# data[].attributes.headline
What Differentiated Instruction is, and What it is Not

# data[].attributes.subject
What Differentiated Instruction is, and What it is Not

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Sarah Sacco

I used to think I was differentiating instruction in my 8th grade language arts class by letting students pick their novels for their book projects. After all, they were studying the elements of literature through different genres and plots. They even had a hand in the selection process.

I couldn't have been more wrong. I, like many of my colleagues, had fallen into the trap of confusing student choice with differentiated instruction.

At the core of true differentiated instruction is the creation of multiple paths to learning for students so that they all have equal and, more important, appropriate access to the course curriculum. Educators can develop these multiple paths by varying classroom instruction through content, processes, and product (King-Shaver & Hunter, 2003).

Differentiated instruction is not, though, about simply designing curriculum that is "different." The differences must target and accommodate students' diverse needs and deficiencies in the learning process through careful changes in content, process, and product. In today's classrooms, which are described aptly as heterogeneous (Lawrence-Brown, 2004), change alone is not enough. Instead, educators must identify their students' needs exactly, and use those needs as the basis of formulating change.

Too often when teachers try to differentiate instruction, the activities they create for varied levels end up becoming tangential to the lesson objective. Educators should strive for continuity in their differentiated curriculum. In other words, the teacher's effort to meet each student's level of activity and engagement should fall within a continuum that represents the range of complexity of course content. Even as we modify the depth of knowledge to differentiate for students, we shouldn't lose sight of a given objective we want all students to master.

For instance, in the book project I mentioned above, I should have given students varying sets of probing questions to answer as they read the books of their choice. These questions would have had all students working toward the same objective of active reading and, say, characterization. The questions would be different, however, based on each student's readiness level, ranging from simply recalling and identifying character traits to making thoughtful inferences based on an analysis of a character's actions and perceptions. A student could then use the answers to these differentiated content-based questions to engage in multiple processes to produce unique products as assessments.

Instructional content that is differentiated should not feel as though it is overly complex and convoluted, either for instructors to plan or for students to comprehend. By specifically and consciously tiering curriculum instead of splitting it apart into excessive-and often unmanageable-sets of learning tasks, instructors can achieve clarity for themselves and their students in the teaching and learning process.

A classroom using differentiated instructional practices should also not be a record-keeping nightmare, with the instructor shouldering the burden of constantly watching over 30 separate, individualized assignments and goals. Instead, students keep a portfolio of their work and monitor their grades and progress with a student-centered grade-keeping system. This student-centered monitoring of progress and assignments allows teachers to focus their attention on specific students on in a given day, while still ensuring the rest of the class progresses accordingly (King-Shaver & Hunter, 2003).

With differentiated instruction, the goal is to create an environment that is as close to an individualized curriculum as possible (Tomlinson, 1999). By seamlessly integrating multiple paths to learning in the classroom, educators can ensure that their students have adequate opportunities to acquire course content, regardless of their abilities, interests, or special learning needs.

King-Shaver, B., & Hunter, A. (2003). Differentiated instruction in the English classroom: Content, process, product, and assessment. New Hampshire: Heinemann.

Lawrence-Brown, D. (2004). Differentiated instruction: Inclusive strategies for standards-based learning that benefit the whole class. American Secondary Education, 32(3), 34-62.

Tomlinson, C. A. (1999). Mapping a route toward differentiated instruction. Educational Leadership, 57(1), 12-16.

Sarah Sacco teaches gifted language arts and reading enrichment at Santan Junior High School in Chandler, Ariz. She is also a graduate student at Arizona State University in Tempe, studying curriculum and instruction with an emphasis on English as a second language.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
What Differentiated Instruction Is, and What It Most Certainly Is Not

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Sarah Sacco I used to think I was differentiating instruction in my 8th grade language arts class by letting students pick their novels for their book projects. After all, they were studying the elements of literature through different genres and plots. They even had a hand in the selection process.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
I have written about how I am changing the definition of test to allow for differentiated assessment in my class. Some questions arose so here are the answers.

My current class sizes are in the low 30s, some classes I have done this with in previous years were in the low 40s while others in the 20s. With the right amount of planning, I believe this could be implemented with any class which has a reasonable amount of students. As for prep time, out of 8 courses throughout the entire year I teach 7 classes.

