feasible todevelop classrooms where realities of studentvariance can be addressed along with curricularrealities. The idea is compelling. It challenges usto draw on our best knowledge of teaching andlearning. It suggests that there is room for bothequity and excellence in our classrooms.

As “right” as the approach we call differenti-ation seems, it promises no slick and readysolutions. Like most worthy ideas, it is com-plex. It calls on us to question, change, reflect,and change some more.

This second edition of How to DifferentiateInstruction in Mixed-Ability Classrooms follows thisevolutionary route. In the years since the firstedition, I have had the benefit of probing ques-tions and practical examples from many educa-tors. This revision reflects an extension andrefinement of the elements presented in the ear-lier version of the book, based in no small meas-ure on dialogue with other educators.

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I am grateful to ASCD for the opportunity toshare reflections and insights fueled by manyeducators who work daily to ensure a good aca-demic fit for each student who enters theirclassrooms. These teachers wrestle with stan-dards-driven curriculum, grapple with a pre-dictable shortage of time in the school day, anddo battle with management issues in a busyclassroom. These educators also derive energyfrom the challenge and insight from their stu-dents. I continue to be the beneficiary of theirfrontline work. I hope this small volume repre-sents them well. I hope also that it clarifies andextends what I believe to be an essential discus-sion on how we can attain the ideal of a high-quality public education that exists to maximizethe capacity of each learner who trusts us todirect the course of his or her learning.

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The students populating U.S. classrooms todayare a diverse lot. They come from differing cul-tures and have different learning styles. Theyarrive at school with differing levels of emotion-al and social maturity. Their interests differgreatly, both in topic and intensity. At any giventime, they reflect differing levels of academicreadiness in various subjects—and in variousfacets of a single subject. And to complicatethings even further, readiness and interest canvary for a given student over time and depend-ing on the subject matter.

Teachers in mixed-ability classrooms facemultiple challenges, at every grade level. EachSeptember, many 1st graders arrive already ableto read 3rd grade books with comprehension,while their peers grapple for months with theidea of left-to-right print progression or the dif-ference between short and long vowels. Some3rd graders make an independent leap frommultiplication to division before any explana-tion has been offered. Many of these same chil-

dren, when they reach middle school, alsomake connections between themes in socialstudies and literature, or apply advanced math-ematical tools to solving science problemsbefore other students in their classes grasp themain idea of a chapter in the textbook. In highschool, students who may have been previouslyidentified as “slow” or “average” may surpriseeveryone when they’re able to develop a com-plex and articulate defense of a position relatedto scientific ethics or economic strategy. Andsome of their classmates who had, until now,found school a “cinch” must work hard to feelcomfortable with applications at a more abstractlevel.

In life, kids can choose from a variety ofclothing to fit their differing sizes, styles, andpreferences. We understand, without explana-tion, that this makes them more comfortableand gives expression to their developing person-alities. In school, modifying or differentiatinginstruction for students of differing readiness

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Introduction

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and interests is also more comfortable, engaging,and inviting. One-size-fits-all instruction willinevitably sag or pinch—exactly as single-sizeclothing would—students who differ in need,even if they are chronologically the same age.

Acknowledging that students learn at differ-ent speeds and that they differ widely in theirability to think abstractly or understand com-plex ideas is like acknowledging that students at any given age aren’t all the same height: It isnot a statement of worth, but of reality. Toaccommodate this reality, teachers can create a“user-friendly” environment, one in which theyflexibly adapt pacing, approaches to learning,and channels for expressing learning inresponse to their students’ differing needs.

While the goal for each student is challenge andsubstantial growth, teachers must often definechallenge and growth differently in response tostudents’ varying interests and readiness levels.

This book provides guidance for teacherswho are interested in creating learning environ-ments that address the diversity typical ofmixed-ability classrooms. The principles andstrategies included here can help teachersaddress a variety of learning profiles, interests,and readiness levels. The goal here is to helpteachers determine what differentiated instruc-tion is, why it is appropriate for all learners,how to begin to plan for it, and how to becomecomfortable enough with student differences tomake school comfortable for each learner whocomes their way.

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Kids of the same agearen’t all alike when itcomes to learning,any more than theyare alike in terms of

size, hobbies, personality, or likes and dislikes.Kids do have many things in common becausethey are human beings and because they are allchildren, but they also have important differ-ences. What we share in common makes ushuman. How we differ makes us individuals. Ina classroom with little or no differentiatedinstruction, only student similarities seem totake center stage. In a differentiated classroom,commonalities are acknowledged and builtupon, and student differences become impor-tant elements in teaching and learning as well.

At its most basic level, differentiatinginstruction means “shaking up” what goes on inthe classroom so that students have multipleoptions for taking in information, making senseof ideas, and expressing what they learn. In

other words, a differentiated classroom providesdifferent avenues to acquiring content, to pro-cessing or making sense of ideas, and to devel-oping products so that each student can learneffectively.

In many classrooms, the approach to teach-ing and learning is more unitary than differenti-ated. For example, 1st graders may listen to astory and then draw a picture about what theylearned. While they may choose to draw differ-ent facets of the story, they all experienced thesame content, and they all had the same sense-making or processing activity. A kindergartenclass may have four centers that all studentsvisit to complete the same activities in a week’stime. Fifth graders may all listen to the sameexplanation about fractions and complete thesame homework assignment. Middle school orhigh school students may sit through a lectureand a video to help them understand a topic inscience or history. They will all read the samechapter, take the same notes, complete the same

WHAT Differentiated Instruction IS—AND ISN’T

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instruction recognized that the teacher neededto work sometimes with the whole class, some-times with small groups, and sometimes withindividuals. These variations were important inorder both to move each student along in hisparticular understandings and skills as well asto build a sense of community in the group.

Differentiated instruction is NOT chaotic.

Most teachers remember the recurrent night-mare (and periodic reality) from their first yearof teaching: losing control of student behavior.A benchmark of teacher development is thepoint at which the teacher has become secureand comfortable with classroom management.Fear of losing control of student behavior is amajor obstacle for many teachers in establishinga flexible classroom. Teachers who differentiateinstruction quickly point out that, if anything,they exert more leadership in their classrooms,not less.

Compared with teachers who offer a singleapproach to learning, teachers who differentiateinstruction have to manage and monitor manyactivities simultaneously. And they still musthelp students in developing ground rules forbehavior, give and monitor specific directionsfor activities, and direct the sequence of eventsin each learning experience. Effective differentiated classrooms include purposefulstudent movement and some purposeful student talking. They are not disorderly orundisciplined.

Differentiated instruction is NOT justanother way to provide homogeneousgrouping.

Our memories of undifferentiated classroomsprobably include the bluebird, cardinal, andbuzzard reading groups. Typically, a buzzardremained a buzzard, and a cardinal was forever

lab or end-of-chapter questions, and take thesame quiz. Such classrooms are familiar, typical,and largely undifferentiated.

Most teachers (as well as students and par-ents) have clear mental images of such class-rooms. After experiencing undifferentiatedinstruction over many years, it is often difficultto imagine what a differentiated classroomwould look and feel like. How, educators won-der, can we make the shift from “single-sizeinstruction” to differentiated instruction so wecan better meet our students’ diverse needs?Answering this question first requires clearingaway some misperceptions.

What Differentiated InstructionIs NOT

Differentiated instruction is NOT the“Individualized Instruction” of the 1970s.

We were probably onto something important inthe ’70s when we experimented with what wethen called individualized instruction. At leastwe understood that students have differentlearning profiles and that there is merit in meet-ing students where they are and helping themmove on from there. One flaw in the ’70sapproach was that we tried doing somethingdifferent for each of the 30-plus students in asingle classroom. When each student had a dif-ferent reading assignment, for example, it didn’ttake long for teachers to become exhausted. Asecond flaw was that in order to “match” eachstudent’s precise entry level, we chopped upinstruction into skill fragments, thereby makinglearning fragmented and largely irrelevant.

While it is true that differentiated instructionoffers several avenues to learning, it does notassume a separate level for each learner. It alsofocuses on meaningful learning or powerfulideas for all students. Differentiation is probablymore reminiscent of the one-room-schoolhousethan of individualization. That model of

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a cardinal. Under this system, buzzards nearlyalways worked with buzzards on skills-focusedtasks, while work done by cardinals was typi-cally at “higher levels” of thought. In addition tobeing predictable, student assignment to groupswas virtually always teacher-selected.

A hallmark of an effective differentiatedclassroom, by contrast, is the use of flexiblegrouping, which accommodates students whoare strong in some areas and weaker in others.For example, a student may be great at inter-preting literature, but not so strong in spelling,or great with map skills and not as quick atgrasping patterns in history, or quick with mathword problems but careless with computation.The teacher who uses flexible grouping alsounderstands that some students may begin anew task slowly, and then launch ahead atremarkable speed, while others will learn, butmore slowly. This teacher knows that sometimesshe needs to assign students to groups so thatassignments are tailored to student need, butthat in other instances, it makes more sense forstudents to form their own working groups. Shesees that some students prefer or benefit fromindependent work, while others usually farebest with pairs or triads.

In a differentiated classroom, the teacheruses many different group configurations overtime, and students experience many differentworking groups and arrangements. “Fluid” is agood word to describe assignment of studentsto groups in such a heterogeneous classroom. Inthe older, “three groups approach” to instruc-tion, student assignment to tasks was morefixed. Flexible grouping will be discussed ingreater detail in Chapter 4.

Differentiated instruction is NOT just“tailoring the same suit of clothes.”

Many teachers think that they differentiateinstruction when they ask some students toanswer more complex questions in a discussion

or to share advanced information on a topic,grade some students a little harder or easier onan assignment in response to the students’ per-ceived ability and effort, or let students selectwhich questions to answer or skip on a test.Certainly such modifications reflect a teacher’sawareness of differences in student profiles and,to that degree, the modifications are movementin the direction of differentiation. While theyare not necessarily ineffective or “bad” strategieson the teacher’s part, they are a “micro-differen-tiation” or “tailoring,” and are often just notenough.

If the basic assignment itself is far too easyfor an advanced learner, having a chance toanswer a complex question is not an adequatechallenge. If information is essential for a strug-gling learner, allowing him to skip a test ques-tion because he never understood theinformation is ineffective. If the information inthe basic assignment is simply too complex fora learner until she has the chance to assimilateneeded background information and skills,being “easier” on her when grading her assign-ment does not help her in the long run. In sum,trying to stretch a garment that is far too smallor attempting to tuck and gather a garment thatis far too large is likely to be less effective thangetting clothes that are the right fit at a giventime.

What Differentiated Instruction Is

Differentiated instruction is PROACTIVE.

In a differentiated classroom, the teacherassumes that different learners have differingneeds. Therefore, the teacher proactively plans avariety of ways to “get at” and express learning.He still needs to tailor or fine-tune instructionfor individual learners, but because differentlearning options are available based on his

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Differentiated Instruction is ROOTED INASSESSMENT.

A teacher who understands the need for teach-ing and learning to be a good match for stu-dents looks for every opportunity to know herstudents better. She sees conversations withindividuals, classroom discussions, studentwork, observation, and formal assessment as away to gather just a little more insight aboutwhat works for each learner. What she learnsbecomes a catalyst for crafting instruction inways that help each student make the most ofhis potential and talents. Assessment is nolonger predominately something that happensat the end of a unit to determine “who got it.”Assessment routinely takes place as a unitbegins to determine the particular needs of indi-viduals in relation to the unit’s goals.

Throughout the unit, in a variety of ways,teachers assess students’ developing readinesslevels, interests, and modes of learning. Thenthe teachers design learning experiences basedon their best understanding. Culminating prod-ucts, or other forms of “final” assessment, takemany forms, with the goal of finding a way foreach student to most successfully share what heor she has learned in the course of the unit.

Differentiated instruction provides MULTIPLE APPROACHES to content,process, and product.

In all classrooms, teachers deal with at least threecurricular elements: (1) content—input, whatstudents learn; (2) process—how students goabout making sense of ideas and information;and (3) product—output, how students demon-strate what they have learned. These elementsare so important in differentiating instructionthat they are dealt with in depth in Chapters 8,9, and 10. By differentiating these three ele-ments, teachers offer different approaches towhat students learn, how they learn it, and how

knowledge of varied learner needs, the chancesare greater that the learning experiences willprovide an appropriate fit for many learners.Effective differentiation will typically be proac-tively planned by the teacher to be robustenough to address a range of learner needs, incontrast with planning a single approach foreveryone and reactively trying to adjust theplans when it becomes apparent that the lessonis not working for some of the learners forwhom it was intended.

Differentiated instruction is more QUALITATIVE than quantitative.

Many teachers incorrectly assume that differen-tiating instruction means giving some studentsmore work to do, and others less. For example,a teacher might assign two book reports toadvanced readers and only one to strugglingreaders. Or a struggling math student mighthave to do only the computation problemswhile advanced math students do the wordproblems as well.

Although such approaches to differentiationmay seem to have an adequate rationale, theyare typically ineffective. One book report is toomuch for a struggling learner without additionalsupport in the process of reading as well asinterpreting the text. Or a student who couldact out the substance of the book effectivelymight be overwhelmed by writing a three-pagereport. If writing one book report is “too easy”for the advanced reader, doing “twice as much”of the same thing is not only unlikely to remedythe problem, but it could also seem like punish-ment. A student who has already demonstratedmastery of one math skill is ready to stop prac-tice related to that skill and begin practice in asubsequent skill. Simply adjusting the quantityof an assignment will generally be less effectivethan adjusting the nature of the assignment tomatch student needs as well.

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they demonstrate what they’ve learned. What thesedifferent approaches have in common, however,is that they are crafted to encourage substantialgrowth in all students.

Differentiated instruction is STUDENT CENTERED.

Differentiated classrooms operate on the premisethat learning experiences are most effective whenthey are engaging, relevant, and interesting. Acorollary to that premise is that all students willnot always find the same avenues to learningequally engaging, relevant, and interesting.Further, differentiated instruction acknowledgesthat later understandings must be built on previ-ous understandings and that not all studentspossess the same understandings at the outset ofa given investigation. Teachers who differentiateinstruction in mixed-ability classrooms seek toprovide appropriately challenging learning expe-riences for all their students. These teachers real-ize that sometimes a task that lacks challenge forsome learners is frustratingly complex to others.

In addition, teachers in differentiated classesunderstand the need to help students takeincreasing responsibility for their own growth.It’s easier sometimes in large classrooms for ateacher to tell students everything rather thanguiding them to think on their own, accept sig-nificant responsibility for learning, and develop asense of pride in what they do. In a differentiatedclassroom, it’s necessary for learners to be activein making and evaluating decisions. Teachingstudents to share responsibility enables a teacherto work with varied groups or individuals forportions of the day. It also prepares students farbetter for life.

Differentiated instruction is A BLEND ofwhole-class, group, and individualinstruction.

There are times in all classrooms when it ismore effective or efficient to share information

or use the same activity with the whole class.Such whole-group instruction establishes com-mon understandings and a sense of communityfor students by sharing discussion and review.As illustrated in Figure 1.1, the pattern ofinstruction in a differentiated classroom couldbe represented by mirror images of a wavy line,with students coming together as a whole groupto begin a study, moving out to pursue learningin small groups or individually, coming backtogether to share and make plans for additionalinvestigation, moving out again for more work,coming together again to share or review, andso on.

Differentiated instruction is “ORGANIC.”In a differentiated classroom, teaching is evolu-tionary. Students and teachers are learnerstogether. While teachers may know more aboutthe subject matter at hand, they are continuous-ly learning about how their students learn.Ongoing collaboration with students is neces-sary to refine the learning opportunities sothey’re effective for each student. Differentiatedinstruction is dynamic: Teachers monitor thematch between learner and learning and makeadjustments as warranted. And while teachersare aware that sometimes the learner/learningmatch is less than ideal, they also understandthat they can continually make adjustments.Differentiated instruction often results in moreeffective matches than does the mode of teach-ing that insists that one assignment serves alllearners well.

Further, a teacher in a differentiated class-room does not classify herself as someone who“already differentiates instruction.” Rather, thatteacher is fully aware that every hour of teach-ing, every day in the classroom can reveal onemore way to make the classroom a better matchfor its learners.

Finally, such a teacher does not see differen-tiation as a strategy or something to do when

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there’s extra time. Rather, it is a way of life inthe classroom. She does not seek or follow arecipe for differentiation, but rather combineswhat she can learn about differentiation from arange of sources to her own professionalinstincts and knowledge base to do whatever ittakes to reach out to each learner.

A New Image to Keep in Mind

As you continue reading about how to differen-tiate instruction in mixed-ability classrooms,keep this new image in mind:

In a differentiated classroom, theteacher proactively plans and carriesout varied approaches to content,process, and product in anticipation ofand response to student differences inreadiness, interest, and learning needs.

� � �

The practical strategies in this book shouldcrystallize this new image for you as you workat differentiating instruction in your classroom.

7


Some educators say a“good” education isone that ensures thatall students learn cer-tain core information

and master certain basic competencies accord-ing to a prescribed route and time line. Othersdefine a “good” education as one that helps stu-dents maximize their capacity as learners.Because the latter definition encourages contin-ual lifting of ceilings and testing of personallimits, it would seem to make the best sense forall learners.

How People Best Learn: TheEngine That Drives EffectiveDifferentiation

We actually know a great deal about how peo-ple learn. For example, we know that eachlearner must make meaning of what teachersseek to teach. We know that the meaning-mak-ing process is influenced by the student’s prior

understandings, interests, beliefs, how the stu-dent learns best, and the student’s attitudesabout self and school (National ResearchCouncil, 1990).

We also know that learning takes place mosteffectively in classrooms where knowledge isclearly and powerfully organized, students arehighly active in the learning process, assess-ments are rich and varied, and students feel asense of safety and connection (NationalResearch Council, 1990; Wiggins & McTighe,1998).

We know that learning happens best when alearning experience pushes the learner a bitbeyond his or her independence level. When astudent continues to work on understandingsand skills already mastered, little if any newlearning takes place. On the other hand, if tasksare far ahead of a student’s current point ofmastery, frustration results and learning doesnot (Howard, 1994; Vygotsky, 1962).

In addition, we know that motivation tolearn increases when we feel a kinship with,

THE Rationale FOR Differentiated Instruction IN Mixed-Ability Classrooms

22` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` `

8

9

` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` `The Rationale for Differentiated Instruction in Mixed-Ability Classrooms

need to learn the same things in the same wayover the same time span.

Ensuring rock solid clarity about where wewant students to end up as a result of asequence of learning is fundamental to educa-tional success. Remembering that we cannotreach the mind we do not engage ought to be adaily compass for educational planning.Offering multiple and varied avenues to learn-ing is a hallmark of the kind of professionalquality that denotes expertise. Our students—each of them—is a message that we can neverstop attending to the craftsmanship and artistryof teaching.

The focus of this book is on the refinementof high-quality, alluring instruction that we call“differentiation.” This book, however, calls forclarity and quality in what we differentiate. It isan exercise in futility to try to meet the needs oflearners by low quality, incoherent approachesto differentiation. They provide learners withseveral varieties of gruel. They will fall short forvirtually all students.

Looking at a Classroom ThroughMany Eyes

Their teacher cares about her work. She likeskids and she likes teaching. She works hard andis proud of her profession. The kids know that,and they like her for all those things. But theday seems long too often for many of the stu-dents. Sometimes their teacher knows it. Oftenshe does not.

Lin does not understand English. No oneunderstands her language either as far as shecan tell. The teacher smiles at her and assigneda classmate to help her. That classmate does notspeak her language. The classmate smiles too.Sometimes smiles help. Sometimes they seemlike music without sound. In math, Lin under-stands more. Numbers carry fewer hiddenmeanings than words. No one expects her to

interest in, or passion for what we are attempt-ing to learn (Piaget, 1978). Further, we goabout learning in a wide variety of ways, influ-enced by how our individual brains are wired,our culture, and our gender (Delpit, 1995;Gardner, 1983; Heath, 1983; Sternberg, 1985;Sullivan, 1993).

In the end, we can draw at least three pow-erful conclusions about teaching and learning.First, while the image of a “standard issue” stu-dent is comfortable, it denies most of what weknow about the wide variance that inevitablyexists within any group of learners. Second,there is no substitute for high-quality curricu-lum and instruction in classrooms. Third, evenin the presence of high-quality curriculum andinstruction, we will fall woefully short of thegoal of helping each learner build a good lifethrough the power of education unless we buildbridges between the learner and learning.

These three conclusions are the engine thatdrives effective differentiation. They, along withour best knowledge of what makes learninghappen, are nonnegotiables in a classroomwhere a teacher sets out to make each learner acaptive of the mystery and power of knowingabout the world in which those learners willlive out their lives.

Mixed-ability classrooms that are ambiguousabout learning goals, that evoke little passion,that cast the teacher as the centerpiece of learn-ing, and that lack responsiveness to studentvariance show little understanding of these vari-ous learning realities. They lack the foundationof all powerful learning, top quality curriculumand instruction—as well as a key refinement ofsuperior curriculum and instruction, differenti-ated or responsive instruction. In regard to thefirst-named deficit, these classrooms operate asthough clarity of understanding can be achievedthrough ambiguity and that fires of inquiry willbe ignited in the absence of a flame. In regardto the latter deficit, they imply that all students

two teachers makes her feel different. She doesn’t like the fact that what she studies seemsso unlike what everyone else studies. She does-n’t like feeling like she’s on the edge of theaction all the time.

Danny likes coming to school because peo-ple don’t yell there all the time. Nobody hits atschool—or if they do, they get in trouble. Thereare things to play with at school. His teachersmiles. She says she’s glad he’s there. He’s notsure why. He doesn’t do well. He wants to, butit’s hard to concentrate. He worries about hismom. He worries about his sister. He forgets tolisten. At home, it’s hard to do homework. Hegets behind.

Theo keeps listening for questions thatsound like something a person in his housewould ask. He keeps listening for language thatsounds like his. He keeps waiting for a signalthat the people he studies in school have someconnection with him. He keeps waiting to seehow the knowledge fits in with his neighbor-hood. He doesn’t mind learning. He just wantsto know why. He’s restless.

Their teacher works hard on preparing theirlessons. They know that. Sometimes—manytimes—it seems like she’s teaching lessons, notkids. Sometimes it seems like she thinks they areall one person. Sometimes it’s like they are syn-onyms for test scores. Sometimes school is like ashoe that’s shaped for somebody else’s foot.

Perhaps a good way to begin an explorationof differentiated teaching is to look at the class-room through the eyes of two broad categoriesof students—those who are advanced and thosewho struggle. Those two categories, of course,encompass many different sorts of students, butthey do at least provide a place to begin think-ing about the readiness of academically diverselearners and the range of needs they bring toschool. In later chapters we’ll look at needsrelated to student interest and learning profile.

understand, however, and so no one asks her togo to the board and work problems. That’s okay,because if she went, she wouldn’t have words totell about her numbers.

Rafael wants to read aloud, wants to ask formore books about the people in history, wantsto add his questions to the ones the other kidsask in discussions. He doesn’t. His friends aredown on school. They say it’s not for them—notfor kids like him. Learning belongs to anotherkind of person, they say. Where would gradesget him? they ask. Maybe they’re right. Heknows he won’t go to college or get a big dealjob—but he secretly thinks about it. And hewants to know things. But it’s hard to ask.

Serena reads her mom’s books at home. Shereads the magazine that comes with the SundayTimes. She and her friends write and produce aneighborhood play every summer. Lots of peo-ple come. In school, she’s learning 4th gradespelling words. She gets A’s on the tests. Shegets A’s on everything. She doesn’t work hardlike when she’s getting the plays ready. Inschool, she feels dishonest. She makes up sto-ries in her head while she waits for other stu-dents to learn. They try hard and don’t get A’s.That makes her feel dishonest too.

Trevor hates reading. He misbehaves some-times, but it’s not that he wants to. He’s justtired of seeming stupid in front of everyone. Hethinks he sounds worst in the class when hereads aloud. The odd thing is that he under-stands what the pages are about when some-body else reads them. How can you understandwhat you can’t read? And how can you be anormal 4th grader and not be able to read?

Lesley knows she doesn’t learn like the otherkids do. She knows people think she’s “slow.”She has a special teacher who comes to class tohelp her, or takes her to a special room to learnthings. She likes that teacher. She likes her mainteacher too. She doesn’t like the fact that having

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HOW TO


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Understanding the Needs ofAdvanced Learners

Whatever label we use—“gifted learners,” “high-end learners,” “academically talented learners,”or “advanced learners”—it seems to bothermany people. In this book, “advanced learners”is used for two reasons. First, this label doesn’tseem to carry some of the more controversialovertones of some other descriptors. Second, itsays to the teacher in a mixed-ability classroom,“Don’t worry so much about identificationprocesses and formal labeling. Take a look atwho is ahead of where you and the curriculumguide expect your students to be. Then youhave a place to start.”

Some students may be advanced inSeptember and not in May—or in May, but notin September. Some may be advanced in math,but not in reading; or in lab work, but not inmemorization of related scientific formulas.Some may be advanced for a short time, othersthroughout their lives but only in certainendeavors. Some learners are consistentlyadvanced in many areas.

Because the primary intent of differentiatedinstruction is to maximize student capacity,when you can see (or you have a hunch) that astudent can learn more deeply, move at abrisker pace, or make more connections thaninstructional blueprints might suggest, that’s a good time to offer advanced learning opportunities.

But advanced learners, like other learners,need help in developing their abilities. Withoutteachers that coach for growth and curriculumsthat are appropriately challenging, these learn-ers may fail to achieve their potential. Forexample, when a recent study comparedAdvanced Placement Exam results of the top 1percent of U.S. students with top students in 13other countries, U.S. students scored last inbiology, 11th in chemistry, and 9th in physics

(Ross, 1993). There are many reasons whyadvanced learners don’t achieve their full potential.

• Advanced learners can become mentallylazy, even though they do well in school. Wehave evidence (Clark, 1992; Ornstein &Thompson, 1984; Wittrock, 1977) that a brainloses capacity and “tone” without vigorous use,in much the same way that a little-used muscledoes. If a student produces “success” withouteffort, potential brainpower can be lost.

• Advanced learners may become“hooked” on the trappings of success. Theymay think grades are more important thanideas, being praised is more important than tak-ing intellectual risks, and being right is morevaluable than making new discoveries.Unfortunately, many advanced learners quicklylearn to do what is “safe” or what “pays,” ratherthan what could result in greater long-termlearning.

• Advanced learners may become perfec-tionists. We praise them for being the bestreaders, assign them to help others who can’tget the math, and compliment them when theyscore highest on tests. When people get excitedabout their performance, these students oftenassume it’s possible to keep being the best.Because they attach so much of their self-worthto the rewards of schooling and because thoserewards are accessible for years at a time,advanced learners often don’t learn to struggleor fail. Failure then becomes something to avoidat all costs. Some advanced learners developcompulsive behaviors, from excessive worry toprocrastination to eating disorders, and occa-sionally even suicide. Many advanced learnerssimply become less productive and less satis-fied. Creative production typically has a highfailure-to-success ratio. Students who have the

11


goals, devise plans for reaching those goals, tolerate frustrations and share joys along theway, and sight new horizons after each accomplishment.

Several key principles are useful whencoaching advanced learners for growth.

• Continually raise the ceilings of expecta-tions so that advanced learners are competingwith their own possibilities rather than with anorm.

• Make clear what would constitute excel-lence for the advanced learner so she knows, atleast in large measure, what to aim for in herwork.

• As you raise ceilings of expectation, raisethe support system available to the student toreach his goals. When tasks are appropriatelychallenging, you’ll find high-end learners needyour support and scaffolding to achieve genuinesuccess, just as other learners do.

• Be sure to balance rigor and joy in learn-ing. It’s difficult to imagine a talented learnerpersisting when there is little pleasure in whatthe learner once thought was fascinating. It’salso difficult to imagine growth toward expertisewhen there is all joy and no rigor.

Understanding the Needs ofStruggling Learners

Labels are tricky with struggling learners, too.The term “slow learners” often carries with it anegative connotation of being shiftless or lazy,yet many struggling learners work hard and con-scientiously—especially when tasks are neitherboring (such as a steady diet of drill and skill)nor anxiety-producing (such as tasks that requiremore than they can deliver even when they workhard). The term “at-risk” overlooks the portionof the learner that may well be “at-promise.” Onechild’s struggle stems from a learning disability,another’s home life takes all her energy, andanother just finds a subject his nemesis.

capacity to be producers of new knowledge butwho are afraid of failure are unlikely to see theirproductive capacity realized.

• Advanced learners may fail to develop asense of self-efficacy. Self-esteem is fostered bybeing told you are important, valued, or suc-cessful. Self-efficacy, by contrast, comes fromstretching yourself to achieve a goal that youfirst believed was beyond your reach. Althoughmany advanced learners easily achieve a sort ofhollow self-esteem, they never develop a senseof self-efficacy. These students often go throughlife feeling like impostors, fearfully awaiting theinevitable day the world will discover theyaren’t so capable after all.

• Advanced learners may fail to developstudy and coping skills. When students coastthrough school with only modest effort, theymay look successful. In fact, however, successin life typically follows persistence, hard work,and risk. In many cases, advanced learnersmake good grades without learning to workhard. Then when hard work is required, theybecome frightened, resentful, or frustrated. Inaddition, they “succeed” without having to learnto study or grapple with ideas or persist in theface of uncertainty. We graduate many highlyable students with “evidence” that successrequires minimal effort, and without the skillsnecessary to achieve when they discover thatevidence is invalid.

Advanced learners, like all learners, needlearning experiences designed to fit them.When teachers are not sensitive to that need,they may set learning goals for advanced stu-dents that are too low or that develop new skillstoo infrequently. Then, if students are successfulanyhow, they often fail to develop the desirablebalance between running into walls and scalingthem. Advanced learners share other learners’need for teachers who can help them set high

12

HOW TO


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Further, just like with an advanced learner,the learning profile of a struggling learner mayshift over time; for example, suddenly a studentbecomes an eager reader after trailing the classin decoding and comprehension for some time.Many students whom we perceive to be “slow,”“at-risk,” or “struggling,” may actually be quiteproficient in talents that schools often treat assecondary, such as leadership among neighbor-hood peers, story telling, or building contrap-tions out of discarded materials.

Nonetheless, many students do struggle withschool tasks. They are a diverse group who canchallenge the artistry of the most expert teacherin listening deeply, believing unconditionally, andmoving beyond a recipe or blueprint approachto teaching to shape classrooms that offer manyavenues and timetables to understanding.

Here are some principles that can be helpfulin ensuring that struggling learners maximizetheir capacity in school.

• Look for the struggling learner’s posi-tives. Every student does some things relativelywell. It’s important to find those things, toaffirm them in private conversations and beforepeers, to design tasks that draw on thosestrengths, and to ensure that the student canuse strengths as a means of tackling areas of dif-ficulty. A student with kinesthetic ability and aweakness in reading, for example, may find iteasier to comprehend a story by pantomimingthe events in it as someone else reads aloud,and then reading the story to herself.

• Don’t let what’s broken extinguish whatworks. Few adults elect to spend the majorityof their days practicing what they can’t do. Thedifference between us and students is that wehave a choice. Struggling learners are morelikely to retain motivation to learn when theirdays allow them to concentrate on tasks that arerelevant and make them feel powerful. Many

learning-disabled gifted learners, for example,find school intolerable because educators spendso much time “remediating” their flaws thatthere’s no space for enhancing their strengths.It’s important to avoid this temptation withstruggling learners in general.

• Pay attention to relevance. It’s easy tounderstand why many struggling learnersbelieve school is not “their place.” They don’t“do school” well today, and we keep insistingthat persistence will pay off “someday”—oftenin another grade or level of school in which thechild believes he has little prospect for success.Dewey (1938) reminds us that if school isn’t fortoday, it will often turn out to be for nothing.He believed this to be true for all learners.Certainly it is so for many struggling learners. Askilled teacher conscientiously works to makeeach day’s explorations compelling for that day.

• Go for powerful learning. If strugglinglearners can’t learn everything, make sure theylearn the big ideas, key concepts, and governingprinciples of the subject at hand. Not only doesthis approach help struggling learners see thebig picture of the topic and subject, but it alsohelps build a scaffolding of meaning, a requisiteframework for future success.

