Week 12 Differentiating Instruction and Assessment for Middle and High School Students
Welcome to continuation on Differentiating instruction and assessment for middle and high school students. Last week’s post continues to Week 12. If you have read the chapter and viewed the previous videos on what differentiated instruction in the classroom looks like, then spend the rest of this week blogging your reactions [blog posting due date extended to Saturday, November 13, 2010.
Blog Posting:
Respond to the following questions in your blog postings, answering according to the videos and chapter readings:
= How often should differentiation occur in the middle/high school classroom?
= What is the difference between this and extra credit and remedial assignments?
= If some students do lower level tasks, are they going to be able to meet standards?
= Are there ways to have all students do high level tasks and differentiate?
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20 comments:
I think that differentiation should occur in the classroom every day. I love how the students are being pushed to at different levels. In middle school and high school it's prepping for the future whether that person goes to college and works in a group, or the students moves on to a career and becomes part of a team within their job. It's preparation that is vital in socialization and community. Extra credit assignments are not a requirement usually. This is having all students doing the required work in a different way. When I was in high school and the teacher mentioned extra credit, I just ignored it because I had other things to do and was not concerned unless I truly needed the points. The differentiation is having the students doing all the work together and reaching each one individually with their strengths and weaknesses. I think a student with lower level skills can meet the standards because they are learning the same information as their peers just in a different way. The majority of students learn in a "lecture" type classroom, but the students that fall behind need something more stimulating. Not everyone is cut out for that type of learning in which group work, presentations, and listening to peers can reach the student. They just take a different path to get to the same destination. I think there is a way to have all high school students use the tasks and differentiate. Using differentiation gets them to the tasks. This isn't a whole new subject, it's a way of teaching the subjects they already have learned about through out their twelve years of school. This is just a way for the teacher to be the facilitator instead of a lecturer. The differentiation gives more variety so students are not bored silly with the standard classroom set-up. This gets them engaged and using their skills in new ways to get everyone at the finish line by graduation.
Since, according to the videos and readings, differentiated instruction is a way to reach all students in the way they learn best in the classroom, it is a technique that should be used as often as possible. Many classes will have students at all different levels, so this is a way to be sure that none of them is neglected and each has a high chance of learning the material. Unlike extra credit and remedial assignments which are either optional or targeted to a specific person or group, differentiated instruction includes the entire class so that they all learn together and can even help each other learn in some cases.
Differentiated instruction aims to have the students perform the same level tasks as everyone else in the class. If you separate some students to perform lower level tasks you are not giving them an opportunity to meet standards. Standards are a static goal that a person does or does not meet. The only way to be sure everyone is meeting standards is if you have multiple sets of standards that cater to each individual. Obviously, this is unrealistic and differentiated instruction provides a way for all students to meet the same standards. In the videos, there was an example such as group work. Students that understood the questions or process quickly would help the other group members who were perhaps struggling, to understand. A group is only as successful as the sum of its parts, so it is in each group member’s best interest to be sure everyone understands what is being asked of them.
Finally, this instructional method also provides a way to include students who require higher-level tasks. These students need to be challenged. If they aren’t, they may become bored and possibly even disruptive. A way to reach them is to provide critical thinking questions. These are questions that all of the students can answer. Some may answer them simply based on what they have done in class. The higher-level students should be encouraged to go further with their answers and possibly even explain their findings to other students. All in all, differentiated instruction seems like an effective way to accommodate all types of students into the same lesson and a technique that should be explored as often as possible.
