Why Use Differentiated Instruction
Teachers must assess the abilities of different
learners, fast and slow. PLC experts demand that all kids learn, not just the
gifted kids. Therefore, teachers must adjust their practice for students of
different abilities. If teachers don’t adjust enough, some kids will be bored
or shut down, leading to classroom management problems, and not all will learn.
If the teacher adjusts too much (in the extreme, giving every student an
individualized lesson) the lesson plan becomes overly fragmented and the lesson
loses any forward momentum. Therefore, the instructor must employ differentiated
instruction carefully.
Categorizing student abilities as high, medium, and low provides
differentiation and allows for most variation in ability. (See below for a better
model.) I ask myself, how will low/medium/high ability students handle this
lesson, and what do I have set up in the lesson itself to allow these three different
ability kids to excel? Teachers can benefit from incorporating pairing and
group work in lessons, because it allows all types of kids to master the
material. I avoid special lessons for the low achievers. I would rather give
them extra help or extra time and use pairings and group work.
What to do right now: Experiment with pairing and
group work as shown below.
Pairings
At the beginning of the school year give the kids five
minutes (literally) to find four partners—their 12:00, 3:00, 6:00, and 9:00
partners. You can also do this for them to better assure randomness and a more
homogeneous selection of partners or go the other direction and make sure that
certain students of different abilities are working together. Later in the
year, you may yell out, “Work out the reading problem with your 9:00 partner,”
and everyone will know what to do and will get help from a stronger student or
teach a weaker student.
Group Work
As noted above, jigsawing material works as a fun way to get
kids work together to learn long readings. The stronger students take the lead
in presenting the material to the rest of the class. These gifted kids know
they must simplify the material for everyone else.
Advanced Work Cleverly
Hidden through Choice
If I add choice to assignments, I can trick advanced kids
into tackling advanced work. Many advanced kids, unfortunately, do not want to
do more work and have an uncanny ability to avoid working longer than everybody
else, so I offer a question that requires less time than other questions but a
higher level of thinking. The gifted kids will usually bite.
Another Model for Differentiating Students
I am exploring a more complicated alternative to organizing
students along one axis: high, medium, and low aptitude. I have experimented
with monitoring two criteria, aptitude and willingness to work. I then
differentiate instruction based on ambition in the classroom as well as
ability. The Wechsler (WISC) IQ test can be
substituted for ability if the assessor does not have historical grades for the
student. Why use an IQ test? Outside of California,
where the IQ test has been banned from schools for political reasons, IQ tests
correlate very well with K-6 scholastic achievement, more modestly for the
higher grades. French psychologist Alfred Binet developed the IQ test to quickly
find students that needed extra help in school. As a Californian I have to make
an educated guess about a student’s ability. I usually base my inferences on the
student’s performance in my class, performance in earlier classes, and state
test scores. Please note that I have not yet directly addressed cultural
diversity and language issues.
If a student prefers not to present in public, look the
teacher in the eye, or win at a game (forcing others to lose) he may not
perform as well as he could in some assessments. This student may be assessed more
accurately through traditional paper and pencil tests and group work that
emphasizes cooperation over competition. The teacher can then more confidently evaluate
this student’s willingness to work and his abilities.
I have also encountered students, usually from impoverished
families, that work hard in class, but do nothing at home. They may be working
a job, watching siblings, or simply be partial to a belief system that limits
school work to the time spent in the classroom. These kids may be best assessed
by examining their in-class work, but grades will deservedly suffer if no work
is done outside the classroom. A college-prep high school curriculum demands
some homework from students. What if a student does not have sufficient
academic English skills to succeed in your class?
This problem can be best addressed by making literacy issues
a part of your everyday curriculum. There are plenty of native-born American kids
that don’t understand the meaning of key vocabulary words such as imperialism,
totalitarianism, and Cold War. Teachers must address literacy issues for
everyone. Once you address the literacy issues, you can better assess the
English as second language (ESL) student’s talents as laid out
below. If a student does not have a good enough grasp of English to put a few
sentences together on paper, that student should be in a special sheltered class
specifically tailored for kids that need to work on English as well as the
curriculum. This is an administration issue, not a teaching issue.