• Teach up. Know your struggling students’learning profiles. Create tasks for strugglinglearners (individuals or groups with similar pro-files) that are a chunk more difficult than youbelieve they can accomplish. Then teach forsuccess (by encouraging, providing support,guiding planning, delineating criteria, and soon.) so that the seemingly unattainable moveswithin the learners’ reach. A strong sense ofself-efficacy comes not from being told we’reterrific, but rather from our own recognitionthat we’ve accomplished something we believedwas beyond us.

13


• Work for learning-in-context. In otherwords, help the student see how ideas and skillsare part of their own families and neighbor-hoods and futures. Helping students connecttheir lives with ideas and skills presupposesthat, as teachers, we understand the students’neighborhoods, cultures, and families and whatconnections are possible.

• Plan teaching and learning through manymodalities. If a student has heard about an idea,sung about it, built a representation of it, andread about it, success is far more likely than ifone avenue to learning predominates.

• Continually find ways to let the studentknow that you believe in him or her—and rein-force legitimate success whenever it happens. IfI believe in you, I’ll find a way to ensure thatyou succeed, and will be sure to point out thatsuccess to you whenever it is genuine andearned.

Differentiating LearningExperiences to AddressAcademic Diversity

Differentiated instruction is not simply giving a“normal” assignment to most students and “dif-ferent” assignments to students who are strug-gling or advanced. That approach usually cre-ates a “pecking order” among students, whichthen tends to cause other troubles. Studentsassigned a remedial assignment, which lookssimple to others, can take it as a message thatthey are inferior. Advanced assignments tend tolook more interesting to nearly everyone exceptthe advanced learner, who may perceive it asmore work. These strategies can backfire, caus-ing both advanced and struggling students tofeel different from those who do the “real”assignment.

In a differentiated classroom, a number ofthings are going on in any given class period.Over time, all students complete assignmentsindividually and in small groups, and

• Use many avenues to learning. Somestudents learn best with their ears, some withtheir eyes, some with touch or movement.Some are solitary learners, some must interactwith friends in order to learn. Some studentswork well by gathering details and constructinga bird’s-eye view of what is being studied.Others will not learn unless the bird’s-eye viewis clear to them before they encounter thedetails. Struggling learners sometimes becomemore successful learners just because their wayof learning is readily accessible through bothteacher design and student choice.

• See with the eyes of love. Some kidscome at the world with their dukes up. Life is afight for them in part because the belligerencethat surrounds them spawns belligerence inthem. These kids are no less difficult for ateacher to embrace than for the rest of theworld. But behind the tension and combative-ness abundant in the world of the angry child,what’s lacking is the acceptance and affection hedisinvites. Perhaps a good definition of a friendis someone who loves us as we are, and envi-sions us as we might be. If so, these studentsneed a teacher who is a friend. The eyes of lovereflect both unconditional acceptance andunwavering vision of total potential. It’s noteasy, but it is critical.

Here are a few important principles to recallas you plan for success for students who strug-gle with school.

• Be clear on what students must know,understand, and be able to do in order to growin their grasp of a subject. Teacher fog will onlyobscure an already difficult view for strugglingstudents.

• Set important goals of understanding anduse of ideas for struggling students, then figureout how to build scaffolding leading to studentsuccess in those goals. Don’t dilute the goals.

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HOW TO


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whole-group instruction occurs as well.Sometimes students select their group size andtasks, sometimes they are assigned. Sometimesthe teacher establishes criteria for success,sometimes students do. And setting standardsfor success is often a collaborative process.Because there are many different things happen-ing, no one assignment defines “normal,” andno one “sticks out.” The teacher thinks andplans in terms of “multiple avenues to learning”for varied needs, rather than in terms of “nor-mal” and “different.” The goal for each studentis maximum growth from his current “learningposition.” The goal of the teacher is coming tounderstand more and more about that learningposition so that learning matches learner need.

A Final Thought

In the end, all learners need your energy, yourheart, and your mind. They have that in com-mon because they are young humans. How theyneed you, however, differs. Unless we under-stand and respond to those differences, we failmany learners.

Some of us are drawn to teach strugglinglearners, some are natural champions ofadvanced learners, and some have an affinity forthe sort of “standard” student who matches ourimage of the 4th or 8th or 11th grader wethought we’d be teaching. That we have prefer-ences is, again, human. The most effectiveteachers spend a career meticulously cultivatingtheir appreciation for children not so easy forthem to automatically embrace, while continu-ing to draw energy from those students whomthey more automatically find delightful.

15


Mixed-ability class-rooms that offer dif-ferentiated instructionmake good sense forteachers, as well as

students. For many teachers, though, offeringdifferentiated instruction first requires a para-digm shift.

The Teacher’s Role in aDifferentiated Classroom

Teachers who become comfortable with differ-entiated classrooms would probably say theirrole differs in some significant ways from that ofa more traditional teacher. When teachers dif-ferentiate instruction, they move away from see-ing themselves as keepers and dispensers ofknowledge and move toward seeing themselvesas organizers of learning opportunities. While con-tent knowledge remains important, these teach-ers focus less on knowing all the answers, andfocus more on “reading their students.” They

then create ways to learn that both capture stu-dents’ attention and lead to understanding.Organizing a class for effective activity andexploration becomes the highest priority.

Teachers who differentiate instruction focuson their role as coach or mentor, give students asmuch responsibility for learning as they canhandle, and teach them to handle a little more.These teachers grow in their ability to (1) assessstudent readiness through a variety of means,(2) “read” and interpret student clues aboutinterests and learning preferences, (3) create avariety of ways students can gather informationand ideas, (4) develop varied ways students canexplore and “own” ideas, and (5) present variedchannels through which students can expressand expand understandings. “Covering informa-tion” takes a back seat to making meaning outof important ideas. Most of us have not beentrained to look at teaching in this light, but weare learners, too. We may not be able to trans-form our image of ourselves in a flash, but wecan change over the course of a career.

THE Role OF THE Teacher IN A Differentiated Classroom

33` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` `

16

17

` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` `The Role of the Teacher in a Differentiated Classroom

• organizing and focusing curriculum onessential information, understandings, andskills,

• seeing and reflecting on individuals as wellas the group,

• hunting for insights about individuals,• peeling back first impressions, looking

beyond actions, erasing stereotypes,• giving students a voice,• thinking of and using time flexibly,• scrounging for a wide range of materials,• thinking of many ways to accomplish a

common goal,• diagnosing student need and crafting

learning experiences in response to diagnoses,• thinking of what could go wrong in an

activity or task and structuring student work toavoid potential problems,

• sharing responsibility for teaching andlearning with students, ensuring that studentsare prepared for the shared roles,

• moving students among varied workarrangements as a way to see students in newways and to help them see themselves in newways,

• keeping track of student proximity to andgrowth toward personal and group benchmarks,

• organizing materials and space,• giving directions,• teaching for success, and• building a sense of community in the

classroom.

Three metaphors for the role of the teacherin a differentiated classroom are helpful. (Feelfree to create your own metaphor as well.)

The Teacher as Director of the Orchestra.This metaphor generates the image of a leaderwho knows the music intimately, can interpretit elegantly, can pull together a group of peoplewho may not know each other well to achieve acommon end, even though they all play differ-

Best Practice Accounts forVaried Learners

Differentiation calls on a teacher to realize thatclassrooms must be places where teachers pur-sue our best understandings of teaching andlearning every day, and also to recall daily thatno practice is truly best practice unless it worksfor the individual learner.

For instance, most of us who teach knowthat a lesson that “hooks” students has manymerits. Differentiation affirms that principle, butreminds us that what may “hook” one studentmight well puzzle, bore, or irritate others.Differentiation doesn’t suggest that a teacher canbe all things to all individuals all the time. Itdoes, however, mandate that a teacher create areasonable range of approaches to learningmuch of the time, so that most students findlearning a fit much of the time.

Ron Brandt (1998) offers a number of char-acteristics for what he calls powerful learning.Figure 3.1 offers a few of these “best-practice”principles, as well as corollaries that remind usthat truly expert teaching is inevitably differenti-ated. Making the link between best practiceteaching and differentiation helps set the stagefor understanding the role of the teacher in adifferentiated classroom.

Learning to Lead aDifferentiated Classroom

Few of us as teachers automatically know howto lead a classroom that responds to the daunt-ing reality of learner variance. It is a learnedskill, in the same sense of any other art or craft.Perhaps a good place to begin is by listing somekey skills that a teacher will develop over timeas she consciously and reflectively works on dif-ferentiating instruction. Teachers who becomecomfortable and competent with differentiationalmost inevitably develop skills of:

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FIGURE 3.1Best-Practice Teaching Linked with Differentiation

Best Practice (Brandt, 1998): People learn best

under these conditions:

Differentiation: We need to attend to student

differences because…

Because students have different backgrounds andinterest, there’s no guarantee that they’ll all find thesame things personally meaningful.

2. What they learn is challenging, and they accept thechallenge.

4. They can learn in their own way, have choices, andfeel in control.

3. What they learn is appropriate to their developmental level.

Because students learn at different rates, a pace,text, or task that challenges some students will frustrate or bore others.

At any time some students will think more concretelyand some more abstractly, some more dependentlyand others more independently.

5. They use what they know to construct new knowledge.

6. They have opportunities for social interaction.

7. They get helpful feedback.

8. They acquire and use strategies.

It’s a sure bet students won’t all opt to learn in thesame way, make the same choices, or feel in controlwith the same parameters.

What is helpful feedback for one student may not befor another.

9. They experience a positive emotional climate.

Each student needs to acquire strategies new to thatstudent and use them in ways that are personallyhelpful.

10. The environment supports the intended learning.

Classrooms that are quite positive for some studentsare distinctly not so for others.

Students will need varied scaffolding to achieve bothcommon and personal goals.

Students will vary in the amount of collaboration theyneed and the sorts of peers with whom they workbest.

Because they don’t all know the same things at thesame degree of competency, students will constructknowledge differently.

1. What they learn is personally meaningful.

Note: “Best Practice” column adapted from: Brandt, R. (1998). Powerful learning. Alexandria, VA: Association for Supervision andCurriculum Development.

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ent instruments. There’s a time in rehearsals forindividual practice, a time for sectional practice,and a time for the whole group to worktogether. There’s a need to polish the perform-ance of each individual musician so that thework of the whole is of quality. In the end, eachmusician contributes to a meaningful perform-ance and earns the applause (or scorn) of theaudience. The director of the orchestra helpsmusicians make music, but does not make themusic himself.

The Teacher as Coach. A good coach hasclear goals for the team, but also for every indi-vidual on the team. Practices will likely involvesome common activities, but will also likely callon each player to improve areas of weaknessand polish areas of strength. The coach is gen-erally part psychologist, having to understandwhat motivates each player and use that under-standing to get the player to sweat and evenrisk pain in order to develop his skill. Also,however, the coach must build a team spiritthat transcends individual concerns. The coachis incredibly active during both practices andgames—running the sidelines, motivating, giv-ing directions, calling small groups aside at keytimes for strategy adjustments. The coach, how-ever, does not play the game.

The Teacher as Jazz Musician. Impro-visation combines with a high level of musicalcompetence to enable the jazz musician to thinkboth inside and outside the box. The jazz musi-cian has the big picture, but can add new notes,change tempo, step back for a soloist to assumethe spotlight, or become the soloist in the spot-light. A piece becomes longer or shorter, moreplaintive, or more playful as the mood of thegroup dictates. It is the artistry and confidence ofthe jazz musician with the music, instrument,and group that allow her to abandon the scorefor the sake of the music, the group, and theaudience. A good differentiated classroom is jazz!

Differentiating Instruction: Rulesof Thumb

Before looking at specific ways to modify con-tent, process, and product for students in yourmixed-ability classroom, it helps to understandseveral general guidelines that make differentia-tion possible.

• Be clear on the key concepts and gener-alizations or principles that give meaningand structure to the topic, chapter, unit, orlesson you are planning. Few learners canamass and recall scores of bits of data on multi-ple topics, let alone organize and use all thatdata. All learners would probably fare better iflessons focused on key ideas and meanings.When the curriculum “covers” 500 pages, it isdifficult to do much more than drag everyonethrough those pages in the time available. Onthe other hand, focusing on key concepts andgeneralizations can ensure that all learners gainpowerful understandings that serve as buildingblocks for meaning and access to other knowl-edge. Key concepts act as springboards to helpall learners make connections between the topicunder consideration and expanded studies. Andthese learners are more likely to find theirschool experiences more memorable, useful,and engaging. It’s often useful to begin planningwith knowledge, understandings, and skills youwant individuals and the group to have mas-tered when a unit concludes, then take a stepby step journey “backwards” to figure out thebest progression you and the students can takein order to reach the destination.

• Think of assessment as a road map foryour thinking and planning. School oftencasts assessment as a test. In fact, everything astudent does, from an oral contribution in a dis-cussion to a homework assignment to comple-tion of an interest checklist, is a form ofassessment. When you begin to see the wide

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their work written by a peer or adult. Some mayneed to use materials in a language other thanEnglish, or write initially in a first language andthen translate into English. But if argumentationis a valuable skill, all students should engage init with appropriate scaffolding.

• Lessons for all students should beengaging. Again, you may not always achievethat goal, but it should still be something tostrive for as a measure of growth as an educator.Although all students will sometimes have to dodrill and practice to accumulate needed data, itis not acceptable for struggling learners tospend most of their time trying to master basicinformation while other students get to use it.In fact, we now know (Means, Chelemer, &Knapp, 1991) that many learners who strugglewould find learning more natural and sensible ifthey were consistently presented with problems,issues, dilemmas, and unknowns that requiredthem to use more of what they have learned.

• In a differentiated classroom, thereshould be a balance between student-selected and teacher-assigned tasks andworking arrangements. This balance will varysomewhat for each student, based on the stu-dent’s maturity, the nature of the task, classroomconditions, and so on. But all students shouldregularly have choices to make, and all studentsshould regularly be matched with tasks compat-ible with their individual learner profile. Again,struggling students should not typically workalone on a teacher-assigned task while otherstudents typically work together on tasks oftheir own choice.

� � �

The next chapter provides an overview of learn-ing environments most likely to be hospitableto a philosophy of differentiation.

array of assessment sources in the classroom,you begin to see how many ways there are tolearn about learners. School often casts assess-ment as something that happens at the end of aunit to see who “got it” and who didn’t. In fact,assessment is most useful when it comes at theoutset of a unit or along the way in the unit. Atthose points, assessment invites us to adjust ourteaching based on current information. Schooloften casts assessment as dependent on readingand writing. While those are essential skills formost roles in life, they are not always the bestway to find out what all learners have come tounderstand and be able to do as the result of alearning sequence. Fruitful assessment oftenposes the question, “What is an array of ways Ican offer students to demonstrate their under-standing and skills?” In that way, assessmentbecomes a part of teaching for success and away to extend rather than merely measurelearning.

• Lessons for all students should empha-size critical and creative thinking. In theimperfect world of teaching, you may not alwaysaccomplish this, but it should be your cleargoal. In other words, it is not acceptable forremedial students to do “low-level” tasks thatrequire only memorization of information andminimal comprehension. All tasks shouldrequire that students, at the very least, under-stand and be able to apply the meaning of theideas at hand. Much of the time, all studentsshould be called on to use information, under-standings, and skills to solve knotty problemsthat defy a recipe-like answer. Some studentsmay need more support than others to makeand back an argument, for example. Some maybenefit from using more advanced researchmaterials as they construct their argument. Somemay profit from a minilesson that recaps how tomake and support a solid argument. Some mayneed to develop their arguments orally and have

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The tone of any class-room greatly affectsthose who inhabit itand the learning thattakes place there.

Classroom environment in a setting that strivesfor differentiation is, if anything, even more of afactor in shaping success. A differentiated class-room should support, and is supported by, anevolving community of learners. What thatmeans is that the teacher leads his students indeveloping the sorts of attitudes, beliefs, andpractices that would characterize a really goodneighborhood.

Characteristics of an EffectiveLearning Community

An effective community of learners is character-ized by traits such as the following.

•Everyone feels welcomed and con-tributes to everyone else feeling welcomed.Many things make students feel welcomed.Certainly the direct and positive attention of theteacher is welcoming. Peers who acknowledgethe presence of all of their classmates in positiveways should be an expectation. A room thatcontains student work and other artifacts thatare student designed and interesting to look atand think about are inviting. Flexible and com-fortable seating options provide a kind of wel-come as well. A time in the day when studentsand teacher can talk about the day, or life ingeneral, builds bridges between learning andthe world of the learner. Think about the thingsthat make you feel welcomed—or have theopposite effect—at a neighbor’s house, in astore, when you enter the place you work, andso on. It makes a difference to know that theclassroom is a place where you feel you belong,

THE Learning Environment IN A Differentiated Classroom

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because everyone else feels that too. Remember,too, that a part of feeling genuinely welcomedin a place is that key people make an enduringand sustained effort to get to know and under-stand you.

•Mutual respect is a nonnegotiable. It willnever be the case that we like or understandeveryone with whom we spend time. On theother hand, the classroom is a better place if welearn that everyone shares a need for somecommon feelings such as acceptance, respect,security, success, and so on. It is a powerful lifelesson that regardless of our gender, culture,speed of learning, language, dress, and person-ality we all feel pain, joy, doubt, triumph—thehuman emotions. Our lives are made betterwhen they are treated as valuable and worthy ofrespect. In a differentiated classroom, theteacher helps students distinguish between feel-ings about something someone did and thevalue of that person. Further, the teacher helpsstudents learn to solve problems in constructiveways that attend to the issue at hand withoutmaking a person or group feel smaller. Respectseldom happens without the cultivation ofeffort. The teacher is inevitably the catalyst forthat effort. It’s important to remember thathumor plays a central role in a welcoming andrespectful classroom. Sarcasm and sharp wordsdo not.

•Students feel safe in the classroom. Notonly does safety presuppose the absence ofphysical danger, it requires the absence of emo-tional danger as well. Students in a differenti-ated classroom should know it’s a good thing toask for help when it’s needed, that it’s fine to sayyou don’t know, that an earnest question willget an earnest response, that eyes will not rollwhen someone expresses something that seemsunusual or evident, that fledgling ideas will begiven a chance to develop, and so on. Safetymeans that when I try a new skill, expend

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effort, or take a risk with a creative idea, I won’tbe thought of as foolish or stupid. Safety hap-pens when you feel accepted as you are, andvalued enough so that people want to help youbecome even better.

•There is a pervasive expectation ofgrowth. The goal in a differentiated classroomis to help every learner grow as much as he orshe can in both general ability and specific tal-ents. The teacher gets excited about the growthof each individual learner, and of the class as awhole. Students learn to chart their own growthand to talk about both their learning goals andways of achieving them. All growth is worthy ofnote. One student’s growth may mean that theconcept of fractions is finally beginning to makesense, while another’s growth may reflect aninsight about connections between fractions,decimals, and subtraction. In a differentiatedclassroom, the growth of each of the students isa matter of celebration, and one person’s growthis not more or less valuable than another’s.

•The teacher teaches for success. Some-times school is characterized by a sort of“gotcha” teaching, in which the game seems tobe seeing if the teacher can ask a question ordesign a test item that will trip up students. In adifferentiated classroom, it’s the teacher’s goal tofigure out where a student is in relation to keylearning goals and then provide learning experi-ences that will push the learner a little furtherand faster than is comfortable. When thelearner gives the work a really good effort, theteacher will ensure that there is support neces-sary to assist the student in reaching the goalthat seemed a bit out of reach. That kind ofassistance is often called “scaffolding.” Figure4.1 lists some common kinds of scaffolding inclassrooms. Scaffolding is whatever kind ofassistance is needed for any student to movefrom prior knowledge and skill to the next levelof knowledge and skill. In a good differentiated

classroom, the teacher is constantly raising thestakes for success for any individual, then doingwhatever is necessary to help the student suc-ceed in taking the next step. Remember thateveryone’s next step will not be identical, andthat every student needs scaffolding in order tostretch.

•A new sort of fairness is evident. Weoften define fair in a classroom as treatingeveryone alike. In a differentiated classroom,fairness is redefined. In this sort of environ-ment, fair means trying to make sure each stu-dent gets what she needs in order to grow andsucceed. Students and teacher alike are part ofthe team trying to ensure that the classroomworks well for everyone in the class.

•Teacher and students collaborate formutual growth and success. In a differentiated

classroom, just as in a large family, everyone hasto take extra responsibility both for their ownwell-being and for the well-being of others. Inthis sort of setting, while the teacher is clearlythe leader of the group, students can helpdevelop routines for the classroom, make majorcontributions toward solving problems andrefining routines, help one another, keep trackof their work, and so on. Different students willbe ready for differing amounts of responsibilityat any given time, but all students need to beguided in assuming a growing degree of respon-sibility and independence as a learner andmember of a community of learners. Not only isthat essential in a differentiated classroom, butit’s a huge part of success in life as well.

The teacher sets the tone for the classroomenvironment. It is a heavy responsibility and awonderful opportunity to help students shape

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` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` `The Learning Environment in a Differentiated Classroom

• Directions that give more structure—or less• Tape recorders to help with reading or writing beyond the student’s grasp• Icons to help interpret print• Reteaching/Extended teaching• Modeling• Clear criteria for success• Reading buddies (with appropriate directions)• Double-entry journals (at appropriate challenge level)• Text-survey type strategies• Teaching through multiple modes• Use of manipulatives (when needed)• Gearing reading materials to student reading level• Use of study guides• Use of organizers• New American Lecture

Note: “Challenging work” means assignments or task that areslightly beyond the student’s comfort zone.

FIGURE 4.1Scaffolding: Providing Support Needed for a Student to Succeed in Challenging Work

Paving the Way for Respect and Success

There are two concrete pieces of guidance thatcontribute to a positive learning environment ina differentiated classroom that round out themore philosophical guidance offered above.Both suggest students in a differentiated class-room need to collaborate successfully.

•Continually coach students to be con-tributing members of a group. As teachers, weoften work in isolation. When that is the case,

positive lives. Teachers, as all people, have gooddays and ones they’d rather not duplicate.While none of us will ever do everything in theway of building a positive classroom environ-ment exactly like we’d have chosen to do it ifwe could have scripted events, we can get betterand better at modeling what we want studentsto learn—joy in work, pleasure in one another,patience, kindness, and a big heart. Thosethings help students construct sturdier andmore rewarding lives. Working toward themhelps the teacher become a wiser person andbetter professional as well.

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Figure 4.2Teacher Checklist for Group Work

Students understand the task goals.

Students understand what’s expected of individuals to make the group work well.

The task matches the goals (leads students to what they should know, understand, and be able to do).

Most students should find the task interesting.

The task requires an important contribution from each group member based on the student’s skills and interests.

The task is likely to be demanding of the group and its members.

The task requires genuine collaboration to achieve shared understanding.

Time lines are brisk (but not rigid).

Individuals are accountable for their own understanding of all facets of the task.

There’s a “way out” for students who are not succeeding with the group.

There is opportunity for teacher or peer coaching and in-process quality checks.

Students understand what to do next after they complete their work at a high level of quality.

we get little firsthand experience with effectivelyfunctioning groups. Sometimes, the best way toknow how to help students succeed in smallgroup settings is just to study groups at work inyour classroom, and try to list the traits of func-tional versus dysfunctional groups. Then try tocreate tasks and give directions that steer stu-

dents toward the more functional ways of work-ing. Remember that students can and shouldhelp you develop groups that are productive ifyou will involve them in goal setting, reflection,and problem solving. Figure 4.2 provides a fewguidelines for establishing productive groups.Figure 4.3 shows a range of grouping activities.

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` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` `The Learning Environment in a Differentiated Classroom

Figure 4.3Range of Activities in a Differentiated Classroom

Classroom Instructional Arrangements

Whole-Class Activities

Pre-assessment(readiness/interest)

Introductionof Concepts

Planning

Sharing

Wrap-up ofExplorations

Small-Group Activities (Pairs, Triads, Quads)

Sense-Making DirectedReading

Planning Investigation

Compacting

Sense-Making

Practice & Apply Skills

Homework

Interest Centers

Products

IndependentStudy

Assessment Tailoring &Planning

Guidance Evaluation

Testing

Teaching Skills

Individualized Activities

Student-Teacher Conferences

Using a variety of grouping strategies allowsyou to match students and tasks when neces-sary, and to observe and assess students in avariety of groupings and task conditions. Thisflexibility also keeps students from feeling thatthey are “pegged” into a given classroom niche.During the course of a unit, there will be timeswhen it makes most sense for students of a sim-ilar readiness level to work together or with theteachers. There should be other times whentasks are designed to bring together students ofdiffering readiness levels in a way that will bemeaningful to them all. There will be timeswhen students with similar interests shouldwork together on an area they all care about—and times when students with different special-ties can come together to look at an idea ortopic from several different angles.

Figure 4.3 suggests that teachers in a differ-entiated classroom plan for flexible grouping atthe outset of a unit, asking, for example: Whenduring the unit should the class work as awhole? When should I plan small group activi-ties? When does it make most sense for stu-dents to work individually? When should I plantime to meet with individuals? Flexible group-ing is a central part of respect for all learners,honoring individual differences, collaboration,teaching for success, and collaboration in a dif-ferentiated classroom.

� � �

The next chapter offers several scenarios of howteachers of different grades and subjects haveused these guidelines to transform their role inthe classroom.

In general, remember that groups will workbetter if students know what to do, how to doit, what is expected of group members, andwhat will constitute quality of both workingprocesses and product. Also reflect on the factthat an effective task will call for a meaningfulcontribution from every group member. That isnot likely to occur when some members of thegroup have all the answers and skills and othersclearly have a comparative deficit in knowledgeand skills. Groups should not establish a castesystem whereby some students in the class arealways the teachers and others are always thetaught. Also remember to have a respectful“way out” of the group for a student who can-not, at the moment, succeed with the group,even with your assistance and the assistance ofthe group. The alternative should not be puni-tive, but should rather present a different worksetting that is more likely to succeed at thetime.

•Plan with flexible grouping in mind. In adifferentiated classroom, you will often designtasks for students based on your best judgmentof their readiness for and interest in those tasks,as well as how they learn best. At such times,you will most likely want to assign students tothe appropriate task. At other times, you maywant students to quickly discuss an idea with anearby or pre-assigned thinking partner. Or itmay be more convenient to have students workwith others at their table or to turn desks into acircle with four students in a cluster. Often, stu-dents can select their task partners, or they mayneed or prefer to work alone.

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There is no recipe fordifferentiation.Teachers constructdifferentiated class-rooms in varying

ways depending on their own personalities, thenature of the subject and grade level they teach,and the learning profiles of their students.These teachers have at least two things in com-mon, however: a conviction that students differin their learning needs, and a belief that class-rooms in which students are active learners,decision makers, and problem solvers are morenatural and effective than those in which stu-dents are passive recipients of information.

Although there is no formula for differentia-tion, taking a glimpse at some differentiatedclassrooms is often helpful in envisioning howdifferentiation can be applied. The following“tour” includes modes of differentiation appro-priate for all grade levels and subjects.

Ms. Eames and Her 1st Graders

It’s early spring, and Ms. Eames’s 1st graders aresporting a wide range of reading levels as wellas burgeoning interests in many different topics.One way Ms. Eames addresses both differencesin her learners is with a flexible reading pro-gram. Each week, she posts the reading sched-ule. Students find their own names on theschedule and go to the appointed part of theroom at times designated on the chart. In thecourse of the week, students are likely to readin as many as five or six configurations. Thereare always times when the whole class meets tolisten to a story and talk about it, or to volun-teer to read parts of the story. Sometimes asmall group of students meets with their teacherto work on decoding, comprehension strategies,or talking about reading just for the pleasure ofsharing ideas. At other points, students meetwith peers who want to read on a topic ofmutual interest, regardless of their readingreadiness. There may be books at different

A Look Inside SOME

Differentiated CLASSROOMS

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Today, for example, all students will beassigned to one of two reading/writing learningcenters. Both centers focus on themes in biog-raphies the students have read. At each center,students can elect to work alone, with a partner,or with a group of three or four peers assignedto their center. At one center, students select aperson they’ve read about and make an anno-tated time line of the person’s early life, select-ing events that they think were most importantin shaping the person’s life. Then they choose toeither write a paper that explains their choices,draw a storyboard of the events, or act out theevents one day during sharing time. Whateverway a student decides to express understanding,the focus must be on identifying themes in thelife of the person about whom they read. At theother, more complex reading/writing center,students select one of the biographies they’veread, as well as a fictional work they’ve readabout a young person. Then they write aboutsome real-life events they and some of their 3rdgrade friends have experienced. Finally, afterlooking in all three works for common themesabout growing up, they design a method ofshowing how those themes are used in each set-ting. Mrs. Riley gives them three suggestions:theme trees; a matrix; and conversationsbetween or among the subject of the biography,the fictional character, and a 3rd grader.

Some students go early in the day to one ofthese two reading/writing centers; after that,they work with differentiated math assignmentsat their desks. Other students experience thiscombination of activities in reverse order.

Interest centers are also available to stu-dents during the week. Offered at the same timeas the biography-focused learning centers, someinterest centers allow students to explore theskills of acting, learn how to make storyboardsfor advertisements and animated films, or use alaser disc to find out more about a famous per-son they’re interested in. Mrs. Riley also offersinterest centers on science- and math-related

reading levels on the same topic, or studentsmay read varying portions of the same material.Students also read alone—sometimes from dis-covery boxes which they can browse for booksof interest on a number of topics, and some-times from boxes of books designated with acolor, and matching their reading level.Sometimes students meet with a read-aloudpartner. In these instances, they may take turnsreading, or the teacher may ask them to “choralread” so that a stronger reader can provide lead-ership for a peer who does not yet read quite aswell. This sort of flexible reading arrangementenables the teacher to target particular teachingneeds, provide for interest-based explorations,have students share both their skills and inter-ests with a good range of classmates, and workwith the class as a whole on reading.

(Note: You can find out more about someflexible approaches to reading in GuidedReading by Fountas & Pinnell, 1996; MatchingBooks to Readers, Using Leveled Books inGuided Reading, K-3 by Fountas & Pinnell,1999; or Readers’ Workshop: Real Reading byHaggerty, 1992.)

Mrs. Riley and Her 3rd Graders

Mrs. Riley uses a number of differentiationstrategies, but one she finds quite natural is theuse of learning centers and interest centers.Based on an assumption that all learners needexposure to the same information, she used tocreate centers and then send each child to everycenter. Now, after designing a variety of centersbased on her students’ learning profiles, Mrs.Riley often assigns students to centers based onher formal and informal assessment of theirreadiness. Even when they are assigned to alearning center, students make choices abouttheir work in ways that address their interestsand learning preferences.

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topics. Students select which interest centers toattend. Most interest centers in Mrs. Riley’sclassroom are available for two weeks or more.

Mr. Blackstone and His 6thGraders

Mr. Blackstone teaches science and math to stu-dents on his middle school team. This week,the team is studying inertia. To introduce thisunit, Mr. Blackstone first uses whole-classinstruction to ensure that all students have agrasp of key ideas. Then, students learn moreabout inertia by working at one of two labsdesigned to help them understand, analyze, andapply important unit-related principles. One labemploys a more multifaceted, complex, andambiguous problem than the other. The teacherassigns students to the lab he feels is mostappropriate for them, based on observation ofthe students over time, dialogue during thewhole-class introduction, and “exit cards” onwhich students summarized what they hadlearned about key principles of inertia as theyleft the whole-class session.

Following the labs, students take a test thatassesses how well they’ve learned the key princi-ples from their whole-class study and differenti-ated labs. Students who show mastery on thetest can begin working on a rocketry project,either alone or with one or two other classmateswho have also shown mastery. Students who donot yet show mastery begin working on a differ-ent rocketry project, one that is more structuredand ensures they reencounter and apply the keyprinciples. Mr. Blackstone works with this groupof students, guiding their thinking so they canapply important understandings. He also worksperiodically with the more advanced group ontheir project, pushing their thinking further, andavoiding the role of “the remediator.”

By working with small groups much of thetime, Mr. Blackstone gets to know his studentsand how they think. Because Mr. Blackstone

enjoys both his subject and his students, every-one in the class looks forward to opportunitiesto work directly with him.