I think the practice of Differentiated Instruction should be used as much as possible in classrooms today. I think the textbook makes some very valid points involving how students learn and how to accommodate every student. I found one topic very interesting, but so true when you think about it. Think about Rick, a tenth grade student who knows all the vocabulary for an English test at the beginning of the week. He gets a grade of 100% on the test, but has he learned anything? (Vaughn, Bos, Schumm pg. 412 5th editions) I think this scenario shows that many children are not challenged, and this student hasn’t learned anything, but used prior learning to achieve success. I think after viewing the videos, a pre assessment evaluation makes a lot of sense. The teacher must know a student’s prior knowledge in a subject area, before lessons can be taught. I think this is where; planning for diverse learners, being flexible, understanding students as individuals and responsive instruction become a key component in teaching. I think knowing what each child understands about each subject can be crucial. The ability levels in many classrooms range from little or no knowledge, to that of superior or above average. I have never been a big believer in extra credit assignments; although very nice to obtain extra points, but sometimes they serve a negative purpose. The use of extra credit assignments allows many students to do average work; all the while knowing a bail out will be available, for sub-par work. Many students obtain higher grades that they don’t deserve, but doing an extra assignment, allows them to achieve the higher level. I don’t feel a student who does C level work for eight and half weeks, may achieve a B level by doing a few extra assignments. Does this really reflect what they learned? Did the student really learn at a B level, or did the extra credit create a false illusion? The uses of remedial assignments are fine, although the same content must be presented at a modified level of learning. I have seen the use of remedial assignments work, but many have been unchallenging and contain edited content, that seems useless towards a lesson. I think that students doing lower leveled tasks can learn the content knowledge, and meet the standards provided. I believe everyone learns in their own unique way, and if taking a slower approach works, then that is why we are here; to make sure the student learns. I believe there are many approaches pertaining to remedial assignments that are wrong. A teacher must make sure there is active engagement going on with the students learning process. The lower level tasks must cover basic standards and involve some challenging material, that will further a student’s achievement. There are many ways to differentiate and have all students do high level tasks. The most important aspect must be a pre assessment and know what each student knows. The teacher must know how each student learns best; an involved lecture with demonstrations, varied text that everyone can understand, group projects where each student has a stake in learning, and being flexible as an educator. I think a way of motivating higher level students, is that of forming peer tutoring groups. I have seen peer tutoring groups work more effective with students, then that of one on one teacher tutoring. I think as an educator you have to make sure everyone involved is learning, not just going over previous knowledge already retained. I think there is always room for change in education, and one new strategy may engage a whole classroom. “Education is not the filling of a bucket, But the lighting of a fire.” W.B. Yeats I think the quote was an eye opener for me. The quote as I understand it simply states, don’t stand in front of the room an pound useless information into a child’s head, explain so knowledge can be useful in life.
I think a good goal is for differentiation to occur daily in your classroom. I did notice that most of the examples in the video have showed a lot of groups that were different sizes. This is not always possible in the middle school and high school level. I cannot think of any class that I had in middle or high school that had us in some form of groups every day. I feel it works best in different size groups so I would try to have group activities multiples times a week. Extra credit is just that, its extra work for extra credit. Differentiation is simply teaching a lesson in different way so that you can reach the majority of students. You’re teaching the same content to all students, but you’re offering different avenues for students to learn that content. Remedial assignments are usually used to improve someone’s skill in a certain area of learning. Differentiation is used more to make sure everyone is learning the same information but its offered in a way that can help every student at different levels of learning abilities. It offers a way that students who struggle can work with others and learn the information. Those that excel can also in the same group find ways to challenge themselves.
Even if a student has a lower level task within an assignment they are still learning the same content. They are just put into a position that they are comfortable in and can learn best. The end result is still the same for all students and that is mastery of the content. It is possible for all students to do high level tasks. It would be a student’s choice on how much detail they can go into or what they are capable of answering and do what extent. Any student has the potential to do high level tasks but they are in place to make sure that those who need challenged are. This makes it possible to challenge even lower ability students while everyone is working towards the same goal. Differentiation is a great addition to any classroom and a good way to put students on an equal playing field so to speak.