Yet despite everything, if you have students in your class
with a poor grasp of English you can still assess whether they are hard workers
and whether they have academic talent—ask them about their school experience in
their country of origin and check on their current math grades. I want all kids
to learn, and I am pained because I have had very limited success teaching kids
with little or no English skills placed in a regular (not a sheltered) class.
The best I can do is to enlist other kids from the same ethnic group to help
teach the ESL student and use the text book publisher’s Spanish resources,
which of course, are of little help if the student doesn’t speak Spanish.
If you keep diversity issues in mind, you may find a two-criterion
model, below, helpful in analyzing differential instruction in your
classroom.
Willingness to Work versus Classroom Ability or IQ
Ambition or Willingness Student
to Work
High B C
Low A D
 |
Low Ability or IQ High
Student A has low ability and does not try to learn the
material. She skips homework assignments and gives up on the class. To pass the
time she talks to her friends and mocks you when your back is turned. Would
this child pass the class if she worked harder? That is the million dollar
question. If the answer is yes, the teacher must work with all stakeholders
(parents, counselors, coaches) to motivate the student. Occasionally a “deal”
will help, such as “I’ll pass you with a D minus if you pass the final with a
grade of C.”
If the answer is no, we have encountered student B, and administration
and counselors must work together to place the child in an appropriate class.
Neither the student nor the teacher is well served by leaving student B in a
class where failure is guaranteed. An immediate intervention is in order.
Student C, the denizen of AP classes and honor rolls, makes
teachers look good, though student C would probably do well even if the teacher
lectured in Aramaic. Paradoxically, the most ambitious and experienced teachers
instruct at the AP level, but the mid and low level classes require better
classroom management skills and more time differentiating instruction than the
AP classes.
Student D tries, sometimes successfully and sometimes not,
to get by with natural talent and information learned previously, usually
outside the class. Student D is either lazy or placed in a class that does not
interest her. This type of student acts as a poor role model for the rest of
the class and reinforces the insidious stereotype that good students are born,
not made. I want to kick these kids upstairs to the AP classes, where they are
forced to perform or perish. If a D kid is stuck with me in a regular (not
advanced or AP) class, I must grit my teeth and bear the frustration. These
kids are used to getting by on raw talent, and my track record inspiring them
to work has been rather disheartening. I was, more often than not a D kid in
high school myself and didn’t start working hard until college. Perhaps if I
was forced into social studies AP classes, which were nonexistent in my school
at the time, I would have matured faster. A quick way of identifying whether a
student is an A, B, C, or D student is by examining who feels most frustrated
in the teacher-student relationship. This frustration may express itself
overtly by angry acting-out behavior by either teacher or student unless both
work together to solve the problem. (See below.)
Determining student type by assessing who is frustrated
Student Type
|
A
|
B
|
C
|
D
|
Who’s frustrated
|
both
|
student
|
no one
|
teacher
|
Typical comments
|
Teacher: “This kid doesn’t want to pass”
Student: “I hate this class.”
|
Student: “This class is too hard.”
|
Teacher: “I want 150 kids like him.”
|
Teacher: “This lazy kid will get his comeuppance some day.”
|
Possible solutions
|
Meet with student and parents.
|
Put the student in a remedial class or give the student
tools to catch up.
|
Pray for more of these kids.
|
Encourage the student to enroll in an advanced class.
|
Most teachers balk at creating three or four variations of
each lesson in an attempt to service the A, B, C, and D student types. In
addition to the pairings and group work mentioned above, I have had success
with interactive projects and student-centered activities. These projects and
activities have enough inherent appeal and changeability that all but the most
shut-down students participate in the activity and learn. These activities
include:
- Writing skits and performing them
- Composing a political cartoon
- Participating in a mock trial
- Presenting with a group where all get a role
Long
Range Goals for Improvement
Many of the best teachers leave teaching for the
administrative track. While I can’t fault those attracted to power and
leadership roles (as well as much more money), escaping the difficulties of the
classroom, one can improve one’s skills and monetary situation on the teacher
track as well. As a professional, the mindful teacher acts like any other
professional—doctor, lawyer, or CPA—and works to hone her craft, whether or not
the state demands one do so.