How does it look?

First, if you walked into my classroom you would see some students working in groups, others alone, and others receiving one-on-one assistance from me.Some students would be working on a laptop, some on paper and pen, and others researching on an I-Pad.I encourage students to assist each other, collaborate on problems and research how the math we are using relates to their own life.

I give students the whole "exam" at once and don't set a deadline, nor do I ask students to work on it alone.The directions are to work on the "exam" during class time, create your own problems and solutions, work on it in any order you would like, and to hand in the parts as you complete them.

Students are then given 1 or 2 classes (depending on the exam) to work on it.As students complete a question, not the entire exam, I can start assessing it.If I am not helping a student I will assess the question with the student explaining their reasoning and solution. This keeps my time spent on assessment low as not all students are handing in the entire exam on the exact same day.This allows me to spend more time critically analyzing each student's work.

I don't grade it!

I either give them verbal feedback, or if I am assessing it outside of school, I will provide them with written feedback and comments.Students then have the option of correcting their mistakes and re-handing it in.This process continues to either the question is completed at 100% or the student chooses to take the mark I would assign as a regular exam. This is how I have turned my assessments of learning to assessments of, as, and for learning.I also have redefined the idea of 100% in my class .
What if a student does not like the project?
Easy answer, a traditional exam consisting of multiple choice, numerical response and written response is always an option.However, only a rare few of students choose this option.Keep in mind this is not a threat or a way to motivate students to complete the project but just another choice a student has as to how they are assessed.
What if a student does not complete the project in the time set?
I do not give them a zero, give them late marks, or use any kind of grading consequence but require them to start coming in during lunch, or anytime outside of class to complete it.The first meeting starts with a simple question, "Why isn't it done?"

Some reasons are heavy workloads in other courses or outside school responsibilities and then I give the student as long as it takes to complete the project, with him/her still coming in during lunch.

Another reason I often hear is that they do not understand the material.This solution has me re-teaching the material and still requiring them to complete an assessment on the outcome.

All other reasons are dealt case by case.

I realized, with a traditional test, if students do not understand the material we give them a failing grade and move on.In the past, I have tried to have students complete their mistakes, but once I have shown them their mark all motivation to learn the intended outcome has vanished.This is the reasoning behind the no grade on their product until it is complete.

Students are enjoying this way of assessment as it gives them choice, autonomy in the way they can demonstrate their learning, and allows for authentic learning to occur.If I have not answered a specific question, or you still have concerns, please let me know.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
I have written about how I am changing the definition of test to allow for differentiated assessment in my class. Some questions arose so here are the answers. My current class sizes are in the low 30s, some classes I have done this with in previous years were in the low 40s while others in the 20s.

# data[].attributes.headline
Video: How to Teach Math as a Social Activity (assessing math learning through observation and dialogue): 

# data[].attributes.subject
Video: How to Teach Math as a Social Activity (assessing math learning through observation and dialogue): 

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Douglas Reeves

For all the ink that has been spilled regarding the issue of differentiated instruction, little has been said about differentiated assessment. There is no doubt that students come to school with a variety of backgrounds and learning needs, and Carol Ann Tomlinson (Tomlinson & McTighe, 2006) and others (e.g., Stefanakis & Meier, 2010; Fogarty & Pete, 2010) have documented the importance of the issue and the potential success of the results.

The devil, as always, is in the details, and as Schmoker (2010) recently noted, some teachers find the demands of creating different lessons for the learning needs of each student overwhelming. Here are some practical ideas for busy teachers who want to meet the different needs of students while managing the demands on their already busy schedules.

Keys to Motivation and Engagement

If we were to synthesize evidence on student motivation and engagement, there are three overlapping concepts that are essential: choice, power, and competence. Any one of these is insufficient to maintain engagement.

Empowered students who exercise choice, doing what they want to do, may be temporarily engaged. But if they never become competent, they will become frustrated and distracted. Conversely, competent students who master a skill but never have the opportunity to enjoy a degree of choice or exercise power over the content and nature of their assessments, will dully go through the motions but never achieve a high level of engagement.

