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Aligned formative and summative assessments (ELM-211)

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Aligned formative and summative assessments (ELM-211)

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Differentiated Instruction Strategies and Examples (ELM-211)

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Differentiated Instruction Strategies and Examples (ELM-211)

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As students with diverse learning styles fill the classroom, many teachers don't always have the time to plan lessons that use differentiated instruction (DI) to suit their distinct aptitudes.
This can involve adjusting:

Content - The media and methods teachers use to impart and instruct skills, ideas and information

Processes - The exercises and practices students perform to better understand content

Products - The materials, such as tests and projects, students complete to demonstrate understanding

To help create lessons that engage and resonate with a diverse classroom, below are 20 differentiated instruction strategies and examples. Available in a condensed and printable list for your desk, you can use 16 in most classes and the last four for math lessons.

Try the ones that best apply to you, depending on factors such as student age.

1. Create Learning Stations

Provide different types of content by setting up learning stations - divided sections of your classroom through which groups of students rotate. You can facilitate this with a flexible seating plan.

Each station should use a unique method of teaching a skill or concept related to your lesson.
For example, students can rotate between stations that involve:

Watching a video

Creating artwork

Reading an article

Completing puzzles

Listening to you teach

To help students process the content after they've been through the stations, you can hold a class discussion or assign questions to answer.

2. Use Task Cards

Like learning stations, task cards allow you to give students a range of content. Answering task cards can also be a small-group activity, adding variety to classes that normally focus on solo or large-group learning.

First, make or identify tasks and questions that you'd typically find on worksheets or in textbooks.

Second, print and laminate cards that each contain a single task or question. Or, use Teachers Pay Teachers to buy pre-made cards.

Finally, set up stations around your classroom and pair students together to rotate through them.

You can individualize instruction by monitoring the pairs, addressing knowledge gaps when needed.

3. Interview Students

Asking questions about learning and studying styles can help you pinpoint the kinds of content that will meet your class's needs.

While running learning stations or a large-group activity, pull each student aside for a few minutes. Ask about:

Their favourite types of lessons

Their favourite in-class activities

Which projects they're most proud of

Which kinds of exercises help them remember key lesson points

Track your results to identify themes and students with uncommon preferences, helping you determine which methods of instruction suit their abilities.

4. Target Different Senses Within Lessons

A lesson should resonate with more students if it targets visual, tactile, auditory and kinesthetic senses, instead of only one.
When applicable, appeal to a range of learning styles by:

Playing videos

Using infographics

Providing audiobooks

Getting students to act out a scene

Incorporating charts and illustrations within texts

Giving both spoken and written directions to tasks

Using relevant physical objects, such as money when teaching math skills

Allotting time for students to create artistic reflections and interpretations of lessons

Not only will these tactics help more students grasp the core concepts of lessons, but make class more engaging.
Prodigy, for example, is a hyper-engaging way to gamify math class in a way that worksheets simply cannot. 👇 Try Prodigy today - it's free, forever!
5. Share Your Own Strengths and Weaknesses

To familiarize students with the idea of differentiated learning, you may find it beneficial to explain that not everyone builds skills and processes information the same way.

Talking about your own strengths and weaknesses is one way of doing this.

Explain -- on a personal level - how you study and review lessons. Share tactics that do and don't work for you, encouraging students to try them.
Not only should this help them understand that people naturally learn differently, but give them insight into improving how they process information.
6. Use the Think-Pair-Share Strategy

The think-pair-share strategy exposes students to three lesson-processing experiences within one activity. It's also easy to monitor and support students as they complete each step.

As the strategy's name implies, start by asking students to individually think about a given topic or answer a specific question.

Next, pair students together to discuss their results and findings.

Finally, have each pair share their ideas with the rest of the class, and open the floor for further discussion.

Because the differentiated instruction strategy allows students to process your lesson content individually, in a small group and in a large group, it caters to your classroom's range of learning and personality types.

7. Make Time for Journaling

A journal can be a tool for students to reflect on the lessons you've taught and activities you've run, helping them process new information.
When possible at the end of class, give students a chance to make a journal entry by:

Summarizing key points they've learned

Attempting to answer or make sense of lingering questions

Explaining how they can use the lessons in real-life scenarios

Illustrating new concepts, which can be especially helpful for data-focused math lessons

As they continue to make entries, they should figure out which ones effectively allow them to process fresh content.

8. Implement Reflection and Goal-Setting Exercises

An extension of journaling, have students reflect on important lessons and set goals for further learning at pre-determined points of the year.

During these points, ask students to write about their favourite topics, as well as the most interesting concepts and information they've learned.
They should also identify skills to improve and topics to explore.
Based on the results, you can target lessons to help meet these goals. For example, if the bulk of students discuss a certain aspect of the science curriculum, you can design more activities around it.

9. Run Literature Circles

Organizing students into literature circles not only encourages students to shape and inform each other's understanding of readings, but helps auditory and participatory learners retain more information.

This also gives you an opportunity to listen to each circle's discussion, asking questions and filling in gaps in understanding.

As a bonus, some students may develop leadership skills by running the discussion.

This activity makes written content - which, at times, may only be accessible to individual learners with strong reading retention -- easier to process for more students.

10. Offer Different Types of Free Study Time

Free study time will generally benefit students who prefer to learn individually, but can be slightly altered to also help their classmates process your lessons.