Competency in Core Fields
and Successful Classroom Management
My graduate training was in psychology, not history, but I have
a background as a voracious reader of history. As a “backdoor history teacher”
my preparation was good enough to pass the state board exams for social studies
but not good enough to feel comfortable teaching most history classes. I
continued my reading of history, state standards under one arm and a book under
the other, selecting areas of history where I felt unprepared. Additionally, I researched
and wrote lessons most nights for a couple of years.
After sufficient preparation, we teachers demonstrate
competency in the core classes of our discipline. In social studies, for
example, one must master modern world history and American history. I became
more skilled in managing a classroom, however, by watching master teachers,
reflecting how my classes were going, and setting out a goal on how I wanted my
classroom to work. One teacher told me that I could have whatever type of class
I wanted. What he meant was that teachers can have a quiet disciplined class or
a more boisterous group—it is completely up to the wishes and skills of the
teacher.
Specialized Training
Many states require high school teachers to earn a masters
degree. If not, get one anyway when you can. A masters degree in history makes
you more marketable than a masters degree in education, but they are both
worthwhile. You are more likely to be hired by the school you want, and you
will earn the most off your district’s salary schedule. If necessary, max out
on the number of units you need after getting the masters degree. I make
between $1,000 to $6,000 per year and after ten years $10,000 to $60,000 more
than teachers with the same amount of experience, simply because I have taken
more classes and earned an advanced degree.
What to do right now: Pursue your District’s
enrichment opportunities and ask if the training can receive course credit.
Often the answer is yes. Every teacher should max out on coursework needed to
earn the most on the salary schedule.
Advanced Placement Courses
After one shows competency in the most critical aspects of
teaching—competency in core fields and demonstrated skill in running a
classroom—many teachers enjoy specializing with advanced placement (AP) course
offerings. These courses demand a superior level of knowledge and greater
skills in curriculum mapping and time management. Teachers instruct and build
relationships with the most talented and motivated students in the school, who
eagerly pursue college-level work. In addition to strengthening your teaching
capabilities, these classes heighten school board interest in your teaching.
Why? Parents love AP offerings, and they will encourage their children to take
these classes in the future. “If you build it, they will come.”
When I started my current teaching position, my department
offered one AP US History section. Now we have two sections of AP US History and
also fill multiple sections in AP European History, AP Government, and AP Macro/Micro
Economics. The school population remained stable throughout. Simply having the
courses available manufactured their own demand for them.
Always On the Look Out
I am always on the look out for primary source documents
worthy of including in lessons. Social
Education, the official journal for The National Council for the Social
Studies includes ready-made lessons using primary source documents. I also
scour books, newspapers and magazines, both online and print editions. Most of
us have certain areas of history that we really enjoy. For example, I have read
many biographies on Theodore Roosevelt and when I start reading the next one, will
mark pages with sticky tags, hoping to use quotes from these sections for my AP
US History class.
Working on Lesson
Plans
Those that prefer creating lessons in a more
institutionalized setting have plenty of opportunities. I studied American
history and wrote lesson plans for a three-year (Teaching American History) TAH
grant. These lessons were shared with the group, edited after receiving
feedback, and then uploaded to a website for all teachers. The government
awards TAH grants throughout the United States, though I think you
will have more luck finding one in a major metropolitan area.
Leadership Roles
A teacher doesn’t have to become an administrator to find
leadership opportunities. Schools need committee chiefs. In the last few years
my school administration has looked for teacher leaders for a technology
committee, a number of Western
Association of Schools and Colleges (WASC) accreditation committees,
student activities, Parent Teacher Student Association (PTSA), social studies,
foreign language, English, physical education, math, science, and special
education departments, and department fundraisers. Additionally, my state gives
experienced teachers opportunities to mentor new teachers through the
California Beginning Teacher Support and Assessment (BTSA) program. Other states
have similar training programs.
Summing Up
Buffeted by societal changes and increased demands for
performance but also benefiting from increasing availability of tools to
analyze ones style and evaluate performance, teaching has become a cutting-edge profession. Mindful
teachers must examine the process, what is going on in the classroom as they
teach, and the product, the data that proves that students are learning. I hope
that you continue to reflect on your teaching--what works and doesn’t work—and
make adjustments in that never-ending quest for excellence and learning.
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