Differentiation is an essential component of the classroom and should occur on a nearly daily basis. Differentiation allows for teachers to hide problem areas such as the ones the books lists. For instance, "not all subjects are uniformly interesting to all students" and "the pace of instruction in some content areas is too fast for some students and to slow for some students" (Vaughn 407). The pace and level of difficulty within the classroom is only exaggerated more once students reach the secondary level and the gap between the gifted and disabled widens. Differentiation allows for the educator to lay a base of knowledge while allowing the students who need more time to have more time. It also allows the more gifted students the ability to move on to more advanced work. As the book states, differentiation is simply a "instructional strategy that promotes learning for all students" (Vaughn 408).
I believe differentiation, extra credit and remedial assignments are completely separate entities. Extra credit is an assignment handed out that is purely a bonus. I believe extra credit should be a kind of bonus knowledge. If you don't know the answer you wont fall behind, but if you do than great! Differentiation on the other hand is an educational strategy that allows for teachers to include all the students and teach according to their individual ability rather than teaching the whole class the same lesson at the same pace where some kids may fall behind. Lastly, remedial assignments are works that allow students who might need some extra help to get in the work that will elevate them to the next level.
Students who do lower level tasks should be able to meet standards when being educated through differentiation. The goal would be for them to start with a base of knowledge and use differentiation to allow for individual growth. Differentiation would just permit that student to learn at their own pace.
All students can be included with high level tasks and differentiation. For instance, the teacher could ask questions that require analytical answers which would allow for all students to think critically and offer a well thought out answer. The higher level students would be able to offer more fleshed out answers but the lower level students would still be using advanced methods of thinking! Differentiation is key in allowing for optimum individual growth within the classroom.
Differentiation should occur in the middle and high school classrooms as often as needed. It would be impossible to set a limit on differentiating instruction because it truly is based on the needs of each class. I think basically it comes down to how much planning teachers do ahead of time. In most cases, teachers have a single lesson or unit plan and make adaptations on the spot for individual students (Vaughn, Bos & Schumm, p. 409). Time constraints may force teachers to only use DI during certain lessons, so he or she may decide to differentiate assignments and homework for those that pertain to standards.
There is more to differentiated instruction than extra credit or remedial assignments. DI is planning for individual student needs while bridging content and process (Vaughn et al p. 407). Extra credit and remedial assignments don’t delve into how an individual student learns, while DI does. I found the table of instruction cue words for answering essay questions quite interesting (Vaughn et al p. 432). By teaching those hints to students, teachers are helping them become problem solvers.
Even if some students do lower task levels, they should be able to meet standards. The teacher’s concern is if the student masters the standard, not the pathway taken to achieve it (Vaughn et al p. 435). By using a planning pyramid, teachers can make sure the standard that needs to be met is on the bottom, so every student learns it, even if by accomplishing lower level tasks.
Teachers can have all students do high level tasks and differentiate by considering Gardner’s theory of multiple intelligences (Vaughn et al p. 415). He or she could tailor the study of subjects to each student’s strength, or domain. For example, when studying geometry, the student whose intelligence is spatial could design a home; the student whose intelligence is bodily-kinesthetic could investigate angles of basketball shots. Of course this would require much planning and hard work on the teacher’s behalf. Perhaps this is unrealistic, but it is possible.
The text and videos certainly provided an inside view of what differential instruction is and how to include this method into your instruction but, I never really came away with how often differentiation should occur in the classroom. The text provides the basic components and definition of differentiated instruction (Vaughn, et al. pp. 407-408)which state (very briefly on my part) that this method offers a variety of learning options to fit the needs of the individual. This method has the potential to reach all students and should be used often if not daily.
Differentiated instruction is the classroom doing the same work with the instruction being modified whereas extra credit/remedial assignments is different work being performed.
I don't think students who do lower level tasks will be able to meet standards. Again, differentiation involves the way material is presented not that the material being presented is changed.
The video on "High School Science" is an example of how all students can do high level tasks and still differentiate. DNA sequencing is daunting to say the least. The group work in this video and the teacher facilitating showed how high level tasks can be mastered by all levels. Students helping students is a very powerful tool and fits nicely within differentiating instruction.
