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"Differentiation for Learning Profile" By ASCD

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"Differentiation for Learning Profile" By ASCD

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ASCD provides a downloadable PDF for you to use at your convenience to help differentiate based on learning profiles. Learning profiles reveal how a student prefers to learn content, process, and product. Moreover, ASCD points out that when students are allowed to work in ways that are comfortable for them, then they are able to get more out of learning. When differentiating process using learning profiles, students are able to work in different ways at the same time. Also, ASCD provides a diagram and scenario which are very helpful. Download to learn more!

Differentiation for learning profile [PDF]. (2011). Association for Supervisional and Curricular Development.

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"Helping All Learners: Learning Profile" By EL Education

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"Helping All Learners: Learning Profile" By EL Education

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EL Education uses Carol Tomlinson's findings to support their approach of differentiating uses learning profiles. EL Education reports that four categories go into learning profiles: gender, culture, intelligence preference, and learning style (Carol Tomlinson, 2017). Moreover, EL Education points out how learning profiles are dynamics and should illustrate a student. Therefore, learning profiles can be used to differentiate learning methods, topics, and demonstrations. EL Education has a link to help teachers incorporate and establish learning profiles and goals, go check it out!

EL Education. (n.d.). Helping all learners: learning profile. Retrieved April 25, 2018, from https://eleducation.org/resources/helping-all-learners-learning-profile

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Helping All Learners: Learning Profile | EL Education

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What is the best way to identify and address all of my students’ learning profiles?

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"How To Differentiate Instruction in Academically Diverse Classrooms" By: Carol Tomlinson

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"How To Differentiate Instruction in Academically Diverse Classrooms" By: Carol Tomlinson

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I highly recommend getting this book about differentiation in the classroom. I am a student at Saint Louis University and one of my professors recommended it for her course. The text thoroughly explains differentiation and how to implement differentiation in process, content, classroom organization, lessons, and grades. This book explicitly shows how to include EVERYONE in academics.

Chapter 13 explicitly discusses how to differentiate process by using readiness, interest, and learning profile. Tomlinson provides examples on page 136 in figure 13.1 on differentiating content. When it comes to readiness Tomlinson promotes, "Think Dots", "Think-Pair-Share", and "Learning Contracts"(Tomlinson, p. 136) . These are just a few examples she provides, and I hope you go purchase this text to learn about more differentiation strategies!

Tomlinson. C.A. (2017). How to differentiate instruction in academically diverse classrooms (3rd.ed.). Alexandria. VA: ASCD

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Online shopping from a great selection at Books Store.

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"Helping All Learners: Interest" By EL Education 

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"Helping All Learners: Interest" By EL Education 

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The EL Education website is a useful tool as a teacher to help your students reach their highest potential. This article discusses how differentiation in correlation with interests provides effective learning. When students are given choice on what to study it will allow them to develop a passion about what they are doing. Teachers need to follow standards, but that doesn't mean they can't implement students' interests. Learn more below!

EL Education. (n.d.). Helping all learners: Interest. Retrieved April 25, 2018, from https://eleducation.org/resources/helping-all-learners-interest

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"Helping All Learners: Readiness" By EL Education 

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"Helping All Learners: Readiness" By EL Education 

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The EL Education website has a lot of information to offer, just to mention one of the resources on readiness. The resource talks about understanding how to establish the same goals for every student, but achieving these goals in different ways. EL Education recommends adjusting difficulty, add/remove scaffolding, and locating your students' Zone of Proximal Development. This resource provides text, videos, and diagrams to help explain how to differentiate using readiness. Click the link below and find more out!

EL Education. (n.d.). Helping all learners: Readiness. Retrieved April 25, 2018, from https://eleducation.org/resources/helping-all-learners-readiness

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How can I address varying degrees of learner readiness?

Readiness is different from ability or intellectual capacity. Readiness is a student's entry point relative to a particular concept or skill at a given time. Teachers who are thinking about students' readiness ask themselves, "How ready is this student, for this task, today?" To differentiate responses to student readiness, a teacher constructs tasks or provides learning choices at different levels of complexity. It is important that all students have the same learning targets or goals that they are working toward, that students are matched to tasks based on some sort of pre-assessment data, and that all groupings are flexible-that is, that students can move to different groups at different points in time, and that readiness for one concept or skill is not necessarily indicative of readiness for another.

Wherever you are is the entry point. Kabir, poet and saint of India

Some ways in which teachers can adjust for readiness include:

Adjusting the degree of difficulty of a task to provide an appropriate level of challenge.