This can be done by dividing your class into clearly-sectioned solo and team activities.
Consider the following free study exercises to also meet the preferences of visual, auditory and kinesthetic learners:

Provide audiobooks, which play material relevant to your lessons

Create a station for challenging group games that teach skills involved in the curriculum

Maintain a designated quiet space for students to take notes and complete work

Allow students to work in groups while taking notes and completing work, away from the quiet space

By running these sorts of activities, free study time will begin to benefit diverse learners - not just students who easily process information through quiet, individual work.

11. Group Students with Similar Learning Styles

Heterogenous grouping is a common practice, but grouping students based on similar learning style can encourage collaboration through common work and thinking practices.

This is not to be confused with grouping students based on similar level of ability or understanding.

In some cases, doing so conflicts with the "Teach Up" principle, which is discussed below.

Rather, this tactic allows like-minded students to support each other's learning while giving you to time to spend with each group. You can then offer the optimal kind of instruction to suit each group's common needs and preferences.

12. Give Different Sets of Reading Comprehension Activities

Instead of focusing on written products, consider evaluating reading comprehension through questions and activities that test different aptitudes.

Although written answers may still appeal to many students, others may thrive and best challenge themselves during artistic or kinesthetic tasks.
For example, allow students to choose between some of the following activities before, during and after an important reading:

Participating in more literature circles

Delivering a presentation

Writing a traditional report

Creating visual art to illustrate key events

Creating and performing a monologue as a main character or figure

Offering structured options can help students demonstrate their understanding of content as effectively as possible, giving you more insight into their abilities.

13. Assign Open-Ended Projects

Similar to evaluating reading comprehension, give students a list of projects to find one that lets them effectively demonstrate their knowledge.

Include a clear rubric for each type of project, which clearly defines expectations. Doing so will keep it challenging and help students meet specific criteria.
By both enticing and challenging students, this approach encourages them to:

Work and learn at their own paces

Engage actively with content they must understand

Demonstrate their knowledge as effectively as possible

As well as benefiting students, this differentiated instruction strategy will clearly showcase distinct work and learning styles.

14. Encourage Students to Propose Ideas for Their Projects

As well as offering set options, encourage students to take their projects from concept to completion by pitching you ideas.

A student must show how the product will meet academic standards, and be open to your revisions. If the pitch doesn't meet your standards, tell the student to refine the idea until it does. If it doesn't by a predetermined date, assign one of your set options.

You may be pleasantly surprised by some pitches.

After all, students themselves are the focus of differentiated instruction - they likely have somewhat of a grasp on their learning styles and abilities.

15. Analyze Your Differentiated Instruction Strategy on a Regular Basis

Even if you're confident in your overall approach, Carol Ann Tomlinson - one of the most reputable topic thought-leaders - recommends analyzing your differentiated instruction strategies:
Frequently reflect on the match between your classroom and the philosophy of teaching and learning you want to practice. Look for matches and mismatches, and use both to guide you. Analyze your strategy by reflecting on:

Content - Are you using diverse materials and teaching methods in class?

Processes - Are you providing solo, small-group and large-group activities that best allow different learners to absorb your content?

Products - Are you letting and helping students demonstrate their understanding of content in a variety of ways on tests, projects and assignments?

In doing so, you'll refine your approach to appropriately accommodate the multiple intelligences of students.

16. "Teach Up"

Teaching at a level that's too easily accessible to each student can harm your differentiated instruction efforts, according to Tomlinson.

Instead, she recommends "teaching up." This eliminates the pitfall of being stuck on low-level ideas, seldom reaching advanced concepts:

We do much better if we start with what we consider to be high-end curriculum and expectations -- and then differentiate to provide scaffolding, to lift the kids up. The usual tendency is to start with what we perceive to be grade-level material and then dumb it down for some and raise it up for others. But we don't usually raise it up very much from that starting point, and dumbing down just sets lower expectations for some kids.
Keeping this concept in mind should focus your differentiated teaching strategy, helping you bring each student up to "high-end curriculum and expectations."
Differentiated Math Instruction Strategies and Examples

17. Use Math EdTech that Adjusts Itself to Each Student

Some EdTech tools - such as certain educational math video games - can deliver differentiated content, while providing unique ways to process it.
For example, Prodigy adjusts questions to tackle student trouble spots and offers math problems that use words, charts and pictures, as well as numbers.
To the benefit of teachers, the game is free and curriculum-aligned for grades 1 to 8. You can adjust the focus of questions to supplement lessons and homework, running reports to examine each student's progress.
Join over 90 million students and teachers benefitting from Prodigy's differentiating power today. 👇 Try Prodigy today - it's free, forever!
18. Relate Math to Personal Interests and Everyday Examples

Clearly linking math to personal interests and real-world examples can help some learners understand key concepts.

Working with 41 grade 7 students throughout an academic year, a 2015 study published by the Canadian Center of Science and Education used contextual learning strategies to teach integers and increase test scores by more than 44%.

Striving for similar benefits may be ambitious, but you can start by surveying students. Ask about their interests and how they use math outside of school.

Using your findings, you should find that contextualization helps some students grasp new or unfamiliar math concepts.

There are many math-related games and activities to find inspiration to implement this tactic.

19. Play a Math-Focused Version of Tic-Tac-Toe

Help students practice different math skills by playing a game that's a take on tic-tac-toe.

Prepare by dividing a sheet into squares - three vertical by three horizontal. Don't leave them blank. Instead, fill the boxes with questions that test different abilities.
For example:

"Complete question X in page Y of your textbook"

"Draw a picture to show how to add fraction X and fraction Y"

"Describe a real-life situation in which you would use cross-multiplication, providing an example and solution"

You can hand out sheets to students for solo practice, or divide them into pairs and encourage friendly competition. The first one to link three Xs or Os - by correctly completing questions - wins.

