# data[].attributes.headline
arranging seating to promote group work and other desired behaviors

# data[].attributes.subject
arranging seating to promote group work and other desired behaviors

# data[].attributes.body
no more rows of desks!

# data[].attributes.body
Assessments don't always have to be tests. Have students demonstrate their understanding through something creative like a speech or video project.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
A great way to begin a discussion on differentiated assessments is to answer, "What does the word assessment mean to you?" This question holds a lot of meaning for a lot of different people. For some teachers, assessment means giving students quizzes and tests. For others, it means much more. In order to determine how to differentiate assessments for all students, it's important to understand that an assessment should not just happen at the end of the unit. Good assessments include pre-assessments, formative assessments, and summative assessments and these assessments all inform instruction.

Begin With the End in Mind

According to Wormeli (2006), author of Fair Isn't Always Equal: Assessing and Grading for the Differentiated Classroom, the teacher should begin with the end in mind. Namely, summative assessments and what we deem essential standards for student learning should drive instruction. Before even creating the first unit lesson, the culminating project or test should be created so that teachers can adequately prepare students for the assessments (Wormeli). Once we get that summative assessment created, students should receive pre-assessments and multiple formative assessments in order to adequately prepare lessons that meet the individual needs of the students.

It's NOT a "Gotcha" Game

The most important thing to remember about assessments, in my mind, is that they should not be a "gotcha" game. I know many teachers who give pop quizzes and throw things on summative assessments that students "should" know if they paid attention in class. They pride themselves on "catching" the students who don't pay attention, but this is basically punishing students with a major grade, and it's not fair to anyone. It certainly doesn't help drive differentiated instruction that enables all students to learn. So, what are the assessments essential to driving differentiated instruction?

[fusion_builder_container hundred_percent="yes" overflow="visible"][fusion_builder_row][fusion_builder_column type="1_1" background_position="left top" background_color="" border_size="" border_color="" border_style="solid" spacing="yes" background_image="" background_repeat="no-repeat" padding="" margin_top="0px" margin_bottom="0px" class="" id="" animation_type="" animation_speed="0.3" animation_direction="left" hide_on_mobile="no" center_content="no" min_height="none"] Assessments should not be a "gotcha" game. Click To Tweet

Types of Assessments

Pre-assessments. In order to design a lesson that truly helps students learn from where they are, pre-assessments are important indicators of student readiness for a topic. Ensuring that these assessments contain the essential standards the student must know and learn for the unit is vital. After lessons are designed around these assessments, frequent assessing is important. That leads to the next type of assessment.

Formative assessments. Wormeli (2006) calls these "en route checkpoints" for students, and they must be done frequently. Formative assessments help teachers see where students are with regards to the essential standards and where to go from there.

Summative assessments. At the end of the unit of learning, students take a summative assessment that match the objectives and essential standards the students must know in order to demonstrate mastery.

Differentiated Assessment Methods

With any one of these assessments, teachers have the opportunity to get creative with how students demonstrate mastery. Instead of just giving students multiple-choice, fill-in-the-blank, or essay tests, the way in which students are assessed can be differentiated so that any disability the student might have can be bypassed and learning can be gauged appropriately. Here are some different ways in which teachers can help students demonstrate learning.

Cubing: Here, students can be provided with a three-dimensional cube made out of foam or cardboard with a variety of questions scaling up Bloom's taxonomy (Wormeli, 2006). One side might contain a question that demonstrates knowledge, where students can remember and recite the content they remember. One side demonstrates comprehension, where students show how they understand the concept. Yet another side might have students use application by using what they know in a different situation. The fourth side would contain an analysis question, where students break down and then analyze the concept as a whole. The fifth side would allow students to synthesize information by connecting contradictory topics and forming new concepts. The last side would allow students to evaluate by taking a specific criteria and judging the validity or success of the criteria for a concept. Students can roll the cube and answer three questions from the cube successfully in order to demonstrate mastery.