Differentiated instruction should be planned into every lesson as much as possible. I say this because most teachers simply differentiate on the spot, as the text points out, and to me, this is not truly using DI the way it was meant to be. Good planning precedes good teaching. DI is not simply remedial instruction, nor extra credit. It is a way to help teachers insure that every student is successful. Extra credit and remedial instruction do not fit this description. Extra credit has developed a negative connotation with most teachers I’ve encountered and remedial instruction seems to have been cast away as we have entered the age of RTI. As to DI, this can be achieved through several means and used with every class, by using components like curriculum enhancement.Though used with all classes and students , through this method, low performing students will benefit greatly. Also, by using strategic planning, like the pyramid approach in the text, teachers need to plan what the main concepts are that all students must learn and all students must be held responsible for this material. this can be assessed in a variety of ways. By using what we know about the Gardiner’s multiple intelligences of students, we can offer a variety of products that they can choose to best give evidence of their learning. The may be performing lower level tasks, but they are still demonstrating that they have met the standard of learning. There are also ways of having students performing high level tasks while differentiating. By planning for problem solving within a lesson or by creating open-ended, self-paced assignments, gifted and higher performing students will remain engaged. I really appreciate the “Classroom Strategies and Adaptations for Gifted Students” chart on p. 413 of our text. We need to remember that inclusion also means we have these kiddos in our class, too, and they deserve to be challenged.
Differentiation should occur in the middle/high school classroom as often as possible. Both our text and the videos explain the importance of this type of instruction as an opportunity for the majority of students to succeed. I had to interview a middle teacher for another education class last week and one of her main points was about the importance of DI. She spoke about how you’ll have so many different level/need students in your classroom and while DI takes a lot of planning and is hard work for the teacher, it is so important for the success of the students and the classroom.
Differentiation Instruction draws on a wide variety of instructional practices based on individual needs as a way to bridge content and process. (Vaughn et al p. 407) In DI you’re teaching the same content just in different ways as a means to reach the majority of the students in the classroom. Remedial assignments are targeted for specific students as a way to help them in a certain area, whereas, DI is a way to meet the entire class, just in different ways. With extra credit, there is no classroom instruction like there is with DI. It is usually an optional task or an assignment for bonus points to go towards your overall grade. However, if you don’t complete the task or assignment you won’t be penalized or loose points.
If the students who do the lower level tasks successfully succeed at the end of the task, than I believe they will be able to meet the standards. If the task is altered but the content and overall lesson remains the same, they are still learning the required lesson meeting the standards. I think it mainly depends on the outcome of the lower level task.
There are ways to have all students do high level tasks and differentiate. Differentiating means exactly that: differentiating the way you approach the task – it’s not about whether the task is high or low level, it’s having many avenues to complete the task no matter the level. High-level students definitely need to be a focus in the classroom. So much is about meeting the needs of lower level students but the high level students need to be challenged and attended to as well. This is another reason why DI is so important to incorporate in the classroom whenever possible. It is our job as educators to do our best to reach everyone we can, and in the best possible way.
Differentiation should occur in the classroom every day. Despite the time limitations, there are many different ways you can reach students in one 45-50 minute period. These could include warm-up exercises at the beginning of class, debriefing exercises at the end of class, or group projects taking place over a week. Each class has its own dynamics, and each day is different for each class. Giving everyone an opportunity to learn via teaching to different learning styles should not be underestimated.
A major difference between differentiation and extra credit/remedial assignments is that not everyone participates in the latter. Differentiation involves the entire class, even though many times it doesn't benefit everyone every time it is employed. Some students may struggle one day, while others flourish and vice versa another day. Regardless, every student is involved.
If students do lower level tasks, there is a possibility that they will not be able to meet the standards. However, I think it is important to tailor lower level assignments (or any assignment, for that matter) to the expectation of meeting standards.
There are ways to have all students do high level tasks and differentiate. You just need to make sure that you are assigning students tasks that play to their strengths. This requires a teacher to know the students, which is extremely important.