So, depending on your preferences, this game will challenge diverse learners through either individual or small-group practice.

20. Create Learning Stations, without Mandatory Rotations

Provide differentiated math learning opportunities for your students by setting up unique learning stations across your classrooms, but forgoing mandatory rotations.

The idea comes from a grade 9 teacher in Ontario, who recommends creating three stations to solve similar mathematical problems using either:

Data - Provide spreadsheets, requiring students to manipulate data through trial and error

People - Group students into pairs or triads to tackle a range of problems together, supporting each other's learning

Things - Offer a hands-on option by giving each student objects to use when solving questions

Only allow students to switch stations if they feel the need. If they do, consult them about their decision. In each case, you and the student will likely learn more about his or her learning style.

Supplemented by your circulation between stations to address gaps in prior knowledge, this activity exposes students to exercises that appeal to diverse abilities.

Downloadable List of Differentiated Instruction Strategies and Examples

Click here to download and print a simplified list of the 20 differentiated instruction strategies and examples to keep at your desk.

Differentiated Instruction Strategies Infographic
Here's an infographic with 16 ideas from this article, provided by Educational Technology and Mobile Learning - an online resource for teaching tools and ideas.
Wrapping Up

With help from the downloadable list, use these differentiated instruction strategies and examples to suit the diverse needs and learning styles of your students.

As well as adding variety to your content, these methods will help students process your lessons and demonstrate their understanding of them.

The strategies should prove to be increasingly useful as you identify the distinct learning styles in - and learn to manage - your classroom.

Differentiated instruction strategies overlap in important ways with a number of other pedagogical approaches. Consider reviewing these supplementary strategies to find more ideas, combine different elements of each strategy, and enrich your pedagogical toolkit!

Active learning strategies put your students at the center of the learning process, enriching the classroom experience and boosting engagement.

As opposed to traditional learning activities, experiential learning activities build knowledge and skills through direct experience.

Project-based learning uses an open-ended approach in which students work alone or collectively to produce an engaging, intricate curriculum-related questions or challenges.

Inquiry-based learning is subdivided into four categories, all of which promote the importance of your students' development of questions, ideas and analyses.

Adaptive learning focuses on changing - or "adapting" - learning content for students on an individual basis, particularly with the help of technology.

👉 Create or log into your teacher account on Prodigy - a free game-based learning platform that delivers differentiated instruction, automatically adjusting questions to accommodate player trouble spots and learning speeds. Aligned with curricula across the English-speaking world, it's loved by more than 90 million students and teachers.
Create your account - it's free, forever!

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20 Differentiated Instruction Strategies and Examples [+ Downloadable List]

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As students with diverse learning styles fill the classroom, many teachers don't always have the time to plan lessons that use differentiated instruction (DI) to suit their distinct aptitudes.

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7 Differentiation Strategies for Your Classroom

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Create more engaging lessons for your gifted students and create a more fulfilling classroom.

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Grades K-2

Each morning, start by gathering together to greet students, allow a time of sharing, and ask a fun question. This will build relationships with students and give a sense of belonging.

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Discover the power of Morning Meeting—an essential classroom management practice for nurturing a positive learning environment.

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Grades 3-5

Create activity choices for the students, such as writing, drawing, research, or using a digital tool. This will give students a choice, encouraging self-direction, promoting self-motivation, and allowing differentiation for diverse learners.

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Differentiated Instruction for ELL (ELM-211)

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Differentiated Instruction for ELL (ELM-211)

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Differentiated Instruction for English Language Learners

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Each student comes to school, not only with unique academic needs, but also with unique background experiences, culture, language, personality, interests, and attitudes toward learning. Effective teachers recognize that all of these factors affect how students learn in the classroom, and they adjust, or differentiate, their instruction to meet students' needs.

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Learning goals are broad, general statements of what we want our students to learn and provide:

Setting goals gives us a real road map to where we want to go. The same when we provide goals to learners. Learning goals are the heart of a course design and need to be made clear at the planning stage.

An instructor can use those goals as a roadmap to prepare an online class. In this article, we are going to explore in-depth the role of Learning Goals and Objectives in course design and how to prepare a lesson plan based on them.

Defining Learning Objectives

The best way to use goals as a roadmap for a course design is to make them more clear and concise by determining specific learning objectives.

Learning Objectives are measurable subgoals of a lesson and inform particular learning outcomes.

Writing learning objectives keeps you focused and helps you in planning. This is easily achieved with the use of action verbs that describe learner capabilities at the end of a course.
From the learners' point of view, objectives help them understand what the instructor expects of them and what they must expect of themselves.

What is the Difference Between Goals and Objectives?

Many people confuse the definitions of goals and objectives, and often confuse the terms.

Learning goals are long-term, broad, and achievable, but not necessarily measurable.

On the other hand, learning objectives are also referred to as learning outcomes because they are immediately linked to the expected outcomes; what we can expect learners to be able to do by the end of the course.

Learning objectives can then be broken down into small learning activities, or assessments.

Changing one of these three components greatly affects the other two. So, this process is dynamic while planning course content. The table below can help you understand how goals differ from objectives:

Is it clear enough yet?

Now, let's see a real example of an instructional goal vs. the objectives in an Art course and Photoshop course:

Learning Objectives

- Learners will be able to identify. whether a print is a woodcut or a lithograph.

- Learners will be able to justify this identification.

- Learners will be able to manipulate layers.

- Learners will be able to correct colors.

- Learners will be able to paint.

- Learners will be able to create special effects.

Why is it Important to Set Objectives?