RAFT(S). With this assessment, students can choose the role, audience, format, topic/time, and, if deemed necessary, "strong verbs" that students must include. Since students can choose one piece from each part of the RAFT(S) rubric, the assessment is differentiated based on student interest and ability. Here is an example:

Using $2.00 summaries. Put the value at ten cents per word and have students provide a $2.00 summary of the topics covered in class that day. You can increase or decrease the price depending on how much you want the students to write.
Differentiated Assessments in the Inclusion Classroom and Beyond Click To Tweet
What's Most Important When Developing Assessments?

As Wormeli (2006) asserts, assessments are most productive and appropriate when students are provided with materials that are not only developmentally appropriate, but cover the essential standards. The types of questions and how they are worded can vary depending on the student, but the challenge with differentiation is ensuring that students also demonstrate competency with the essential standards. There is nothing wrong with occasional multiple-choice tests just as long as students are taught the skills to answer the questions. Always keep in mind what deficits might get in the way of students completing a summative assessment and help them work around it so that you are testing the ability of the student with your content area, not with their disability. And if you haven't read Wormeli's book, it's an excellent source of information on how to differentiate assessments with finesse. I did receive a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review, but I honestly could not put the book down when I began reading it. Just remember when you're assessing your students that "Fair Isn't Always Equal" and that sometimes means that some students demonstrate learning in different ways than others.
Reference:
Wormeli, R. (2006). Fair Isn't Always Equal: Assessing and Grading in the Differentiated Classroom. Stenhouse Publishers: Portland, ME.

[/fusion_builder_column][/fusion_builder_row][/fusion_builder_container]

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Differentiated Assessments in the Inclusion Classroom and Beyond

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
A great way to begin a discussion on differentiated assessments is to answer, "What does the word assessment mean to you?" Fair isn't always equal...

# data[].attributes.headline
Give students choice! (Also from textbook)

# data[].attributes.subject
Give students choice! (Also from textbook)

# data[].attributes.body
How they want to learn material, how they want to demonstrate their understanding, how they want to be assessed.

# data[].attributes.body
Tri-Mind Activities, Hint Jar/Hint Cards

# data[].attributes.headline
keep whole TTT to intro/example, check-ins, and reflections.

# data[].attributes.subject
keep whole TTT to intro/example, check-ins, and reflections.

# data[].attributes.body
most of the learning (active learning) done in groups

# data[].attributes.headline
prioritize ACTIVE learning over PASSIVE learning

# data[].attributes.subject
prioritize ACTIVE learning over PASSIVE learning

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
As a life-long learner, I know that passive learning is where I find comfort. Not because it requires less work, but because it was how I learned almost everything I know up until graduate school. I found it easy to retain and regurgitate information and felt confident that the amount of information I knew was a true indicator of how smart I was. I was wrong, incredibly wrong, and am so glad that I now know it essentially takes a combination and creative balance of both in order to be effective.

What is Active Learning?

Active learning sounds busy, doesn't it? In some ways, it absolutely can be. In a "traditional, teacher-centered" classroom, the teacher is at the front of the classroom talking and the students are listening. But if the students are actively learning, then the teacher will pause and allow for the students to discuss what he/she is trying to present.

Carl Wieman spearheaded the use of an active learning method in STEM subjects by outlining a few basic steps. First, the students are required to do some pre-reading before coming to class to learn the new topic. When they come to class, the teacher may have a worksheet, prompt, or question prepared. Secondly, students respond to whatever the teacher has given. Third, the students discuss their chosen answers/responses and then make whatever adjustment is necessary to their original work. Finally, the answer is revealed and discussed.

Through this process students get an opportunity to defend their answer, challenge their classmates, and clarify their thinking. Coming from another student, they don't feel intimidated and gain confidence in their thinking process and in their ability to gain, retain, and apply information.

What is Passive Learning?

Passive learning sounds a little more laid back, but that is not necessarily true. While it may not require the intrinsic feedback of active learning, it definitely has its benefits. Passive learning is when all of the learning is generated from the teacher and absorbed by the learner. Most commonly this is viewed as a lecture. However, let's not present the idea of a lecture as if it is a dirty word. If you're an educator over 30, not only were your probably lectured all the way through your professional education, you have a serious skill set that you may have noticed that your students lack.

