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Article by ICTEvangelist on analogue and digital differentiation 

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Article by ICTEvangelist on analogue and digital differentiation 

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Differentiation can take place in lots of different ways. The old classics are differentiation by outcome and differentiation by task, but these, like many methods, can be really teacher heavy. I certainly remember working hours and hours to create and adapt work for individual students in my classes. It took a fair while and there are many more ways to differentiate than by these methods. Nowadays, I use a variety of more finely tuned methods and I make a use of a fair amount of technology to help me too.

Top and tail

Many teachers often aim for the middle ground of a classroom with the learning activities that they set up for their students. This however misses the point. Why not instead top and tail each activity with methods to support, scaffold and extend students, depending on their abilities.

To extend students who finish tasks more quickly, why not get them to complete a more difficult digital version of the activity. Not only does this extend them but can also provide useful materials for shared resources and as part of a starter for the next lesson. For example, if you are in a Geography class researching something, the extension activity could be a report to the UN about climate change or whatever the topic is. This would give opportunities to develop literacy and use of technology, which will have wider positive impact for the student.

Another favourite of mine is to use Socrative. I ask students to login as a teacher and create their own quiz questions based upon the lesson to reinforce their learning from the lesson. I then ask them to share the SOC code with me and if time, I use the quiz as part of the lesson plenary (don't worry too much if they get the answers to their own questions wrong - you can correct them although in my experience, they will be very quick to correct mistakes themselves!).

To scaffold those students who might need it, why not have a QR code which links to a page with all of the key words and their definitions or even just add the key words to a worksheet page - this will support students with a variety of literacy difficulties.

Creating wall displays with the key words on such as the one below is a simple thing to do with technology. Try the free App - Moldiv for iOS which allows you to arrange images and write on them. The one below took 5 minutes.

Other things you could do might include:

Allow student to make notes on whiteboarding apps to refer to later in the lesson. For example ExplainEverything, or ShowMe would be effective here.

Create a screencast or recording of the main part of your exposition for tail students to play back and refer to during the course of the lesson. You could use Camatasia, which is excellent or Screencast-omatic to do this for free.

Allow students to make a visual representation of their learning in a video or something which better suits their abilities. If done before learning has taken place then mind mapping tools or visual representation aids, such as Grafio or Freemind would be great here. After learning has taken place you could make videos, why not try nano social network app Vine to do this. You could then import these videos into Explain Everything so that students can annotate their work. Be creative and try different work flows with apps, perhaps giving the students choice of more than one task or way of expressing their learning.

Timing

Being m indful of timing in your lessons and how you utilise it can have a big impact on the success of your learners. Using timing in your class can really help to differentiate the learning. As an example, you could differentiate the amount of time a student has to complete a task based upon their ability. Alternatively you could give students a task a day in advance of when they are going to complete it to give them an opportunity to get their heads thinking about it in advance of the lesson; flipping your lesson content could help here too by giving students the learning aspect of the lesson to run through in advance of the lesson. This can help to get them thinking about the learning before the lesson even starts.

When it comes to time, you can also think of deadlines - and as we're focusing on differentiation, we can talk too about giving students of different abilities different deadlines for their homework. Setting 'take away homework'is a great way of differentiating homework ideas for students. A simple Google search of the term will give you a plethora of ideas on how you can do this. Some people do it via a template, some people do it via a wall display with the homework topics put in to folders for students to take a paper copy from. Personally, I write a clear takeaway homework selection and add it in to Showbie where students can then access the homework. I set the homework over an extended period of time. I tell students that they must do a minimum of 3 homework's in the 6 week term with no maximum. Each homework is pitched with a different difficulty rating. Students must complete at least one 'hard'homework in the homework period. I try to assess their homework when I receive it although this is not always doable. It is all done before we move on to the next homework cycle.

Using time as an incentive in the class can pays dividends too. In my experience, students react well to tight, specific deadlines. For a start, it means that the time they do spend is focused on the learning activity. It helps to avoid procrastination and it saves on time with students wasting time aiming for perfection or features to their work which are unnecessary. You can plan your whole lesson in to short, tightly focused tasks which cumulatively take the complexity of the subject further for their learning. With the tasks being broken down in to shorter chunks you could even add competition in to the timings to get students to focus even more.