When setting Learning Objectives:

You can adequately organize the course material because you can establish a logical sequence of learning milestones.

You can immediately align objectives with evaluation methods.

You communicate expectations to your learners, so you help them evaluate themselves.

Finally, learners can interconnect goals through your courses.

Objectives tell the learner how they will be able to know, not merely quess, whether or not they have learned and understood the lesson.

How Should Objectives be Formed?

Objectives should be specific, concise, observable and measurable. Each learning objective should target one particular aspect of student performance and be expressed with a single action verb.

There is a specific order according to which learners process information in a course. Bloom's taxonomy helps understand this natural order. What Bloom did is describe the levels of student learning, that could help a designer set the right objectives:

Following this taxonomy is the most surefire way to boost learning to a higher level. The following table depicts everything we are talking about. In it there are examples of verbs and activities you can use to formulate your course objectives. Take a look!
Examples of how to use the listed verbs:
- Learners will be able to use a rule to determine if a sentence is grammatically correct.
(Application stage)

Learners will be able to classify foods according to their origins.
(Analysis stage)

Learners will be able to discriminate the program's peculiar features.
(Evaluation stage)

See how it goes? You may struggle at first to apply this method, but it provides an analytical design, worthwhile to try out!

You will see how much more your learners will engage in your course.

While designing your objectives, it is optimal to follow Bloom's hierarchical order of objectives and not dismiss lower levels as unworthy so that learners have all the requirements regarding previous knowledge to proceed.
Important tips:

Consider developing 2-3 learning objectives for each section of your course.

If the objectives are several, organize them into subcategories.

Use simple language, speak personally (ex. 'You will be able to') and keep objectives short.

Don't use more than one sentences to express your objectives.

Don't list multiple verbs in one objective - since every action will be measured and assessed differently, each verb should be in a separate objective.

Communicate your objectives through your course page, your welcoming video or discussion with your learners. In a next article I am going to show you how to express your objectives not in a listed manner but in a very creative one!

Designing Your Course Using Learning Objectives

Let's suppose you have chosen your topic and you are determined about what to teach in your course. When in the process of completing these steps, it is optimal either to use a pen and a paper or a concept map application to create connections between your ideas.

1 Imagine your course.

Brainstorm a list of all the possible things you want to teach and might include in your course.

2 Draft your course goals.

Write at least 2-3 goals to shape your ongoing course design. Here, we give you some questions that will help you plan your course goals:

"In this course, I will emphasize in..."
"The main themes learners will go through are..."
"The big picture I want to promote through this course is..."

Suitable verbs to use to set goals are shown below. "Through this course, you will..."

3 Design Learning Objectives

Using the table above, design your Learning Objectives. Break down your goals to form more specific and measurable learning objectives. Link those objectives to the corresponding sections.

Consider: For whom are you writing your learning objectives? Analyze your target audience and their pre-existing knowledge.

Keep overall course objectives to no more than a dozen-this will keep you focused on the essentials.

Don't exaggerate trying to write even more precise learning objectives-the main point is to express as clearly and plainly as possible.

4 Write the Activities

For each objective of the course, write down some corresponding activities that you are planning to use to accomplish that objective.Through these activities, students will achieve the objectives you set for them. Other activities not mentioned above are:

Reading a text.

Reading worked-out example problems.

Answering short objective questions.

Discussing issues with other learners.

Conducting research.

5 Develop Assessments

Ideally, as you are drafting course goals and learning objectives, you are also beginning to develop the assessments for the course. Decide which questions you will include in your questionnaires or exams (as well as the type of questions you will use) or the content of your assignments based on the objectives you have set.

Align your assessment activities with your objectives. This way you can be sure that your learners have the desired progress.

Reflect on your objectives and consider the following:

Are your course objectives achievable given the available resources?

Are your course objectives in agreement with the course goals?

Can learners' performance on the objective be measured?

Are there real measures stated (rate numbers, percentages or frequencies)?

When do you want learners to accomplish the objective?

Are you attempting too much so that your objectives are not achievable?

Is the objective valuable for the learner?

What if I Have Already Created My Course?

You may argue with the above if you have already created your course without having formed clear goals and objectives. But imagine how much you could improve your material by reviewing what you want to achieve and also how happy your old or new learners will be if you add this information to your course.
How to update a course using learning goals and objectives:

1. Review all of the material of your course thus far.

2. Identify any patterns in themes, content, hopes, objectives, and activities.

3. Group similar items together.

4. Give titles to each group of items. You automatically see what your objectives are.

5. Identify the most important things you hope learners will take away from the course and what you want their learning experience to be. These are your course goals!

Then, you can create a great lesson plan based on the learning objectives, goals and activities you have decided on.

Further Reading

To prepare quality educational materials using learning goals, objectives and outcomes is a challenge worth pursuing. It will translate into a higher valued course, satisfied students and will help you in the process of creating your own course.

For this purpose, we suggest the following literature for further studying:

Learning outcomes and instructional objectives: is there a difference? Ronald M Harden - Link to article

Choosing teaching methods based on learning objectives: An integrative framework. Sarah E. Bonner - Link to article

Bloom's taxonomy revisited: Specifying assessable learning objectives in computer science. Christopher Starr, Bill Manaris, Roxann H. Stalvey - Link to article

Academic Sources

Designing and Assessing Courses and Curricula, Third Edition, 2008. Robert M. Diamond. Jossey-Bass: San Francisco, CA.)

Harden, R. M. (2002). Learning outcomes and instructional objectives: is there a difference?. Medical teacher, 24(2), 151-155.