Differentation is performed in every classroom everyday. It may be giving an excelling student supplemental work to keep them motivated, or adapting a lesson to students with different abilities. It is an everyday part of the class, as each student is different. It is important to know assignments are given to students when you have adapted lesson plans and assignments. Students may need more practice to undersdtand a subject, that is when they are given remedial work. This may be an addition practice test or homework assignment. Extra credit can be given to a student that understands the concept, but needs more credit to help their grade. Extra credit requires much more effort than an original assignment, but shows that they have proficient knowledge on a subject.
A student may understand thier history lesson , and did well on the exam, but forgot to turn in their homework. A teacher could assign him an oral report or to creat a dio-rama to demonstrate the knowledge they could not by not turning in thier work.
When an assignment is adapted for a student with different abilities, it may be hard for other students or parents to see or know if standards are being met.For example, Students may be woorking on solving 2 step work math problems. The original assignment from the book may be assigned to the rest of the class, but a students with a learning disability may have an adapted worksheet the teacher created. The problems would be just the same, but phrased in a way the is easier to understand. This could also apply for a ESL student. The standards are being met and the learning is occuring, it is just in a way that all the students can understand.
Differentiation should occur as often as necessary in a classroom. I believe as a teacher we will have to make sure that there is some sort of differentiation in all of our lessons when we begin to teach. I think that differentiation is not only helpful to those students with disabilities, but it can also be very beneficial to those students who do not have disabilities, in that differentiation can reach all different types of learners. I also think differentiation is used a lot of times in lessons, even when teachers may not be thinking about differentiation, meaning that differentiating a lesson does not take that much more time. I viewed the middle school math class, and to me that lesson itself showed how easy it would be to incorporate differentiation. As I viewed the lesson, seeing the students work together showed me that differentiation can be incorporated in many different ways.
I think the whole purpose of differentiation is to help or assist in getting the students to meet the standards. If it were not for differentiation, those students who had disabilities probably would never have the ability or opportunity to meet the standards. Differentiation allows for these students to learn in the way they know how, so that they are able to reach the standards, and accomplish what all of the other students are capable of. Differentiation also involves presenting information differently to students, so that they are able to learn, which means that students are still asked to do the same tasks and learn the same material, but it is presented in a different way so that they may have an easier time to learn it. The lady in the video mentions that she encourages her students with disabilities to ask the question, “Could you please explain it differently, so that I am able to better understand?”. This question is a perfect, simple example of how differentiation can be used in a classroom.
Wow, didn't even see this posting. Assumed it would be put up on Monday or Tuesday like the normal weekly ones. Will get this done ASAP.
Andrew
(Sorry for the late post, we're in the process of moving this week. We hope to be in and functing normally by Sunday 11/21)
Differentiation should occur often in the middle and high school classroom. It may not be possible to differentiate all assignments and lectures, but efforts should be made to make sure that all learners have the opportunity to learn. Differentiation isn’t making the assignments less challenging; differentiation is modifying the regular education assignments for the specific learning disability. You wouldn’t ask a student who wears glasses to remove them because it gives them an unfair advantage. Why would you take away differentiated instruction from a student with learning disabilities? As a teacher you don’t dummy down (remedial) the assignment or offer extra-credit unless it is offered to all students. Students performing lower lever tasks will not meet the standards for regular education students because they are not taught the same material as the regular education students. There are versions of the standardized tests that account for lower level learners. I do think that you can have all learners do high level tasks and still differentiate. A simple way to differentiate a high level task is to use a graphic organizer. All students can benefit from a structured assignment. Learning disabled students need the organization in order to stay focused and on task.
I really enjoyed seeing the use of differentiation in the classroom while watching the videos. I think it should be used whenever the opportunity presents itself. While completing some observation hours, I actually had a chance to visit a classroom that practiced learning techniques almost identical to the ones being utilized by Betsy Desantis, a first grade teacher from Stark Elementary. Students split into groups and visited reading stations during the lesson. They had weekly assignments that needed to be completed, and each student had the opportunity to sit with the teacher and have a one-on-one approach where questions could be asked. To be honest, when I first walked into the classroom and noticed the students split into different areas of the classroom, I thought the teacher had lost control of her classroom. Then I noticed that 3rd graders really were discussing the books that they read by themselves, read aloud to each other, had read to them by the teacher, and listened to by a cassette player. I was surprised during one-on-one time, how much the 3rd graders had pulled from a short story. They were able to come up with reasons why characters did what they did as well as explain stories from their own lives that related. From that point on, I was a huge fan of differentiation in the classroom.