Sometimes, being a little crazy with the timings too can force students to do their very best work in the ridiculously short period of time you've given them. An example of which was when I asked students to show me all of the features they were comfortable using in Photoshop in 3 minutes. It produced exactly the results I wanted - I wasn't after some amazing graphic design, I wanted to know what students 'could'use in Photoshop, not the best piece of graphic design. It worked!

Engaging your learners is (nearly) always a good thing too - why not ask them how long they think they should have to complete the task. Go with that and make them stick to it. As teacher, you can intervene if they ask for too long/short and guide them but in my experience it is a good way of getting them to engage further with their learning.

Finally, to make timing really explicit, I often use the theme music to countdown playing in the background in the lesson (here's a ten minute loop of the music: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eTlrzLl1UAI) and then when there's 30 seconds left I play this: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6eTLAg0giN0#t=13 which finishes off the setting.

Self Differentiation

One way of empowering learners through differentiation is to defy the data on their potential capabilities. We all have data about what students minimum target grades should be to guide us as to how much progress they need to make to attain in the exam. By this definition some students are more capable, and fit into what used to be called Gifted and Talented category. Why not try setting challenging extension activities that are open to all learners, and not just set as extension work for the more able. One a week, once a term, set a really challenging piece of work that students can opt into. Make it clear this is to stretch their understanding and abilities, and you will be surprised how many students chose to self-differentiate and complete the harder work. You could obviously try setting a digital task to do this, perhaps one that gives the students a wider audience for their work. How about setting a small extension task, of extra reading or watching a YouTube video, but keeping a class reward chart of who choses to complete the work, or award points on Class Dojo. This rewards the students for choosing to try the harder tasks, and encourages a classroom culture of high expectations. You could also reward students with digital badges, and I have found credly.com and their App really useful as you can design your own badge and award it when the work is completed. For schools that use Facebook with their students, there's a Credly app in there too which you can use to award badges to your students too.

Collaborative Differentiation

Group work, or team work can be one of the most rewarding things for students in terms of the potential gains they can make in not only their learning, but in developing the skills they will need for later life. However, poorly planned collaborative work can make the task fruitless, and frustrating as some learners as pushed aside, some do not pull their weight and some display some pretty bossy characteristics. So, key here is to differentiate by what role each student will have. Make these roles tailored to play to the strengths of each student, but also develop a weakness. It is no good casting a student with stage fright in the lead of your play to help develop their confidence. However, giving them a small part, might well help. Yes, this is heavy on teacher time, but gives the student a bespoke learning experience in which they stand a chance of actually making some very substantial progress. In terms of using technology, it is useful to allocate roles where students are working with some tools they are very confident with, but some that they are not, so that learning can take place here with the collaborative environment. Use technology to allow the skills that they have, be it in Photoshop or coding, to shine through and not only develop them as individuals, but inspire the fellow members of their team.

Finally, if you're looking to assign roles randomly, should you want to, the Apps 'Decide Now'and 'Tap Roulette'are a great way of choosing students (as is the name picker within Class Dojo and on the brilliant classtools.net).

Differentiation by Resource

The very best teachers do not give the students the same resources to complete a task. In fact, really it is a pretty blaséattitude to assume that all learners will make the best possible progress using the same resources. So - the same needs to be true when using digital tools in the classroom. You should have a variety of tools available to students to match their needs. For example, some learners may cope well with the demands of a text heavy website, whereas for others, the streamlined information provided by http://www.instagrok.com is a much more useful way for them to access new materials. Some learners may thrive on making making maps, and so Popplet is appropriate, but for others a different kind of visual representation may be more appropriate. This all comes down to good pedagogical practice, where you tailor the learning to the individual. What is most important in implementing excellent differentiation is to know you learners. Not only the data about them, but know them as individuals, as people, and give them the opportunity to shine in whatever format that may be.

Differentiation may seem time consuming for teachers, but as you integrate it into your teaching practice, and by using technology it will become habit as part of your classroom practice. It takes time to become used to, and able to manage a classroom full of learners all doing different things, however, if well planned (and facilitated by the right tools) it can be a massive step in relinquishing control of the lesson to your students, who after all are at the heart of everything we do.