However, when students combine these three powerful elements of engagement, then we have the opportunity to achieve what Jeff Howard (Raney, 1997) has called the "Nintendo Effect": the trance-like level of engagement that students achieve for sustained periods of time when they play video games. Students would not be engaged by merely watching videos; rather it's the improvement in competence and the exercise of power, making choices every minute, that keeps them engaged. These are principles that can be applied in every classroom.

Homework Menus

Differentiated instruction means nothing when every student is told to finish the same 15 problems with instructions such as, "Complete the odd-numbered problems, numbers 1 through 30." A better approach is the homework menu.

Consider a 7th grade math class in which some students continue to struggle with number operations while others are bored by what they consider the low-level demands of the class. The lesson: one-variable equations, such as "In the equation 3 x = 10, what is the value of x?"

An assignment menu would have three columns, each with 15 problems:

The first column contains problems that allow students to practice the basic number operations required for this lesson, including multiplication, division, and decimals.

The second column contains opportunities to practice and master the central challenge of a one-variable equation.

The third column includes two-variable equations and more advanced story problems that include opportunities to create one- and two-variable equations based on a real-world challenge.

Students can choose to complete any 15 problems of their choice.

Some will start in the first column and remain there; they need to practice number operations. Other students will start in the first column, quickly find those problems too easy, and proceed to the second column to finish their 15 problems. Other students may start in the second column and think, "OK, I did this 5 times. Why do I have to do it 15 times?"

These are the very students, by the way, who are going to fail a class despite having passed the final exam. They know the material but did not finish their homework assignments. Rather than engage in a power struggle with the teacher, these students need a next step, and that's where column three comes in. Some of them will proceed to column three and relish the challenge, while others will find column three too difficult and finish their 15 problems in other columns. A few students will do only column three problems.

The Teacher's Perspective

Put yourself in the teacher's position. You are collecting homework as students enter the classroom (a technique that will save teachers at least 10 minutes every day). As you scan the work, you will know instantly who chooses the first, second, or third column and who did no homework at all. You now do not need a theoretical disquisition about differentiated instruction, but you can begin the class as if you are looking through a prism and seeing the entire spectrum of student achievement.

Some students, having at last mastered the skills necessary to begin the assignment, can begin to learn single-variable equations. Others, having failed to do the homework, need to have 10 minutes to finish the task. Others, having moved well beyond the planned task for the day, can begin not with a stultifying repetition of what they already know but with a series of challenging tasks that will engage them and reward their work.

Differentiated instruction, in brief, begins with differentiated homework and assessment.

Menus in Daily Practice

If the homework menu makes sense, then why not expand the concept to an assessment menu. One concept I've used is a menu that allows students to accumulate points in a variety of different ways.

Let's say that 900 points will result in an A, and 800 points will result in a B. Some students might earn a B with the completion of four 200-point assignments. But other students will find such a large project too intimidating. Rather than the all-or-nothing approach that is typical of large projects, the menu system gives these students several other alternatives. They can earn 200 points by completing four 50-point projects or ten 20-point projects.

Some students have the project-management skills (and attentive parents) to complete the 200-point project. Other students need to learn how to assemble a complex project, and for them the challenge of creating smaller projects that lead to the same 200 points is a great opportunity to both demonstrate proficiency in math and also learn to manage complex projects.

From the point of view of a very busy teacher, the implications are clear. Rather than expecting every student to complete a 200-point project, some students will receive feedback every day (perhaps on 20 different 10-point projects), while other students can work independently at other intermediate levels. All of them, however, have the opportunity to earn the same 200 points.

Our ethical obligation as teachers is to ensure that all students have approximately the same obligations but not the identical assignments. We need to ensure that the student who chooses four 50-point assignments or ten 20-point assignments has done at least as much, if not more, than the student who completed the 200-point assignment. In sum, the central challenge of differentiated instruction and assessment is not uniformity of work, but similarity of proficiency.

Differentiated assessment is certainly not a mechanism for lowering expectations for students. Rather, it is a strategy to encourage every student to meet the same rigorous standards in different ways. In addition, differentiated assessment will save teachers, students, and parents from spending time on tasks that are boring, inappropriate, or excessively challenging.

References

Fogarty, R., & Pete, B. M. (2010). Supporting differentiated instruction: A professional learning communities approach. Bloomington, IN: Solution Tree.