Bonner, S. E. (1999). Choosing teaching methods based on learning objectives: An integrative framework. Issues in Accounting Education, 14(1), 11-15.

Starr, C. W., Manaris, B., & Stalvey, R. H. (2008). Bloom's taxonomy revisited: specifying assessable learning objectives in computer science. ACM SIGCSE Bulletin, 40(1), 261-265.

Bloom, B. S. (ed.). Taxonomy of educational objectives: Handbook 1: Cognitive domain. Longmans, Green and Company, New York, 1956.

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Learning Goals and Objectives in Course Design | LearnWorlds Blog

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Learning goals are broad, general statements of what we want our students to learn and provide: Direction, Focus, and Cohesion Setting goals gives us a real road map to where we want to go. The same when we provide goals to learners. Learning goals are the heart of a course design and need to be ...

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Lesson Planning With Your Objective in Mind

As an educator, your lesson plans are the very foundation upon which your students' education is built, but how effective are your lesson plans? To answer this question, one must first identify the objective(s) to be achieved and evaluate the success of reaching said objective(s). This type of lesson planning is called Backwards Design, a method of lesson planning that is derived from student-centric learning objectives rather than solely focusing on state and national standards.

Traditional Lesson Plans vs. Backwards Design

You may be wondering what the difference is between traditional lesson plans and lesson plans that were created using Backwards Design. Using traditional methods, teachers tend to begin the planning process by reviewing state and national standards and learning objectives, planning instructional activities around them, and implementing assessments that aren't always tied directly to the activities students engaged in or the standards that have been set. Oftentimes, assessments using this method are more of an afterthought and may not be implemented at all. Lesson plans created using Backwards Design, however, begin with the end in mind. Lesson plans using this method require the teacher to create content objectives and plan the corresponding assessment(s) first, creating lesson plans that are more effective in obtaining favorable results.

Backwards Design: A Step-by-Step Process

Step One: Creating Student-Centric Learning Objectives

To create student-centric learning objectives, one must first ensure that they are clear, specific, and easily measurable. As such, each objective consists of three parts: the desired behavior you would like the student to do, the method by which they will perform this behavior (a formula, a learning tool, etc.), and the specific level of performance to demonstrate content mastery (percentage of correct responses, amount of action taken during a time limit, etc.). Once determined, you can take a look at your standards and begin to formulate the building blocks of your student-centric objectives. Want to put this into practice? Here's an example of a third-grade state reading, writing, and communicating standard:

"Apply knowledge of spelling patterns (orthography), word meanings (morphology), and word relationships to decode words and increase vocabulary."

This standard isn't necessarily specific or measurable in its current state, so the goal is to break it down to the three elements of a student-centric learning objective to make it easier to apply in the classroom and evaluate success. First, let's take a look at the desired behavior, which is to apply knowledge of spelling patterns, word meanings, and word relationships. To make this a little more specific, perhaps a teacher could identify a real-world application such as writing a letter to a pen pal. Taking such action requires the student to apply what they have learned about spelling, demonstrate their knowledge of the word meanings, and form relationships among words based on their level of understanding.

Next, we have to determine the method by which students are to complete the desired action. Using the above example, the teacher knows that their students will need to be provided vocabulary pertinent to the subject matter of the letter to equip students with what they need to properly execute the task. As such, providing a list of vocabulary words and their meanings would be the method students will use to arrive at the correct answer.

Last but not least, teachers will need to determine how they will evaluate mastery of this concept. Perhaps the teacher decides that their students will need to write a letter to a pen pal in a different country. As such, the teacher's student-centric objective will be:

"When given the proper vocabulary list, students will write a letter to a pen pal that uses correct spelling, word meanings, and connections among words."

This objective is clearly linked to state standards but takes it a step further in providing specificity in how it is to be demonstrated, the means by which to take action, and the metrics to evaluate mastery.

Step Two: Determine Assessment Methods

Now that you have decided on an appropriate student-centric objective, it is time to determine what type of assessment will provide an accurate depiction of student mastery. It is important to note that this does not refer to a single evaluation or test, but rather refers to assessments on an ongoing basis prior to introduction to new content. There are three types of assessments to consider when completing this step:

Pre-assessment: This type of assessment focuses on measuring prior knowledge students have of a particular subject to determine if they are prepared to be exposed to the content in question. Using the example above, a teacher may ask their students to write a journal prompt about the desired subject matter. Once received, these responses will allow the teacher to cater their lesson to fill the gaps in understanding.

Check for understanding: As previously stated, assessments of mastery should be ongoing, even while the information is still being taught. A check for understanding focuses on the progression of student understanding, identifying misconceptions your students may have, and allowing an opportunity to provide immediate feedback to combat them. This allows you to guide the learning process even while it is still underway as another means of keeping things on track. In alignment with our example above, the teacher may check in weekly on student progress using a multiple-choice activity at the end of class regarding the vocabulary their students are currently learning and use what they learn to cater to the gaps in understanding they find.

Final assessment: This assessment focuses on depicting the level of student mastery of the concept. This is where a teacher may pull in the mastery measurement they deemed sufficient such as successfully using the vocabulary words properly in their letter to a pen pal.

Step Three: Targeted Activities

Once you determine what your student-centric objectives are and how you plan to evaluate student mastery of these objectives, you are ready to create your lesson plans. With objectives in mind, teachers are able to determine the proper instructional methods. These instructional methods could include a variety of tactics such as direct instruction, watching informational videos, or interactive games to continue to build their skills.

No matter what the goal is, using Backwards Design lesson plans truly helps teachers focus on the goals they hope to achieve, making their time in the classroom more intentional and their lesson plans more effective in the production of the desired result.