Ms. Jeffries and Her 8th GradeHistory Students

Ms. Jeffries is determined to help her studentsunderstand that history is alive and well, so herstudents often work on investigative projectsthat help them explore themes common to his-tory over time and place. She has designed aproject to help them explore what went on intheir Virginia town during the Civil War. Allstudents begin this project by reading materialavailable in class, viewing videos, and doingsome library research. During these activities,they note in their individual learning logs infor-mation they will use for background material.Next, they make individual selections ofresources from a menu of references and othersources that Ms. Jeffries has prepared. In indi-vidual conversations, she often adds one or twoadditional resources to a student’s list based onher assessment of that learner’s interests andreading/comprehension levels, as well as hersense of topics they might enjoy. Students alsohave to find at least one source of informationthat is not in their classroom or school library(Ms. Jeffries’s source list includes possibilitiessuch as talking with teachers in the school,interviewing students who have completed thestudy in previous years, or going to a nearbypublic library or museum).

As they do their in-class or library research,Ms. Jeffries encourages students to share withone another in a round-robin discussion bothsources and ideas they find interesting. Studentsalso keep a running class list of topics that theymight explore for their investigations, such asmedical practice in their town during the CivilWar, disease patterns, the economy, the archi-tecture and buildings in the town then andnow, roles of local citizens in the military, local

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` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` `A Look Inside Some Differentiated Classrooms

Mr. Rakes and His High SchoolMath Students

Mr. Rakes has found that by the time studentsenter Algebra II, their levels of math skill arequite varied. Some students seem to grasp theprinciples in a chapter almost before they readit; others look squint-eyed and genuinely puz-zled as their peers put homework answers onthe board. Somewhere in the middle are stu-dents who grasp the ideas, but more slowly oronly after repeated explanations.

When Mr. Rakes used whole-class instruc-tion to address everyone’s needs in only oneway, he found that he was unsuccessful withmost of his students. So he began thinking ofhis class differently. Now, when beginning anew chapter, he offers students a chance to“compact out” of the chapter either before theclass begins working on it, or after three days ofwork with the entire class. “Compacting out”works like this: Prior to or early on in studyinga chapter, students take the chapter post-test.Those who demonstrate competency then do anongoing, independent investigation thatexplores uses of mathematics in the world. Mr.Rakes gives those students guidelines for devel-oping the independent studies, but the studentsget to choose the specific exploration anddesign the project. Sometimes students workalone on their investigations, and sometimes insmall groups. Mr. Rakes works with them totighten or focus plans, as needed.

Students like the “compacting out” optionbecause it gives them a chance to work withmany topics that interest them, but that theyseldom have a chance to examine in depth dur-ing high school—topics such as computers,astronomy, architecture, medicine, and econom-ics. Students working on independent studies

politics during that period, and schooling oreducation during the Civil War. Within two tofour days, students decide on a first and secondchoice for their investigation, which they sub-mit to their teacher.

Ms. Jeffries then assigns students to groupsby their topics and strengths. Sometimes sheconstructs mixed-ability groups of five or sixstudents; other times, she pairs students of rela-tively similar ability who have common inter-ests and work well together. This flexiblegrouping strategy allows her to tailor projectsfor advanced students or for students who needmore structure and guidance.

A key principle in her class, however, is theimportance of working as colleagues, so stu-dents in one group are free to call on studentsin any other group for advice or assistance witha specific task, such as computer work, draw-ing, or editing. She also pairs students acrossgroups every few days so they can share ideasthat might benefit other students doing similarinvestigations. The tone is one of cooperationfor mutual success, not competition for scarcerewards. Ms. Jeffries negotiates with her stu-dents to determine the criteria for the content,format, and quality of final products. Some cri-teria apply to the class as a whole, while othersare specific to a group or individual task.

Ms. Jeffries designed this project carefully: Ithas both clearly defined, “custom-fit” responsi-bilities for each student, and vague, unassignedcomponents that each group must work outhow to handle. Every student has an opportu-nity to make a clear, individual contribution tothe whole that is personally challenging andinteresting. And all students engage in tasks thathelp them improve their negotiating and group-work skills.

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can work in class (if they don’t distract others),request library time (if they use the privilegeappropriately), or even do another assignmentduring math class to free up time for work onthe independent study after school. Each stu-dent creates a time line of project tasks and isaccountable for meeting deadlines and keepinga process log of project work and thought.

When the other students have completedworking through the chapter, all students takethe end-of-chapter tests. This practice assuresthat those who compacted out of the chapterstay fresh with the skills; it also assures Mr.Rakes that everyone understands the material.Prior to this test, Mr. Rakes often takes two daysfor peer review, which he does by constructingmixed-ability groups in which all students worktogether to complete review problems.

By the time the second semester starts, a fewstudents who weren’t advanced enough forcompacting during the first semester will haveprogressed to the point where they can opt forcompacting and the math application independ-ent study. Sometimes, a few students who hadcompacted out the first semester feel more com-fortable if they work along with the class duringthe second semester. And a few students whohad compacted during the first semester willagain do so during the second semester. Theyoften design independent projects that areextensions of their earlier independent studies.

When Mr. Rakes works with the studentswho have not compacted out, he uses a two-part study plan. First, he uses whole-groupinstruction to teach key principles. Next, hecreates cooperative groups so students whoseem able to apply the ideas somewhat inde-pendently can practice doing so. Students whoare still struggling then work directly with Mr.Rakes during the first part of each class periodso that he can assess their thinking and helpthem focus on missing concepts and skills.

During the last portion of the class, while thisgroup is working in pairs on application tasks,Mr. Rakes checks in with the cooperativegroups that have been working without hisguidance.

Mr. Rakes has found this three-partapproach to his class manageable for him andproductive for his students. He has also begunto encourage all of his students to do mathapplication studies as a part of their individualportfolio work. Although some students’ indi-vidual projects may not be as complex or time-consuming as others, the projects give allstudents a chance to see math in a differentlight and to explore their interests. Some stu-dents, for example, learn about how math isused outside the textbook and the classroom byvisiting and interviewing people in their com-munity who use math in their work.

The Teacher’s Toolbox

These five teachers use a variety of instructionalstrategies to help them match content, process,and product to the readiness, interest, and tal-ents of their students. Some of the strategiesdescribed were interest and learning centers,mixed-ability and matched-ability cooperativegroups, working as colleagues, negotiated crite-ria, compacting out, independent investigations,and peer review (see the Appendix for a com-prehensive and descriptive list of these andother instructional strategies that are useful formanaging differentiated classrooms).

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The next chapter offers 17 “megastrategies” youcan use to move away from one-size-fits-allinstruction and toward designing instructionthat challenges students individually by offeringa variety of learning and working arrangements.

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` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` `A Look Inside Some Differentiated Classrooms

For many teachers,uncertainty abouthow to manage a dif-ferentiated classroomgrows into a fear that

stops them from attempting to provide instruc-tion based on their students’ varied interestsand needs. Many teachers don’t appreciate howskilled they are at attending to multiple signalsand juggling a variety of roles. The same skillsthat help teachers succeed in the complex envi-ronment of a classroom can lead them towardsuccess in a differentiated classroom environ-ment, as well.

Benefits for Students and Teachers

As Piaget (1969) reflected, “The heartbreakingdifficulty in pedagogy, as indeed in medicineand other branches of knowledge that partakeat the same time of art and science, is, in fact,that the best methods are also the most difficult

ones” (p. 69). Although managing a differentiat-ed classroom is not always easy, progress in thatdirection tends to make school a better fit formore students. It also tends to make teachingmore satisfying and invigorating.

Managing a DifferentiatedClassroom: The Basics

Worthwhile endeavors are often challenging—and usually worth it. Here are 17 key strategiesyou can use to successfully meet the challengeof designing and managing differentiatedinstruction for your learners.

1 Have a strong rationale for differentiat-ing instruction based on student readi-

ness, interest, and learning profile. Thenshare your thinking with your students andtheir parents—often. Just as teachers sometimesneed help creating new mental images of class-rooms as places that are fluid and offer manyavenues to learning, so do students and parents.

Strategies FOR Managing A Differentiated Classroom

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If you help your students and parents under-stand and contribute to your new view of theclassroom, they will be able to adapt. Withoutyour help, they may feel that you are “violatingthe rules of the game,” and then they maybecome confused or resistant. This communica-tion strategy is so important that the next chap-ter more fully describes a way to prepare your-self, your students, and their parents for a stu-dent-centered, differentiated classroom.

2 Begin differentiating at a pace that is comfortable for you. Some teachers

already make frequent adjustments in curricu-lum and instruction to allow for student differ-ences in their classrooms. With just a few addi-tional guidelines, these teachers are ready tomove ahead quickly in differentiating instruc-tion. Others who are less experienced or confi-dent need to move in smaller increments.There’s a strong parallel to students in a class-room here: Some leap like leopards through agiven task, others move at a more measuredgait. What matters most is that students—andteachers—make progress from their respectivebeginning points, not that they all work alike.

You may easily envision yourself workingwith varied learning resources, such as differingtexts, multilevel supplementary materials, vari-ous computer programs, or peer tutors. Youmay, on the other hand, feel more comfortableusing a single text with your class but allowingsome students to move through it more rapidly,or differentiating activities so students gain—attheir own pace—an understanding of ideas inthe text. Perhaps you’d find it easiest to differ-entiate student products. Creating small-grouptasks tailored to student readiness, interest, ortalent may be more your style. Or you maywant to begin by learning to use groups in yourclass—not varying the group tasks at first, butjust gaining skill and confidence in directinggroups. If you teach multiple subjects, you maywant to try your hand first in the subject you

enjoy most. If you teach different groups of stu-dents each day, you might find it advantageousto begin differentiating instruction for the groupyou find easiest to work with. Finding yourpoint of readiness and beginning there is asimportant for you as for your students. Notbeginning is a guaranteed way to avoid pro-gress. Biting off too much invites discourage-ment and failure. Begin where you can andchart a time line for your own progress. Figure6.1 (see next page) lists some approaches to dif-ferentiation that tend to take less preparationtime from teachers—and others that are likelyto require more preparation time. Oneapproach to becoming comfortable with differ-entiation in a way that doesn’t overtake your lifeis to select a few low-prep strategies you’recomfortable using consistently during a year,and then selecting one high prep approach perunit or semester to add to your repertoire.During a second year, you can hone the lowand high prep approaches from the previousyear, and add one or two more high and lowprep approaches. In that cumulative way, youcan work your way to a highly differentiatedclassroom in four or five years, without feelingabsolutely frenzied along the way.

3 Time differentiated activities to supportstudent success. Some students can man-

age group or independent work for long peri-ods of time. Others have less capacity to sustaingroup or independent tasks. When designingyour tasks, remember two things: (1) time allot-ted for a task should be a bit shorter than theattention span of the students who work onthat task, and (2) advanced learners often haveextended attention spans. When designing tasksfor students with strong interest and ability in aparticular area, allow a longer chunk of timeduring a class, day, or week than the amount oftime planned for tasks for students whose inter-est or talent in the same area is not as great. Agoal to strive for, over time, is helping all

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Figure 6.1Begin Slowly—Just Begin!

Low-Prep DifferentiationChoices of booksHomework optionsUse of reading buddiesVaried journal promptsOrbitalsVaried pacing with anchor optionsStudent-teacher goal settingWork alone/togetherWhole-to-part and part-to-whole explanationsFlexible seatingVaried computer programs Design-A-DayVaried supplementary materialsOptions for varied modes of expression Varying scaffolding on same organizerLet’s Make a Deal projectsComputer mentorsThink-Pair-Share by readiness, interest, learning

profileUse of collaboration, independence, and

cooperationOpen-ended activitiesMiniworkshops to reteach or extend skillsJigsawNegotiated CriteriaExplorations by interestGames to practice mastery of information

and skillMultiple levels of questions

High-Prep DifferentiationTiered activities and labsTiered productsIndependent studiesMultiple textsAlternative assessmentsLearning contracts4-MATMultiple-Intelligence optionsCompactingSpelling by readinessEntry PointsVarying organizersLectures coupled with graphic organizersCommunity mentorshipsInterest groupsTiered centersInterest centersPersonal agendasLiterature CirclesStationsComplex InstructionGroup InvestigationTape-recorded materialsTeams, Games, and TournamentsChoice BoardsThink-Tac-ToeSimulationsProblem-Based LearningGraduated rubricsFlexible reading formatsStudent-centered writing formats

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best to phase you and your students into anenvironment where multiple avenues to learn-ing are the norm. Ultimately, your aim is tohave all students understand that when theycomplete a given assignment, they must auto-matically move to an anchor activity and workwith that activity with care and concentration.

5 Create and deliver instructions careful-ly. Giving multiple directions to the class

as a whole is confusing and calls too muchattention to who is doing what. A better alterna-tive is creating and giving task cards or assign-ment sheets to individuals or groups. Anotheroption is going over an assignment with a fewresponsible students today so that they canshare directions with their groups tomorrow. Itis also helpful to tape-record directions, espe-cially when they are complex, so students canreplay them as needed. Tape-recorded direc-tions are also handy for students with readingor sequencing problems. Be sure you’ve thoughtthrough directions carefully, have anticipatedstudent problems, and have struck a balancebetween clarity and challenge. When part of thedirections require students to move to anotherplace in the classroom, specify a time limit forthe movement to be complete (shorter is gener-ally better than longer—but not so short that itcauses students to dash) with clear expectationsfor what constitutes orderly movement.

6 Assign students into groups or seating areas smoothly. It’s bulky and confusing

to call students’ names in order to send them tovarious seating areas or to assign them to partic-ular groups. You’ll find it’s smoother to listnames by color or group on an overhead trans-parency that also indicates where the colors orgroups should report. Wall charts work wellalso, especially for groups that will have a some-what extended duration. For young students,peg-boards and key tags with students' nameson them allow you to “move” students to a

students sustain group and independent tasks-for longer than what was initially comfortablefor them. The key to reaching that goal is theirsense of success in those tasks.

4 Use an “anchor activity” to free you up to focus your attention on your stu-

dents. “Ragged time” is a reality in a differenti-ated classroom. It is not your goal to haveeveryone finish all tasks at the same time, sosome students will inevitably complete workwhile others have more to do. Using specifiedactivities to which students automatically movewhen they complete an assigned task is impor-tant both to maintaining a productive workenvironment and to ensuring wise use of every-one’s time. In almost every classroom, all stu-dents, from time to time, engage in activitieslike reading, journal writing, managing a port-folio, and practicing (spelling, computation,learning math through using tubs of manipula-tives, and vocabulary). These sorts of tasks canbecome “anchor activities” that are options forstudents after assigned work is completed at ahigh level of quality. Begin by teaching yourwhole class to work independently and quietlyon these tasks. Then move toward having halfof the class work on the anchor activity (whichcan be adjusted to student readiness and inter-est), while the other half engages in a differentcontent-based activity designed specifically fortheir needs. This may help you feel less frag-mented in the beginning, because a sizable por-tion of the class will be engaged in work that islargely self-directed, freeing you to guide stu-dents in the newer and “less predictable” task.Later on, you can flip-flop the class, having thegroup that first worked with the anchor activityswitch to an appropriate content-based activity,and vice versa. Then, when you feel ready, youcan have a third of the class working with ananchor activity and two-thirds working withtwo differentiated content-based tasks. All sortsof combinations are possible. Do whatever feels

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learning center or section of the room flexiblyand with ease.

7 Have a “home base” for students.Beginning and ending a class or lesson

from a “home base” or seating chart enables youto organize students and materials more effec-tively when there will be student movementduring the class or lesson. In middle and highschool classes, assigned or home base seats alsoallow you to check attendance without “callingthe roll.”

8 Be sure students have a plan for gettinghelp when you’re busy with another

student or group. You can help students learnto work collegially by suggesting that they ask apeer for clarification when they get “stuck.”Some classrooms have an “expert of the day”desk where one or more students especiallyskilled with the day’s task sit and serve as con-sultants. (Astute teachers ensure that many stu-dents serve as “experts”; students also assist bychecking answers, proofreading, answeringquestions about directions or texts, and helpingwith art or construction tasks.) Or students maytry to get themselves “unstuck” by “thinking onpaper” in their learning logs. Be sure studentsknow when it’s okay to come to you for help—and when it’s not—and that they know and useseveral options if they need help when you areunavailable. For you to successfully manage adifferentiated classroom, your students mustknow that it’s never okay for them to just sitand wait for help to come to them, or to disruptsomeone else.

9 Minimize noise. When students are active in a classroom, there will be some

noise. There is no need for the noise to becomeoppressive or distracting. From the beginning ofthe year, work with students on working withpeers quietly. Teach them to whisper or talksoftly. Use a signal (such as turning the light on

and off quickly) to remind them to reduce theconversation level. Assign a student in eachgroup to monitor the noise level and remindpeers to talk softly. Some students are especiallydistracted by noise. Finding a section of theroom somewhat removed from the noise maybe helpful for them. If that is not adequate,using a plastic headset with ear cuffs (commonitems in rooms with listening stations) can be ahelp. Ear-plugs such as those used on airplanescan make a difference as well. Remember toinvolve students in conversation about balanc-ing their needs for conversation and concentra-tion, and let them help you find other ways toretain both.

Make a plan for students to turn inwork. There are times in a differenti-

ated class when multiple tasks are going on atonce, and when various students may turn inseveral different assignments in a relatively shorttime span. It is distracting for each student tocome to you with the finished piece. Two strate-gies can eliminate the distraction. First, use an“expert of the day” who can check over a pieceof work a student believes she has finished tosee if it is both complete and of good quality. Ifthe “expert” concurs that the work is ready tobe turned in, have the “expert” sign the paperand have the student place it in a box or filelabeled with the name of the task or an appro-priate icon in a predesignated place in theroom. If the “expert” feels the work is incom-plete or lacking in quality, the student mustcontinue working on the piece.

Teach students to rearrange the fur-niture. You can draw three or four

floor plans with furniture arranged differently ineach one and teach the students how to movethe furniture quickly and quietly to correspondwith the floor plan you designate (by name,number, or color). That makes you feel freer tobe flexible with room arrangements than if you

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reminders from peers, and put a minus besidethose names. Most students most days will dofine. Later, you can fill the pluses and minusesinto a gradebook or daily worksheet, then addchecks by everyone else’s name. Most days,there will be mostly checks. Letting your stu-dents look at their pattern over a period of aweek or month can help them see how you’reassessing their concentration. Also importantly,seeing patterns in the students’ concentrationprovides good assessment information for you.It may indicate a student who is frustratedbecause work is too hard or too easy, a studentwho needs a different seating arrangement, or astudent who is really taking off with their work.

Have a plan for “quick finishers.” Students who consistently complete

their work early, and do so with competence,are providing a diagnosis of tasks that are insuf-ficiently challenging. (Some bright students willlollygag so you don’t notice the work is easy.That’s safer than signaling a need for somethingmore complex.) Sometimes, however, the task isright for the student, but their goal is simply tobe the first one finished. In instances like this,it’s important for the student to know that youunderstand their competence, but that whatyou’re interested in is “knock your socks off”quality. Ask them to tell you several indicatorsor characteristics of superior thought and crafts-manship on the piece of work. Feel free to con-tribute some indicators yourself. Don’t acceptwork that doesn’t bear those hallmarks.

Make a plan for “calling a halt.”While you will want to use time flexi-

bly in a differentiated classroom, the time willcome when you simply need to bring closure toa lesson sequence or unit. There may still bestudents not yet finished. It’s important to thinkthrough how you will handle that. Some helpfulapproaches include: giving students advancewarning (a day or two ahead of time, for exam-

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personally must move all the furniture eachtime it’s rearranged. Be clear about your expec-tations for orderly movement, and also help stu-dents understand how the variety from theirwork will contribute to their classwork.

Minimize “stray” movement. Kidsneed to move around, regardless of

their age. It’s not necessarily a goal to keepeveryone glued to her chair. On the other hand,an undue amount of idle roaming isn’t likely tocome to a good end either. Think through theamount of movement you will be comfortablewith, and let your students know what they canand can’t do. For example, it may be fine to goto an “expert of the day” if you’re stuck on amath problem—but only as long as there isonly one person at a time with the expert. Or, itmay be that you want to designate a “gopher”for each work group who will get materialsneeded for the day’s work, noting that only thegopher should be up from the table—and per-haps that only one group’s gopher can be up atany one time. The directions need to apply asmuch structure as is needed to keep you andthe students feeling productive—but no morestructure than is necessary.

Promote on-task behavior. Help yourstudents understand that you value

on-task behavior because it helps them do bet-ter, helps you concentrate on what you need todo to help them, and eliminates distractions forothers. Be sure to clarify what you mean by on-task behavior. If your standards are different,students may feel they are working just finewhen you think otherwise. You may want to letstudents know that you will be giving them adaily check on how well they are using theirtime. You can make a list of students who areworking with extra concentration and put aplus by their names. Similarly, you can make alist of students who find it very difficult to stayon task, even after coaching from you and

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ple) of when the deadline will be, providingalternative homework assignments so studentswho want to can have a night or two to finishthe work at home, using a learning contract oranchor activity time to allow for some addition-al work, or letting the student help you figureout how he can complete unfinished work,even as the class moves on.

Give your students as much respon-sibility for their learning as possi-

ble. Not only does fostering student responsi-bility make classroom management far moreeffective, it also helps young learners becomeindependent—an important learning goal on itsown. Students can pass out folders and othermaterials, critique one another’s work, movefurniture for group work, keep records of theirown work, chart their progress by using estab-lished goals, help design some of their owntasks, and make suggestions for smoother class-room operation. We often underestimate thecapacity of students to be self-sufficient.

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Engage your students in talkingabout classroom procedures and

group processes. Your “metacognition,” orthinking aloud about your thinking, helps stu-dents understand your expectations as well asrationales for those expectations. It also helpsthem develop ownership in their classroom.Having ongoing conversations about whatyou’re all experiencing individually and collec-tively is a great investment in the future—sav-ing much more time and stress in the long runthan these conversations require at the time.Besides, you’ll be amazed at how many timesthe students can spot and think of a solution toa problem before you can figure it out. Use theireyes and minds to make the class work smooth-ly and comfortably.

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There are many other effective ways to developa classroom in which students engage in a vari-ety of interesting and engaging activities. Shareyour management-of-differentiation strategieswith colleagues and ask them to share with youwhat works for them.

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In a differentiatedclassroom, some ofthe traditional groundrules change. Yourstudents and their

parents may initially need your help to under-stand and feel comfortable with the new lookand feel of the classroom. After an initial periodof uncertainty, most students and parentsrespond quite positively to a setting that treatsindividuals as unique people and where learn-ing is active and engaging. This chapter offerssome strategies for making students and parentsfeel “at home” in a differentiated classroom.

Introducing Students toDifferentiated Instruction:A Middle School Scenario

Mrs. Middleton begins the school year with aclear idea of how she wants her differentiatedmiddle school English classes to work. Knowingshe needs her students’ help to reach that goal,

she has developed an effective way both to ori-ent her students to the environment she wantsto create for them and to enlist their help in cre-ating it.

First, Mrs. Middleton shows her studentshow to make a line graph. Students chooseways to describe the quality of something,which they then position as labels along thevertical axis. Each class chooses differentdescriptors, but the top (best) labels are often“awesome” or “way cool” or “in orbit.” The bot-tom (worst) labels tend to be “disaster zone” or“dismal” or “dead meat.” Students also label sev-eral points in between the best and worst indi-cators. Next, Mrs. Middleton asks the studentsto put descriptors along the horizontal axis,such as “good in writing,” “good in math,”“good in soccer,” “good in reading,” “good incleaning my room,” “good in spelling.” Thenshe asks them to add four or five descriptors of their own choosing. To help her studentsunderstand how to plot themselves on theirgraph, she makes a graph of herself on the

Preparing Students AND Parents FOR A Differentiated Classroom

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means they should not all do the same tasks allthe time in class. Some older classes have evenoffered her specific examples, such as givingadvanced spelling assignments to students whoare great spellers, or less difficult writing assign-ments if writing is very hard for some students.

Then, over several days, Mrs. Middletonengages her students in discussions about howtheir class has to function if different things aregoing on in a single class period, and they helpher establish rules for a class like that. Theyeven discuss grading and decide that studentsshould be graded on their individual progress,not in comparison to everyone else. The stu-dents talk about ways to set individual goalswith the teacher, keep track of their own workand progress, and help one another succeed.

Mrs. Middleton concludes this “preparation”phase by summarizing what they’ve all agreed isnecessary and putting a summary of their ideason chart paper in front of the room. “In thisclassroom,” she says, “‘fair’ will mean that all ofus must live by the class rules, all of us mustwork hard, all of us must respect one anotherand encourage one another. It does not meanwe’ll all do the same things all the time.” Shelets her students know it is okay to come to herand say they’d really like to be working with aparticular topic or project someone else isdoing. “Lots of times,” she assures them, “I’ll beable to let you know when that will come upfor you, because I’ll make sure that all of youget your share of both the ‘good stuff’ and the‘drudge work.’”

Gradually, students begin practicing the pro-cedures for distributing work folders, free read-ing, individual conferences with the teacher,individualized spelling, small-group projects,writing critique groups, and so on. Each day,Mrs. Middleton takes some time for metacogni-tion: She asks her students to briefly assess howthey did as individuals and as a group towardachieving their operational goals and followingtheir new ground rules.

board while the students watch. She plots her-self as very strong with writing, somewhatstrong with math, weaker with spelling, aboutaverage with soccer and cleaning her room, andso on. When she plots herself on each of heradditional descriptors—“good with photogra-phy,” “good with cartooning,” and “good withcrossword puzzles”—she discusses her interestin each area. Students complete their graph forhomework, and each day for the next couple ofweeks, three or four students share their graphwith the class. Then Mrs. Middleton’s studentstape their graphs, grouped by class period, onan empty classroom wall.

After a few days, Mrs. Middleton asks herstudents what patterns they see in the graphs,and she lists the ones they note. Students usu-ally see several patterns quickly, especially thefirst two in the following list:

•Everybody said they are better in somethings and worse in others.

•Nobody drew a flat line and said they werethe same in everything.

•More girls than boys said they were goodspellers.

•More kids in 5th period said they weregood writers.

•People mostly added things they were good at.

Mrs. Middleton takes a minute to reflect ontheir responses, and then she poses this ques-tion to her students: “If you are different in yourstrengths—even in English (some of you saidyou were strong in spelling and weak in read-ing, for example)—what should I do aboutthat?”

Her students’ response to this question isusually that she should deal with them in differ-ent ways based on their differences. They oftensuggest that her main goal should be to helpthem all grow, both in their strengths and intheir weaker areas. Sometimes they say that this

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Mrs. Middleton helps her students under-stand that some days she assigns them to tasksand work groups, and that some days they getto select for themselves. She also makes certainto use all sorts of grouping arrangements. Shemade a critical discovery about her groupingstrategies one day simply by overhearing a stu-dent say to a friend, “I think Mrs. Middletonstays up nights trying to figure out another wayto scramble us up.” Mrs. Middleton learned notonly to give her students more insight into hergrouping strategies, but also to ask her studentsto be active partners with her in figuring outhow their work is going for them.

Now she remembers to say from time totime, “Let me know if you think what you’redoing is too hard or too easy for you, and I’lltake a look at it with you. We can makechanges when we need to.”

Another way she gives her students oppor-tunities to be active partners with her is to occa-sionally allow them to design minicontracts inwhich they work with an interesting activitythey’ve seen or to extend something they espe-cially enjoyed doing.

In school—just like everywhere else—there’sprobably no such thing as a perfect day, butMrs. Middleton and her students have lots ofvery good days, and few really rough days. Mrs.Middleton’s classroom is a comfortable, busy,and respectful place, one that both teacher andstudents work to successfully create.

Introducing Students andParents to Differentiation:A Primary Grade Scenario

Mr. Wade sends a survey home to parents earlyin the year, asking parents to provide theapproximate ages of their children when theybegan to do things like walking, talking,singing, riding a tricycle, dressing themselves,and so on. He charts the results and, not sur-prisingly, always finds that in every endeavor,

some students accomplished the task wellbefore others. To the students in class, he raisesthe question, “Does it seem to matter much thatsomebody began talking nearly a year beforesomeone else? Seems like everyone in here istalking fine now!” The students agree that whenthey began to talk is not nearly so important asthat they did begin to talk. Mr. Wade uses thatas a reminder in class that some students willlearn to count higher and faster or read morecomfortably sooner. That’s fine, the studentsagree, as long as everyone is working on theskills they need.

With parents at parents’ night Mr. Wade alsoadds a conversation about what would havehappened had they forced a child to walkbefore he could stand, or run before he couldwalk, or if they had spent every day in a hover-ing panic because the child next door was talk-ing and their child was not. He helps theparents realize that school is a progression oflife and that teaching is like parenting in someways. He can discover where the child is in asequence of skills, provide opportunities fornext steps, encourage and ensure affirmation forprogress. He cannot force them to match thekid at the next table. Nor, he points out, shouldhe silence the student who is already talkinguntil the other students find their voice. Theanalogy helps parents throughout the yearunderstand Mr. Wade’s thinking when he differ-entiates instruction. He invites parents to helphim understand their child’s development andinterests so that together they can be effectivecatalysts for growth.

Helping Parents Learn AboutDifferentiated Instruction

Most parents are eager for their students tolearn, grow, succeed, and feel accepted inschool. A differentiated classroom is an idealplace for those things to take place. You sharethose goals with your students’ parents. It’s just

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dren to do the same, and are eager for a class-room that challenges and invigorates their stu-dents. Many of these parents have come to dis-trust school because their children have spentso many years in school waiting for others tolearn what they already knew. There are severalimportant points to consider when workingwith parents of highly able students (manyapply to most parents).

•Listen to them and learn from them.They have a story to tell and want someone tohear it and to be invested in the growth of theirchild. All parents ought to get that kind ofreception in school.

•Rebuild their trust that school is a goodfit for their child. As they see your investmentin tapping into and extending their child’sunderstandings, skills, talents, and interests,you are likely to see skepticism replaced bygratitude.

•Understand the paradox of parenting abright child. Most parents of highly able stu-dents want their child challenged. They knowthat a good piano teacher recognizes musical tal-ent and mentors the student in developing thattalent. Most of them recognize that a coach rec-ognizes athletic talent and pushes the young per-son to extend that capacity. On the one hand,parents of bright learners want that sort of chal-lenge in their child’s classrooms. On the otherhand, however, they, like their children, mayhave become addicted to success.

Further, they are parents and don’t like to seetheir child struggle. So, while they want a chal-lenge for their child, they may also want you toguarantee that the challenge will involve no risk,no stumbling, no failure. Those two desires areincompatible. Risk-free talent development,painless challenge, and growth without tensionare anomalies, if they exist at all.

the way a differentiated classroom “looks” that’sdifferent from what parents may expect. Youcan help them develop a clear, positive under-standing of differentiated instruction and how itbenefits their children. Let them know that:

•The goal of differentiated instruction is tomake certain that everyone grows in all keyskills and knowledge areas, moving on fromtheir starting points.

•In a differentiated classroom, the teacherclosely assesses and monitors skills, knowledgelevels, interests, and effective ways of learningfor all students, and then plans lessons andtasks with those levels in mind.

•A differentiated lesson assigned by ateacher reflects the teacher’s current best under-standing of what a child needs to grow inunderstanding and skill. That understanding isevolutionary and will change as the year goeson, as the child grows, and as parents con-tribute to the understanding.

•The teacher will be glad to have parentscome to school and talk about their childrenbecause both have important perspectives toshare. A teacher sees a student more broadly inregard to agemates and developmental bench-marks. A parent sees a student more deeply inregard to interests, feelings, and change overtime. When the wide-angle lens and close-uplens both add images of the child, the picturebecomes fuller for everyone.

•A goal in your classroom is to help eachstudent become a more independent learner.

A Note About Differentiationand Parents of AdvancedLearners

Parents of advanced learners often get labeled aspushy. No doubt some of them are (as are someparents of any group of learners). For the mostpart, however, they want the right things for thechildren. They value learning, want their chil-

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You may have to help some parents realizethat. Then, your message ought to be, “I see thepotential in your child. I am excited about beinga part of developing that potential. I can’t do thatand promise that everything will be easy for him.I can’t promise that As will remain automatic. Ican promise you, however, that I am aware ofthe struggle and will do everything I can to be apartner with your child in learning to struggle,overcoming obstacles, and ultimately discoveringthat he has a far greater capacity than he thoughthe did. My goal is not to punish him or to causehim to fail in the long term. To the contrary, Iknow I will be an effective teacher if I can helphim learn to rise to a challenge, to find satisfac-tion in effort. Will you help me with that?”