Banner Photo Credit: WordXpress via Compfight cc

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Differentiation can take place in lots of different ways. The old classics are differentiation by outcome and differentiation by task, but these, like many methods, can be really teacher heavy. I certainly remember working hours and hours to create and adapt work for individual students in my classes.

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Over the past two years, I have been aiming to improve delivery of homework in my own classroom.

In this post, I have provided a much-needed context for my readers, regarding #TakeAwayHmk. Here, I have collected a range of evidence from teachers up and down the UK; and from a sample of subjects. At the foot of this article, you will also find a review for a new book by Mark Creasy, called UnHomework. It is a delight to read and is due for publication on 20th February 2014. It utterly echoes the values I write about here and I am delighted to say, the Mark will be adding his own comments to this blog, after his publication date.

On another note, I am running a training session (21st May) on this particular topic/blog. So, if you are interested in finding out strategies for improving homework in your classroom; faculty; school - this read is for you!

Context:

For the past 2 years, I have set homework as a professional goal to improve in my own classroom practice. The reason for this focus, is that I've been teaching in over 4-6 classrooms, in each academic year and have been teaching in 2-3 subject-areas to help support students in under-allocated faculties. Challenging enough; even without the demands of setting/collecting meaningful homework that contributes to learning and progress!

Prior to this challenging and fulfilling role, the desire to set tailored and challenging homework was crucial. I was delighted to read Tom Sherrington's post in September 2012: ' Why homework matters: Great teachers, set great homework', which resonated with my own personal belief as I embarked on this quest: "that homework makes a massive difference to the learning process."

Tom provides a great overview on Bridging between teacher-led and student-led learning; Extending learning time; Creating Opportunities for Creativity and Choice; Developing the skills required for independent learning; Reducing the diverging effect of home support and equal opportunities; Communicating the values of the school and the teacher and finally; the context of Hattie's effect-sizes and their variations in a primary vs. secondary context.

Research:

As ever, data is only one side of the coin. We need a context for each point of reference. For example; despite me in the classroom, setting meaningful homework; providing astonishing feedback; and providing students with quality reflection time in class; this could all be lost if students do not have a suitable home environment in which to work. Many of my students do (not have a suitable home environment for completing homework)!

Just take a look at the influences of Home Effects on student achievement. These are the conditions that could tip the balance for meaningful (set) homework being completed!

It could be assumed within milliseconds, that homework is a futile task for teachers to aspire towards achieving professional (in my school). Our school is rated on -0.55 on the social deprivation scale. Read more here from the Office for National Statistics.

Regarding Hattie's 138 influences scale. Here is an overview of the Hattie effect size list that contains 138 influences and effect sizes across all areas related to student achievement. Can homework be a contributing factor to student achievement? I think so! I have circled aspects that I believe are some of the instrumental strands.

#TakeAwayHmk is born!

In many ways, the challenge of setting homework was ultimately about raising standards; coping with teaching multiple in subjects/classrooms led me to creating #TakeAwayHmk as a featured chapter in my book. Creating an alternative version for setting homework in the classroom; I would invest a huge amount of time in the framework and overview of homework; linked to schemes of work; then leading into the actual process of setting homework. This process (in the classroom) would be incredibly quick; stooped in classroom rigour; teacher-clarity and inspiration.

The outcome: a portable homework solution for teachers, teaching multiple subjects; age-groups and in a large number of classrooms. #TakeAwayHmk was born! Differentiated; personalised; self-selecting; inspiring; rewarding and medium-term learning.

I have calculated carefully, that differentiated; targeted and independent homework, followed with targeted feedback, leads to student ownership and improved levels of progress. Of course, do not forget to give students time to improve; reflect and act on feedback given - following a piece of homework handed in.

So, how can you provide on-the-spot homework for all your students? And how is it done and what has worked best for me? Consider a Take-Away Homework menu or a lottery with pre-planned tasks for students to select on a lucky-dip basis.