Molly Worthen, an associate professor at UNC Chapel Hill, notes that the idea of "Absorbing a long, complex argument is hard work, requiring students to synthesize, organize and react as they listen. In our time, when any reading assignment longer than a Facebook post seems ponderous, students have little experience doing this."

Many of our students are used to the instant gratification that isn't always evident in lecture learning, but the grit that inevitably comes from practicing listening, discerning which notes are note-worthy, and being able to build information from class to class is something to be proud of.

Passive learning also is part of everyday lives. It comes from the books we read, the television shows we watch, and, yes, the social media we absorb constantly. I know that there have been many times I've heard people say recently that they tried something and they learned it on TikTok. Passively, apps like that actively change the world. In that same token, we passively absorb mannerisms from our parents and those are passively passed down to our children. We passively model good behavior for our students and even for colleagues. My principal is an impeccable dresser and there are many days I think of her as an icon of professionalism.

These are all important options for learning. And although it may be a challenge for some students, Molly Worthen finds "listening continuously and taking notes for an hour is an unusual cognitive experience for most young people...lecture courses [are] an exercise in mindfulness." Although this method is often viewed as antiquated, it has and will continue to have its benefits.

Differences: Active and Passive learning

The differences between these two learning styles centers primarily on who is doing the work in order to achieve the learning. A classroom teacher should not have to work overtime in order to ensure students are learning content. Teaching and learning should have some balance. Active learning is learner-centered and passive learning is teacher centered. Active learning requires students to think, discuss, challenge, and analyze information. Passive learning requires learners to absorb, assimilate, consider, and translate information. Active learning encourages conversation and debate, while passive learning encourages active listening and paying attention to detail. Traditionally, active learning is considered to activate higher-order thinking, and passive learning just helps students to retain.

Active learning will give students the opportunity to challenge pre-conceived notions and biases as they have discussions and defend their beliefs. Students have to have strong observation, communication, and critical thinking skills. On the other hand, with passive learning, students have the opportunity to consider their beliefs. As a listener, they may not always get the opportunity to confront an idea, but they can still recognize a difference between what they believe and what is presented.

Learners in a passive setting are not frequently encouraged to challenge ideas, which may not always be necessary when learning skills in certain mathematical or scientific subjects where the facts are firm. However, in whichever learning environment, a good teacher will encourage a strong learner to ask questions when confused and will ensure the clarification of all learning.

How Do I Know Which One to Use?

Use both. Everyday. Or at least as often as possible. There are days when learners need to be filled with facts and days when they need to be allowed to wrestle with the details. Know yourself. If you're an animated teacher that knows how to be a sage on the stage, but stop and let your students discuss and ask you questions, rock on! If you're a teacher that likes to get eye level with your students and engage them in small groups for active discussion, go you! If while you are presenting a lecture there is a playlist that accompanies the slides and topics, well aren't you intentional! If you're working with a small group and they just want to hash out some confusion, thank you for being flexible.

Do what's best for the students that are right in front of you. You will know you're doing a good job if the data shows they are learning. If it doesn't try something else and then something else and then something else until both you and your students can experience active and passive success.
Educators never stop learning; check out our available graduate degree programs to hone your skills and promote lifelong learning and academic excellence.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Active vs. Passive Learning: What's the Difference? - Graduate Programs for Educators

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Students learn in different kinds of ways, some more active than others. Explore active and passive learning and learn what's the difference.