•Think through the “Why is her workharder” question. If you establish the sort ofunderstanding with parents described in theprevious suggestion, you will eliminate many atense discussion that occurs when a parent isafraid of challenge for their child (even as theyseek it). Nonetheless, a parent may ask you whythe work their child is doing is “harder” thanthat of another child in the class.

In a differentiated classroom, a readiness-based assignment needs to be just a little toohard for a student’s current proficiency level.The goal of the teacher is to ensure, as often aspossible, that each student has to work a littletoo hard, and to find a support system thatleads to success and growth.

The only answer for a parent who asks,“Why does my child have to do harder workthan someone else?” is that, relative to her skillsand understanding, the work is no harder forher than the work of any other child relative tothat child’s skills and understanding. Much ofthe discussion must go back to the reality thattalent development takes struggle—for allhumans, even very bright ones. Most studentsencounter struggle regularly in school. Bright

kids have to learn to do battle with it, too, ifthey are to become what they can be.

The noted children’s author KatherinePaterson keeps a reminder above the deskwhere she writes, “Before the gates of excel-lence, the high gods have placed sweat” (1981,p. 3). Much as we might wish otherwise, wehave no reason to believe she’s wrong.

A Note About Parents Who PushStudents Too Hard

Probably less common than the parent of brightstudents who want challenge and ease simulta-neously are the parents who push their child todo work that is far too taxing. Here, too, ithelps for a teacher to have reflected on that sce-nario. There is the possibility, of course, that theparent sees capability in the student that isthere, but hidden from view in school. For thatreason, it’s not a bad idea to let a student trysomething you believe may be too demanding.

In the life of every teacher some of the mostcompelling stories are of students who bloomedwhen the teacher had no expectation of it. Onthe other hand, there is a difference betweenexpecting much of a child and expecting toomuch. If the task does appear to be too great for the child, if it causes the child tension andfrustration, and if it leads to confusion and self-doubt rather than clarity and self-confidence—it’s important to then help the parent under-stand that learning is impaired when studentsfeel overtaxed, afraid, and out of control. A con-versation something like the one describedbefore between Mr. Wade and parents of hisstudents might be helpful.

It is also useful if you can help the studentfind a voice to express his tension and unhappi-ness. The message may be clearer from a stu-dent than from a teacher. Also, in a settingwhere parents are unduly controlling, a youngperson often feels mute. Regaining a voice and

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They need to hear the success stories of theirchildren. They need to receive concrete sugges-tions of things they can do to be partners intheir children’s learning.

We also need to hear from them. We need tounderstand better the child’s culture and lan-guage and history and dreams. We need toknow the stories that get brought home fromschool, and the parent’s perspective on whatwill work best in helping their children learn. Itis easy for us to assume that everyone’s view ofthe world is like the one we grew up with. Thatis not the case. Reaching out to every parent ineffective ways helps us expand our worldview—and become more effective teachers.

Successful partnering between teacher andparents is based on proactive communication.Send home information bulletins or newslettersfrom time to time, telling about goals for spe-cific projects, how various procedures are work-ing in class, and so on. Ask for parents’reactions and suggestions related to differentia-tion. Build partnerships with parents, just asyou do with your students, to create a class-room in which individuals are honored andmuch is expected from every student.

� � �

The next chapter begins our detailed “howto's”—this time, by focusing on students' readi-ness levels.

becoming a self-advocate can be important inhelping the student have a sense of power of hisor her own world.

A Note About Parents Who StayAway from School

There are many reasons why parents stay awayfrom school. In some cases, parental absencemay not create a problem. In some cases, how-ever, the parents who stay away are ones weneed most to invite into the child’s world atschool. Some of these parents stay away becauseschool was alienating for them and returning istoo difficult. Some stay away because they donot speak the language spoken in parent confer-ences. Some stay away because their lives aretoo burdened to add one more thing. We err asteachers in assuming that these parents don’tcare about their children’s education. That israre indeed.

Most parents, including those who keeptheir distance from us, care deeply about theirchildren’s schooling and see it as a way toachieve a good life. It is critical that schools andteachers build bridges to these parents, commu-nicating with them in whatever ways we canfind—including, but not limited to, makingschool a more inviting place for them. Theyneed to hear our messages—and see concreteevidence—that we believe in their children.

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Three characteristicsof students guide dif-ferentiation: readi-ness, interest, andlearning profile. We

know that students learn better if tasks are aclose match for their skills and understandingof a topic (readiness), if tasks ignite curiosity orpassion in a student (interest), and if the assign-ment encourages students to work in a pre-ferred manner (learning profile). In this chapterand the next two, we’ll take a look at the basicsof differentiating instruction in response tothose three student traits. This chapter focuseson readiness differentiation. A task that’s a goodmatch for student readiness extends that stu-dent’s knowledge, understanding, and skills abit beyond what the student can do independ-ently. A good readiness match pushes the stu-dent a little beyond his or her comfort zone andthen provides support in bridging the gapbetween the known and unknown.

Expert teachers often do the equivalent of

“playing by ear” when they differentiate instruc-tion in their classrooms based on the readinesslevels of their students. That is, they simply dowhat seems right for their students. Generally,intuition begins the process, and over timeteachers learn from their successes and failures,refining what they do as they go along. Thuswhen we ask teachers how they plan a differen-tiated lesson in response to student readiness,their answers are often a bit vague: “I just try tomatch the tasks to the students’ readiness level,”or “I put them in groups I think will work.”Clarity about differentiation by readiness canhone and refine good instincts, giving theteacher a greater sense of comfort with readi-ness differentiation and providing studentsmore appropriate learning experiences.

Thinking About Differentiationby Readiness

To differentiate instruction according to studentreadiness successfully, it helps to have a

THE How To’s OF Planning Lessons Differentiated by Readiness

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in environment would likely affect the body cov-ering of several animals. In a math class, oneyoung learner may be ready for a basic applica-tion of the concept of fractions by cutting fruitand placing it to reflect a given fraction. Anappropriate challenge for another student maybe the more transformational task of writingmeasures of music that represent certain frac-tions.

• Concrete to Abstract. Students usuallyneed to become familiar with the key informa-tion or material about an area of study beforethey can successfully look at its implications,meanings, or interrelationships. However, oncethey have grasped the information in a concreteway, it’s important that they move on to mean-ings and implications. Working with concreteinformation should open a door for meaningfulabstraction later on. For example, grasping theidea of plot (more concrete) typically has to pre-cede investigations of theme (more abstract).But ultimately, all students need to delve intothe meanings of stories, not just the events. Theissue here is readiness or timing.

• Simple to Complex. Sometimes studentsneed to see only the big picture of a topic orarea of study, just its “skeleton,” without manydetails. Even adults often find it helpful to reada children’s book on black holes, for example,before they tackle the work of StephenHawking. When the big picture is needed, yourstudents need resources, research, issues, prob-lems, skills, and goals that help them achieve aframework of understanding with clarity. Onthe other hand, when the “skeleton” is clear tothem, they’ll find it more stimulating to add“muscle, bone, and nerves,” moving from sim-ple to complex. Some students may need towork more simply with one abstraction at atime; others may be able to handle the com-plexity of multiple abstractions.

comprehensive guide for planning and monitor-ing the effectiveness of differentiated curricu-lum. One way to get specific guidance aboutwhat teachers do when they create differentiatedlessons is to study those lessons and discoverwhat makes them differentiated. We can alsolearn much by asking “What supports theinstinct to differentiate instruction?” Figure 8.1is an answer to that question, derived fromlooking at many examples of differentiation.The tool in this figure is called “the equalizer.”

Designing differentiated instruction is similarto using the equalizer buttons on a stereo or CDplayer. You can slide the buttons across severaldifferent continuums to get the best combina-tion of sounds for each musical piece. In a dif-ferentiated classroom, adjusting the “buttons”appropriately for various students’ needs equal-izes their chances of being appropriately chal-lenged by the materials, activities, and productsin your classroom, as follows:

• Foundational to Transformational. Whenan idea is new to some students, or if it’s not inone of their stronger areas, they often need sup-porting information about the idea that is clearand plainly worded. Then they usually need timeto practice applying the idea in a straightforwardway. In these instances, the materials they useand the tasks they do should be foundational—that is, basic and presented in ways that helpthem build a solid foundation of understanding.At other times, when something is already clearto them or is in a strength area, they need tomove along quickly. They need information thatshows them intricacies about the idea. Theyneed to stretch and bend the idea and see how itinteracts with other ideas to create a newthought. Such conditions require materials andtasks that are more transformational.

For example, one child may benefit from amore basic task of classifying animals by bodycovering, while another may need the moretransformational task of predicting how changes

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Figure 8.1The Equalizer: A Tool for Planning Differentiated Lessons

• Structured to Open-Ended. Sometimesstudents need to complete tasks that are fairlywell laid out for them, where they don’t havetoo many decisions to make. Novice driversbegin by managing the car on prescribed driv-ing ranges or delineated routes. Being new to acomputer or word processor often requirescompleting programmed and closed lessons thatinvolve “right” answers to become knowledge-able—and comfortable—with basic operationand keyboarding before moving on to moreadvanced and open-ended tasks such as select-ing varied uses of graphics to illustrate ideas ina formal presentation. Following a predeter-mined format for a writing assignment or achemistry lab often makes more sense thanimprovisation.

At other times, however, students are readyto explore the computer, craft their own essaysdesigned to address a communication need, orcreate a chemistry lab that demonstrates princi-ples of their choosing. Modeling helps most ofus become confident enough to eventually“wing it.” But when modeling has served itspurpose, it’s time to branch out and get creative.

• Dependent to Independent. A goal for alllearners is independent study, thought, and pro-duction. But just as some students gain heightmore quickly than others, some will be readyfor greater independence earlier than others.Their needs in developing independence gener-ally fall into one of these four stages:

1. Skill building, when students need todevelop the ability to make simple choices, fol-low through with short-term tasks, and usedirections appropriately.

2. Structured independence, when studentsmake choices from teacher-generated options,follow prescribed time lines, and engage in self-evaluation according to preset criteria to com-plete longer-term and more complex tasks.

For example, some students may be ready towork with the theme in a story (a singleabstraction), while other students look at inter-relationships between themes and symbols(multiple abstractions, or complexity).

• Single Facet to Multiple Facets.Sometimes students are at peak performancewhen working on problems, projects, or dilem-mas that involve only a few steps or solutions tocomplete. It may be all that some students canhandle to make a connection between whatthey studied in science today and what theystudied last week. Those with greater under-standing and facility in an area of study areready for and more challenged by followingcomplicated directions. They are more chal-lenged by solving problems that are multifac-eted or require great flexibility of approach, orby being asked to make connections betweensubjects that scarcely seemed related before.

• Small Leap to Great Leap. Note that thiscontinuum does not provide the option of “noleap.” Students should always have to run ideasthrough their minds and figure out how to usethem. Activities that call only for absorption andregurgitation are generally of little long-termuse.

But for some students, learning about how tomeasure area and then applying that learning byestimating and verifying the area of the hamsterhouse compared to the teacher’s desk may beenough of a leap of application and transfer—atleast in the beginning. Other students may beable to move from estimating and verifying areato estimating materials needed for a buildingproject and proportional cost implications ofincreasing the building area. In both cases, stu-dents make mental leaps from reading informa-tion on a page to using that information. Thelatter task calls for relatively greater leaps ofapplication, insight, and transfer.

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3. Shared independence, when students gen-erate problems to be solved, design tasks, settime lines, and establish criteria for evaluation.The teacher helps “tighten” or focus the plansand monitors the production process.

4. Self-guided independence, when studentsplan, execute, and evaluate their own tasks, andseek help or feedback only when needed(Tomlinson, 1993).

By guiding students across this continuum atindividually appropriate speeds, you and yourstudents are less likely to become frustrated bytasks that require greater independence.

• Slow to Fast. Of all the continuums, thisone is the most likely to require some “jumpingaround.” There are times when students withgreat ability in a subject need to move quicklythrough familiar or minimally challenging material.

But at other times, some of those same stu-dents will need more time than others to studya topic in depth. You can adjust the speed oflearning experiences for students who are strug-gling with key ideas by allowing them to workmore slowly at first, but then letting them movequickly through tangential areas of study, thusfreeing up some time for further work with thekey ideas. Matching pacing to your students’needs is a critical differentiation strategy.

Like the equalizer buttons on audio equipment,it’s possible for the teacher to design lessons by“moving the buttons” on this guide to differentpositions for the needs of varied students.

For example, some students may be able tohandle a complex, abstract, multifaceted project(buttons over to the right on Figure 8.1) if youkeep the “independence” button toward the left;that is, require more “check-in” dates of themthan you require of more self-guided studentsworking on that same project.

Equalizer Troubleshooting Tips

When using the heuristic guide in Figure 8.1 tomodify lessons for a differentiated classroom,keep in mind three essential caveats:

1. All students need lessons that are coherent,relevant, powerful, transferable, authentic, andmeaningful. We should not consign some stu-dents to drill and practice as the staple of theirschool diets and save the rich and engaging les-sons for others.

2. A curriculum that is good for students pushesthem a bit beyond what they find easy or comfort-able. Our best teaching happens when we givestudents a genuine challenge and then helpthem successfully meet it. Differentiated instruc-tion is so powerful because it offers various lev-els of genuine challenge. Your students’ sense ofself-efficacy comes from recognizing their powerafter accomplishing something they firstthought was just “too big” for them. Designyour lessons to stretch all students beyond theircomfort zones in knowledge, insight, thinking,basic skills, production and presentation skills,and affective awareness.

3. Plan to encourage your students to “workup”—that is, be ready to match students to tasksthat will stretch them. A good task for a givenstudent is one that is just a bit too hard andthrough which the teacher ensures the presenceof support required for success. We err mostoften as teachers by planning a single task thatis easy enough for most students to complete.That has the effect of establishing both “mid-dling” or low expectations for many learnersand expectations still out of the reach of others.A task is challenging for a given student when itcauses that student to stand on “mental tiptoes”and reach high to complete it well.

This guide for differentiating instruction gets atthe heart of what many teachers do when theyadapt instruction for varied learner needs—

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Varied Texts by Reading Level Varied Supplementary Materials by Reading LevelVaried Scaffolding

• reading• writing• research• technology

Varied Graphic Organizers

Negotiated Criteria for Quality

Mentorships

Compacting

Tiered or ScaffoldedAssessment

Homework Options

Small-GroupInstruction

Flexible Time Use

Tiered Products

Tiered Tasks

Figure 8.2A Few Routes to READINESS Differentiation

Flexible

Time

Use

albeit automatically. Use this guide when differ-entiating content (what you teach and what stu-dents learn), process (how students think aboutor make sense of ideas and information), andproduct (how students show what they know).Add other continuums and descriptors to thisguide as your students teach you more abouthow to differentiate instruction.

It is also helpful to think about particularstrategies for differentiating instruction inresponse to student readiness levels. Figure 8.2suggests a few such strategies.

In using any of the strategies to match stu-dent readiness, you are likely to be using mate-rials, tasks, or scaffolding that corresponds toone or more continuums on the equalizer. Forexample, if you bookmark various Web sites forstudents to use in research, then try to matchthe difficulty level of the various sites to theskills and understanding levels of various stu-dents, you may find that some sites are moreconcrete and some more abstract, or that someare simpler in writing or ideas while others aremore complex.

You might also have all students use thesame sites, building a support system to allowsuccess for less-skilled readers (greater depend-ence), while encouraging skilled readers towork more independently. Try the combinationof strategies and equalizer continuums in yourown classroom.

Using Readiness to DifferentiateContent, Process, and Product

Teachers can differentiate any or all of the threekey components of curriculum (content,process, and product) in response to studentreadiness. A French teacher differentiated con-tent for her learners by subscribing to twoFrench language current events magazines.Students who were having more difficulty withreading and translating French used a magazinewritten for U.S. students learning French for the

first time. Students more proficient with Frenchtranslation read a magazine written for French-speaking adolescents. The two magazines gener-ally contained many articles on the same topics,but the magazine written for French-speakingadolescents required more complex skills oftranslation.

A math teacher often differentiated processor activities for her students based on theirreadiness levels by assigning or offering home-work assignments on the same topic at varyingdegrees of difficulty. She helped students deter-mine which assignment would be most likely toboth clarify their thinking and challenge themappropriately.

A middle school teaching team differentiatedproduct assignments based on student readinessin a number of ways. One way was using vary-ing portions of rubrics, or quality indicators,with different students. Each student wouldreceive two or three columns of a five-columnrubric. Each student would work with theteacher to designate their goals for the productassignment. It was the aim of the teacher toprovide a student with rubric columns thatseemed at or above the student’s proficiencylevel and then guide the student in “workingup” through self-selected goals in each categoryrepresented on the rubric.

When teachers use readiness level as a focusfor differentiating content, process, and prod-uct, their aim is to push students just a bitbeyond their particular “comfort zones” so thatstudent work is a little too hard. They then sup-port students in stretching to achieve a nextlevel of competency with important skills andideas.

� � �

The next chapter focuses on students’ interests:how to engage students in your lessons.

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A wise teacher knowsthat a key feature ofartful teaching is hav-ing a plan to engageor “hook” students on

the topic at hand. Engagement is a nonnego-tiable of teaching and learning. Two powerfuland related motivators for engagement are stu-dent interest and student choice (Bess, 1997;Brandt, 1998). If a student has a spark (or bet-ter still, a fire) of curiosity about a topic, learn-ing is more likely for that student. Similarly, asense of choice about what or how we learn isalso empowering, and thus an enhancement tolearning. The trouble is, of course, that not allstudents in a class have the same interests, thusthe need for differentiation again.

Content, process, and product can be differ-entiated according to student interest. One timein the year when Mr. Elkins differentiates con-tent in response to student interest occurs dur-ing a standards-based unit on reading andwriting nonfiction. While there are key under-

standings and skills on which all his studentswill focus, he has learned that the requiredskills and principles are more engaging to hisstudents when what they read and write aboutis of genuine interest to them. When the unitbegins, he guides students in selecting readingmaterials and topics they care about. He thenbuilds the unit around their selections.

Ms. Bella likes to use Jigsaw, a cooperativelearning strategy, as one way of differentiatingprocess in response to student interest. As sheand her students explore a broad topic, she askseach student to select a facet of the topic that isintriguing to him or her. At some point orpoints in the unit, Mrs. Bella creates Jigsawteams that ask students to specialize on thefacet they selected with other students whoselected the same interest area. They then sharewhat they learn with students in another groupcomprised of representatives of each of thefacets explored.

Mrs. Gomez finds products an ideal way totap into student interests. She does that some-

THE How To’s OF Planning Lessons Differentiated BY Interest

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times by offering students varied ways ofexpressing what they learn through their prod-uct. Sometimes she gives students elements ofunderstanding and skill that their productsmust contain and then guides the students indeveloping their own product assignments.Often she encourages students to add their ownproduct goals to ones she has developed for thewhole class. She finds that products allow hermany ways to give her students choice andvoice.

There are two ways for a teacher to thinkabout student interest. First, of course, teacherswho care about their students as individualsaccept the difficult task of trying to identify theinterests students bring to the classroom withthem. Second, dynamic teachers try to createnew interests in their students. When a teacheris passionate about a topic and shares the pas-sion with his classes, similar interests are likelyto emerge in many of the learners as well.

Drawing on Existing StudentInterests

Among goals of interest-based instruction are(1) helping students realize that there is a matchbetween school and their own desires to learn,(2) demonstrating the connectedness betweenall learning, (3) using skills or ideas familiar tostudents as a bridge to ideas or skills less famil-iar to them, and (4) enhancing student motiva-tion to learn. When a teacher encourages a stu-dent to look at a topic of study through the lensof that student’s own interest, all four goals arelikely to be achieved.

There are many strategies for drawing onstudent interests and linking them to the cur-riculum. Here are three approaches.

“Sidebar” Studies

Mrs. Janes and her students are about to begin astudy on the Civil War in 7th grade history.

During the unit, she will be emphasizing con-cepts of culture, conflict, interdependence, andchange—concepts that guide much of the year’sstudy. As part of the unit, students will read anddiscuss the textbook, as well as supplementaryand primary source materials. They will visit abattlefield, have speakers visit their class, andsee videos on the time period. Mrs. Janes askedher students to list things they like to think andlearn about in their own lives. Among topicsthey generated were music, sports/recreation,people, families, reading, transportation,heroes/villains, medicine, food, travel, humor,clothing, books, unsolved mysteries, cartoons,and teens.

The teacher suggested to her 7th gradersthat they could learn a great deal about the timeperiod by exploring it through their own inter-ests, as those interests were manifest during theCivil War period. She helped them set up “side-bar” investigations that would go on throughoutthe unit. Their job was to see what their topicshowed them about life during the Civil War ingeneral, and about culture, conflict, change, andinterdependence during that time. Studentscould work alone or with a partner on theirsidebar study.

To support student success, Mrs. Janeshelped students develop planning calendars, setgoals for their work, and establish criteria forquality. She set check-in dates to monitor stu-dent progress along the way, and occasionallyconducted minilessons on research for studentswho wanted help with information finding.Sometimes students had class time to work ontheir sidebar investigations. When they finisheddaily work, they could always work with thesidebar study. Sometimes it was homework.

Mrs. Janes found that class discussionsthroughout the unit were punctuated withinsights the students were developing throughtheir sidebar investigations. Students had storiesto tell that made the time period come alive for

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language exploration if she allows them to lookfor effective and varied examples of descriptionin the kinds of writing they most like to read.Students will form specialty teams to look ateffective description in several kinds of writing:short stories, novels, fantasy, science fiction,nature writing, poetry, lyrics, and action comics.Teams will consist of three to four students witha common interest in a particular kind of writ-ing. Task guidelines will focus students on look-ing for elements central in powerful description(use of figures of speech, role of verbs andadjectives, use of slang or regional language,wordplay, words created by authors, originality,and so on). Students will need to be ready touse what they learn in their specialty teams in aclass discussion. Each group will also decide onpassages to nominate for the Descriptive Hall ofFame, present those passages to the class, anddefend their choices. In the end, the teacher’sgoal of analyzing powerful description shouldbe more dynamic and memorable by virtue oftapping student interest than if everyone readthe same materials.

In each of these instances, the teacher hashelped students use existing interests as a vehi-cle for learning more about and becoming moreinvested in important ideas delineated by thecurriculum. In no instance did the interest-based approach detract from essential under-standings and skills, but rather made themmore accessible, relevant, and memorable tostudents with varying interests.

Expanding Student Interests

One of the great pleasures of teaching is thechance to introduce students to a world full ofideas and opportunities they’ve not yet discov-ered. Interest-based instruction can not onlydraw on and expand already existing studentinterests, but can help them discover new inter-ests as well. Once again, there are many routes

everyone. Motivation was high and learning wasconnected both to past units and to students’own lives.

Interest Centers or Interest Groups

In Mr. Nickens’s primary classroom, there arealways times when students can meet in interestgroups. For whatever his students are studying,Mr. Nickens creates an interest center to allowhis young learners to find out more about whatthey are curious about. For example, while stu-dents studied animal habitats, there were inter-est centers on habitats of varied animals such asbadgers, beavers, and polar bears. In those cen-ters, students could learn about particular habi-tats as a way of expanding the unit’s under-standings. Ultimately, students who wanted todo so could form an interest group with one ormore peers to create an interest center on thehabitat of another animal for their peers, as wellas students next year. In interest groups, stu-dents sometimes read together, sometimes hadbook discussions, sometimes shared what theywere finding out from their own research,planned the interest center they would design,and did the work necessary to create the inter-est center.

The habitat study for the whole class contin-ued at the same time. For some students whoseinterests in the topic were enduring, the interestgroups continued to meet on the animal andhabitat they were studying well after the unit onhabitats ended. The combination of interestcenters and interest groups encouraged studentsto both develop and expand interests.

Specialty Teams

In a literature unit, Ms. Bollinger wants her 4thgraders to explore ways authors use descriptivelanguage to help readers “see” what they arewriting about. Ms. Bollinger believes, however,that students will be more interested in the

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to helping students discover new interests. Hereare two examples.

Real-Life Applications of Ideas and Skills

Ms. Paige is eager for her students to discoverlinks between math and the adult world ofwork. Her 6th graders know little about whatmost adults do in their daily work—including,she has discovered, what their parents’ jobs arelike. She has asked each of her students tointerview someone whose job seems interestingto them to find out how that person uses frac-tions and decimals in their occupation. Studentswill ask some preliminary questions to deter-mine whether a potential interviewee does, infact, use fractions and decimals in importantways. If not, a student will continue the searchfor someone whose job is of interest to the stu-dent and who does use fractions and decimalsas an occupational tool. Students observe orshadow their interviewee, if possible.

Ms. Paige wants students to see that math iscentral to many kinds of work. She also knowsthat this exploration will help students developan increased awareness of and interest in wayspeople earn a living and make a contribution tosociety. She and the students develop interviewquestions and develop a range of ways in whichstudents can show what they learn. Somerequirements are common to all students,including specifications for showing preciselyhow the person uses fractions and decimals.

Last year, students found out about the use-fulness of fractions and decimals in jobs such asanesthesiology, auto repair, media specialist, sec-retary, pilot, pharmacist, composer, and busi-ness owner. Ms. Paige finds that math becomes“new” and exciting as students connect it withnew and exciting insights about the world of work.

New Forms of Expression

Mrs. Landis was tired of seeing the same four orfive formats for history projects. Her students,she decided, were “stuck” on posters, dioramas,papers, and time lines as a way of showing whatthey learned. She invited six adults to visit theclass to show students ways they expressedideas. One man presented a captivating per-formance as a traveling medicine man. Anotherdemonstrated the art of story telling. A thirdvisitor talked about photojournalism and waysin which students could take or use pictures toreflect insights about history. A fourth visitorcombined drama, mime, and music to presentideas. A fifth visitor talked about her use ofsymposium format to communicate. A final vis-itor demonstrated effective use of Web sites as avehicle for sharing ideas. Each presenter left thestudents with descriptors for a quality presenta-tion in his particular mode of expression.

Mrs. Landis challenged her students to avoidthe “favorite four” ways of expressing theirlearning. Instead, she challenged them to usesome of the new formats, or to propose optionsof their own—with their own proposals forappropriate quality in whatever they proposed.Her goal, she told them, was not so much tohave the students try something in which theyalready knew they were good, but rather to takea chance on forms of expression that wouldhelp them see both themselves and history in anew light.

A Few Guidelines for Interest-Based Differentiation

Interests are, in a way, windows on the world. Adeveloped interest in one area is almostinevitably a route to learning about many otherthings. It’s helpful to think about some interestareas that students may have or might be ableto develop. It’s also a good idea to extend our

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Figure 9.1Focus on Interest

Interest Areas

Fine Arts• Photography• Painting• Sculpture

Literature• Poetry• Prose• Fiction• Nonfiction

TechnologyAthletics Sciences

• Life• Physical

Mode of Expression

Oral• Speech • Seminar• Drama • Symposium

Written• Creative• Expository

Designed/Built• Display• Model

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mm1.4

MathematicsHistorySocial SciencesJournalismPolitics/GovernmentBusinessMusic

• Song• Dance• Composition• Performance

Theater/Film/TVTravel/CulturePeople

• Heroes• Villains• Young People

Sports/RecreationCrafts

Artistic• Graphics• Painting• Photography• Illustration

Abstract• Ideas• Plans• Theories

Service inCommunity

own awareness of other ways in which peopleexpress their ideas, feelings, and skills. Figure9.1 provides a beginning framework for ateacher to consider options she might present tostudents for interest-based learning. There’smuch more that could be added to the figure,however. Feel free to expand it as you go.

There’s no single recipe for tapping orexpanding student interests, but here are a fewpointers to consider. They should make inter-est-based differentiation more effective.

• Link interest-based exploration withkey components of the curriculum. There’snothing wrong with an opportunity for studentsto meander about in an area of interest. In gen-eral, however, it’s wise for the teacher to providea bit of focus for the interest-based study. It’slikely the curriculum specifies certain concepts,categories, understandings, and skills that stu-dents should acquire. If the teacher can helpstudents see how those essential curricular ele-ments are revealed through learning about aninterest area, then both the student’s goals andthe goals of the curriculum can be servedsimultaneously. Further, common class discus-sions are much easier if all students exploredcommon understandings and used commonskills—even though the interest-based explo-rations differ.

• Provide structure likely to lead to stu-dent success. There’s often an element of stu-dent independence required for interest-baseddifferentiation. That’s the case because differentstudents will be pursuing different interests, asopposed to everyone in the class moving lock-step through the curriculum. Some students arehighly independent, even at an early age.Others need much more guidance to succeed.In every case, it’s the job of the teacher to pro-vide the sort of scaffolding that helps a studentgrow in independence—even those who aremore independent than agemates. Think aboutelements such as posing questions for inquiry,

setting goals, rubrics, time lines, checkpoints,peer critiques of drafts, miniworkshops on con-ducting research, or other structures you candevelop to ensure that your students worksmarter in their interest-based work.

• Develop efficient ways of sharing inter-est-based findings. It’s often not the best use oftime for each student in a class of 30 to presenttheir work to every other student. That’s partic-ularly true if we’ve not invested time in teachingstudents how to be compelling presenters.Sharing quads, in which each student presentsto three others, may be more effective thanwhole class sharing. The quads are sometimesmost effective when all students in the quadshare a common interest. At other times, how-ever, students learn more by sharing with stu-dents who explored different interests. You maywant to think about having students share inter-est-based products with adults who have a simi-lar interest. (In that case, have the student findher own audience as part of the productrequirements.) Students can create exhibits forperusal by others rather than oral presentation.

• Create an open invitation for studentinterests. One way to contribute to an openand inviting classroom environment is to letstudents know that you welcome their ideasand want them to let you know what they areinterested in. When students know they canpropose ideas for tasks and projects and believeyou’ll help them find a way to expand theirown interests, there is a much greater sense ofshared ownership of learning. Fortunate stu-dents hear teachers say, “Here’s an idea I had.How can we make it better?” Or, “Here’s some-thing important to learn about. How would youlike to come at it?” Or, “What would make thisinteresting for you?”

• Keep an open eye and an open mind forthe student with a serious passion. From

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I-Search. This process encourages studentsto be an inquirer on a topic of personal interestbased on their experience. The I-Search formathelps students learn to uncover their owncuriosity, find and use sources (including inter-views) helpful in answering their questions,write what they find, and judge the rigor oftheir own work (Joyce & Tallman, 1997;Macrorie, 1988).

Orbitals. This strategy encourages studentsto raise questions of interest to them individu-ally, figure out how to find answers to theirquestions, and devise ways to share their find-ings with peers. The questions may vary incomplexity. The duration of the finding-outprocess will also vary. Thus students with quitedifferent levels of academic or research sophisti-cation can develop interests with this approach(Stevenson, 1992).

Design-A-Day. Students decide what towork on for a class period or several class peri-ods. They specify goals, set time lines, worktoward their goals, and assess their ownprogress. This strategy is useful when studentshave a particular interest to pursue or whenthey’d like to do something they’ve seen a class-mate do during a differentiated class. The strat-egy is also a good early step in preparingstudents to succeed with longer and moredemanding formats such as learning contracts.

Group Investigation. This cooperativelearning strategy is excellent for helping stu-dents decide on a topic of personal interest, findout about the topic in defensible ways, workcollaboratively, and present findings with confi-dence. The strategy details the role of theteacher and students in each phase of the inves-tigation (Sharan & Sharan, 1992).

WebQuests. The WebQuest is a teacher-designed Internet lesson developed with specific

time to time, there’s a student who is on fire tolearn about something that’s just not part of thecurriculum. You may well be the best teacherfor that student if you can find a way to let himpursue that passion—even if it means giving upsome of what you had in mind. For some stu-dents, the greatest gift a teacher can give is per-mission to explore a topic, time to do it, and aninterested ear.

Chances are that such a student won’tbecome an academic wreck because she missedone class project or a week of homework orsome class discussions. Your affirmation that thestudent’s hunger to learn is worthy of nurturingand trust may count for much more in the longrun than a carefully prescribed and rigid cur-riculum. Besides, you can often embed youragenda in the student’s agenda if necessary.