Differentiated classrooms set a standard for all students with an opportunity to push beyond those expectations and obtain an even greater grasp on the material. Many could confuse this with traditional remedial and extra-credit assignments, but those are really different kinds of work. Not all students choose to complete extra-credit work, while in differentiation all students complete the same work and many gain an understanding of the subject based on the different learning styles involved.
The goal of differentiation is to set standards for all students. This way the students who complete lower level tasks should have met the standards and expectations. The object is to create an environment where all students have the chance to be challenged into completing the high-level tasks.
While all students may answer the same questions on a worksheet or complete the same lab, a differentiated classroom creates a setting where students can overcome their learning weaknesses and be presented material in a way that uses their strengths. I really believe that Jenn Moore, the Forensic Science teacher from Westhill High School, said it best when she talked about students feeling empowered. She talked about students struggling to grasp certain ideas and using peer learning to help. She also mentioned that those students have also been known to “flip-flop” and be the peer-teacher on another day. That is also something that I witnessed while observing the 3rd grade class. That students were unafraid and not embarrassed to ask their peers questions and receive constructive answers.
While it’s not always possible to have differentiation everyday in middle school and high school, it should occur as much as possible. This is usually based on the needs of the specific class. High School AP classes wouldn’t have as much differentiated instruction as other classes. This no doubt is extra work for the teacher, not as much as one would think though because the original lesson plan is usually just modified to meet the specific student’s needs. This differs from extra credit and remedial assignments significantly. Differentiated learning is attempting to judge a student’s performance in a way in which allows them to have an even playing field in terms of how they are graded. Would it be fair for a blind student to be tested with multiple choice tests or a deaf student be tested orally? This is different from extra credit or remedial assignments. Extra credit is given to help a student make up for a lack they have in grades and remedial work is work is intended for students to understand when they can’t understand what the intended objectives of the lesson are. So these 3 concepts are totally different. I do think that students can meet standards even if they are doing lower level tasks. This won’t always happen though because if the lower level tasks don’t correlate well with the standards. It is really the responsibility of the teacher designing the differentiated instruction to make sure that the students receiving that instruction can meet standards. I’m not sure if all students can meet high level tasks and differentiate at the same time. Differentiation usually occurs when students have a difficult time meeting high level tasks. Almost by definition there wouldn’t be differentiated learning if all students were completing high level tasks in the same manner. It all comes down to how you define high level tasks. Some students may be able to understand a concept at a high level but not be able to express it in a standard way.
I agree with Holly that differentiation should occur every day in the classroom. The level of differentiation is the area that needs addressed by each teacher. My opinion is that teachers need to plan differentiated instruction to assist their students and keep them interested. Once they know what helps their students it should occur as much as possible to help students achieve.
Extra credit is a form of differentiation, but it is targeted towards high-achieving students. Most students will not take advantage of it unless they are high performing or low-performing and in need of points to raise their grades. Students who are low performing probably will not be able to take full advantage of the extra credit assignment if they are already performing low on standard assignment and they require more effective methods of differentiation.
I believe students can meet some standards performing lower level tasks, but probably not all standards with the current method of assessment. Some subjects can still meet standards for content with lower level skills, but standards that address specific high performance skills rather than content may not be met. There are ways students can perform high-level tasks with differentiation. The task may be the same, but how we allow them to demonstrate it can be differentiated. If the task is the goal then what difference does it matter the method they choose or are capable of performing to show they can do it. It really just depends which standards are being addressed.
How often should differentiation occur in the middle/high school classroom?