Raney, M. (1997, Summer). Technos interview: Jeff Howard. Technos, 6(2), 1-11. Retrieved from www.efficacy.org/Portals/7/Article_Downloads/Writings_by_dr_jeff_howard/JeffHoward
.TechnosInterview.pdf

Schmoker, M. (2010, September). When pedagogic fads trump priorities. Education Week, 30(5), 22-23.

Stefanakis, E. H., & Meier, D. (2010). Differentiated assessment: How to assess the learning potential of every student (grades 6-12). San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.

Tomlinson, C. A., & McTighe, J. (2006). Integrating differentiated instruction and understanding by design: Connecting content and kids. Alexandria, VA: ASCD.

Douglas B. Reeves is founder of the Leadership and Learning Center in Salem, Mass., and author of ASCD books on educational leadership.

Editor's Note: For an example of an assignment menu, please see Chapter 7 in Reeves's book The Elements of Grading (Solution Tree, 2010). For other time-saving strategies, see Chapter 8 of his book Finding Your Leadership Focus (Teachers College Press, 2011).

ASCD Express, Vol. 6, No. 20. Copyright 2011 by ASCD. All rights reserved. Visit www.ascd.org/ascdexpress.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
From Differentiated Instruction to Differentiated Assessment

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Douglas Reeves For all the ink that has been spilled regarding the issue of differentiated instruction, little has been said about differentiated assessment. There is no doubt that students come to school with a variety of backgrounds and learning needs, and Carol Ann Tomlinson (Tomlinson & McTighe, 2006) and others (e.g., Stefanakis & Meier, 2010; Fogarty & Pete, 2010) have documented the importance of the issue and the potential success of the results.

# data[].attributes.headline
Assessment and Student Success in a Differentiated Classroom

# data[].attributes.subject
Assessment and Student Success in a Differentiated Classroom

# data[].attributes.headline
11 Examples of Differentiated Assessment

# data[].attributes.subject
11 Examples of Differentiated Assessment

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
A test is one of the most classic ways to evaluate a student. And even with this traditional method, you can do varied evaluations.

For this blog post, Saskia Vandeputte from " Schoolmakers " gave me some great tips. She's a specialist when it comes to differentiated learning.

Differentiated evaluation means that you perform a student-oriented evaluation on those aspects that are relevant. There are many differentiated testing variations.

But before we jump into this, there are a few important things Saskia would want you to know.

5 must-knows about differentiating

1. What is "evaluation"?

Evaluating isn't the same as giving grades. It's more than just assessing: evaluation can also be used to guide a student on the right path. A good evaluation practice makes students learn and decide on their performance in relation to certain goals, so they make better and more informed choices.

There are two types of evaluations. Formative evaluations and summative evaluations. Find out the difference between both evaluation methods here. The significance of formative assessment is increasing within classrooms. Check out this blog post to learn more about formative assessment.

2. What does "differentiation" mean?

In this case, differentiated teaching is responding to the diversity among students. Diversity is very broad: it concerns all those differences and similarities between students that influence learning and teaching. Those who differentiate, accept diversity among pupils as a starting point.

3. Don't pamper

Teachers want their students to have high dedication, perform at their best, and be challenged. At the same time, teachers argue for support to meet the standard, for variation in evaluation methods, and for comparing performances with previous performances. It's very hard to meet all the expectations. Teachers aim to put 'the bar high' in, combination with fair opportunities to show what students can do. This means that differentiated learning doesn't mean you have to pamper students.

4. Goals, goals, goals

The internet is full of beautiful evaluation forms. But without targeting your evaluation, these are empty boxes. What exactly is it that your students have to (want to) achieve? First, set a goal. Then, choose an evaluation technique targeting that goal.

5. Feedback, feedback, feedback

In the examples below, you usually have to read between the lines: people only come to learning thanks to specific information about their own learning process. Meanwhile, books have been written about the power of feedback.

Keep these 5 tips in the back of your head when you want to differentiate your evaluations. Then, I can show you 11 examples of differentiated evaluations, according to Saskia.

11 examples of differentiated evaluation

1. Outdoor examinations

Give students the possibility to take the exam outside. Maybe the green environment gives students some inspiration. One thing is sure: the oxygen level outside is much higher than inside a dusty classroom.