• Remember that interest-based differen-tiation can be combined with other types ofdifferentiation. It’s often possible to have a taskor product that combines common elements fora whole class, some readiness-based compo-nents, some interest-based components, andsome learning profile options. Although it’s con-venient to think about differentiation accordingto the categories of readiness, interest, andlearning profile, it’s not necessary to separate thecategories in planning or in instruction.

A Glimpse at Strategies ThatSupport Interest Differentiation

There are many instructional strategies that areready made to support interest-based differenti-ation. Figure 9.2 lists a number of them. Whilethis book does not afford the opportunity toexplore each of the strategies, information isavailable in educational resources on all ofthem. Here is a brief overview of a few of thestrategies.

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learning goals in mind, some specified and rele-vant Internet links, and guidelines that supportstudents in the research or finding out process.The teacher designs a WebQuest to give indi-viduals or small groups of learners the opportu-nity to use research, problem solving, and basicskills—as they move through a process of find-ing out, drawing conclusions about, and devel-oping a product on a topic or question.WebQuests can easily be differentiated by readi-ness, but are also very well suited to differentia-tion according to student interest (Kelly, 2000).WebQuest:http://edweb.sdsu.edu/webquest/webquest/html.

Jigsaw. In this cooperative strategy, studentswork with peers who study one facet of a topic.They then return to a “home-base” group forsharing what they have learned. The home-basegroup is composed of a student specializing ineach facet of the topic. Students in the home-base group are responsible for reporting to thegroup on their specialty topic and for learningwhat other students report (Clarke, 1994).

Literature Circles. This student-led discus-sion format provides excellence guidance thatallows students to read on topics of interest andshare readings with others who read the samematerial. It allows teachers to break away com-fortably from the sense that all students mustread the same materials in order to have mean-ingful discussions (Daniels, 1994).

Negotiated Criteria. In this format, ateacher may specify some whole-class require-ments for product or task success. The studentalso contributes some criteria of personal inter-est to her. Finally, the teacher may specify oneor more criteria for an individual student.

There’s lots of talk in educational circlesabout creating lifelong learners. It’s easy to arguefor schools as places where students come tobelieve that learning is fulfilling, consuming,and deeply satisfying. It’s more difficult to real-ize the goal. Our chances of doing so are greatlyenhanced if, as teachers, we cultivate and affirmstudent interests.

� � �

The next “how to” chapter goes beyond studentinterests to encompass learning profiles—stylesand intelligences.

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Figure 9.2Strategies That Support Interest-Based Differentiation

Exploratory studies

Studying concepts and principles through the lens of interest

Student choice of tasks

Independent study

Orbitals

Design-A-Day

I-Searches

Mentorships/Apprenticeships

Group Investigation

Interest groups

Jigsaw

Literature circles

WebQuests

Negotiated criteria for tasks and products

Student-selected audiences

Learning profile refersto ways in which welearn best as individu-als. Each of us knowssome ways of learning

that are quite effective for us, and others thatslow us down or make learning feel awkward.Common sense, experience, and research sug-gest to us that when teachers can tap into routesthat promote efficient and effective learning forstudents, results are better. The goals of learn-ing-profile differentiation are to help individuallearners understand modes of learning thatwork best for them, and to offer those optionsso that each learner finds a good learning fit inthe classroom.

The Categories of Learning-Profile Factors

There are four categories of learning-profile fac-tors, and teachers can use them to plan curricu-lum and instruction that fit learners. There is

some overlap in the categories, but each hasbeen well researched and found to be importantfor the learning process. A student’s learningstyle, intelligence preference, gender, and cul-ture can influence learning profile. Figure 10.1suggests some ways of thinking about learningprofiles in students—and ourselves as educa-tors, as well.

Learning-Style Preferences

Learning style refers to environmental or per-sonal factors. Some students may learn bestwhen they can move around, others need to sitstill. Some students enjoy a room with lots tolook at, color, things to touch and try out.Other students function best when the environ-ment is more “spare” because they find a “busy”classroom distracting. Some students need agreat deal of light in a room in order to feelcomfortable. Other students prefer a darkerroom. Some students will learn best throughoral modes, others through visual channels, still

THE How To’s OF Planning Lessons Differentiated BY Learning Profile

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Figure 10.1Focus on Learning Profile

Group Orientation

independent/self-orientationgroup/peer orientationadult orientationcombination

Cognitive Style

creative/conformingessence/factswhole-to-part/part-to-wholeexpressive/controllednonlinear/linearinductive/deductivepeople-oriented/task or object-orientedconcrete/abstractcollaboration/competitioninterpersonal/introspectiveeasily distracted/long attention spangroup achievement/personal achievementoral/visual/kinestheticreflective/action-oriented

Learning Environment

quiet/noisewarm/coolstill/mobileflexible/fixed“busy”/“spare”

Intelligence Preference

analyticpracticalcreativeverbal/linguisticlogical/mathematicalspatial/visualbodily/kinestheticmusical/rhythmicinterpersonalintrapersonalnaturalistexistential

Learning Profile Factors

A B C D E F G H

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work with a group or individually, whether wemost value creativity or conformity, whether weare more reflective or more impulsive—andmany other preferences that can greatly affectlearning. Also some learning patterns may differfrom one culture to another; there is hugelearning variance within every culture.

The goal of the teacher is, therefore, not tosuggest that individuals from a particular cul-ture ought to learn in a particular way, butrather to come to understand the great range oflearning preferences that will exist in any groupof people and to create a classroom flexibleenough to invite individuals to work in waysthey find most productive.

Gender-Based Preferences

Gender also influences how we learn. As is thecase with culture, there are learning patterns ineach gender—but great variance, as well.Whereas more males than females may prefercompetitive learning, for example, some maleswill prefer collaborative learning and somefemales will prefer competition. Some of thesame elements that are influenced by culturecan also be influenced by gender (for example,expressiveness versus reserve, group versusindividual orientation, analytic versus creativeor practical thinking, and so on).

Combined Preferences

Combinations of culture and gender will createunique constellations of learning preferences inindividuals. Patterns of learning preference arecertainly complex when we look at an individ-ual’s learning style; intelligence; culture-influ-enced, gender-influenced preferences. A sensi-tive teacher understands that her students mayhave learning preferences much like or muchdifferent than that of the teacher and tries tocreate options and choices that make everyonecomfortable much of the time.

others through touch or movement. Although ateacher cannot manipulate all these elements,and other learning style components, all thetime, it is possible for a teacher to give studentssome learning choices. It’s also possible for ateacher to create a room with different “looks”in different portions of the room, or with differ-ing working arrangements.

Intelligence Preferences

Intelligence preference refers to the sorts ofbrain-based predispositions we all have forlearning. Two theorist/researchers have proposedways of thinking about intelligence preferences.Howard Gardner (1993) suggests that we eachhave varying strengths in combinations of intel-ligences he calls verbal linguistic, logical mathe-matical, visual spatial, musical rhythmic, bodilykinesthetic, interpersonal, intrapersonal, andnaturalistic—and perhaps existential. RobertSternberg (1985) suggests that we all have vary-ing strengths in combinations of intelligences herefers to as analytic (schoolhouse intelligence,preference for learning in linear ways often typi-cal of school), practical (contextual intelligence,preference for seeing how and why things workin the world as people actually use them), andcreative (problem-solving intelligence, prefer-ence for making new connections, innovation).Indications are that when students approachlearning in ways that address their intelligencepreferences, results are quite positive.

Culture-Influenced Preferences

Culture affects how we learn, as well. It caninfluence whether we see time as fixed and rigidor flexible and fluid, whether we are more effu-sive or reserved in expressing emotions,whether we learn best in a whole-to-part or apart-to-whole approach, whether we prefer tolearn material that’s contextual and personal ordiscrete and impersonal, whether we prefer to

Some Guidelines for Learning-Profile Differentiation

Though there is no single way of ensuring thatstudents get to learn in ways that work best forthem, some guidelines are broadly useful inestablishing classrooms responsive to a widerange of learning preferences.

• Remember that some, but not all, ofyour students share your learning prefer-ences. For example, if you are a highly auditorylearner, you may be prone to be an auditoryteacher, as well. That’s great for kids who learnlike you do, but not great for kids with visual orkinesthetic learning preferences. If you weresuccessful in school, you may find analytic andpart-to-whole learning a breeze. Some studentsin your class will like those approaches as well,but students who need more creative, contex-tual, and whole-to-part approaches may feel likethey are working in a fog unless you stretchyour own comfort zone and teaching repertoire.

• Help your students reflect on their ownpreferences. Give your students a vocabulary oflearning-profile options. Let them know you’reoffering creative, practical, and analytic learningchoices today—or that you’ve intentionally cre-ated both competitive and collaborative studyformats—or that you’re making a connectionbetween whole-to-part (global, big idea) andpart-to-whole (detail) portions of today’s lab.Then invite students to talk about whichapproaches make learning most natural andeffective for them. That’s also a good opportu-nity to help students realize that not everyonein the class learns the same way, and that agood teacher works hard to honor many routesto learning, rather than only one.

• Use both teacher-structured and stu-dent-choice avenues to learning-profile dif-ferentiation. Sometimes it’s really effective for a

teacher to think about using several intelli-gences as ways for students to explore orexpress ideas. Often, only the teacher canensure flexible use of time or combination ofpresentation modes. Even when a teacher doesnot have time to structure or craft several learn-ing-profile options for a lesson, much can beaccomplished by asking students to make theirown choices. Students can select modes ofexpression and decide whether to work alone orwith a peer, to sit in a desk or curl up on thefloor with a book, to accept inevitable class-room sounds or screen them out by usingearplugs or headphones, and so on. When stu-dents are partners with teachers in making thelearning environment a good fit, more is accom-plished with less strain on the teacher.

• Select a few learning-profile categoriesfor emphasis as you begin. We know a greatdeal about learning preferences—so much, infact, that it can seem overwhelming. As youbegin to differentiate your instruction inresponse to a range of learning-profile needs,select a few categories to emphasize in yourplanning. You may, for example, work withSternberg’s (1985) three intelligences as you cre-ate tasks; using both contextual and factualillustrations for your students, you may employboth visual and auditory approaches to sharinginformation with your students. That’s enoughto begin. Then, whenever possible, offer yourstudents learning decisions that they can maketo further craft the classroom to match theirlearning needs.

• Be a student of your students. It’s veryhard to “get inside someone else’s skin.” It’s dev-ilishly difficult to see life as someone who expe-riences the world differently than you do. Weparticularly fail many students whose culturalbackground is different from our own. It’sessential to watch individuals in your class forlearning clues, to talk with them about what

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information, (2) understanding of key ideas, (3)personal involvement, or (4) creating somethingnew related to a topic. A teacher using 4-MATplans lesson sequences on a given topic inwhich each of the four preferences is stressed.This ensures that every student experiences thetopic through a preferred approach and also hasopportunities to strengthen learning in less pre-ferred modes (McCarthy, 1996).

Varied Approaches to Organizing Ideas.It’s important that students organize their think-ing so they can make sense of ideas, communi-cate clearly, and retain and retrieve information.Often it’s less important which approach toorganization a student uses than that they havean organizational approach that works for them.When there’s no compelling reason why all stu-dents must use the same organizationalapproach, encourage students to select fromstrategies such as summarizing, mind-mapping,concept mapping, storyboarding, or outlining.Of course, you’ll have to ensure that all studentsunderstand the various options; but once that’saccomplished, you’ll quickly see some studentsgravitate to one approach while other studentsmake different decisions. It’s likely to be a learn-ing-profile issue.

Using Learning Profile toDifferentiate Content, Process,and Product

As is true for readiness and interest, attendingto learning profile provides teachers with a wayto differentiate content, process, and product.Here are some examples.

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Ms. Lide sometimes differentiates content inways likely to tap in to student-learning profile.She tape-records key materials (or has others dothe recording) so that auditory learners can lis-

works and doesn’t work for them, and to invitethem to make suggestions or pose alternativesthat seem more promising. It’s also useful to askparents to provide insights into what works, ordoesn’t, when their students learn. If we canexpand our vision beyond the parameters ofour own private universe, we become morewelcoming and effective teachers of childrenwho inevitably inhabit private universes differ-ent from our own.

A Glimpse at Strategies ThatSupport Learning-ProfileDifferentiation

There are numerous instructional strategies thathelp us focus on students’ learning-profileneeds. Figure 10.2 lists a number of them. Hereare brief explanations of a few strategies helpfulin differentiating instruction in response to stu-dents’ learning profiles.

Complex Instruction. This powerful strat-egy emphasizes teachers studying their studentsto determine which intellectual strengths eachstudent brings to the classroom. The teacherthen designs high-level, complex learning tasksthat draw on the intellectual strengths of eachstudent in a collaborative group (Cohen, 1994).

Entry Points. It is possible to encouragestudents to enter a topic or explore it through alearning preference (Gardner, 1993), thus mak-ing early experiences a good fit. Entry pointexplorations can be narrational (telling a story),quantitative (scientific approaches), founda-tional (looking at beliefs or frameworks ofmeaning at the core of the topic), aesthetic (sen-sory, arts-based approaches), or experiential(hands-on, personal opportunities to becomeinvolved).

4-MAT. This approach to planning suggeststhat varied learners would prefer (1) mastery of

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ten rather than being solely dependent on visualcontact with materials. She also sometimes usesrole-play just after the students have completedreading, asking students to volunteer to act outwhat they have read. She finds that kinestheticlearners like this more physical approach tocomprehension. When introducing ideas to herstudents, she makes sure to use graphic organ-izers to show them how parts of their study fitthe big picture of meaning. She also makes cer-tain that she uses an overhead projector or flipchart as she talks so that students can hear andsee ideas.

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In differentiating process or activities, Mr.Larsen uses what he calls Menus for Success.He might, for example, offer students four ways

to explore a math concept today. One approachmight ask students to use words and pictures tocreate directions for how to solve the kind ofproblem that’s the focus of the unit. A secondapproach might provide multiple versions of theproblem to practice, with the opportunity tocheck answers for accuracy as they go along. Athird option might entail students investigatinghow the kind of math problem could be used tosolve a real-life dilemma. A fourth approachmight ask students to use manipulatives andwords to demonstrate how the problem typeworks. Whatever the student’s selection, theythen decide whether they work more effectivelyalone or with a peer. Mr. Larsen talks with stu-dents about learning to make wise selectionsfrom the Menu for Success to support healthylearning, just as they would from a restaurantmenu to support healthy living.

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Figure 10.2Strategies That Support Learning-Profile Differentiation

Vary Teacher Presentation auditory visualkinesthetic whole-to-part part-to-whole

Vary Student Mode of Expression Gardner’s 8 or 9 intelligencesSternberg’s 3 intelligences

Working Choice Arrangements4-Mat Flexible EnvironmentComplex InstructionMultiple Modes of AssessmentOrganizersVaried Approaches to Organizing Ideas and InformationEntry Points

are looking broadly or narrowly at addressingstudents’ learning needs.

In the end, however, the goal is to have aflow of differentiation so that much of what wedo is a fit for each student much of the time (seefigures 10.3 and 10.4). That means our goal is tobring together the elements we can differentiateand ways we can go about differentiating themso that there is wholeness to what we do.

A teacher whose skills of differentiation arefluid continually asks, “Would students benefitfrom flexibility in approaching today’s learninggoals?” When the answer is yes, the teacherseeks alternative avenues to learning for her stu-dents, and invites them to join her in that quest.(see figure 10.5 for sample diagnostic question-naires). Here’s a brief example of an elementaryteacher's classroom in which differentiation ispervasive.

� � �

Mrs. Chen and her students are studyingexplorers and exploration. As she selects readingmaterial for them, she makes sure to find selec-tions with a wide range of readability. Sometimesshe and the class will read a piece in common.Sometimes she will assign materials to particularstudents. Sometimes they will select what toread. In this way, she hopes to take into accountcommon needs of the whole class as well as bothreading readiness and interests of individuals.

As she plans activities, Mrs. Chen envisionsboth similar readiness groups for some tasks andmixed readiness groups for others. For example,when students are honing their writing skills,they may work with students who have similargoals at a given time. On the other hand, whenthey write scenarios to depict the challengesfaced by explorers, she will form groups thatinclude students who have good ideas, studentswith a flair for the dramatic, students who writewell, and students who are leaders.

� � �

In differentiating products in response tostudent learning profile, Ms. Michaels uses sev-eral approaches. Because she believes her goal isto assess student growth in ways that let eachstudent show how much they know, under-stand, and can do, she often uses more thanone kind of end-of-unit assessment. She maycombine tests and portfolios of student work.This lets her work with students on effectivetest taking, but also enables students for whomtest taking is difficult or uninspiring to showhow much they’ve learned in a more comfort-able format. When she creates product assign-ments for students, she nearly always providesat least two or three choices of how studentscan express what they have learned—for exam-ple, through a museum exhibit that includesmodels and narratives, through an essay or dia-logue, or through an annotated and illustratedtime line. She also tries to vary research materi-als to include artifacts, visuals, print materials,interviews, and technology. She varies workingarrangements so students sometimes workalone, sometimes with peers, and sometimes inwhichever format they prefer.

There are many ways to accommodate stu-dents’ preferred ways of learning. Looking for agood learning fit for students means, at least inpart, trying to understand how individuals learnand responding appropriately.

Bringing the Elements Together

In the early stages of differentiation, it’s helpfulto think about using student readiness, interest,and learning profile to differentiate content,process, and product. Breaking down the taskinto elements not only lets us focus on smallerand more manageable pieces of teaching, butcan also help us assess the degree to which we

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68


Figure 10.5Diagnosing Student Readiness, Interest, and Learning Profile

Interest Questionnaire: What Do You Want to Learn About Rome?

These are some of the topics we will be studying in our unit on Ancient Rome. We wantto know what you want to learn about. Number your choices from 1 to 8. Make sure that1 is your favorite and 8 is your least favorite.

____ geography

____ government (laws)

____ agriculture (foods they grew)

____ architecture (buildings)

____ music and art

____ religion and sports

____ roles of men, women, and children

____ other (please tell us more)

Readiness Questionnaire: What Can You Tell Us About Rome?

1. What country is Rome in?

2. What does “civilization” mean?

3. Give some examples of different civilizations.

4. Name any famous Roman people.

5. Many things in our country and culture came from the Romans. What can you think of?

Source: Developed by Denise Murphy and Beth Ann Potter.

69—continued

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Classrooms` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` `

Figure 10.5 (CONTINUED)Diagnosing Student Readiness, Interest and Learning Profile

Learning Profile Qeustionnaire: How Do You Like to Learn?

1. I study best when it is quiet. yes no

2. I am able to ignore the noise of other people talking while I am working. yes no

3. I like to work at a table or desk. yes no

4. I like to work on the floor. yes no

5. I work hard for myself. yes no

6. I work hard for my parents or teacher. yes no

7. I will work on an assignment until it is completed no matter what. yes no

8. Sometimes I get frustrated with my work and do not finish it. yes no

9. When my teacher gives an assignment, I like to have exact steps on how to complete it. yes no

10. When my teacher gives an assignment, I like to create my own steps on how to complete it. yes no

11. I like to work by myself. yes no

12. I like to work in pairs or in groups. yes no

13. I like to have an unlimited amount of itime to work on an assignment. yes no

14. I like to have a certain amount of time to work on an assignment. yes no

15. I like to learn by moving and doing. yes no

16. I like to learn while sitting at my desk. yes no

70

Source: Developed by Denise Murphy and Beth Ann Potter.

As the unit ends, students will demonstratetheir learning in part through “exchanges”between past explorers and contemporaryexplorers. All students are responsible fordemonstrating designated knowledge, under-standings, and skills. The teacher will assigneach student a past explorer based on the quan-tity and availability of research material that isavailable in the school on the various explorers.Students will select their own contemporaryexplorer from a teacher-provided list to whichstudents can add names. Here students willmake selections based on personal interests, suchas science, sports, writing, technology, television,and so on. Students may work alone on theirtasks, with one partner, or with a group of threeto four students. Individuals and groups thenselect the format for their explorer exchange.Among choices are a live symposium or dialogueformat, a pair of Web pages, a videotaped con-versation, a set of letters exchanged between thetwo, and so on.

There’s certainly whole-class instruction inMrs. Chen’s room, but chances are that whole-class instruction will be followed by opportuni-ties for students to come to grips with ideas andskills on their own terms. Chances are alsogood that there is flexibility built in to much ofwhat goes on so that each student feels theclassroom “belongs” to him.

Figures 10.3 and 10.4 provide two moreexamples of the flow in a differentiated class-room where all the elements come together. Inboth instances events in the classroom are firstpresented as they might occur in a one-size-fits-all version, then are re-presented as they mightlook in a classroom where the teacher honorsand plans for individual learning needs.

Diagnosing Student Interest,Readiness, and Learning Profile

Although there are many published tools tohelp teachers determine student readiness,interest, and learning profile, sometimes it’smost economical to begin with common senseand a little teacher ingenuity. Figure 10.5 pro-vides one such example.

Two beginning teachers understood theirneed to match what they were about to teach tostudents whom they did not yet know well. Asthey began an elementary unit on AncientRome, the teachers developed a three-partassessment based on students’ prior knowledgeabout what they were going to teach (readiness)and questions the teachers felt comfortableaddressing related to interest and learning pro-file. You’ll see that the format of the assessmentis simple and straightforward. It’s also clear thatthe knowledge about students that the teachersgleaned from this multipart assessment gavethem lots to work with as they began to plantheir unit to ensure its match for their learners.

Remember that everything students do is apotential source of information about their cur-rent understanding and skills, what they like tolearn about, and how they learn best. Considerthe possibility that you can learn a great dealabout students by using simple teacher-madetools and by observing and reflecting on datathat are around you every day.

� � �

In the next chapter, we shift our focus from students to the content of the curriculum (butkeep in mind all we have learned from our students).

71


It is difficult andsomewhat unnaturalto carve apart the cur-ricular elements ofcontent, process, and

product, because students process ideas as theyread content, think while they create products,and conjure ideas for products while theyencounter ideas in the materials they use.Nonetheless, thinking about how to differenti-ate instruction is more manageable by examin-ing one element at a time. Just proceed with theawareness that these elements are more inter-connected than they may sound here.

Content is the “input” of teaching and learn-ing. It’s what we teach or what we want stu-dents to learn.

Differentiating content can be thought of intwo ways. First, in differentiating content, wecan adapt what we teach. Second, we can adaptor modify how we give students access to what wewant them to learn. For example, if I ask somestudents to begin work with fractions in 3rd

grade, while others are working hard to masterdivision, I have differentiated what the studentsare learning. Similarly, I may elect to assign stu-dents to spelling based on their current spellingskills rather than having all students work witha 4th grade spelling program when some of thelearners spell at a 1st grade level and some at ahigh school level. On the other hand, I keepwhat students learn relatively the same andchange how I give them access to it if I encour-age advanced students to read a novel rapidlyand with independence while I find additionaltime for struggling readers to read the samenovel, and use peer partners to support theirreading as well.

In general, there is benefit to holding whatstudents learn relatively steady, while changinghow we give access to the content to match stu-dent needs. Sometimes, however, it seems tomake better sense to change what we teach aswell. The latter is especially sensible when weare teaching a linear progression of skills, suchas spelling or math computation.

Differentiating Content

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` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` `1111

Differentiating Content forStudent Need

Content can be differentiated in response to astudent’s readiness level, interests, or learningprofile. It can also be differentiated in responseto any combination of readiness, interest, andlearning profile.

• Readiness differentiation of content hasas its goal matching the material or informationstudents are asked to learn to a student’s capacityto read and understand it. For example, it is apoor use of time to ask a 5th grade student whoreads independently at a 9th grade-level to domost of her work in a grade-level reading series.It is equally inappropriate to ask a student whospeaks and reads little English to read independ-ently from a grade-level U.S. History book. Oneway of thinking about readiness differentiation ofcontent is to use “The Equalizer” (Figure 8.1,page 47) as a guide, asking yourself if materialsare at an appropriately challenging level of com-plexity, independence, pacing, and so on.

• Interest differentiation of contentinvolves including in the curriculum ideas andmaterials that build on current student interestsor extend student interests. For example, anEnglish teacher encourages a budding youngcomedienne to read selections that involvehumor. A history teacher helps a student findWeb sites that feed his curiosity about the roleof Native Americans in the Civil War.

• Learning profile differentiation of con-tent implies ensuring that a student has a wayof “coming at” materials and ideas that matchhis preferred way of learning. For instance,some students may handle a lecture best if theteacher uses overhead transparencies as well astalk—linking visual and auditory learning.Some students will comprehend reading far bet-ter if they can read aloud—whereas other stu-

dents need silence when they read. Reading thescience text may be just the ticket to help onestudent understand the concept of “work,”while another student may grasp the idea betterby watching a demonstration that uses exem-plars of “work” and “not work.”

By way of example, students in a middle schoolscience class are beginning work on the charac-teristics of mammals. Today, the teacher hasplanned several approaches for introducing herstudents to key concepts, terms, and ideas aboutmammals. First, students selected which of fivevertebrates they’d rather investigate (differentia-tion of content based on student interest). Thenthe teacher gave each investigation team severalways to learn about the mammal selected bygroup members. For each mammal, there is asmall box of books at varied reading levels (dif-ferentiation by readiness). In addition, there areeither audio or video tapes about each mammal,and bookmarked Web sites as well (differentia-tion according to student-learning profile).

Further, students can take “freelance” noteson their reading, or use a teacher-providedmatrix to guide note taking (differentiation inresponse to student readiness). This is an exam-ple of a teacher who is differentiating content inseveral ways. Here, she is holding steady thekey concepts, ideas, and skills (what she wantsher students to learn), and modifying how sheensures effective access to the “input” she hasdefined as essential.

Strategies for DifferentiatingContent

Here are some strategies for differentiating con-tent. Some of them are useful in differentiatingwhat we need students to learn. Many are use-ful in differentiating how we ensure appropriateaccess to what we need students to learn. Mostcan be used to differentiate content by readi-ness, interest, and learning profile.

73

` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` `Differentiating Content

class explores two key principles: (1) extinctioncan come about because of natural changes inthe environment, and (2) extinction can comeabout because of human-made changes in theenvironment. One group uses dinosaurs as anexample of extinction and investigates changesthat may have caused their extinction. Anothergroup compares the dinosaurs’ extinction totoday’s rain forests, looking for similarities anddifferences in extinction patterns. Both groupsencounter powerful scientific principles, specificexamples, and a need to hypothesize and drawconclusions. But one group studies this contentin a more foundational, concrete, single-facetedway, while the other group conducts an explo-ration that is more transformational, abstract,and multifaceted. The teacher proactivelymatches the “equalizer buttons” of the tasks andmaterials to each group’s current learning needs.

Being sure of key concepts and principles inwhat you teach is a great way to begin thinkingabout differentiation. It also makes your teach-ing more relevant and potent in general.

Curriculum Compacting

This strategy was developed by Joe Renzulli atthe University of Connecticut and is specificallydesigned to help advanced learners maximizetheir use of time for learning (Rezis & Renzulli,1992). Compacting is a three-stage process.

In Stage 1, the teacher identifies studentswho are candidates for compacting and assesseswhat they know and do not know about a par-ticular topic or chapter. Students may requestcompacting or the teacher may decide to “com-pact” a student.

Initial assessment occurs either prior to orearly in the study. Assessment may be formal,such as a written post-test; or informal, such asthe teacher and student having a focused con-versation about the subject being studied.Following this assessment, the teacher noteswhich skills and understandings each student

Concept-Based Teaching

In many classrooms, students “cover” lots offacts, vocabulary words, names, dates, andrules. Unfortunately, they also forget much ofwhat they “learn” as they leave that informationbehind and move on to another topic or lesson.Much of this “memory loss” occurs becausethey never really understood or saw the pur-pose of what they learned. Rather than sloggingthrough a swamp of facts, you can help yourstudents better understand and see utility in anarea of study by emphasizing its key conceptsand principles. Concepts are the buildingblocks of meaning.

Instead of spending a month memorizingcategories of animals or studying penguins, stu-dents can use that same time to study patternsin the animal kingdom, talk about traits, usetraits to identify and classify animals, and learnhow to predict traits from habitats or vice versa.“Patterns” is a concept that undergirds how sci-entists look at and classify things. Having stu-dents become adept at determining andpredicting patterns and using those patterns tothink about various forms of life helps them (1)understand rather than memorize, (2) retainideas and facts longer because they are moremeaningful, (3) make connections between sub-jects and facets of a single subject, (4) relateideas to their own lives, and (5) build networksof meaning for effectively dealing with futureknowledge.

Differentiated instruction is so powerfulbecause it focuses on concepts and principlesinstead of predominantly on facts. Teacherswho differentiate instruction offer minimal drilland practice of facts (as these practices tend tocreate little meaning or power for future learn-ing); they focus instead on essential and mean-ingful understandings to create transferablelearning power.

One elementary teacher uses a differentiatedunit to study the concept of extinction. Her

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has reasonably mastered (i.e., knowing 70–75percent or more of the content). Students whoare compacting are exempt from whole-classinstruction and activities in content areas theyhave already mastered, thus “buying time” forlearning more challenging and interesting material.

In Stage 2, the teacher notes any skills orunderstandings covered in the study in whichthe student did not demonstrate mastery, andthen lays out a plan to make certain the studentlearns those things. The plan may require thestudent to join other classmates for particularportions of the study, do homework that pro-vides practice on missing skills, or demonstratemastery of those skills in a product that is cre-ated in the third and final stage of the compact-ing process.

At the beginning of Stage 3, the teacher andstudent design an investigation or study for thestudent to engage in while others are workingwith the general lessons. The teacher and stu-dent together agree on the project’s parameters,goals, time lines, procedures for completing thetasks, criteria for evaluation, and any other nec-essary elements. The student does not have toreinvest freed-up time in the same subject fromwhich he was compacted. One student whocompacts out of math, for example, may electto spend his time working on a project in a spe-cial interest area such as science fiction. Or, ifhe especially likes math, he might want todevelop a plan for using advanced mathematicssoftware available in class.

Keeping records when using compacting hasthree benefits: (1) teachers demonstrateaccountability for student learning, (2) parentsunderstand why it is advantageous for theirchildren to work with an alternate task, and (3)students develop awareness of their specificlearning profiles.

Advanced learners gain little by continuingto relearn the known, but they gain much fromthe expectation that they will continually

engage in challenging and productive learningin school. Compacting helps eliminate the for-mer and facilitate the latter.

Using Varied Text and ResourceMaterials

Grade-level texts are often far too simple forsome students in a given class, and yet too com-plex for others. Using multiple texts and com-bining them with a wide variety of other supple-mentary materials increases your chances forreaching all your students with content that ismeaningful to them as individuals. You candevelop valuable differentiation resources bybuilding a classroom library from discardedtexts of various levels (or requesting that text-book money be used to buy three classroom setsof different books rather than one copy of a sin-gle text for everyone), and by collecting maga-zines, newsletters, brochures, and other printmaterials.

The rich array of materials available throughthe Internet makes it far easier than once wasthe case for a teacher to differentiate materialsbased on student need. Other things beingequal, advanced learners will usually useadvanced resources, but may occasionally find ithelpful, when beginning a complex study, tofind out about a topic in the more straightfor-ward presentation found in a less-challengingsource. Likewise, struggling learners may fromtime to time grasp an idea better by looking atdiagrams or pictures in a more advanced source.

As students’ task needs vary, so should theiruse of resources. Many computer programspresent increasing levels of challenge and com-plexity. In math or science, some students mayneed to use manipulatives to understand a con-cept, while others can move directly from anexplanation or reading to abstract use of thatconcept without working with manipulatives.Some videos present key ideas with clarity, oth-ers extend explorations with greater breadth

75


ulary strategy because she spells several yearsabove grade level. Jenny will use the computerprogram to practice division by three digits. Shewill also select a novel that she likes, analyzethe main character, and create an opposite ormirror image character by applying traits ofcharacterization.

Both students get to map out their plan ofaction for the week, decide which tasks will bedone in school and which at home, andprogress at a rate and depth of content chal-lenging for them. Both are accountable for theirtime and self-management, and understand thattheir teacher will assign them work if they vio-late their contract obligations. Jake and Jennyshare a table with two friends whose contractsdiffer somewhat from theirs.