I think I learned best from the Stamford videos that differentiated learning can and should take place in most/all classrooms at all times. I think that a fundamental and pedagogical adoption of this strategy (when the teacher is well prepared for it) will reap limitless benefits for students. As the elementary teacher put it, “there is no ceiling.” I feel that students should be allowed to learn at a level that suits their ability, as evidenced by the elementary practicing teacher who said something to the effect of, “the model promotes growth regardless of ability.” I find that this is especially important in today’s classrooms which are increasing more inclusive, may have more ELL students, and more gifted students if/when advanced programs are cut due to budget constraints. As a fellow student in another class aptly pointed out, there are guidelines and provisions to ensure the learning of students with disabilities, but there are absolutely none for students with gifted abilities. It is the teacher’s responsibility, then, to ensure that all students—gifted students in particular—are learning. In my own high school English classroom, I will strive to create a differentiated environment in which, like the high school forensic science video states, there is a base standard and then students are met where they’re at and then pushed a little farther.
What is the difference between this and extra credit and remedial assignments?
Differentiated learning is different from extra credit and remedial assignments in that there is a firm base standard established in differentiated learning. That base standard outlines what must be learned to proficient in a particular lesson. A remedial assignment would fall short of this base standard, as it be moving a step back from the lesson at hand. Extra credit, then, is a bonus for students. Differentiated learning is not a bonus for students or necessarily an option. This type of learning does not occur as the result of bonus points, but rather as a result of the teacher maintaining an awareness of student strength’s and weaknesses and building upon both of these. This is the required objectives of the student—their individualized syllabus of sorts.
Differentiated learning is often more spontaneous than either extra credit or remedial assignments, as the student generally initiates the differentiation themselves based on an understanding on a given day or an interest level in a particular topic.
If some students do lower level tasks, are they going to be able to meet standards?
Yes, students are able to meet standards at the lower level tasks, because, as mentioned before, a base standard is set and then students grow from that point. There is no ceiling, but there is a floor.
Are there ways to have all students do high level tasks and differentiate?
There certainly is a way for all students to complete high level tasks while still differentiating the lesson. As evidence, the text states that differentiated learning takes place in advance placement classes, too. (Vaughn, et al., 407) The text also states that gifted students benefit from compacting. This is done by completing a pre-assessment to determine what these students already know and then the teacher eliminates what the student already knows then replacing with it with advanced learning. As all students likely have varying pre-existing knowledge, the compacted lessons would be differentiated. (Vaughn, et al., 414) Another example of differentiated high level tasks involves multiple intelligences. As the text states, “Key to the implementation of multiple intelligence theory are differentiated assessment and instruction using thematic units as a vehicle. Students can tune into learning through multiple channels.” (Vaughn, et al., 415) So then, as students engage in lessons attuned to their interests, they are naturally differentiating their own learning.
=How often should differentiation occur in the middle/high school classroom?
Everyday. You have the same students in class everyday, and those student's needs aren't going to change. A student who needs reading help is going to need that help in some form every lesson.
= What is the difference between this and extra credit and remedial assignments?
The difference is in the way the information is presented. With extra credit, those who need the challenge rarely need the extra credit because they are already getting A's in the class. With remedial work, that can tend to make a student feel left out or worse, stupid. Plus remedial work can seem like a punishment. Differential instruction presents the same material in several different ways so that all learning types can comprehend the information. There also seems to be a lot of group work, with the teacher acting as more of a facilitator. This allows the student to help each other and to shine when they can.
= If some students do lower level tasks, are they going to be able to meet standards?
Yes. The standards tend to be broad, and all differentiated instruction is doing is providing the same information to all students, but in different ways so that all students can comprehend. while the work itself may be at a lower level, it still pertains to the same lesson, and the student gains a better understanding of the subject by working at his own level.
= Are there ways to have all students do high level tasks and differentiate?
Yes. By using cooperative learning groups, and having the groups made up of people of differing abilities, everyone can participate and share in the assignment.
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