# data[].attributes.headline
Students can "tune-out" when just sitting and listening passively

# data[].attributes.subject
Students can "tune-out" when just sitting and listening passively

# data[].attributes.body
(not always, of course)

# data[].attributes.headline
make mistakes myself and have students point it out

# data[].attributes.subject
make mistakes myself and have students point it out

# data[].attributes.headline
share stories of how we learned from mistakes

# data[].attributes.subject
share stories of how we learned from mistakes

# data[].attributes.headline
remind/discuss often the importance of mistakes

# data[].attributes.subject
remind/discuss often the importance of mistakes

# data[].attributes.headline
walk around, monitor discussions, intervene when necessary

# data[].attributes.subject
walk around, monitor discussions, intervene when necessary

# data[].attributes.headline
students must share what they discussed/worked on

# data[].attributes.subject
students must share what they discussed/worked on

# data[].attributes.headline
assign roles in group work (or have students choose roles)

# data[].attributes.subject
assign roles in group work (or have students choose roles)

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Using theatre as a means to teach mathematical subjects makes class more interesting and enables greater learning for students. Theatrical approaches can be used for other educational subjects too, but as a former student who struggled in trying to understanding mathematical concepts, I can vouch that for some at least theatre is even more beneficial to use in a class all about numbers and problem-solving. For many students, studying math concepts for extended periods of time causes numbers to blur together, especially if they are confused. If I had been taught in a more entertaining, hands-on way using theatrical methods, I probably would have had the mental energy to stay focused, and therefore, certain concepts would not have taken so long for me to grasp. Below I have included some ideas for teachers to use in the classroom that will yield greater benefits than they presently get if they are having the class only work out of the textbook.

Lead Younger Students in "Action Songs" that Focus on Numbers and Counting

When I was on the road with a children's theatre company back in the day, and I had to direct the 5-7 year old age group, I discovered that when I "sang" choreography instructions, they retained the information better than when I simply stated the instructions to them. Little kids have wild imaginations, and repetition becomes exhausting for them. In order for them to stay focused, they need to be engaged in a game-like activity. Encourage young students to act out song characters and stories. For instance, I knew how to count to the number five at age three because of the song, "Five Little Monkeys."

Create an Environment of Imagination and Pretend Even in Daily Math Activities.

Always strive to teach in a FUN way no matter what the math concept is, and it will become habitual. For example, personifying numbers will help students retain concepts (and it is already much more interesting than just citing the information). For instance, consider positive and negative integers. When you draw -10 on the board, give that integer a personality. Why is this integer negative? Is it because he's sad? Perhaps +30 is positive because she won a million dollars! Ask each student in the class to role play the emotion of various integers. Another idea is to have the students in a group form an imaginary bridge by posing as various geometric shapes. Teachers may also shout out commands, such as, "Get in groups of four and create a square with your bodies." This way, students have a fun opportunity to evaluate their knowledge of geometric shapes.

Theatre Games, Improvisation, and Skits

To successfully enforce the importance of mathematical skills in the real world, and to ensure that students fully comprehend every concept, having the class write their own skit is an innovative tool to achieve these two goals. One entertaining idea is to have the class act out a grocery store check-out scene.

Perhaps lead the class in a warm-up game of the infamous "This is a..." Kids stand in a circle and pass mathematical objects around, such as shapes or flashcards. As they pass an object, they chant the following to the beat and fill in the blank with the answer:

This is a challenging game because eventually there are many items being passed around the circle simultaneously. When does the exercise break down? How many objects could the class handle when passing them around in the circle? Once you know that number, do the exercise again trying to break the record.

For older students, teachers can run a playwriting and performance activity. Tell them to write a mystery where the audience has to answer a certain number of math riddles and word problems to help the characters discover clues.

Overall Benefits

Using theatrical activities to teach math will make learning more appealing and enjoyable for students, and at the same time, it will improve their creative thinking and innovation. It can also help introverted and insecure students come out of their shell. Most importantly, it allows students to observe how math relates to the real world.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Teaching Mathematics in the Classroom through Theatre

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Using theatre as a means to teach mathematical subjects makes class more interesting and enables greater learning for students. Theatrical approaches can be used for other educational subjects too, but as a former student who struggled in trying to understanding mathematical concepts, I can vouch that for some at least theatre is even more beneficial to use in a class all about numbers and problem-solving.

# data[].attributes.headline
incorporating physical movement for active participation

# data[].attributes.subject
incorporating physical movement for active participation

# data[].attributes.headline
connect material to real-life applications or student interests

# data[].attributes.subject
connect material to real-life applications or student interests