Contracts combine a sense of shared goalswith individual appropriateness and an inde-pendent work format. They also give theteacher time for conferences and small-group orindividual work sessions based on progress andneeds.

Minilessons

When a teacher introduces a concept to thewhole class, chances are that some students willgrasp it instantly (or could have skipped the les-son because they already have mastered theidea, skill, or information). On the other hand,some students will be foggy or lost in relation tothe “input” the teacher had given them. In suchcases, minilessons can be a valuable way to dif-ferentiate content.

Based on assessment of student understand-ing, the teacher may reteach a part of her stu-dents, find another way of teaching a group ofstudents, or meet with yet another group toextend their understanding and skill.Minilessons can be quite effective in targetingcontent to students’ readiness, interests, orlearning profile.

and depth than may be desirable for studentsless advanced with that topic. For studentslearning English while they learn other curricu-lum, it would be of major assistance to readideas first in their native language, then inEnglish. The key is to match the levels of com-plexity, abstractness, depth, breadth, and soforth of the resource materials with the student’slearning needs. Don’t forget that text and othermaterials can also be used in response to a stu-dent’s interests as well as in response to currentlearner readiness or learning profile.

Learning Contracts

Learning contracts between teachers and stu-dents come in several varieties. One allows stu-dents some freedom in their use of class time inexchange for doing responsible and effectivework. Contracts can contain both “skills” and“content” components, and are helpful in man-aging differentiated classrooms because thecomponents of a contract can vary with a stu-dent’s needs.

For example, students in a 4th grade classare all using contracts. Jake’s specifies that dur-ing contract time in the week ahead he mustcomplete his next two spelling lists, master twolevels on the computer program on division byone digit, and work with the characterizationproject from a novel of his choosing. Jake’sspelling lists are a bit above grade level, reflect-ing his comfort as a speller. Because his mathwork is below grade level, extra time with thecomputer may help him move along more con-fidently. The novel Jake selects can be based onhis interests, and his task with it—thinking andwriting about himself in comparison to themain character—has been designed to help himthink through the key strategies a writer uses tobuild characters.

Jenny has also made a contract that includesspelling, computer work, and a novel. Ratherthan a spelling list, she uses an advanced vocab-

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Varied Support Systems

You can make content of varying complexitylevels more accessible to your students by usinga variety of support systems, such as study buddies, reading partners, audio and videorecorders, and peer and adult mentors. Thesestrategies can help many students stretch theircapacities as learners.

Reading Partners and Audio/VideoRecorders. A 5th grader can be great at audio-taping books for 2nd graders who need assis-tance with their reading. A 3rd grader whorecords a grade-level book can help createenriching materials for a classmate who hastrouble decoding or reading long passages. Highschool students can create tapes summarizingjournal articles on a particular topic to giveadvanced 6th graders access to materialsbeyond the scope of their classroom or schoollibrary. Some of those 6th graders can help 4thgraders learn how to make a speech by makinga video on the subject. An advanced 4th gradercan make a video on the types of buildings inthe community, which could then be used in akindergarten learning center.

Note-Taking Organizers. Some students,even of older ages, find it very difficult to readtext or listen to a lecture and come away with acoherent sense of what it was all about. Forsuch students, it can be quite useful to workwith a visual organizer that follows the flow ofideas from the text or lecture. Not only mightsuch organizers help them focus on key ideasand information, but they may also help somelearners see how a teacher or author develops aline of thought. Remember, however, that stu-dents who read independently may find itrestrictive to have to use such organizers. Thepoint is always to provide individual learnerswith a support system that helps the studentgrow—not one that feels like an impediment.

Highlighted Print Materials. A teacher canhighlight critical passages in text or supplemen-tary materials, keeping several copies of thehighlighted materials in the teacher’s desk.When a student has difficulty managing anentire chapter or article, the teacher can easilyprovide that student with a highlighted version.From the outside, the material looks like every-one else’s, but because of the highlighting, thestudent can expend energy on reading andunderstanding essential portions of the chapterrather than becoming discouraged with whatseems like an insurmountable amount of print.

Digests of Key Ideas. Most effective teach-ers could, with minimal expenditure of time,create a one- or two-page capsule of ideas in aunit. Such a digest can be of great assistance tostudents who struggle with print materials, lec-tures, or even organization of information. Thedigest could be in the form of sentences andparagraphs, a flow chart or concept map of theunit or topic, or a combination. It might alsospotlight key vocabulary and provide essentialquestions the unit is designed to address. Suchdigests also help teachers clarify their ownthinking about the core of a unit or topic.

Peer and Adult Mentors. Adults often vol-unteer to help youngsters who are behind withtheir work and in need of additional guidance.All learners—not just those who are strug-gling—benefit from time with adults who cananswer questions about shared interests,sharpen their thinking, or give them access toadvanced research skills. A bright 5th gradercan also be a great mentor for an advanced 3rdgrader who shares similar interests. You can cre-ate extensive support systems by using the peo-ple and technologies in your classroom, school,and community, thus giving everyone a chanceto reach higher, learn more, and contribute toone another’s learning.

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No doubt you have other ways to matchcontent to learner readiness, interest, and learn-ing profile that work well for you and your stu-dents. The goal when differentiating content isto offer approaches to “input” (information,ideas, and skills) that meet students individuallywhere they are and vigorously support their for-ward progress. The next chapter provides ideasfor using varied processes in instruction.

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Process means sense-making or, just as itsounds, opportunityfor learners to processthe content or ideas

and skills to which they have been introduced.When students encounter new ideas, informa-tion, or skills, they need time to run the inputthrough their own filters of meaning. As they tryto analyze, apply, question, or solve a problemusing the material, they have to make sense of itbefore it becomes “theirs.” This processing orsense-making is an essential component ofinstruction because, without it, students eitherlose the ideas or confuse them.

In the language of school, process is oftenspoken of as an activity. It’s probably wisest to usethe term “sense-making activity” to remind our-selves that an activity achieves maximum poweras a vehicle for learning only when it is squarelyfocused on a portion of something essential thatstudents need to know, understand, and be ableto do as a result of a particular study.

Students who already understand how toconvert fractions into decimals don’t need to doan activity designed to help them make sense ofthe underlying principles; they have alreadyprocessed and made sense of those ideas.Students who are foggy about fractions aren’tready to benefit from a sense-making activity onconverting fractions into decimals; they need anactivity that helps them further clarify the con-ceptual notion of whole and part that is theunderpinning of fractions.

Any effective activity is essentially a sense-making process, designed to help a studentprogress from a current point of understanding toa more complex level of understanding. Studentsprocess and make sense of ideas and informationmost easily when their classroom activities

• are interesting to the students,• call on the students to think at a high

level, and• cause the students to use a key skill(s) to

understand a key idea(s).

Differentiating Process

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Good differentiated activities are first good activ-ities—those that have the characteristics notedabove. What makes them differentiated is thatthe teacher offers more than one way to makesense of what’s important. In fact, one way ofthinking about the relationship between a goodactivity and a good differentiated activity is this:

ing students to make sense of an idea in a pre-ferred way of learning—for example, exploringor expressing what they learn kinesthetically, orspatially, or verbally, or creatively; or deciding towork alone versus with a partner; or sitting onthe floor to do work versus sitting in a straightchair.

Other chapters in the book more fullyexplore differentiation according to readiness,interest, and learning profile.

Strategies That SupportDifferentiated Processing

Many instructional strategies (see Figure 12.1)invite teachers to have students work in smallgroups or independently. Using those strategiesmakes it easier for a teacher to reach out toindividuals and to match activities or process toneeds of individuals. Whole-class instructiondoes not issue such an invitation. Though it’sboth fun and useful for a teacher to becomecomfortable with a wide range of instructionalstrategies that invite flexible teaching, it’s crucialto remember that it’s the quality and focus ofwhat students do that is most important.

The following are among the scores ofstrategies educators have developed that invitemore flexible and responsive sense-making:learning logs, journals, graphic organizers, cre-ative problem solving, cubing, learning centers,interest centers or interest groups, learning con-tracts, Literature Circles, role playing, coopera-tive controversy (in which students argue bothsides of an issue), choice boards, Jigsaw, think-pair-share, mind-mapping, PMI (listing pluses,minuses, and interesting points about a topicunder consideration), model making, and labs.

Tiered assignments or parallel tasks at variedlevels of difficulty are also powerful vehicles fordifferentiating process. Each strategy engagesyour students in a different thinking or process-ing response. Sense-making activities are mosteffective for students when that response

A GOOD ACTIVITY is something studentswill make or do

• using an essential skill(s) and essentialinformation

• in order to understand an essentialidea/principle or answer an essential ques-tion.

A GOOD DIFFERENTIATED ACTIVITY issomething students will make or do

• in a range of modes at varied degrees ofsophistication in varying time spans

• with varied amounts of teacher or peersupport (scaffolding)

• using an essential skill(s) and essentialinformation

• to understand an essential idea/princi-ple or answer an essential question.

As is the case with content, process or sense-making can be differentiated in response to stu-dent readiness, interest, and learning profile:

• Differentiating process according to stu-dent readiness means matching the complexityof a task to a student’s current level of under-standing and skill.

• Differentiating process according to stu-dent interest involves giving students choicesabout facets of a topic in which to specialize orhelping them link a personal interest to a sense-making goal.

• Differentiating process according to stu-dent learning profile generally means encourag-

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are like and unlike human communities. Lastweek, students viewed a video about ants.Yesterday, they read about bees and individuallyselected one other animal to learn about from alist Mr. Jackson provided. Today, as they proceedwith their study, Mr. Jackson makes sure his stu-dents understand the elements of a communityand how they might apply to animals. To helphis students think about and make sense ofthese ideas, he uses cubing. Each six-sided cubecarries these instructions for students: describe,compare, tell your feelings about, tell the partsof, use, and tell the good and bad things about.

Mr. Jackson assigned each student either ablue or green cube. Students using blue cubesare performing at or below grade level in read-ing and writing. Blue cube tasks are to

matches their learning needs, as well as speci-fied learning goals.

These instructional strategies are ideal foroffering differentiated sense-making or process-ing options for students in mixed-ability class-rooms. The following two scenarios show howteachers use some of these strategies to helptheir students process and “own” key ideas inways that work best for them.

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Mr. Jackson and Cubing

Students in Mr. Jackson’s 2nd grade class arestudying communities. Right now, they areexamining ways in which animal communities

Figure 12.1Instructional Strategies: Buckets for Delivering “The Stuff”

But it’s still the quality of “the stuff” that predominately

affects student understanding!

Varied GraphicOrganizers

MultipleIntelligences

ConceptAttainment

IndependentStudy

Interest Groups

ComplexInstruction

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1. Describe an ant community in pictures orwords.

2. Compare an ant community to your com-munity in pictures or words.

3. List words that describe your feelingsabout watching an ant community.

4. Tell the parts of an ant community andwhat goes on in each part by using words orpictures or by building it.

5. Tell a way that an ant community helpsyou understand living and working together ina community.

6. Tell the good and bad things about an antcommunity.

Students using green cubes are performing aboveor well above grade level in reading and writ-ing. Green cube tasks are to

1. Describe an ant community using at leastthree sentences with at least three describingwords in each sentence.

2. Use a Venn diagram to compare an antcommunity with the community of the animalyou selected.

3. Pretend that ants think like people. Writeand cartoon what you think an ant feels like asit goes through a day in its community. Do thesame thing with another kind of animal from adifferent sort of community.

4. Make a diagram of an animal communitywith parts labeled and tell what each part is for.

5. Write a rule for living together in a com-munity and tell how it would be useful in twodifferent communities.

6. Write a song or draw a picture that tellswhat you think is best and worst about beingpart of a community.

Students begin cubing by sitting at a table withother students using cubes of the same color.Students take turns rolling their cube. If thefirst roll turns up a task the student doesn’twant to do, a second roll is allowed. As they

work on their own task, students can also helpone another. When their tasks are complete, Mr.Jackson rearranges the seating so that groups offour to five students who did a same-coloredcube task can share with each other their variedideas and approaches on a similar topic.

Blue cube tasks help learners think in a vari-ety of ways about how key elements of commu-nity apply to a single animal community. Greencube tasks help learners make such connectionsamong several animal communities. Comparedto the blue cube tasks, green cube tasks aremore transformational, complex, multifaceted,and require greater leaps of insight and transfer.Later in the unit, students who completed bluecube tasks will complete some of the greencube tasks either in small groups or by workingdirectly with Mr. Jackson. Thus, all studentsengage in idea and information processingactivities that not only match their learning pro-files and current needs but also coax them for-ward on many learning continuums.

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Mrs. Miller and InteractiveJournals

Mrs. Miller’s 6th graders are all reading thenovel Tuck Everlasting. She knows that the bookis difficult for some of her students and doesn’tmuch stretch some others, but she likes to havethe class read some books together, just as shesometimes finds it useful to have several differ-ent novels read by her students simultaneously.Because the current novel is not a “best fit” forall learners in her class, she is making a specialeffort to ensure that she uses a differentiatedprocess strategy that she does vary according tothe student’s readiness and interest.

By using differentiated interactive journalsthroughout this novel, Mrs. Miller provides herstudents with writing prompts that, for exam-ple, may encourage them to interact with the

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1. Hypothesize what a book called TuckEverlasting might be about and explain howthey came to their hypothesis.

2. Present and defend their choices of whatsorts of things would be included as everlastingin a book written about everlasting things intheir own lifetimes.

3. Present and defend their choices of whatsorts of things would be included as everlastingin a book written about life 200 years ago.

4. Present and defend their choices of whatsorts of things would be included as everlastingin a book written about life 200 years into thefuture.

Finally, a small group of students with advancedskills of vocabulary, writing, and abstractionwork together as a group to do the following:

1. Place on a continuum of “less enduring”to “more enduring” a list of items such as gold,coal, love, friendship, energy, time, fear, happi-ness, and additional items of their choosing.

2. Write a poem or paragraph that expressestheir reasoning in placing the items on the continuum.

3. Hypothesize what a book called TuckEverlasting might be about and be ready todefend their hypothesis.

All students in the class use interactive journalsand have a task that causes them to make leapsof thought and insight and to deal with a power-ful and central concept in the book they areabout to begin reading together. These threeinteractive journal assignments themselves, how-ever, are increasingly transformational, abstract,open-ended, and require increasingly greaterleaps of thought for successful completion.

When class starts on the day they begin thenovel, Mrs. Miller accommodates her students’varied pacing needs by distributing their journalassignment sheets, giving the instruction to readat least the first 25 pages of the novel, and then

book as they predict what will occur next,reflect on something that has just taken place,apply understandings about elements of litera-ture such as conflict or figurative language,relate to a character or situation, or grapplewith meanings central to the authors’ purposesin writing the book.

In the past, Mrs. Miller has given all stu-dents the same interactive journal prompts.This year, in trying to craft a differentiated class-room, some days she gives varied journalprompts to her students based on their interestsand needs. On other days, all students will havethe same prompt because it is essential for all ofthem to think about a common idea.

On the day prior to beginning the novel, sheasks students to jot down what they think theword “everlasting” means. Based on thoseresponses, as well as her cumulative knowledgeabout the students, she gives three differentjournal prompts on the next day as class begins.Students who seem unfamiliar with the wordwork in pairs to do the following:

1. Guess what “everlasting” means and writetheir “best guess” explanation.

2. Find definitions of the word in two dic-tionaries and use what they learn from the dic-tionary to write a good 6th grade definition ofthe word.

3. Write a definition of “everlasting” thatwould be crystal clear to a 1st grader.

4. Illustrate at least five things that theybelieve are everlasting, including defending whythey think so.

5. Hypothesize what they think a bookcalled Tuck Everlasting might be about.

A larger group of students who seemed tounderstand the word in the brief pre-assessmentactivity but whose general vocabulary and com-prehension are generally within the expectedrange for 6th graders work either alone or witha partner on these tasks:

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letting them be free to work as long as neces-sary in class on the journal prompt and com-plete the rest at home that night. This attentionto pacing allows each student to work at a com-fortable pace; ensures that all students haveadequate, purposeful work to do during theclass period; and offers enough time so that allshould be prepared for a short, whole-class discussion at the beginning of class on day twoof the novel unit.

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Sense-making strategies help studentsprocess and “own” ideas and information inways that work best for them. The next chapteron differentiating products describes strategiesthat allow students to demonstrate—again, inways that work best for them—the results of allthat processing.

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Unlike a sense-mak-ing activity, which istypically short andfocuses on one, orjust a few, key under-

standings and skills, a product is a long-termendeavor. Product assignments should help stu-dents—individually or in groups—rethink, use,and extend what they have learned over a longperiod of time—a unit, a semester, or even ayear. Products are important not only becausethey represent your students’ extensive under-standings and applications, but also becausethey are the element of curriculum students canmost directly “own.” For that reason, well-designed product assignments can be highlymotivating because they will bear their creator’sthumbprint.

High-quality product assignments are alsoexcellent ways of assessing student knowledge,understanding, and skill. Many students canshow what they know far better in a productthan on a written test. Therefore, in a differenti-

ated classroom, teachers may replace some testswith rich product assignments, or combine testsand product options so the broadest range ofstudents has maximum opportunity to thinkabout, apply, and demonstrate what they havelearned.

Creating High-Quality ProductAssignments

A teacher crafts a top-rate product assignmentwith thought and care. A good product is notjust something students do for enjoyment at theend of a unit. It must cause students to thinkabout, apply, and even expand on all the keyunderstandings and skills of the learning span itrepresents.

Once a teacher is clear on the knowledge,understandings, and skills the product mustincorporate, it’s time to decide on what formatthe product will take. Sometimes the format is agiven because of requirements of a curriculum(e.g., writing an essay, designing an experiment,

Differentiating Products

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and so on). Often, however, the teacher can usea product as a way to lure students into applica-tion of ideas and skills (e.g., using photographyas a way to hook young adolescents on poetry).Sometimes a teacher can use a product assign-ment as a way to help students explore modesof expression unfamiliar to them (e.g., learningto create a museum exhibit, conduct a sympo-sium, or develop a journal article as ways ofhelping students see how scientists communi-cate what they know). The very best productformats may be those with which students havea love affair at a given time (e.g., a 3rd grader,who was talented in music, wrote a musical toshare information and understandings about thewestward movement in the United States).

Then it’s important for the teacher to deter-mine core expectations for quality students topursue in regard to the content in their prod-ucts, how they should work on their products,and the nature of the final product itself.Students can add to and help the teacher mod-ify the core requirements to address individualreadiness, interests, and learning needs, but it isthe teacher’s job to know and communicateindicators of quality. Students seldom knowhow to extend their vision in pursuit of qualitywithout help from adults or more expert-likepeers.

Because the product assignment shouldstretch students in application of understandingand skill as well as in pursuit of quality, ateacher needs to determine ways in which shecan assist the student in reaching a new level ofpossibility as the product assignment pro-gresses. This sort of scaffolding allows studentsto find success at the end of hard work ratherthan overdoses of confusion and ambiguity.Teachers may arrange times for brainstormingideas to launch the product, for workshops onconducting research or synthesizing findings,for setting and assessing personal product goals,for peer consultation and editing, for actualproduct design, and so on. The goal is to antici-

pate what is necessary to lift the student’s sightsand build bridges to attaining lofty goals.

Finally, it’s time for the teacher to present theproduct assignment (in writing, orally, on tape,with icons, through models, or with some com-bination of these). The assignment should makeclear to students what knowledge, understand-ing, and skills they must include in their work;the stages, processes, and work habits theyshould demonstrate as they work; the option(s)for expressing their learning; and what qualitywill look like. Within this structure, thereshould still be maximum room for individualinterests, modes of working, personal qualitygoals, and so on. The trick is to balance thestructure needed to focus and guide students,and the freedom necessary to support innova-tion and thought.

Only at this point does it become time todifferentiate the product assignment. Teachersand students can make adaptations of the coreproduct according to student readiness, interest,and learning profile. Some teachers also like tohave a “let’s make a deal” product choicethrough which students can propose alterna-tives to the teacher’s design, as long as the alter-native leads students to grapple with keyinformation, understandings, and skills that areat the essence of the assignment’s purpose.

It’s really helpful for a teacher to coach forquality throughout the product span. Invite stu-dents to talk about their ideas, progress,glitches, ways of solving problems, and so on.Share your own excitement about their ideas.Clarify what quality means. Talk about howsuccessful people work. Build a sense of per-sonal ownership of work as well as groupappreciation of the varied approaches and ideasof members of the group.

Figure 13.1 (see next page) summarizescomponents of effective product design, includ-ing the differentiation component. It’s alwaysimportant to remember that good differentiatedcurriculum and instruction—whether content,

` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` `Differentiating Products

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process, or product—first have to be good cur-riculum and instruction.

Other Guidelines for SuccessfulProduct Assignments

Here are a few additional guidelines to maxi-mize the power of product assignments and tobuild for student success:

1. Use products as one way to help yourstudents see the ideas and skills they study inschool being used in the world by real peopleto address real issues or problems.

2. Talk with your students often about theneed for both critical and creative thinking.Help them build a passion for ideas being pursued.

3. Require that your students use and syn-thesize or blend multiple sources of informationin developing their products.

4. Stress planning and use check-in dates asneeded to match students’ levels of independ-ence. Zap procrastination.

5. Ensure that students actually use theentire block of time allotted to the project(rather than waiting three weeks and five daysof a monthlong product span before beginningto work on the product).

6. Support your students’ use of variedmodes of expression, materials, and technologies.

7. Be sure to help your students learnrequired production skills, not just necessarycontent. Don’t ask them, for example, to do adebate or teach a class without giving themclear guidance on what quality would look likein each of those formats.

8. Communicate with parents regardingtime lines, requirements, rationale for the prod-uct, how they can help, and what they shouldavoid doing during creation of the product.

9. Remember that there are many ways peo-ple can express themselves. Help students get

out of the poster-report-mobile rut of products.Figure 13.2 lists just some of the possibilities.

10. Use formative (during the project) andsummative (after the project) peer and self-eval-uation based on the agreed-upon criteria forcontent and production.

11. Whenever possible, arrange for studentproducts to be viewed by someone other thanjust you.

12. In sharing products, remember that hav-ing every student share with the whole classmay be unduly time-consuming—and evenuninspiring, unless you’ve taught students howto be high-quality presenters. Using exhibits,sharing groups of four, individual presentationsto key adults who serve as mentors or audi-ences, and so on can be great alternatives towhole-class presentations.

� � �

A Differentiated KindergartenProduct

Mrs. Appleton’s kindergartners have been study-ing neighborhoods and communities. As a finalproduct, they are going to research, design, andbuild a portion of their town, showing itsneighborhoods and communities. The wholeclass is working as a group to create and sharethe final model, which will be quite large. Theclass will make some decisions and do sometasks as a whole, such as deciding the basiccontents of the model and making “blank build-ings” that will be turned into representations ofactual buildings later.

Students will select other facets of the workbased on their interests: Everyone selects onecommunity member to interview as a way ofgathering data, some students have selected tomake signs for buildings, and each studentselects a neighborhood to work on in themodel.


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Mrs. Appleton will assign some tasks, how-ever, to draw on and extend each student’sstrengths. Students more skilled with measuringwill measure and draw building dimensions.Students with strong fine motor skills will cutsome of the complex pieces, and others not soskilled in that area will assemble some of thelarger pieces of the model. Mrs. Appleton willask students who are already reading to look upinformation and help make signs.

She carefully designed this project to ensurethat all students do both self-selected andteacher-selected (readiness-based) tasks. Mrs.Appleton also makes sure that some tasksrequire students to work collegially, while othertasks require independent work.

� � �

Differentiated SecondaryProducts

Students in Mr. Garcia’s Spanish II class areworking on language and culture projects. Agoal for all his students is to understand morefully how elements of a given culture interrelateand form a distinct personality of a people.Many students will explore the culture of Spainby writing travel guides, making videos, filmingdocumentaries, or presenting dramas. They willinvestigate history, religion, economics, celebra-tions, geography, education, climate, literature,art, language structure, and how those elementsare interrelated.

Although students have a number of prod-uct requirements laid out for them, they willadd some of their own criteria for success. Theyalso can choose whether to work alone or in asmall group, which mode of expression theywill use, which cultural elements they will focuson, and which research resources they will use.

Three students in the class are quiteadvanced in their grasp of Spanish because lan-guage is a high talent area for them; and for two

students, Spanish is their first language. Mr.Garcia wants these three students to work withthe same concepts as the other students in theclass—but to stretch their thinking, he will dif-ferentiate their assignment and ask them to docross-cultural comparisons. They will examineelements of language and culture across at leastthree language groups other than Spanish, noneof which can be a modern Romance language.These students will examine languages such asSwahili, Farsi, Chinese, Japanese, Hebrew, andRussian, as well as the cultures from whichthose languages arise. These advanced studentshave a bit more freedom in designing their finalproducts and the processes for reaching theirfinal destinations. And like the other students inthe class, they can also select whether to workalone or with peers and the form throughwhich they will express their learning.

� � �

Differentiating Products forStruggling Learners

We often expect far too little of struggling learn-ers. Product assignments are a great place tostretch our sights for students and to help themdevelop confidence as learners and producers.Here are some suggestions for ensuring that stu-dents who have difficulty with school taskshave both challenging products to create andsupport systems leading to success.

1. Be sure product assignments for all learn-ers require them to apply and extend essentialunderstandings and skills for the unit or otherproduct span. (Integrate skills and other goalsfrom individualized educational plans [IEPs]into rich product formats.)

2. Use product formats that allow studentsto express themselves in ways other than writ-ten language alone.

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the product, language skills to think about theelements, and concrete illustrations of whatgood work looks like.

14. When students do not have resourcesand support for product completion outside ofschool, provide time, materials, and partnershipat school. This may take place before or afterschool, during class, during released time fromclass, at lunch, or even on weekends. It’s impor-tant for every student to have an adult supportsystem that speaks of belief in the student andinvestment in making sure the belief becomesreality.

15. When students speak a primary lan-guage other than English, be sure the studenthas access to information in his first language,or a strong support system for translating. Also,think about including a stage in the time line toallow students initially to express ideas in theirfirst language and then to translate them (withappropriate assistance) into English.

Differentiating ProductAssignments for AdvancedLearners

As is the case with content and process, the ideawith product design for advanced learners is toensure that learners actually have to stretchtheir information base, understanding, thoughtprocesses, planning and production skills, andself-awareness. Product assignments that arequite challenging in these ways for many stu-dents often fall short of a genuine challenge forstudents highly able in a given subject. Movingthe “equalizer buttons” (see Figure 8.1, page 47)over toward the right as you modify productassignments for these learners is your goal. Hereare a few principles useful for adapting productassignments for advanced learners.

1. Be sure to structure product assignmentsfor advanced learners so that they’re beingstretched forward on a number of the learning

3. Give product assignments in smallerincrements, allowing students to complete oneportion of a product before introducing another.

5. Think about putting directions on audioor video tape so students can revisit explana-tions as needed.

6. Prepare, or help students prepare, timelines for product work so that tasks seem man-ageable and comfortably structured.

7. Use miniworkshops on particular productskills such as taking notes in research, conduct-ing interviews, drawing conclusions, editing,and so on. Many students will benefit fromoptions to attend such miniworkshops, includ-ing some students who struggle academically.

8. Support students in finding appropriateresources by setting up interviews, bookmark-ing Internet sites, creating special book boxes orshelves of readable sources on related topics,tape-recording summaries of key ideas andinformation, enlisting media specialists to workwith students at established times, and so on.

9. Provide templates or organizers that guidestudents through each step of doing research.

10. From time to time be sure to review thebig picture of the product with the students—asking them to reflect on why it’s important,what they are learning, how parts of the prod-uct fit together to make a big picture of mean-ing, how the product relates to what’s going onin class, and so on.

11. Where students find tasks dauntingthink about joining (or having specialists join)individuals or groups in an ad hoc, advisorycapacity—meeting at pre-established times forconsultation, coaching, and guidance.

12. Work with students to target portions ofrubrics that reflect their individual needs, focus-ing both yourself and students on goals thatseem challenging and worthwhile for particularemphasis.

13. Help students analyze models of effec-tive products from prior years so that theydevelop awareness of important components of

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continuums—complexity, independence, trans-formation, abstractness, multifaceted solutions,and great leaps of insight.

2. Consider having advanced learners studythe key issues or questions across time periods,disciplines, or cultures.

3. As much as possible, include advanced-level research, such as advanced materials, mul-tiple materials, primary sources, originaldocuments, and student-conducted originalresearch.

4. Consider using mentors to guide thework of advanced learners so that the studentsare stretched in content and quality by someonewho knows the area of study at an advancedlevel.

5. Consider letting advanced students begintheir projects earlier than other students if thecomplexity of their products warrants it.Working on their products might then becomean ongoing assignment when they compact outof classwork and when they do not need to dothe homework practice important for otherlearners.

6. Whenever possible, have each advancedlearner work with a mentor—someone whoworks avocationally or professionally with thetopic being explored.

7. Let each advanced learner help youdevelop criteria for expert-level content andproduction. Work together to determine issuesthat experts would feel must be dealt with inthe product exploration, ways in which thoseissues should be dealt with, and procedures andstandards for production that would be impor-tant to an expert. Use these as benchmarks forstudent planning and assessment.

8. When it would be helpful to do so, haveadvanced learners’ products assessed by anexpert in the field on which the product isbased. In some instances, expert assessment ismost helpful at a formative or in-process stage ofwork so that the student can clarify and extend

ideas prior to completion of the product. Inother instances, summative or end-stage assess-ment by an expert is useful for advanced learn-ers who want to test their product againstgenuine high standards. It is often the case thatteachers lack some of the knowledge and skillsof a professional in a given area of study.Helping advanced learners gain access to thoseskills and understandings is an important wayof ensuring that they stretch their capacityinstead of continuing to be rewarded for “doingwhat comes naturally.”

Final Thoughts on DifferentiatingProducts for All Learners

The ways to design, support, and assess chal-lenging product assignments are endless. Justremember to provide written guidelines, whichmay be lengthy at times, so students have ade-quate structure, challenge, and clarity of pur-pose and expectations.

Differentiating product assignments in amixed-ability classroom is beneficial for severalreasons. If all products relate to the same keyinformation and understandings, then all stu-dents can share in conversations among individ-uals, small groups, and the whole class. Thiscan occur even as students work in ways thataddress their own readiness levels, interests, andlearning modes. By offering variations on well-designed products with core commonalities,teachers encourage all students to draw on theirpersonal interests and strengths. In these ways,all students can grow from appropriate chal-lenges. At the same time, the teacher retainsfocus on those curricular components he or shedeems essential to all learners.

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The next chapter takes a close look at grading,with a focus on student performance and parentinvolvement.

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By now, it should beclear that in a differ-entiated classroom,students often workat different paces and

are assessed according to varied learning goals.Two important features of a differentiated class-room are students’ rights to “begin where theyare” and to expect to grow as learners. Butcharting and acknowledging the academicgrowth of individual students in a differentiatedclassroom can create a dilemma for teacherswhose schools still use a traditional report cardand grading system.

On the one hand, the public expects“normed” report cards. On the other hand,ample evidence indicates that traditional gradesmay not communicate or motivate as we wouldlike to believe they do (Ornstein, 1994). Hereare four approaches to this problem that haveproved useful.

Changing the Traditional GradingSystem

Before doing away with a traditional gradingsystem, some teachers and schools have foundthat it’s important to explain to students andtheir parents how the new system will work.Students and parents learn that the new gradingsystem is based on individual goal setting andprogress in reaching those goals, and that stu-dents will be “graded against themselves” ratherthan in competition with other students.Portfolio-type assessment and reporting ofprogress work well in such settings.

Other teachers and schools choose to com-bine traditional letter grades on report cardswith an additional piece of information. Thereport card carries the information that an Astill means excellent performance, a B meansgood performance, and so on. But each lettergrade now also carries a numeric “superscript”:

Grading IN A Differentiated Classroom

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a 1 means working above grade level, a 2 meansworking at grade level, and a 3 means workingbelow grade level. Thus, students who achievean A3 are clearly working hard and progressingwell, even though their work is not yet at grade-level norms. A report card using this gradingsystem probably offers more information than atraditional report card.