References:

1. Model Teaching. "Backwards Design in Lesson Planning - Model Teaching." Model Teaching, Model Teaching, 19 Aug. 2019, https://www.modelteaching.com/education-articles/lesson-curriculum-planning/backwards-design-in-lesson-planning.

2. "2020 Colorado Academic Standards Online." Colorado Academic Standards Online, Colorado Department Of Education, 2020, https://www.cde.state.co.us/apps/standards/4,8,11/6,5,0/6,2,0.

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Effective Lesson Plans: The Backwards Design Way | Learning A-Z

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Lesson Planning With Your Objective in Mind As an educator, your lesson plans are the very foundation upon which your students' education is built, but how effective are your lesson plans? To answer this question, one must first identify the objective(s) to be achieved and evaluate the success of reaching said objective(s).

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Grades 6-8

Jigsaw learning is a collaborative learning style in which each student is responsible for researching and learning about one part of the content, and then teaches their part to the rest of the group. This method encourages collaboration, positive social interaction, and accountability.

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An excellent video on an older, cooperative learning strategy that researchers say remains highly effective.

©Alamy Stock Photo/Art Directors & TRIP

Jennifer Gonzalez's popular site Cult of Pedagogy provides the most comprehensive explanation of the jigsaw method -a peer-to-peer learning strategy-that we've seen on the web. While the method has been around since at least the 1970s, it's still a relevant approach grounded in evidence.

In their seminal review of learning research, first published as the book Visible Learning in 2008 and updated periodically in list form, John Hattie and Gregory Donoghue describe the jigsaw activity as having the "potential to considerably accelerate student achievement." They noted that it was the only instructional strategy they looked at that worked across all four of the crucial "learning quadrants," moving children from "acquiring learning" through "consolidating deep learning."

This is a longer video, clocking in at 6:22, but it covers the details of the strategy, which can feel a little complex to the uninitiated, and provides some in-classroom troubleshooting for known pain points, too.

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An excellent video on an older, cooperative learning strategy that researchers say remains highly effective.

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Grades 3-8

Digital exit tickets can be used to gauge if the students understood the lesson. The exit ticket should be quick and simple. Teachers can use exit tickets to measure understanding, track growth, and allow teachers to adjust instruction.

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contributed by Ryan Schaaf, Assistant Professor of Technology, Notre Dame of Maryland University

This is sponsored content. You can read more about our sponsored content policy here.

Do they get it?

After an instructional lesson is over, educators are left with a classroom full of students looking at them. Did my students get the lesson? Are there any ideas, concepts or skills they are still unsure of? Do my students have any misconceptions about the lesson and its content? Do I have to review anything tomorrow?

These are just a few of the questions reflective educators are left to contemplate after the bell has rung. In truth, many of these reflective questions educators are left asking themselves can be addressed if they use an exit ticket. Exit tickets are a simple, quick, and oftentimes insightful formative assessment method employed close to the end of a lesson. It is a simple task that requires learners to answer a few questions or perform certain tasks explored during the learning process.

The format of an exit ticket varies. Educators can use a variety of question/activity types. There are multiple-choice, true or false, short written response, matching, cloze (fill in the blank), and surveys or polls to name but a few. In terms of classroom implementation, exit tickets should be short, concise, and engage learners in a review of the skills, concepts, and experiences explored during the lesson. They are also ideal for continuing the learning into the next class - many educators begin with the exit tickets from the previous lesson to activate students' previous knowledge.

In the age of digital learning, exit tickets are no longer confined to small slips of paper collected by educators as students leave their classrooms (although this method is still fine). There are numerous digital tools at the disposal of educators to collect this valuable performance data from their students.

Here are 18 of the best formative assessment tools for teachers-to glean data, take snapshots of understanding, create digital exit slips, and more.

Digital Exit Slips? 18 Of The Best Formative Assessment Tools For Teachers

Using digital exit ticket tools like Loop can be an easy means of checking whether students have understood lesson content, while also prompting (and promoting) student reflection.

Educators can set up exit tickets with varying question types and submit requests to participate via email or sharable link. Recent upgrades now allow questions to include images and YouTube links. All participants will have their responses populate a single spreadsheet. Educators will be able to review every single exit ticket on the same document.

Socrative lets educators assess their students with educational activities on tablets, laptops, or smartphones (ideal for BYOD environments). Through the use of real-time questioning, educators and students alike can visualize the data to make decisions about upcoming learning.

4. Hand signals

Okay, this one isn't a digital tool but using hand signals to quickly 'take the temperature' of the class is likely already in the toolkit of most teachers. Even a basic 'thumbs up if you get it, thumbs sideways if you halfway there, and thumbs down if you're lost' provides instant 'formative assessment data' for teachers. Of course, this is self-assessment, which means you're depending on their ability to self-evaluate but that's a skill that can be developed over time as well.

While using Plicker cards, students are able to provide answers to their teacher's questions. The educator can use a smartphone or tablet to capture student responses and the app collects and reports the data.

If you want to assess students through video prompts-by asking them to create short summaries, 3-2-1 (3 things I remember, 2 questions I have, and 1 thing I found interesting, etc.), Flipgrid is an easy way to create and share videos while also controlling visibility and privacy.

Here are some more ideas for using Flipgrid in the classroom.

You can read more about how to use IXL here but in short, it's an adaptive learning platform that's content-based-meaning the content and lessons are there and as a teacher, you'd simply assign (or have students self-select) content to assess their understanding of said content.

Game-based formative assessment for the win?