Below, you will see a range of images shared by colleagues on Twitter. The delight in writing about #TakeAwayHmk has been affirming and the feedback in blogs and in photographs speaks for itself.
Great teachers set great homework!
"Sir, I'd like a 'Take-Away Homework' please."

There will always be a time when you either need to pull a last-minute homework idea of out nowhere, or for those delightful moments when students ask you for more work to complete at home. Make sure you have your Take-Away Homework list accessible at all time.

My suggestions for getting started:

Write a list of 30-50 homework ideas for a key stage, project or year group.

Now divide these homeworks into sections. For example; Research; Development; Evaluation.

Add in a few seasonal homeworks to complete at Easter, Christmas and over the summer holidays.

Decide if you want to place the homeworks in a sequential order using a subject-specific, assessment criteria. Adding success-criteria make remove the exciting aspect of a Takeaway, or add incentives to improve...

Add a simple statement describing each homework and what is needed. No more than a sentence.

Make sure each-homework can literally be read there and then, and is a 'Takeaway'. This means, it requires no further guidance.

Decide on what method you will use to display this resource. A huge banner? A tombola? Using the interactive whiteboard and a lottery-number selector? Simply laminated and stuck to the wall? As the back of all students' exercise books?

Consider setting one random Takeaway homework once a half-term (as well as regular homework).

Consider adding all your Takeaway homework tasks to this online random selector: www.bit.ly/TakeAwayHomework

Here is a superb version by @Ashley_Loynton - click to enlarge. You can download this template here: TakeAwayHmk by @Ashley_Loynton

Download:

... and another version by @ItsNads88. Download here for this Nando's #TakeAwayHmk or click the link to visit the tweet. This idea features in my 100 Ideas: Outstanding Lessons book. You can preview the entire chapter below by clicking the image.

Examples:

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

You can search for all these images and more, by clicking #TakeAwayHmk hashtag search on Twitter.

Unhomework: The book

Before Christmas 2013, I was asked by Crown House Publishing to review a new book by Mark Creasy @EP3577, called 'UnHomework'. The title was fascinating and further echoed my personal classroom desire to set meaningful homework.

Book review by Ross Morrison McGill:
"Unhomework furnishes a philosophy for all primary and secondary teachers with a reliable array of homework tactics, resilience and thought. This book re-kindles the value of home-learning and fosters the process from a creative-curricular experience. This completes the perfect homework utopia. Using project-based learning, Creasy shuns the traditional homework-setting and chasing methods and shares his epiphany millisecond (which you may also have experienced) that transformed his thinking about homework altogether! Unhomework promotes inspiring, well-thought-out and differentiated homework that has stirred my own practice. This will add value for all individual teachers and students alike in any school and in reading this book, you will secure a classroom experience that lowers teacher-workload, yet heightens student grit and independence. Creasy showcases 'enquiry within a context'; learning beyond the classroom and equipping students to think, in order to take responsibility for themselves to increase rewards both emotionally and intellectually. He quite rightly berates the worksheet and advocates self-selecting time-frames and missions. Unhomework, full of intrinsic values to shift school policy, has thoughtful analogies: 'When I do good, I feel good. When I do bad, I feel bad!' In a nutshell, Unhomework is the passport to 'free children from the straitjacket of standardised homework'. I cannot wait to get back into the classroom to mutate my plans from homework to Unhomework.
A brilliant read that I want to devour all over again! "

(End)

Mark Creasy's comments on this blog are with his own write-up on homework.
Email: Daniel Hortop: "Thanks for the fantastic Takeaway Homework idea! I used it in part of a presentation, on making homework irresistible at a senior leadership job interview! They were very impressed and I got the job! Genius! Twitter ID: @danielhortop
Endorsement:

Further reading:

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Over the past two years, I have been aiming to improve delivery of homework in my own classroom. In this post, I have provided a much-needed context for my readers, regarding #TakeAwayHmk. Here, I have collected a range of evidence from teachers up and down the UK; and from a sample of subjects.

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‎PLEASE NOTE Explain EDU is a version of our whiteboard for iPad and iPhone where creations are saved locally on the device. It does not include dedicated cloud storage or online collaboration. Explain EDU was designed for schools with iOS-only deployments. It is also intended for those who may nee...

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