Another approach is to give two grades—apersonal one and a “traditional” one. Thus, astruggling learner might receive a B on progresstoward reaching personal learner goals and a Dwhen compared with the class. An advancedlearner who is not “pushing his own ceiling”might get a C in progress toward personal goalsand an A in comparison with the rest of theclass. When using this type of system, it isimportant to help parents and students clearlyunderstand the utility of each piece of informa-tion in educational planning.

Finally, some educators urge teachers to rou-tinely share varied sorts of information withparents and students, such as personal gradesor portfolios that help everyone see and under-stand a student’s progress, grades or other infor-mation that shows how a student compareswith classmates, and nationally normed datathat may give a picture of that student com-pared with a still larger group (Gilman &McDermott, 1994). Again, parent education andpartnership are important in such instances.

In the best of worlds, the first alternative hasmuch to commend it. In the real world, anysystem that encourages personal growth inevery student should be the goal and may beachieved, at least in part, in a variety of ways.

Handling Concerns of AdvancedLearners and Their Parents

When switching to a grading system where stu-dents compete against themselves, the learnersmost likely to encounter initial difficulty arehigh-ability students who have not had to work

hard to get good grades. Sometimes it takes awhile for these students to develop work habitsand standards that challenge their abilities.During this transition time, their grades ontests, projects, or report cards may be lowerthan they and their parents are accustomed to.In such cases, it is critical that you help bothstudents and parents understand the value ofteaching children to “reach high.”

Unfortunately, many high-ability learnersdon’t encounter a real challenge until they takean advanced high school course or get to col-lege. The first time they meet failure—or some-thing other than predictable success—they maypanic. Their self-esteem can be greatly dimin-ished or completely destroyed. They oftenremove themselves from the situation in frustra-tion and fear. Even if they do try to meet thechallenge, they frequently find they have nosense of how to study or to monitor andimprove their own effectiveness as a problemsolver. For several reasons, teachers do suchstudents a real favor by helping them encounterand face challenges when they are younger.Parents and teachers are usually more availableto help students at an earlier age. Not so muchis at stake yet in the way of grades and futures.And most important, learning to face challengesearlier gives these students more time todevelop the planning, self-evaluation, and studyskills they need to maximize their potential aslearners.

If high-ability students and their parentspanic at the onset of challenge, you can be avoice of calm and reason. Encourage parents towork with you in helping their children reachup for challenge rather than running from it.

Record-Keeping in aDifferentiated Classroom

Developing classrooms in which studentsengage in varied content, sense-making activi-ties, and product execution often requires

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` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` `Grading in a Differentiated Classroom

that keeps a running record of work completed,dates of completion, student or teacher com-ments about the work, and work samples is apowerful record-keeping aid. Color-coded fold-ers for each period of the day can make distri-bution, collection, and storage of folders easy.Student work folders should contain record-keeping forms (e.g., student-choice readinglists, spelling lists, skills proficiencies demon-strated, product assignments, and others), sam-ples of student work, records of conferenceswith the teacher, student goals, and other datathat would help both student and teacher main-tain a sense of focus and direction. Use of thesefolders is also a powerful tool during planningconferences with students and parent-teacherconferences that focus on student growth. Itwon’t take you long to discover that it’s neces-sary to allot a few minutes every few weeks forfolder clean out.

3. Share as much record-keeping respon-sibility as possible with your students. Evenvery young learners can keep a calendar of dailyor weekly activities, maintain records of read-ing, record their progress at a center or stationby using forms left at those workplaces, andselect work that they feel shows best what theyhave learned. Students can hand out and collectfolders, prepare portfolios for parent confer-ences, write reports or use checklists to showtheir progress to parents and teachers, andassume responsibility for a myriad of other pro-cedures that make record-keeping less demand-ing on you the teacher. Students who serve asan “expert of the day” can often check in work,monitor accuracy of completion of tasks, ormake a record of which students have workedon a given task at a given time. Helping stu-dents become effective record-keepers alsohelps them develop clarity regarding goals,assignments and their progress; assists them inmetacognition or thinking about what goes on

teachers to modify their more traditional waysof keeping track of student growth. Althoughteachers employ many useful strategies to chartstudent tasks and growth, it is important torecall that the dual purpose of all assessment is(1) to chart student growth in regard to valuedskills and knowledge and (2) to use informationgathered through that process to help in plan-ning the most appropriate learning experiencespossible for given individuals and groups of stu-dents. Guidelines presented here may help youbegin to develop a record-keeping system thatworks best for you, the nature of your class-room, and the age of your learners.

1. You don’t have to throw out your gradebook! Often, just relabeling the columns in aless-specific and more-generic way will be ade-quate. In an arithmetic class where all studentscomplete the same activity for a grade on agiven day, the heading over the grade columnmight say Ex. p. 211 to reflect that the gradesbelow are on the fraction exercise found onpage 211 of the text. In a class where studentsof varied readiness levels complete a variety ofsense-making activities on fractions, your head-ing might read Fract/4-9, indicating that thegrades below are on whatever assignment a stu-dent completed on April 9 related to fractions.A quick reference list of assignments, studentsworking with them, and dates would enableyou to look at the April 9 heading and referencewhich assignment Bobby, for example, workedon that day. Or you might elect to label a gradebook column with the key concept or principlebeing explored by students. A grade in that col-umn, then, would indicate to you that a partic-ular student made a given grade on the activityappropriate for her related to that concept.

2. Student work folders are a valuablerecord-keeping device. Regardless of the age ofyour students, having them maintain a folder

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around them in the classroom; and providesthem with skills of organization that serve themwell in many settings.

4. Consider the possibility that not allwork has to be formally graded. An athletemay practice shooting 3-point baskets for manydays. Formal “assessment” of his progress andskill comes days or weeks later in a game whenhe has a chance to apply what he has learned. Ayoung musician goes to a violin lesson wherethe teacher explains and demonstrates what isrequired in order to grow in proficiency withthe instrument. The youngster goes home topractice those skills for a week, returns foranother cycle of advice and affirmation the nextweek, practices again, and undergoes formalassessment weeks or months later in a recital.No one feels the need to grade each basket-shooting session or each half hour of violinpractice.

Similarly, sense-making activities need notbe formally graded each day. A well-constructedproduct assignment or test should provide ade-quate evidence of what the student knows andcan do. A teacher who practices this principlemay make daily jottings on a clipboard (whichshe carries around during her interactions withstudents) or in a grade book to note who is oris not engaged in their work, questions studentsask, points of difficulty and clarity for variedstudents, and so forth, in lieu of formally cor-recting and grading all sense-making activities.This information can be used to develop

upcoming assignments for students based onobserved needs and strengths.

Simultaneously, such a teacher facilitatesintellectual risk taking in students who do nothave to fear making mistakes, but who learnthat life typically offers opportunity to gain askill before judging us on that skill. A studentin this class can also complete assignments at anappropriate pace, because it is not necessarythat all learners have the same number ofgrades in the grade book. What matters more isthat all students have had an appropriate num-ber of opportunities (ranging from zero tomany) to make sense of and demonstrate theirability to apply concepts, principles, skills, andinformation related to a given area of study.

5. Involve students in student-led parentconferences. Asking students to be a part ofgoalsetting with you, to keep track of theirwork and how it demonstrates their growth,and to communicate this information to parentscan be powerful for everyone. It helps studentsdevelop responsibility for and a voice abouttheir own work. It helps you and parents hearthe same student messages about what’s work-ing and what isn’t. It makes much clearer thanyou can alone why it matters to have work thatmatches student needs. It also addresses thereality that learning itself is learned, and thatstudents who have cooperative teacher-parent partners in finding an optimum learningmatch are fortunate indeed.

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Fourten-year-oldKathleen wrote apoem a number ofyears ago. She was ahigh-ability learner

who seldom found a serious reason to extendher academic reach in school. Then sheencountered a teacher who caused her to findnew power in herself. At the end of that schoolyear, Kathleen wrote a poem to her teacher. Onsome level, it expresses the need of all stu-dents—and all humans—to push their ownlimits. It certainly describes Kathleen’s acknowl-edgement of what it was like for her when thatneed was fulfilled. Her words also seem toexpress her clear sense of the role her teacherhad played in that magical year, as the teachersaw Kathleen and dealt with her as an individual.

Push me! See how far I go!

Work me ’til I drop. Then pick me up.

Open a door, and then make me run to

it before it closes.

Teach me so that I might learn,

Then let me enter the tunnel of

experience alone.

And when, near the end,

I turn to see you beginning another’s

journey,

I shall smile.

A Final Thought

` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` `

HOW TO


ClassroomsApp

endix

A F

ew I

nst

ruct

ional

and M

anag

emen

t S

trat

egie

s fo

r D

iffe

renti

ated

,M

ixed

-Abili

ty C

lass

room

s

(con

tinu

ed o

n ne

xt p

age)

A 3

-ste

p pr

oces

s th

at (1

) ass

esse

sw

hat a

stu

dent

kno

ws

abou

tm

ater

ial t

o be

stu

died

and

wha

t the

stud

ent s

till n

eeds

to m

aste

r, (2

)pl

ans

for l

earn

ing

wha

t is

not

know

n an

d ex

cuse

s st

uden

t fro

mw

hat i

s kn

own,

and

(3) p

lans

for

free

d-up

tim

e to

be

spen

t in

enric

hed

or a

ccel

erat

ed s

tudy

.

• R

ecog

nize

s la

rge

rese

rvoi

r of

know

ledg

e in

som

e le

arne

rs•

Satis

fies

hung

er to

lear

n m

ore

abou

t mor

e to

pics

than

sch

ool

ofte

n al

low

s•

Enco

urag

es in

depe

nden

ce•

Elim

inat

es b

ored

om a

nd le

thar

gyre

sulti

ng fr

om u

nnec

essa

ry d

rill a

ndpr

actic

e

• Ex

plai

n th

e pr

oces

s an

d its

bene

fits

to s

tude

nts

and

pare

nts

• Pr

e-as

sess

lear

ner’s

kno

wle

dge

and

docu

men

ts fi

ndin

gs•

Allo

w s

tude

nt m

uch

choi

ce in

use

of ti

me

“bou

ght”

thro

ugh

prev

ious

mas

tery

• U

se w

ritte

n pl

ans

and

time

lines

for a

ccel

erat

ed o

r enr

ichm

ent s

tudy

• C

an u

se g

roup

com

pact

ing

for

seve

ral s

tude

nts

STR

ATEG

YD

ES

CR

IPTIO

N O

F S

TR

ATEG

YR

ATIO

NA

LE F

OR

US

EG

UID

ELI

NES

FO

R U

SE

Com

pac

ting

98

` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` `

STR

ATEG

YD

ES

CR

IPTIO

N O

F S

TR

ATEG

YR

ATIO

NA

LE F

OR

US

EG

UID

ELI

NES

FO

R U

SE

Com

pac

ting

Appendix

A F

ew I

nst

ruct

ional

and M

anag

emen

t S

trat

egie

s fo

r D

iffe

renti

ated

,M

ixed

-Abili

ty C

lass

room

s—co

nti

nued

(con

tinu

ed o

n ne

xt p

age)

A p

roce

ss th

roug

h w

hich

stu

dent

and

teac

her i

dent

ify p

robl

ems

orto

pics

of i

nter

est t

o th

e st

uden

t.B

oth

stud

ent a

nd te

ache

r pla

n a

met

hod

of in

vest

igat

ing

the

prob

lem

or t

opic

and

iden

tifyi

ng th

ety

pe o

f pro

duct

the

stud

ent w

illde

velo

p. T

his

prod

uct s

houl

dad

dres

s th

e pr

oble

m a

ndde

mon

stra

te th

e st

uden

t’s a

bilit

y to

appl

y sk

ills a

nd k

now

ledg

e to

the

prob

lem

or t

opic

.

• B

uild

s on

stu

dent

inte

rest

• Sa

tisfie

s cu

riosi

ty•

Teac

hes

plan

ning

and

rese

arch

skills

at a

dvan

ced

leve

ls•

Enco

urag

es in

depe

nden

ce•

Allo

ws

wor

k w

ith c

ompl

ex a

ndab

stra

ct id

eas

• A

llow

s lo

ng-te

rm a

nd in

-dep

thw

ork

on to

pics

of i

nter

est

• Ta

ps in

to h

igh

mot

ivat

ion

• B

uild

on

stud

ent i

nter

est

• A

llow

the

stud

ent m

axim

umfr

eedo

m to

pla

n, b

ased

on

stud

ent

read

ines

s fo

r fre

edom

• Te

ache

r pro

vide

s gu

idan

ce a

ndst

ruct

ure

to s

uppl

emen

t stu

dent

capa

city

to p

lan

and

to e

nsur

e hi

ghst

anda

rds

of p

rodu

ctio

n•

Use

pre

set t

ime

lines

to z

appr

ocra

stin

atio

n•

Use

pro

cess

logs

to d

ocum

ent

the

proc

ess

invo

lved

thro

ugho

utth

e st

udy

• Es

tabl

ish

crite

ria fo

r suc

cess

STR

ATEG

YD

ES

CR

IPTIO

N O

F S

TR

ATEG

YR

ATIO

NA

LE F

OR

US

EG

UID

ELI

NES

FO

R U

SE

Indep

enden

tP

roje

cts

99

` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` `

HOW TO


ClassroomsA

Few

Inst

ruct

ional

and M

anag

emen

t S

trat

egie

s fo

r D

iffe

renti

ated

,M

ixed

-Abili

ty C

lass

room

s—co

nti

nued

(con

tinu

ed o

n ne

xt p

age)

Inte

rest

cen

ters

(oft

en u

sed

with

youn

ger l

earn

ers)

and

inte

rest

grou

ps (o

ften

use

d w

ith o

lder

lear

ners

) can

pro

vide

enr

ichm

ent

for s

tude

nts

who

dem

onst

rate

mas

tery

/com

pete

nce

with

requ

ired

wor

k an

d ca

n be

a v

ehic

le fo

rpr

ovid

ing

thes

e st

uden

ts w

ithm

eani

ngfu

l stu

dy w

hen

requ

ired

assi

gnm

ents

are

com

plet

ed. I

nad

ditio

n, a

ll le

arne

rs e

njoy

and

nee

dth

e op

port

unity

to w

ork

with

inte

rest

cen

ters

/gro

ups

in o

rder

topu

rsue

are

as o

f spe

cial

inte

rest

toth

em. T

hese

cen

ters

/gro

ups

can

bedi

ffer

entia

ted

by le

vel o

f com

plex

ityan

d in

depe

nden

ce re

quire

d, a

s w

ell

as b

y st

uden

t int

eres

t, to

mak

eth

em a

cces

sibl

e an

d ap

prop

riate

lych

alle

ngin

g fo

r all

lear

ners

.

• A

llow

s st

uden

t cho

ice

• Ta

ps in

to s

tude

nt in

tere

st—

mot

ivat

ing

• Sa

tisfie

s cu

riosi

ty—

expl

ores

how

s an

d w

hys

• A

llow

s st

udy

of to

pics

not

in th

ere

gula

r cur

ricul

um•

Can

allo

w fo

r stu

dy in

gre

ater

brea

dth

and

dept

h•

Can

be

mod

ified

for s

tude

ntre

adin

ess

• C

an e

ncou

rage

stu

dent

s to

mak

eco

nnec

tions

bet

wee

n fie

lds

ofst

udy

or b

etw

een

stud

y an

d lif

e

• B

uild

on

stud

ent i

nter

est

• En

cour

age

stud

ents

to h

elp

you

deve

lop

inte

rest

-bas

ed ta

sks

• A

djus

t for

stu

dent

read

ines

s•

Allo

w s

tude

nts

of li

ke in

tere

sts

tow

ork

toge

ther

• D

evel

op c

lear

(diff

eren

tiate

d)cr

iteria

for s

ucce

ss•

For a

dvan

ced

lear

ners

, allo

w lo

ngbl

ocks

of t

ime

for w

ork,

cha

nge

cent

ers

less

oft

en to

allo

w fo

rde

pth

of s

tudy

, mak

e ce

rtai

n ta

sks

are

chal

leng

ing

STR

ATEG

YD

ES

CR

IPTIO

N O

F S

TR

ATEG

YR

ATIO

NA

LE F

OR

US

EG

UID

ELI

NES

FO

R U

SE

Inte

rest

Cen

ters

or

Inte

rest

Gro

ups

100

` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` `

A 3

-ste

p pr

oces

s th

at (1

) ass

esse

sw

hat a

stu

dent

kno

ws

abou

tm

ater

ial t

o be

stu

died

and

wha

t the

stud

ent s

till n

eeds

to m

aste

r, (2

)pl

ans

for l

earn

ing

wha

t is

not

know

n an

d ex

cuse

s st

uden

t fro

mw

hat i

s kn

own,

and

(3) p

lans

for

free

d-up

tim

e to

be

spen

t in

enric

hed

or a

ccel

erat

ed s

tudy

.

• R

ecog

nize

s la

rge

rese

rvoi

r of

know

ledg

e in

som

e le

arne

rs•

Satis

fies

hung

er to

lear

n m

ore

abou

t mor

e to

pics

than

sch

ool

ofte

n al

low

s•

Enco

urag

es in

depe

nden

ce•

Elim

inat

es b

ored

om a

nd le

thar

gyre

sulti

ng fr

om u

nnec

essa

ry d

rill a

ndpr

actic

e

• Ex

plai

n th

e pr

oces

s an

d its

bene

fits

to s

tude

nts

and

pare

nts

• Pr

e-as

sess

lear

ner’s

kno

wle

dge

and

docu

men

ts fi

ndin

gs•

Allo

w s

tude

nt m

uch

choi

ce in

use

of ti

me

“bou

ght”

thro

ugh

prev

ious

mas

tery

• U

se w

ritte

n pl

ans

and

time

lines

for a

ccel

erat

ed o

r enr

ichm

ent s

tudy

• C

an u

se g

roup

com

pact

ing

for

seve

ral s

tude

nts

STR

ATEG

YD

ES

CR

IPTIO

N O

F S

TR

ATEG

YR

ATIO

NA

LE F

OR

US

EG

UID

ELI

NES

FO

R U

SE

Com

pac

ting

Appendix

A F

ew I

nst

ruct

ional

and M

anag

emen

t S

trat

egie

s fo

r D

iffe

renti

ated

,M

ixed

-Abili

ty C

lass

room

s—co

nti

nued

(con

tinu

ed o

n ne

xt p

age)

In a

het

erog

eneo

us c

lass

room

, ate

ache

r use

s va

ried

leve

ls o

fac

tiviti

es to

ens

ure

that

stu

dent

sex

plor

e id

eas

at a

leve

l tha

t bui

lds

on th

eir p

rior k

now

ledg

e an

dpr

ompt

s co

ntin

ued

grow

th. S

tude

ntgr

oups

use

var

ied

appr

oach

es to

expl

orat

ion

of e

ssen

tial i

deas

.

• B

lend

s as

sess

men

t and

in

stru

ctio

n•

Allo

ws

stud

ents

to b

egin

lear

ning

from

whe

re th

ey a

re•

Allo

ws

stud

ents

to w

ork

with

appr

opria

tely

cha

lleng

ing

task

s•

Allo

ws

for r

einf

orce

men

t or

exte

nsio

n of

con

cept

s an

dpr

inci

ples

bas

ed o

n st

uden

tre

adin

ess

• A

llow

s m

odifi

catio

n of

wor

king

cond

ition

s ba

sed

on le

arni

ng s

tyle

• Av

oids

wor

k th

at is

anx

iety

-pr

oduc

ing

(too

hard

) or b

ored

om-

prod

ucin

g (to

o ea

sy)

• Pr

omot

es s

ucce

ss a

nd is

ther

efor

e m

otiv

atin

g

• B

e su

re th

e ta

sk is

focu

sed

on a

key

conc

ept o

r gen

eral

izat

ion

esse

ntia

l to

the

stud

y•

Use

a v

arie

ty o

f res

ourc

em

ater

ials

at d

iffer

ing

leve

ls o

fco

mpl

exity

and

ass

ocia

ted

with

diff

eren

t lea

rnin

g m

odes

• A

djus

t the

task

by

com

plex

ity,

abst

ract

ness

, num

ber o

f ste

ps,

conc

rete

ness

, and

inde

pend

ence

toen

sure

app

ropr

iate

cha

lleng

e•

Be

cert

ain

ther

e ar

e cl

ear c

riter

iafo

r qua

lity

and

succ

ess

STR

ATEG

YD

ES

CR

IPTIO

N O

F S

TR

ATEG

YR

ATIO

NA

LE F

OR

US

EG

UID

ELI

NES

FO

R U

SE

Tier

edA

ssig

nm

ents

101

Append

ix — con

tinued

Append

ix — con

tinued

` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` `

102

HOW TO


Classrooms

A F

ew I

nst

ruct

ional

and M

anag

emen

t S

trat

egie

s fo

r D

iffe

renti

ated

,M

ixed

-Abili

ty C

lass

room

s—co

nti

nued

Stud

ents

are

par

t of m

any

diff

eren

tgr

oups

—an

d al

so w

ork

alon

e—ba

sed

on th

e m

atch

of t

he ta

sk to

stud

ent r

eadi

ness

, int

eres

t, or

lear

ning

sty

le. T

each

ers

may

cre

ate

skills

-bas

ed o

r int

eres

t-bas

edgr

oups

that

are

het

erog

eneo

us o

rho

mog

eneo

us in

read

ines

s le

vel.

Som

etim

es s

tude

nts

sele

ct w

ork

grou

ps, a

nd s

omet

imes

teac

hers

sele

ct th

em. S

omet

imes

stu

dent

grou

p as

sign

men

ts a

re p

urpo

sefu

lan

d so

met

imes

rand

om.

• A

llow

s bo

th fo

r qui

ck m

aste

ry o

fin

form

atio

n/id

eas

and

need

for

addi

tiona

l exp

lora

tion

by s

tude

nts

need

ing

mor

e tim

e fo

r mas

tery

• A

llow

s bo

th c

olla

bora

tive

and

inde

pend

ent w

ork

• G

ives

stu

dent

s an

d te

ache

rs a

voic

e in

wor

k ar

rang

emen

ts•

Allo

ws

stud

ents

to w

ork

with

aw

ide

varie

ty o

f pee

rs•

Enco

urag

es te

ache

rs to

“tr

y ou

t”st

uden

ts in

a v

arie

ty o

f wor

kse

ttin

gs•

Keep

s st

uden

ts fr

om b

eing

“peg

ged”

as

adva

nced

or

stru

gglin

g•

Keep

s st

uden

ts fr

om b

eing

cas

tas

thos

e in

nee

d of

hel

p an

d th

ose

who

are

hel

pers

• En

sure

that

all

stud

ents

hav

eop

portu

nitie

s to

wor

k bo

th w

ithst

uden

ts m

ost l

ike

them

selv

es a

ndw

ith s

tude

nts

diss

imila

r fro

mth

emse

lves

in re

adin

ess

and

inte

rest

• Te

ache

r ass

igns

wor

k gr

oups

whe

n ta

sk is

des

igne

d to

mat

chin

divi

dual

read

ines

s/in

tere

st b

ased

on p

re-a

sses

smen

t or t

each

erkn

owle

dge

• Te

ache

r ass

igns

wor

k gr

oups

whe

n de

sira

ble

to e

nsur

e th

atst

uden

ts w

ork

with

a v

arie

ty o

fcl

assm

ates

• St

uden

ts s

elec

t gro

ups

whe

n ta

skis

wel

l-sui

ted

for p

eer s

elec

tion

• A

ltern

ate

purp

osef

ul a

ssig

nmen

tto

gro

ups

with

teac

her/s

tude

ntse

lect

ion

• En

sure

that

all

stud

ents

lear

n to

wor

k co

oper

ativ

ely,

col

labo

rativ

ely,

and

inde

pend

ently

• B

e su

re th

ere

are

clea

r gui

delin

esfo

r gro

up fu

nctio

ning

that

are

taug

ht in

adv

ance

of g

roup

wor

kan

d co

nsis

tent

ly re

info

rced

Flex

ible

Gro

upin

g

STR

ATEG

YD

ES

CR

IPTIO

N O

F S

TR

ATEG

YR

ATIO

NA

LE F

OR

US

EG

UID

ELI

NES

FO

R U

SE

(con

tinu

ed o

n ne

xt p

age)

` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` `

Append

ix — con

tinued

A 3

-ste

p pr

oces

s th

at (1

) ass

esse

sw

hat a

stu

dent

kno

ws

abou

tm

ater

ial t

o be

stu

died

and

wha

t the

stud

ent s

till n

eeds

to m

aste

r, (2

)pl

ans

for l

earn

ing

wha

t is

not

know

n an

d ex

cuse

s st

uden

t fro

mw

hat i

s kn

own,

and

(3) p

lans

for

free

d-up

tim

e to

be

spen

t in

enric

hed

or a

ccel

erat

ed s

tudy

.

• R

ecog

nize

s la

rge

rese

rvoi

r of

know

ledg

e in

som

e le

arne

rs•

Satis

fies

hung

er to

lear

n m

ore

abou

t mor

e to

pics

than

sch

ool

ofte

n al

low

s•

Enco

urag

es in

depe

nden

ce•

Elim

inat

es b

ored

om a

nd le

thar

gyre

sulti

ng fr

om u

nnec

essa

ry d

rill a

ndpr

actic

e

• Ex

plai

n th

e pr

oces

s an

d its

bene

fits

to s

tude

nts

and

pare

nts

• Pr

e-as

sess

lear

ner’s

kno

wle

dge

and

docu

men

ts fi

ndin

gs•

Allo

w s

tude

nt m

uch

choi

ce in

use

of ti

me

“bou

ght”

thro

ugh

prev

ious

mas

tery

• U

se w

ritte

n pl

ans

and

time

lines

for a

ccel

erat

ed o

r enr

ichm

ent s

tudy

• C

an u

se g

roup

com

pact

ing

for

seve

ral s

tude

nts

STR

ATEG

YD

ES

CR

IPTIO

N O

F S

TR

ATEG

YR

ATIO

NA

LE F

OR

US

EG

UID

ELI

NES

FO

R U

SE

Com

pac

ting

103

Appendix

AA

Few

Inst

ruct

ional

and M

anag

emen

t S

trat

egie

s fo

r D

iffe

renti

ated

,M

ixed

-Abili

ty C

lass

room

s—co

nti

nued

(con

tinu

ed o

n ne

xt p

age)

Lear

ning

cen

ters

can

be

“sta

tions

”or

col

lect

ions

of m

ater

ials

lear

ners

use

to e

xplo

re to

pics

or p

ract

ice

skills

. Tea

cher

s ca

n ad

just

lear

ning

cent

er ta

sks

to re

adin

ess

leve

ls o

rle

arni

ng s

tyle

s of

diff

eren

tst

uden

ts.

• A

llow

s m

atch

ing

task

with

lear

ner’s

ski

lls le

vel

• En

cour

ages

con

tinuo

usde

velo

pmen

t of s

tude

nt s

kills

• A

llow

s m

atch

ing

task

with

stud

ent l

earn

ing

styl

e•

Enab

les

stud

ents

to w

ork

atap

prop

riate

pac

e•

Allo

ws

teac

her t

o br

eak

clas

s in

topr

actic

e an

d di

rect

inst

ruct

ion

grou

ps a

t a g

iven

tim

e•

Hel

ps d

evel

op s

tude

ntin

depe

nden

ce

• M

atch

task

to le

arne

r rea

dine

ss,

inte

rest

, lea

rnin

g st

yle

• Av

oid

havi

ng a

ll le

arne

rs d

o al

lw

ork

at a

ll ce

nter

s•

Teac

h st

uden

ts to

reco

rd th

eir

own

prog

ress

at c

ente

rs•

Mon

itor w

hat s

tude

nts

do a

ndw

hat t

hey

unde

rsta

nd a

t cen

ters

• H

ave

clea

r dire

ctio

ns a

nd c

lear

crite

ria fo

r suc

cess

at c

ente

rs

STR

ATEG

YD

ES

CR

IPTIO

N O

F S

TR

ATEG

YR

ATIO

NA

LE F

OR

US

EG

UID

ELI

NES

FO

R U

SE

Lear

nin

gC

ente

rs

` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` `

104

HOW TO


Classrooms

A F

ew I

nst

ruct

ional

and M

anag

emen

t S

trat

egie

s fo

r D

iffe

renti

ated

,M

ixed

-Abili

ty C

lass

room

s—co

nti

nued

In c

lass

dis

cuss

ions

and

on

test

s,te

ache

rs v

ary

the

sort

s of

ques

tions

pos

ed to

lear

ners

bas

edon

thei

r rea

dine

ss, i

nter

ests

, and

lear

ning

sty

les.

• A

ll st

uden

ts n

eed

to b

eac

coun

tabl

e fo

r inf

orm

atio

n an

dth

inki

ng a

t hig

h le

vels

• So

me

stud

ents

will

be c

halle

nged

by a

mor

e ba

sic

thou

ght q

uest

ion

• O

ther

s w

ill be

cha

lleng

ed b

y a

ques

tion

that

requ

ires

spee

d of

resp

onse

, lar

ge le

aps

of in

sigh

t, or

mak

ing

rem

ote

conn

ectio

ns•

Teac

hers

can

“tr

y ou

t” s

tude

nts

with

var

ied

sort

s of

que

stio

ns a

son

e m

eans

of a

sses

sing

stu

dent

prog

ress

and

read

ines

s•

Vary

ing

ques

tions

app

ropr

iate

lyhe

lps

nurt

ure

mot

ivat

ion

thro

ugh

succ

ess

• In

ora

l set

tings

, all

stud

ents

can

hear

and

lear

n fr

om a

wid

e ra

nge

ofre

spon

ses

• Ta

rget

som

e qu

estio

ns to

part

icul

ar s

tude

nts

and

“ope

n th

eflo

or”

to o

ther

s•

Use

ope

n-en

ded

ques

tions

whe

repo

ssib

le•

Use

wai

t tim

e be

fore

taki

ngan

swer

s•

Whe

n ap

prop

riate

, giv

e st

uden

tsa

chan

ce to

talk

with

thin

king

part

ners

bef

ore

givi

ng a

nsw

ers

• En

cour

age

stud

ents

to b

uild

on

one

anot

her’s

ans

wer

s•

Req

uire

stu

dent

s to

exp

lain

and

defe

nd th

eir a

nsw

ers

• A

djus

t the

com

plex

ity,

abst

ract

ness

, deg

ree

of m

enta

l lea

pre

quire

d, ti

me

cons

trai

nts,

conn

ectio

ns re

quire

d be

twee

nto

pics

, and

so

fort

h, b

ased

on

lear

ning

pro

file

of th

e st

uden

t bei

ngas

ked

a qu

estio

n

Var

ying

Ques

tions

Append

ix — con

tinued

STR

ATEG

YD

ES

CR

IPTIO

N O

F S

TR

ATEG

YR

ATIO

NA

LE F

OR

US

EG

UID

ELI

NES

FO

R U

SE

(con

tinu

ed o

n ne

xt p

age)

` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` `

STR

ATEG

YD

ES

CR

IPTIO

N O

F S

TR

ATEG

YR

ATIO

NA

LE F

OR

US

EG

UID

ELI

NES

FO

R U

SE

Com

pac

ting

105

Appendix

Append

ix — con

tinued

A F

ew I

nst

ruct

ional

and M

anag

emen

t S

trat

egie

s fo

r D

iffe

renti

ated

,M

ixed

-Abili

ty C

lass

room

s—co

nti

nued

(con

tinu

ed o

n ne

xt p

age)

Stud

ents

wor

k w

ith a

reso

urce

teac

her,

med

ia s

peci

alis

t, pa

rent

volu

ntee

r, ol

der s

tude

nt, o

rco

mm

unity

mem

ber w

ho c

an g

uide

thei

r gro

wth

in a

par

ticul

ar a

rea.

Som

e m

ento

rshi

ps m

ay fo

cus

onde

sign

and

exe

cutio

n of

adv

ance

dpr

ojec

ts, s

ome

on e

xplo

ratio

n of

part

icul

ar w

ork

sett

ings

, som

e on

affe

ctiv

e de

velo

pmen

t, an

d so

me

on c

ombi

natio

ns o

f goa

ls.