While it may not be the quickest way to get data in real-time (depending on the teaching and learning model being used), Google Classroom is certainly popular and if you use it, having the questions and data and class rosters all right there in one place definitely makes life simpler for you as a teacher.

VoiceThread allows educators and students to discuss documents, presentations, images, audio files, and videos using numerous methods. Students are able to add audio, text, or video responses for a media-centric assessment experience.

Similar to lino, Padlet is an online shared space students can post notes, multimedia files, hyperlinks, and documents on. Educators are also able to adjust privacy settings to ensure student safety.

Of course, there are hundreds of additional digital tools or strategies connected educators could use for administering an exit ticket to students that are not listed here. Please add a comment with some of the digital tools you use for your classroom exit tickets.

Mentimeter allows for the use of interactive presentations with real-time polling of students as you teach. Though they have a free account tier, it's limited to only two questions per presentation. However, their 'Education Basic' plan is only $6.99/month and Education Pro is $14.99. You can find more details at the links above.

According to the developers, Dotstorming is a "space for real-time group brainstorming and decision-making."

Developer Description: "Choose a video, give it your magic touch, and track your students' comprehension."

Ideal for older students, educators can ask students to post a 280 character summary of today's lesson and allow the discussion to transpire after the class has officially ended. You can anchor the response using your own personalized hashtag so it's searchable later. Obviously, the downside here is student privacy concerns-not to mention that they're on twitter (with all of the inherent distractions). To use twitter for formative assessment would require a fairly niche circumstance.

If you don't have your own content, simply grab a formative from our public library of 1000s of pre-made formatives. Feel free to edit any question details to make it right for your students. Once you have something you'd like to assign to your students, it only takes a click. Then, share login info, a link, or guest code for your students to join in and let the fun begin.

Among the other benefits of this popular teaching tool are the integrations with other tools, including Google or Microsoft-based digital teaching tools.
Digital Exit Slips? 18 Of The Best Formative Assessment Tools For Teachers

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18 Of The Best Formative Assessment Tools For Teachers [Updated]

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contributed by Ryan Schaaf, Assistant Professor of Technology, Notre Dame of Maryland University This is sponsored content. You can read more about our sponsored content policy here. Do they get it? After an instructional lesson is over, educators are left with a classroom full of students looking at them.

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Grades K-8

Kahoot is an online learning game that teachers can use to review concepts through competitive, interactive quizzes. This strategy can help boost participation and is a fun way to reinforce the lesson.

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Study shows evidence of Kahoot! elevating student learning outcomes

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Kahoot! meets Level III of ESSA evidence standards according to an independent study by LearnPlatform by Instructure.

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Grades K-5

Using visuals will help support and strengthen vocabulary learning for English Language Learners. This tool can be used to increase access to content, reduce frustration, and encourage participation.

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Edutopia is a free source of information, inspiration, and practical strategies for learning and teaching in preK-12 education. We are published by the George Lucas Educational Foundation, a nonprofit, nonpartisan organization.

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Grades 6-8

Flexible seating provides an alternative to a desk and chair. Options could include pillows, beanbag chairs, wobble chairs, and exercise balls.

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Grades K-8

Movement breaks allow students to take a brain break, get their wiggles out, and refocus on the task. These breaks are a reset and help students release stress, allow inclusive participation, and regain attention.

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Teachers, how much physical activity do your students get every day? Does your school incorporate movement breaks in the classroom? Have you heard about the fun ways that teachers at forward-thinking schools are incorporating exercises into their daily routine? And these are exercises that are typically associated with occupational therapy!

Gone are the days of classrooms arranged with desks in single file. Now, the trend in classroom arrangement is different. Today's classroom setup prefers group learning tables, themed stations around the room, and even unique seating options.

Plus, teachers are looking for more and more ways to incorporate much-needed physical activity into their students' day.

An unexpected side-benefit of movement breaks in the classroom

What may have started as a reaction to inclusive options for children with special learning needs, is now gaining a foothold as standard practice. Movement breaks in the classroom - the whole classroom - seem to be the answer. In fact, the long-awaited answer to the concern of today's sedentary, screen-addicted youth.

It has long been understood in special needs classes and occupational therapy offices that movement breaks are immensely valuable. Movement breaks in the classroom give children with SPD, ADHD, anxiety, dyspraxia, and other classroom challenges,such as fidgeting, poor concentration and day dreaming, a much-needed opportunity to reset throughout the day. What's more, though, is the benefits of movement breaks in class apply to all students. The benefits of movement breaks in the classroom apply not just to those with special needs. Movement breaks have been shown to help increase concentration and focus. Furthermore, they've been shown to result in an increase the efficacy of learning in general.

5 minutes of movement between lessons can make a huge impact in your student's attention and behaviour.

Here are 5 ways that movement breaks in the classroom have been shown to benefit students in these settings:

1. Movement breaks make learning more efficient.

Research shows that movement breaks make learning more efficient. Taking 5 minutes to let latent learning take effect allows your previous lesson to sink in. And, also the following lesson to start fresh. Biologically speaking, the hippocampus of the brain is the region responsible for creating new memories. Research suggests that the hippocampus functions better at making long-term memories when there are short breaks in between repetitions of new material. Latent periods seem to strengthen the brain's ability to commit things to memory. So, taking a break like a movement break is a great way to secure new educational material in class.

2. Physical activity increases oxygen to the brain.

Physical activity also increases oxygen to the brain, which is critical for attention and learning. Biologists suggest that 90% of the oxygen in our body is "stale" - low-quality. Yet, when we yawn, take deep breaths, or get up and move our whole body, oxygen-rich air circulates throughout our system. This is especially important in our brain for learning! Focus and ability to remember new material are directly linked to the amount of oxygen in the blood.