2. Cheat sheet

A cheat sheet teaches students to learn in a certain way as well. When students aren't motivated to learn, a cheat sheet can help. When students are making a sheet cheat, they are actually engaging with the content. This way, studets will remember much better (and don't even need a cheat sheet).

3. 5-minute talk

In this tip, students get the chance to talk with each other for 5 minutes about the test they just got. That way, students are developing strategies to order the knowledge that was evoked by this brief conversation. Students learn to handle knowledge in a more functional way. Make sure to not just ask reproductive questions, because these make evaluations less effective.

4. Various choice options

Create a test with a common part and an optional part A or part B. Use bonus questions or two different choice questions that test the same learning objective. These are both ways to give students a "choice".

5. Not for everyone

Not every pupil must take the test. You're probably wondering how that would work? The concept is simple: students look at each other's test and provide feedback. It all starts when students come to the classroom for a test they've all learned for. At that moment, you choose about five or six students who do not have to make the test, but form the assessment committee. While the others go to work, the commission makes a check model. In other words: they have to come to an agreement with each other about the right answers, decide whether or not to count something good, and whether alternative answers are possible. In this way they prepare for the real check-up and at meta-level they think about the lesson material.

With every incorrect answer there is an explanation of the committee, and the students get the chance to check with the book if they agree with the judgement. Subsequently, they can discuss matters with the assessment committee in a classical manner, in which the teacher, as moderator, keeps as much as possible in the background. During the year, everyone eventually takes part in the assessment committee.

6. Collaboration on tests

A test that encourages collaboration? It's possible! The two-stage test is an easy way to integrate collaborative learning into an individual written test. In a two-stage test, the student first makes the test individually (part 1), and then makes the test in small groups of four students (part 2). During part 2, the classroom is filled with inspiring and effective discussions in which students actively participate. Through the involvement of students during the exam, the discussions ensure that students learn a lot from each other. Moreover, two-stage testing appears to have a positive effect on learning before, during and after the test.

7. Language support

Roughly you can say that a small minority of learning objectives really requires students to write. Within language courses, learning objectives of writing skills are included. Besides that, the importance of written evaluation is kind of relative. Measuring writing skills also quickly interferes with the measurement of students' actual learning objectives. Especially for multilingual students. So, make sure to provide language support (a bilingual dictionary, a glossary, a pre-structured answer). To keep an eye on the actual learning objective, you could also replace the written exam with an oral test.

8. Choose a test that counts

Lots of students get a large number of small test. Recognizable? Why not let them choose which 'small evaluations' count or not? Each student makes the test. But it's up to the students to choose when their test actually counts as a mark. Freedom of choice is motivating. Want to do this without your school becoming a pony camp? Make sure to set some ground rules and give your students guidelines that gives them certain criteria. They'll have to discuss, considering every criteria, which test count and which doesn't.

9. Students choose test questions

This one in probably more common than the rest of the examples. Ask students to think up test questions themselves. It is one of the ways in which bright pupils do not simply have to do 'more of the same'. It also keeps students busy with the learning material.

10. Take-home exam

Want to give students the time to find solutions (together) for a (very) difficult problem? With a take home exam, you stimulate students to integrate different subject matter components and process them in a demand-oriented way into a coherent whole.

In order to bring a take-home exam to a successful conclusion, a student must be able to do more than merely reproduce the information. The complexity of the assignment and the expected answer is relatively high in a take-home exam. The student almost always has to look for additional information at home. In any case, he must appeal to his insight into the course, his critical attitude, his ability to analyze and synthesise to solve the assignment.

11. A flexible testing policy

Here, students will be responsible for organizing their tasks during the semester. In this testing policy, students must become competent and self-reliant.

Students have:

to be able to direct studies: make a study choice.

to be able to organize studies themselves: to develop plans and independent study activities.

study skills: to reproduce, to acquire, to control, to relate, to repeat, ...

test skills.

to be aware of their own learning style with the strong and weak aspects.

So that's it for this post. I hope you can use some of these differentiated evaluation formats in your own classes!

P.S. Want to read this article in Dutch? Saskia wrote about it right here.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Creative testing - 11 examples of differentiated assessment

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
A test is one of the most classic ways to evaluate a student. And even with this traditional method, you can do varied evaluations. For this blog post, Saskia Vandeputte from " Schoolmakers " gave me some great tips. She's a specialist when it comes to differentiated learning.