• M

ento

rshi

ps e

xten

d le

arni

ngbe

yond

the

clas

sroo

m•

Men

tors

hips

mak

e le

arni

ng a

part

ners

hip

• M

ento

rshi

ps c

an h

elp

stud

ents

expa

nd a

war

enes

s of

futu

reop

tions

and

how

to a

ttai

n th

em•

Men

tors

hips

allo

w te

ache

rs to

tap

into

stu

dent

inte

rest

, str

engt

hs,

and

need

s•

Men

tors

hips

hav

e a

low

teac

her-

to-le

arne

r rat

io (o

ften

one

-to-o

ne)

• M

atch

the

men

tor w

ith th

est

uden

t’s n

eeds

(int

eres

ts,

stre

ngth

s, c

ultu

re, g

ende

r)•

Be

clea

r in

your

ow

n m

ind

and

spec

ific

abou

t the

goa

ls o

f the

colla

bora

tion

• M

ake

sure

role

s of

men

tor,

stud

ent,

teac

her,

and

pare

nt a

rew

ritte

n an

d ag

reed

upo

n•

Prov

ide

appr

opria

te p

repa

ratio

nan

d in

stru

ctio

n fo

r men

tors

,in

clud

ing

key

info

rmat

ion

abou

t the

stud

ent

• M

onito

r the

pro

gres

s of

the

men

tors

hip

regu

larly

and

hel

ppr

oble

m s

olve

if s

nags

occ

ur•

Con

nect

wha

t is

lear

ned

in th

em

ento

rshi

p to

wha

t goe

s on

incl

ass

whe

neve

r fea

sibl

e

STR

ATEG

YD

ES

CR

IPTIO

N O

F S

TR

ATEG

YR

ATIO

NA

LE F

OR

US

EG

UID

ELI

NES

FO

R U

SE

Men

tors

hip

s/A

ppre

nti

ce-

ship

s

` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` `

106

HOW TO


Classrooms

A F

ew I

nst

ruct

ional

and M

anag

emen

t S

trat

egie

s fo

r D

iffe

renti

ated

,M

ixed

-Abili

ty C

lass

room

s—co

nti

nued

Con

trac

ts ta

ke a

num

ber o

f for

ms

that

beg

in w

ith a

n ag

reem

ent

betw

een

stud

ent a

nd te

ache

r: Th

ete

ache

r gra

nts

cert

ain

free

dom

san

d ch

oice

s ab

out h

ow a

stu

dent

will

com

plet

e ta

sks,

and

the

stud

ent a

gree

s to

use

the

free

dom

s ap

prop

riate

ly in

des

igni

ngan

d co

mpl

etin

g w

ork

acco

rdin

g to

spec

ifica

tions

.

• C

an b

lend

ski

ll- a

nd c

onte

nt-

base

d le

arni

ng m

atch

ed to

stud

ent’s

nee

d•

Elim

inat

es u

nnec

essa

ry s

kill

prac

tice

for s

tude

nts

• A

llow

s st

uden

ts to

wor

k at

appr

opria

te p

ace

• H

elps

stu

dent

s le

arn

plan

ning

and

deci

sion

-mak

ing

skills

impo

rtan

t for

inde

pend

ence

as

lear

ners

• A

llow

s te

ache

rs ti

me

to w

ork

with

indi

vidu

als

and

smal

l gro

ups

• C

an e

ncou

rage

ext

ende

d st

udy

on to

pics

of i

nter

est

• C

an fo

ster

rese

arch

, crit

ical

and

crea

tive

thin

king

, app

licat

ion

ofsk

ills, a

nd in

tegr

ated

lear

ning

• B

lend

bot

h sk

ill- a

nd c

onte

nt-

base

d le

arni

ng in

the

cont

ract

• M

atch

ski

lls to

read

ines

s of

the

lear

ner

• M

atch

con

tent

to re

adin

ess,

inte

rest

s, a

nd le

arni

ng s

tyle

of

stud

ent

• A

llow

stu

dent

cho

ice,

esp

ecia

llyin

con

tent

-bas

ed p

ortio

ns o

f the

cont

ract

• Fr

om th

e ou

tset

, est

ablis

h cl

ear

and

chal

leng

ing

stan

dard

s fo

rsu

cces

s•

Prov

ide

rule

s fo

r the

con

trac

t in

writ

ing

• W

hen

poss

ible

, foc

us th

eco

ntra

ct o

n co

ncep

ts, t

hem

es, o

rpr

oble

ms,

and

inte

grat

e ap

prop

riate

skills

into

requ

ired

proj

ects

or

prod

ucts

• Va

ry le

vels

of s

tude

ntin

depe

nden

ce a

nd ti

me

span

of t

heco

ntra

ct to

mat

ch s

tude

ntre

adin

ess

Contr

acts

Append

ix — con

tinued

STR

ATEG

YD

ES

CR

IPTIO

N O

F S

TR

ATEG

YR

ATIO

NA

LE F

OR

US

EG

UID

ELI

NES

FO

R U

SE

(con

tinu

ed o

n ne

xt p

age)

107

` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` `

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` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` `

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Parks, S., & Black, H. (1992). Organizing Thinking: BookTwo. Pacific Grove, CA: Critical Thinking Press &Software.

Swartz, R., & Parks, S. (1994). Infusing the teaching of criti-cal and creative thinking into elementary instruction.Pacific Grove, CA: Critical Thinking Press &Software.

Reading Support and Development Strategies AcrossGrades & Content

Billmeyer, R., & Barton, M. (1998). Teaching reading in thecontent areas: If not me, then who? Aurora, CO: Mid-continent Regional Educational Laboratory.

For Further Reading

110

HOW TO


Classrooms` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` `

` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` `

Tomlinson, C. (1993). Independent study: A tool forencouraging academic and personal growth. MiddleSchool Journal 25(1), 55–59.

Teaching Culturally Diverse Learners

Delpit, L. (1995). Other people’s children: Cultural conflict inthe classroom. New York: The New Press.

Michie, G. (1999). Holler if you hear me: The education of ateacher and his students. New York: Teachers CollegePress.

Rose, M. (1989). Lives on the boundary. New York:Penguin.

Suskind, R. (1998). A hope in the unseen. New York:Broadway Books.

Differentiating Instruction for Gifted Students

Winebrenner, S. (1992). Teaching gifted kids in the regularclassroom: Strategies every teacher can use to meet theneeds of the gifted and talented. Minneapolis: Free SpiritPublishing.

Differentiating Instruction for Struggling Learners

Winebrenner, S. (1996). Teaching kids with learning difficul-ties in the regular classroom. Minneapolis: Free SpiritPublishing.

Alternatives to Traditional Report Cards

Azwell, T., & Schmar, E. (1995). Report card on reportcards: Alternatives to consider. Portsmouth, NH:Heinemann.

Wiggins, G. (1996). Honesty and fairness: Toward bettergrading and reporting. In T. R. Guskey (Ed.),Communicating student learning (1996 ASCDYearbook). Alexandria, VA: Association forSupervision and Curriculum Development.

Index

` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` `

111

cognitive styles, 61ƒcollaborative learning style, 61ƒcommunity, building sense of in classroom,

2, 5, 8community mentorships, 34ƒcompacting, 25ƒ, 34ƒ, 50ƒ, 74–75, 98ƒcompacting out, 30–31competitive learning style, 61ƒcomplex instruction, 34ƒ, 64, 65ƒ, 81ƒcomplexity, 91–92

adjusting in tiered assignments, 101ƒ adjusting in varying questions, 104ƒ

comprehension strategies, 27compulsive behaviors, among advanced

learners, 11computer programs, 75concentration, assessing, 37concept attainment, 81ƒconcept-based teaching, 74concept mapping, 64concepts, as building blocks of meaning,

74concrete approach, 74concrete information, 46, 47ƒconcrete learning style, 61ƒconcreteness, adjusting in tiered

assignments, 101ƒconforming style, 61ƒconnecting topics, adjusting in varying

questions, 104ƒcontent, 4, 72–78

differentiating for interest, 52, 73differentiating for learning profile,

64–65, 73differentiating for readiness, 51, 73quality expectations for, 87ƒ

content-based learning, contracts usedwith, 106ƒ

contextual intelligence, 62

References to figures are followed by theletter ƒ.

abstract approach, 74, 83abstract information, 46, 47ƒabstractions, 46–48abstract learning style, 61ƒabstractness, 91–92

adjusting in tiered assignments, 101ƒadjusting in varying questions, 104ƒ

academic diversity, 14–15action-oriented learning style, 61ƒactivities, qualities for differentiation, 80adult mentors, 77advanced learners

compacting strategy for, 75differentiating product for, 91–92interest groups (centers) for, 100ƒparents of, 42–43, 94understanding needs of, 11–12

aesthetic entry point, 64Algebra II, 30–31analytic intelligence, 61ƒ, 62analytic learning, 63anchor activity, 35anger, approaching with love, 14apprenticeships, 59ƒ, 105ƒassessment, 4, 8, 16, 25ƒ, 34ƒ, 42, 66. See

also gradingas basis for assignment to centers, 28for curriculum compacting, 74–75

assessment (continued)dual purpose of, 94final, 4formative, 92to gauge need for minilessons, 76multiple modes of, 65ƒstudent choice of, 66summative, 92as tool for extending learning, 19–20

assigning groups, 35–36assignment sheets, 35attention span, in learning style, 61ƒaudiotape, 77, 91auditory learners, differentiating for, 64–65auditory presentation, 65ƒ

behavior, losing control of, 2best practices, 17, 18ƒbiographies, as learning center theme, 28bodily/kinesthetic intelligence, 61ƒ, 62brainstorming, 86, 87ƒBrandt, Ron, 17, 18ƒ

capacity for learning, maximizing, 8challenge, parents’ desire for, 42checkpoints, 57choice, empowering nature of, 52choice boards, 34ƒ, 80choral read, 28Civil War, 29–30classroom

building community in, 2, 5environment, 21–26examples of varieties of students in,

9–10instructional arrangements, 25ƒinstructions, importance of careful

delivery, 35management, 2, 98–106

discovery boxes, 28diversity, classroom, v, vii, 14–15

editing, 86education, defining “good” in, 8educational success, 9end-of-unit assessment, 66engagement, motivators for, 52English-as-second-language students, 91entry points, 34ƒ, 64, 65ƒequalizer, 46, 47ƒ, 49–51, 73, 91–92essence learning style, 61ƒevaluation, types of, 88existential intelligence, 61ƒ, 62exit cards, 29expectations, setting, 49experiential entry point, 64expert of the day, 36, 37exploratory studies, 59ƒexpression, modes of, 56ƒexpressive learning style, 61ƒextinction, study of, 74

facts learning style, 61ƒfairness redefined, 23flexible environment, 65ƒflexible grouping, 2–3, 26

described, 102ƒguidelines for, 102ƒ in history assignment, 30rationale for, 102ƒ

flexible reading formats, 27–28, 34ƒflexible seating, 34ƒflexible time use, 50ƒforeign language instruction, 51foreign studies curriculum, 90formative assessment, 92formative evaluation, 88foundational approach, 64, 74foundational tasks/materials, 46, 47ƒ4-MAT, 34ƒ, 64, 65ƒfree reading, 40furniture rearrangement, 36–37

Gardner, Howard, 62gender-based preference, 60, 62generalizations, focus on, 19goal-setting, 34ƒ, 57, 87ƒgoal-sharing, 76grade book, 95grading, 40, 93–96. See also assessment

changing the traditional system, 93–94handling parents’ concerns, 94

graduated rubrics, 34ƒgraphic organizers, 50ƒ, 65, 80group achievement–driven learning style,

61ƒgroup compacting, 98ƒgroup instruction, 5group investigation, 34ƒ, 58, 59ƒgroup membership, 24–26group orientation, 61ƒgroup work

alternative to, 26

continuums, 83contracts, 106ƒcontrolled learning style, 61ƒcooperative controversy, 80cooperative groups, in math classroom, 31cooperative learning strategy, 52coping skills, failure to develop, 12core competencies, 8correspondence, as format for information

exchange, 71creative intelligence, 61ƒ, 62creative problem solving, 80creative style, 61ƒcreative thinking, goal of, 20critical thinking, goal of, 20critiquing, 87ƒcubing, 80, 81–82culture-influenced preference, 60, 62curriculum

compacting, 74–75elements of, 4linking interest-based exploration

with, 57

decoding, 27deductive learning style, 61ƒDesign-A-Day, 34ƒ, 58, 59ƒdialogue, as format for information

exchange, 71differentiated classroom

assessment in, 42benefits of, 32commonalities and differences

addressed in, 1dynamic nature of, 5evolutionary nature of teaching in, 5examples of

1st grade, 27–283rd grade, 286th grade, 298th grade history, 29–30high school math, 30–31middle school, 39–41primary grades, 41

fairness redefined in, 23features of, 93flow of instruction in, 6ƒgoal of growth, 22grading in, 93–96range of activities in, 25ƒrecord-keeping in, 94–96strategies for managing, 32–38,

98–106student choice in, importance of, 20teacher’s role in, 16

differentiated curriculum, 46differentiated instruction

blend of instructional methods, 5characteristics of, 3–7crafted to encourage student growth,

4–5defined, 1explaining benefits to parents, 42focus on concepts and principles, 74

differentiating instruction (continued)growth as goal, 42intent of, 11interest in, vintroducing parents to, 41–42introducing students to, 39–41misconceptions about, 2–3multiple approaches of, 4–5nature vs. quality of assignments, 4new image for, 7organic nature of, 5–7planning and monitoring effectiveness

of, 46proactive, 3–4qualitative, 4for readiness-level differences, 51rooted in assessment, 4rules of thumb, 19–20student-centered, 5strategies for, 73–77, 98–106

differentiating process, 80–81. See also process

for student interest, 52, 80for student learning profile, 65, 80for student readiness, 51, 80

differentiating product assignments, benefits of, 92

differentiating products, 85–92. See alsoproducts

for student interest, 52, 80for student learning profile, 65, 80for student readiness, 51, 80

differentiationaddressing academic diversity through,

14–15approaches, preparation time for, 33,

34ƒfor effectiveness of, 9before-and-after example of

instructional flow, 67ƒ, 68ƒchallenge of, vicombining types of, 58communication strategy for, 33early stages of, 66flow of as goal, 66guidelines for addressing learning

profiles, 63–64high-prep, 34ƒlink with best practice teaching, 17,

18ƒlow-prep, 34ƒprocess, 79–84products, 85–92purpose of, vii–viiirationale for, 32–33for readiness, 45–51reasons for attending to student

differences, 18ƒstrategies, for learning profiles, 64.

See also learning profilesstudent characteristics guiding, 45teacher’s pace of, 33

digest of key ideas, 77directed reading, 25ƒ

112

HOW TO


Classrooms` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` `

learning communitycharacteristics indicating effectiveness

of, 21–24support of, 21

learning contracts, 34ƒ, 38, 76, 80, 106ƒcontent component, 76skills component, 76

learning disabilities, vlearning environments, type of, 61ƒlearning logs, 36, 80learning preferences, effect of teachers’, 63learning process, students active in, 8learning profiles, 2, 45, 60–62, 69ƒ–70ƒ

categories of factors, 60–62, 63changing, 13contracts used to address differences

in, 106ƒdifferentiating content for, 64–65, 73differentiating process for, 65, 80differentiating product for, 66, 87ƒas guide to differentiation, 32, 45guidelines for differentiation based on,

63–64planning lessons differentiated by,

60–71presenting students with vocabulary

of, 63strategies supporting differentiation,

64, 65fstudent-structured differentiation, 63teacher-structured differentiation, 63 using learning centers to address, 28,

103ƒ learning styles. See learning profiles learning time, maximizing use of, 74–75lesson planning

differentiated by interest, 52–59differentiated by learning profile,

60–71differentiated by readiness, 45–51

lessonscharacteristics of effectiveness in, 49plan for ending, 37qualities of, 20

line graphs, 39–40linear learning style, 61ƒliterature circles, 34ƒ, 59, 59ƒ, 80logical/mathematical intelligence, 61ƒ, 62

management, classroom, 32–38, 98–106math application studies, 30, 31math curriculum

before and after differentiation, 68ƒcompacting in, 75expanding student interest in, 55using Menu for Success to differentiate

learning for, 65using process or activities for

differentiated instruction, 51meaning-making, 8, 16memory loss from classroom instruction,

74

group work (continued)teacher checklist for, 24ƒ

grouping strategies, 26, 41growth

expectation of, 22student responsibility for, 5teacher-student collaboration for,

23–24

Hawking, Stephen, 46help, ensuring students can find, 36highlighted print materials, 77history curriculum

addressing students’ differences in, 53,66–71, 73

diagnosing student interest for, 71 diagnosing student learning profile for,

71diagnosing student readiness for, 71expanding student interest in, 55using investigative projects in teaching,

29–30home base, 36homework, 25ƒ, 34ƒ, 38, 50ƒhomogeneous grouping, 2–3hypothesizing, 82–83

IEP (individualized educational plan), 90improvisation, 19independence, 48, 91–92

adjusting in tiered assignments, 101ƒrequired for interest-based

differentiation, 57independent orientation, 61ƒindependent projects, 99ƒindependent study, 25ƒ, 30, 31, 34ƒ, 59ƒ,

81ƒindependent work, 3individual instruction, 5, 14individualized activities, 25ƒindividualized instruction, 2. See also IEPinductive learning style, 61ƒinertia, study of in differentiated science

class, 29insight, 48instruction, fragmentation of, 2instructional flow, 67ƒ, 68ƒintelligences, 60, 61ƒ, 62, 65ƒinteractive journals, 82–84interest, 45

contract used to address differences in,106ƒ

differentiating content for, 73differentiating process for, 80differentiating product for, 87ƒdrawing on, 53–54expanding in history, 55expanding in math, 55as guide to differentiation, 45planning lessons differentiated by,

52–59using flexible grouping to address,

102ƒ

using learning centers to address, 103ƒ

interest areas, 56ƒinterest-based differentiation

goals of, 53guidelines for, 55–58in history curriculum, 53–54independence required for, 57in language arts, 54in primary classroom, 54strategies supporting, 58–59, 59ƒ

interest-based exploration, 28, 57interest-based findings, ways to share, 57interest-based groups, 102ƒinterest-based tasks, 100ƒinterest centers, 25ƒ, 28, 31, 54, 80

described, 100ƒstudent choice of, 28

interest groups, 34ƒ, 54, 59ƒ, 80, 81ƒ,100ƒ

Internet, using to differentiate availablematerials, 75

interpersonal intelligence, 61ƒ, 62interpersonal learning style, 61ƒintrapersonal intelligence, 61ƒ, 62introspective learning style, 61ƒI-Search, 58, 59ƒ

Jigsaw, 34ƒ, 52, 59, 59ƒ, 80journal prompts, 34ƒ, 83journals, 80journal writing, as anchor activity, 35

key concepts, focus on, 19key ideas digest, 77kindergarten, differentiating product for,

88–90kinesthetic ability, 13kinesthetic learners, 61ƒ, 65kinesthetic presentation, 65ƒknowledge, organization of, 8

labs, 80language arts, 52, 54, 73leap of application, 47ƒ, 48leap of insight, 91–92learner variance, learning how to address,

17–19learners, advanced. See advanced learnerslearners, struggling. See struggling learnerslearning

effective, 8influences on, 9linking approaches to different styles

of, 73motivation for, 8–9optimized just past independence

level, 8powerful, 13students’ responsibility for, 38using different avenues to, 14

learning centers, 28, 31, 80, 103ƒ

113

` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` `Index

product (continued)quality expectations for, 86, 87ƒ

product span, coaching for quality through,86

progress tracking, 40

quality, student participation in defining,37

quality indicators, 51, 85–88quantitative entry point, 64questions for inquiry, 57quick finishers, plan for, 37

ragged time, 35readability, ensuring range of, 66readiness, 45

contracts used to address differences in, 106f varying levels of independence,

106ƒvarying levels of time needed for

task completion, 106ƒdiagnosing, 69ƒ–70ƒdifferentiated lesson plans for, 45–51differentiating content for, 51differentiating process for, 51differentiating product for, 51, 87ƒfor freedom, 99fas guide to differentiation, 45matching task to, 45using flexible grouping to address,

102ƒusing learning centers to address,

103ƒreadiness-based assignments, 43readiness-based tasks, 90readiness differentiation, 45–51

of content, 73goal of, 73routes to, 50f

readiness groups, 66readiness levels, addressing variety in, 26readiness match, 45reading

as anchor activity, 35differentiated process strategy for,

82–84reading buddies, 34ƒreading level, varied supplementary materi-

als by, 50ƒreading partners, 77record-keeping, in differentiated classroom,

94–96reflective learning style, 61ƒrelevance, paying attention to, 13remediating, 13Renzulli, Joe, 74risk taking, facilitating, 96role-play, 65, 80round-robin discussion, 29rubrics, 51, 57, 87ƒ

safetyclassroom, 22

mental leaps, 104ƒmentors, 77, 92mentorships, 50ƒ, 59ƒ

described, 105ƒguidelines for, 105ƒrationale for, 105ƒ

Menu for Success, 65metacognition, 38, 40, 95micro-differentiating, 3mind-mapping, 64, 80minilessons, 76miniworkshops, 91mixed-ability classroom

challenge of, viidesire to provide challenge in, 5importance of understanding realities

about learning, 9mixed-ability groups, 30model making, 80movement, minimizing “stray,” 37multifaceted approach, 47ƒ, 48, 74, 91–92multiple-intelligence options, 34ƒmultiple intelligences, 81ƒmusical/rhythmic intelligence, 61ƒ, 62mutual respect, 22

narrational entry point, 64naturalist intelligence, 61ƒ, 62negotiated criteria, 31, 34ƒ, 50ƒ, 59, 59ƒnoise, minimizing, 36nonlinear learning style, 61ƒnormed report cards, 93note-taking, 73note-taking organizers, 77

object-oriented learning style, 61ƒon-task behavior, promoting, 37open-ended approach, 83open-ended tasks, 47ƒ, 48oral learning style, 61ƒorbitals, 34ƒ, 58, 59ƒorganizers, 65ƒ, 91outlining, 64output. See product

pacing of work, 49, 83–84parallel tasks, 80parental absence, 44parent conferences, involving students in,

96parents

acceptance of risk, 42–43importance of understanding

differentiation, 33involving in determining students’

learning profile, 64providing insight into child’s

development, 41pushing students too hard, 43–44rebuilding trust in school, 42teaching about differentiated

instruction, 41–42parent-teacher collaboration, 42–44part-to-whole explanations, 34ƒ

part-to-whole learning style, 61ƒ, 63part-to-whole presentation, 65ƒpassion, encouraging student pursuit of,

57–58Paterson, Katherine, 43patterns, as concept underlying science

curriculum, 74peer acknowledgment, importance of, 21peer consultation, 86peer critique, 57peer evaluation, 88peer mentors, 77peer orientation, 61ƒpeer review, 31peer selection, 102ƒpeer tutors, 33people-oriented learning style, 61ƒpersonal achievement–driven learning style,

61ƒpersonal agendas, 34ƒpersonal grades, 93–94planning, 87ƒPMI, 80portfolios, 35, 66portfolio-type assessment, 93, 94practical intelligence, 61ƒ, 62pre-assessment, 25ƒ, 98ƒ, 102ƒpreferences, combinations of, 62primary classroom, interest-based

differentiation in, 54principles, focus on, 19problem-based learning, 34ƒproblem-solving intelligence, 62process, 4

differentiated according to learning profile, 65

differentiated according to readiness, 51

differentiated according to student interest, 52

differentiating, 72, 79–84quality expectations for, 87ƒsense-making as, 79strategies for differentiating, 80–81

process logs, 99ƒproduct assignment

creating quality in, 85–88creation of, 87ƒdifferentiating, 86–88guidelines for, 88presenting, 86

product design, 86–88products, 4

applying ideas and skills through, 85–86

choice of, 86differentiated according to learning-

profile, 66differentiated according to readiness,

51differentiated according to student

interest, 52–53differentiating, 72, 85–92examples of, 89ƒ

114

HOW TO


Classrooms` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` `

thinking on paper, 36Think-Pair-Share, 34ƒ, 68ƒ, 80Think-Tac-Toe, 34ƒtiered activities, 34ƒtiered assessment, 50ƒtiered assignments, 80, 101ƒtiered products, 50ƒtiered projects, 34ƒtiered tasks, 50ƒtime allotments, 33–35time constraints, 104ƒtime lines, 57, 87ƒtransfer, 48transformation, 91–92transformational approach, 74, 83transformational tasks/materials, 46, 47ƒturning in work, plan for, 36

undifferentiated classrooms, 1–2

varied approaches, 65ƒvaried graphic organizers, 81ƒvaried resource materials, 75–76varied support systems, 77varied texts, 75–76varying questions, 104ƒVenn diagram, 82verbal/linguistic intelligence, 61ƒ, 62videos, using to differentiate available

materials, 75–76, 77, 91videotaped conversation, as format for

information exchange, 71visual learning style, 61ƒvisual presentation, 65ƒ

Web pages, as format for informationexchange, 71

WebQuests, 58–59, 59ƒwelcome, feeling of in classroom, 21–22whole-class activities, 25ƒwhole-class instruction, 5, 29

exemption from, 75lack of success in math curriculum, 30not inviting for differentiation, 80

whole-class presentations, alternatives to,88

whole-group instruction, 14–15whole-to-part learning and instruction,

34ƒ, 61ƒ, 65ƒwork folders, 36, 40working arrangements, student-selected

and teacher-assigned, 20working choice arrangements, 65ƒworking groups, 3workshops, 86writing critique groups, 40

student sense of, 8scaffolded assessment, 50fscaffolding, 12, 13, 14, 22–23, 34ƒ, 50ƒ

to aid in growth of independence, 57in product assignments, 86, 87ƒtypes of, 23f

schoolhouse intelligence, 62science curriculum

approaching through patterns, 74cubing used in, 81–82differentiated lesson in, 29differentiation in content for, 73

seating options, 21secondary classes, differentiating product

for, 90self-efficacy, 12, 13, 49self-evaluation, 88self-guided independence, 49 self-orientation, 61ƒself-selected tasks, 90sense-making, 25ƒ, 79, 96shared independence, 49sharing quads, 57sidebar studies, 53–54simulations, 34ƒsingle-faceted approach, 74single-faceted problem, 47ƒ, 48skill building, 48skills-based learning, contracts used with,

106ƒ skills-based groups, 102ƒsmall-group instruction, 14, 25ƒ, 33, 40,

50ƒspatial/visual intelligence, 61ƒ, 62specialty teams, 54spelling by readiness, 34ƒstations, 34ƒSternberg, Robert, 62storyboarding, 64, 87ƒstructured independence, 48structured tasks, 47ƒ, 48struggling learners

differentiating product for, 90–91understanding needs, of, 12–14

student-centered writing formats, 34ƒstudent choice, motivator for engagement,

52student growth, assessing, 66student interest

diagnosing, 69ƒ–70ƒdifferentiating based on, 32motivator for engagement, 52open invitation for, 57strategies for building on, 99ƒ, 100ƒ

student needsconcrete/abstract, 46differentiating content for, 73dependent/independent, 48–49foundational/transformational, 46simple/complex, 46–48single-facet/multiple-facet, 48slow/fast, 49small leap/great leap, 48structured/open-ended, 48

student products, differentiating, 33student readiness

adjusting for, 100ƒdifferentiating based on, 32differentiating for process, 80

studentsenlisting help, 39–41learning responsibility, 16sharing record-keeping responsibility

with, 95teachers’ study of, 63–64understanding teacher expectations,

38student-selected audiences, 59ƒstudent self-advocacy, 43–44student success, methods for supporting,

53student work folder, 95student-teacher collaboration, 23–24, 30,

39–41student-teacher conferences, 25ƒstudy buddies, 77study skills, failure to develop, 12success

setting standards for, 15teaching for, 22

summarizing, 64summative assessment, 92summative evaluation, 88symposium, as format for information

exchange, 71

tailoring, 3, 25ƒtalent development, importance of struggle

in, 43tape-recording instructions, 35task cards, 35task-oriented learning style, 61ƒtasks, student-selected and teacher-

assigned, 20teacher conferences, 40teacher-parent collaboration, 42–44teacher-selected tasks, 90teachers

affinity with certain students, 15catalyst for respect in classroom, 22as coaches/mentors, 16, 19, 24–26conveying expectations to students, 38importance of attention from, 21metaphors for role in differentiated

classrooms, 17–19as organizers of opportunities, 16pace of differentiation for, 33role in differentiated classroom, 16skills developed in learning to lead

differentiated classrooms, 17teaching for success, 22

teaching goals, 14teaching strategies. See differentiated

instructionteaching up, 13templates, 91text materials, varying, 75texts, differentiating, 33

115

` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` `Index

117

Carol Ann Tomlinson is Associate Professor ofEducational Leadership, Foundations and Policyat Curry School of Education, University ofVirginia, 287 Ruffner Hall, 405 Emmet StreetSouth, P.O. Box 400277, Charlottesville, VA22904-4277; telephone: (804) 924-7471; e-mail: [email protected].

About the Author

` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` `

Related ASCD Resources: Differentiated InstructionASCD stock numbers are in parentheses.

Audiotapes2000 ASCD Annual Conference Audiotapes—Top Ten, including “Providing Leadership for DifferentiatedClassrooms” with Carol Ann Tomlinson (#200098)“Differentiating Curriculum and Assessment for MixedAbility Classrooms” with Carol Ann Tomlinson(#298309)“Teaching Gifted Students in Heterogeneous Classes” by Susan Winebrenner (#200177)“Using Performance Tasks and Rubrics to Support Differentiated Instruction” with Carolyn Callahan, Carol Tomlinson, and Tonya Moon (#297069)

Online ArticlesThese articles are on the ASCD Web site (http://www.ascd.org) in the Reading Room.

“Differentiating Instruction: Finding Manageable Ways to Meet Individual Needs (Excerpt)” by Scott Willis andLarry Mann, in Curriculum Update (Winter 2000)“How to Differentiate Instruction” in Classroom Leadership Online (September 2000)“Reconcilable Differences?” by Carol Ann Tomlinson, in Educational Leadership (September 2000)“Research Link—Preparing Teachers for Differentiated Instruction” by John H. Holloway, in EducationalLeadership (September 2000)

Online CoursesThese courses are on the ASCD Web site, under Training Opportunities.

The Brain (PD Online Course) (http://www.ascd.org/pdi/pd.html)Differentiating Instruction (PD Online Course) (http://www.ascd.org/pdi/pd.html)Online Tutorials, including “Differentiating Instruction” (http://www.ascd.org/frametutorials.html)

Print ProductsASCD Topic Packs—Differentiated Instruction (#101032) and Looping / Multiage Education (#198217) (both alsoavailable online from the ASCD Web site: http://www.ascd.org)The Differentiated Classroom: Responding to the Needs of All Learners by Carol Ann Tomlinson (#199040)Educating Everybody's Children: Diverse Teaching Strategies for Diverse Learners edited by Robert W. Cole (#195024)Leadership for Differentiating Schools and Classrooms by Carol Ann Tomlinson and Susan Demirsky Allan (#100216)

Professional Inquiry KitDifferentiating Instruction for Mixed Ability Classrooms by Carol Ann Tomlinson, multimedia professional development materials (#196213)

VideotapeDifferentiating Instruction with Carol Ann Tomlinson (2-tape set, plus Facilitator's Guide) (#497023)

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Kay A. Musgrove (President), Peyton Williams Jr.(President-Elect), Leroy E. Hay (Immediate PastPresident), Patricia Ashcraft, Martha Bruckner, MaryEllen Freeley, Richard L. Hanzelka, Douglas E. Harris,

About ASCD

Mildred Huey, Susan Kerns, Robert Nicely Jr., JamesTayler, Andrew Tolbert, Sandra K. Wegner, Jill DorlerWilson

Belief Statements

Fundamental to ASCD is our concern for people, bothindividually and collectively.

• We believe that the individual has intrinsic worth.• We believe that all people have the ability and

the need to learn.• We believe that all children have a right to safety,

love, and learning.• We believe that a high-quality, public system of

education open to all is imperative for society to flourish.

• We believe that diversity strengthens society and should be honored and protected.

• We believe that broad, informed participation committed to a common good is critical to democracy.

• We believe that humanity prospers when people work together.

ASCD also recognizes the potential and power of ahealthy organization.

• We believe that healthy organizations purposefully provide for self-renewal.

• We believe that the culture of an organization is a major factor shaping individual attitudes and behaviors.

• We believe that shared values and common goals shape and change the culture of healthy organizations.

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