3. Movement breaks interrupt negative patterns.

Movement breaks also allow students a chance to regulate or interrupt any anxiety or stress. If you think that our elementary and middle school aged children are too young for anxiety and stress, think again. We talk about common struggles of starting school HERE .

4. Movement breaks offer a mini break.

Movement breaks offer kids a mental and sensory break. This is particularly critical for students with sensory processing disorder (SPD), ADHD, dyspraxia or other classroom challenges.

5. Self-regulation of emotions have a chance to kick-in.

Plus, they can help with self-regulation of emotions in general. Throughout early childhood, kids are still learning how to manage their behaviour and emotions. Self-regulation is critical for learning and for social interactions. Following directions, sitting still without blurting out or having an emotional outburst at every turn are all correlated with one's ability to self-regulate. Exercise in general has a positive effect on emotional regulation of both children and adults. Moreover, the specific exercises used in most class-wide occupational therapy movement breaks target the brain-body connections that aid children in physically being able to regulate their emotions better.

Even just 5 minutes of physical movement between lessons can make a huge impact on any child's school day, whether they have sensory processing disorder, ADD, ADHD, ASD, dyspraxia or not!

Forward-thinking schools allow movement breaks during the day

Some schools are getting creative with allowing individual breaks throughout the day. For example, one mom named Skylee says, "My son's teacher had little Velcro papers that said, "I Need A Break!" on each child's desk. They were allowed to hand it to the teacher to earn few mins to get up and move around when they needed it."

Others are utilizing 5-minute movement breaks for the whole class at once. A great way for teachers to do this is to utilize a program like CoordiKindy (for 4-6 year olds) or CoordiClass (from Kindy to year 12). Each of these programs provides short videos of follow-along physical exercises. Each exercise specifically targets movements that will enhance concentration.

For example:

bilateral movements encourage both hemispheres to be active,

balance and rhythm supports concentration, and

an auditory component encourages listening.

All in all, in the 5-minute movement break, the focus is on body movements, giving the cortex (thinking brain) a break to refresh, and get ready to concentrate. However, the exercises are fun for all participating children. The exercises get their muscles moving, oxygen flowing to the brain, and require no additional prep time from the teacher. He or she simply starts one of the online videos, and the class can follow along. (The teacher or any adult can join in to experience the same benefits!) (Click here to view details about the CoordiKindy and CoordiClass programs from the occupational therapists at CoordiKids.)

What Types of Movement Breaks in the Classroom are Best?

Did you know that there are certain proven physical exercises to improve concentration for school children?

Research in occupational therapy has led to several programs of this kind. These are programs that show teachers specific sets of exercises to improve concentration in the classroom. These programs are perfect for movement breaks.
Proprioception activities are types of movement that address any gaps in the awareness of the body in space. These gaps might be ones that are due to dyspraxia, SPD, ASD or several other developmental disabilities. All children benefit from proprioception activities (sometimes called 'heavy work' activities). So, many teachers incorporate these movements into daily portions of lesson plans.

Proprioception Movement Breaks Teachers Can Seamlessly Integrate Into Class

Moving desks and chairs around for different seating throughout the day (more on this later), carrying books, pushing a cart, carrying a stack of lunchboxes, moving mats or gym equipment, stapling and cutting, etc.

Teacher Erica says,

"One thing I do to help with students' need to move is I have the students do almost everything. They pass out supplies, they sort supplies, they collect supplies. The goal is to always have some movement task for them to do."

Vestibular stimulation activities target the vestibular system in the inner ear. The vestibular system is one which can be compromised in a wide range of developmental and sensory integration challenges. The vestibular system is triggered with head movements. Coordination, balance, self-regulation of emotions and focus on tasks can all be strengthened with the practice of vestibular stimulation activities. A common example is bending over at the waist and straightening back up again. So, anything that moves the head in drastically different directions.

Vestibular Movement Breaks in the Classroom Teachers Can Seamlessly Integrate

Activities that target this system can be easily incorporated through movement learning songs like "Head, Shoulders, Knees and Toes."

Or:

create a movement exercise in which students bend over to pick up popsicle sticks or blocks with numbers and letters to spell words or solve math problems.

hang a different number in each corner of the room, calling out a simple number problems, and asking the students jump and turn to face the corner with the correct answer.

simply store stationary under the child's chair. The child has to bend down to pick up pencils, crayons, erasers, etc.

For these reasons, CoordiClass includes many vestibular activity options.

Click here to check out the CoordiKindy and CoordiClass movement breaks programs created by the occupational therapists at CoordiKids specifically for teachers like you!

And sign up for occasional classroom-strategies here:

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5 Ways Movement Breaks in the Classroom Help With Behaviour | CoordiKids

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Teachers, how much physical activity do your students get every day? Does your school incorporate movement breaks in the classroom? Have you heard about the fun ways that teachers at forward-thinking schools are incorporating exercises into their daily routine? And these are exercises that are typically associated with occupational therapy!

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Grades 6-8

Project-based learning allows students to real-world problems and create projects to show understanding. Students can work independently or collaborate in a group. This type of learning allows students to connect their own experiences, use critical thinking skills, and fosters collaboration.

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Edutopia is a free source of information, inspiration, and practical strategies for learning and teaching in preK-12 education. We are published by the George Lucas Educational Foundation, a nonprofit, nonpartisan organization.

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What is the Least Restrictive Environment (LRE) Handout for Special Education Colorful Greyscale Pop Art Fun Style