Adding or removing scaffolding such as teacher or peer coaching, use of manipulatives, or presence or absence of models for a task.

Adjusting the context of the task to make it more or less familiar based upon students' prior knowledge.

Creating tiered tasks for students.

Varying direct instruction by individual or small group need.

Watch: Differentiating for Readiness

1. According to Carol Ann Tomlinson, how is "readiness" different from interest? As you consider attending to student/participant readiness when developing lessons/professional development sessions and assigning tasks, what will be your goal?

2. How do you currently determine the zone of proximal development of your students/participants, particular to a topic or task? What are some new or additional ways you can gather information on the readiness level and zone of proximal development of your students/participants?

Read: Teaching in the Zone of Proximal Development
As you read the text below, consider your role as a teacher, coach, or school leader. Work to apply the concepts to your role and think about how you can differentiate tasks for readiness to be within the zone of proximal development for each student/participant.
When differentiating instruction based on student readiness, tasks and learning activities should always be just in advance of each student's current level of mastery. That is, teachers should create lessons and learning experiences that are within each student's zone of proximal development. When content is presented or tasks are required that are at or below a student's current mastery level, no growth will occur. A similar relationship exists if content or tasks are well above a student's mastery level-frustration and confusion will result, but no growth will occur. Students respond to learning within their zone of proximal development because it represents the next logical step in their ongoing knowledge or skill development.

Locating the Zone of Proximal Development
Teachers, parents, and even students themselves can identify one's zone of proximal development by knowing one's current developmental level related to a concept or task and understanding what concepts or skills will develop next. Asking and answering questions, administering a pre-test or survey, and conducting careful observations are all ways to help determine the zone of proximal development for different students/participants.
The concepts of scaffolding and tiering are helpful in understanding how targeting instruction within a student's zone of proximal development can promote his/her learning.

Discuss
For Teachers:

1. How would you describe the difference between a student's readiness and a student's ability?

2. Teachers have the responsibility of pushing students into their respective zones of proximal development with tasks that are slightly more complex than each student could manage alone. What are the prerequisites to you creating these tasks? How will you go about doing all that is required of you if you are to truly differentiate for student readiness?

3. Create an image, mentally or on paper, to represent the relationship between student readiness and the zone of proximal development.

For School Leaders:

1. Think about your faculty. How would you describe the difference between their readiness and their ability related to a specific concept, technique, or task? What are the implications of individual differences related to ability?

2. Consider the launch of a new initiative or structure within your school. What is the impact of readiness on teacher response? How can the introduction or launch of a new initiative or structure be differentiated to be within the zone of proximal development for more of your teachers? What might be the impact of that on teacher response?

Resource Downloads

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How can I address varying degrees of learner readiness? Readiness is different from ability or intellectual capacity. Readiness is a student's entry point relative to a particular concept or skill at a given time. Teachers who are thinking about students' readiness ask themselves, "How ready is this student, for this task, today?"

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"How To Differentiate Instruction in Academically Diverse Classrooms" By: Carol Tomlinson

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"How To Differentiate Instruction in Academically Diverse Classrooms" By: Carol Tomlinson

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Carol Tomlinson's work is cited in many differentiation articles and resources. This book is great to have on hand as a teacher to guide, motivate, and inform you on how to establish an inclusive classroom. More importantly, differentiating process in the classroom is a great way to match students' learning needs and goals. Tomlinson portrays how you can differentiate process based on learning profiles of the students. This means that the teacher encourages the student to learn in a way that the student prefers. For example, Tomlinson listed that teachers can implement role playing, models, and manipulatives to accommodate diverse learners. Follow the link to purchase the book!

Tomlinson. C.A. (2017). How to differentiate instruction in academically diverse classrooms (3rd.ed.). Alexandria. VA: ASCD

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Online shopping from a great selection at Books Store.

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"How To Differentiate Instruction in Academically Diverse Classrooms" By: Carol Tomlinson

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"How To Differentiate Instruction in Academically Diverse Classrooms" By: Carol Tomlinson

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I referred to this book in the "differentiate based on readiness" column, but it also applies to all the columns. I recommend getting this book because it has so much to offer! Moreover, Tomlinson discusses how to differentiate content in Chapter 13 on page 135. Tomlinson expresses how you can use a student's interests to link to a goal. Tomlinson discusses how there are many different processes to promote student choice and interest in the classroom. Tomlinson explains how you can implement, "genius hour", independent studies, and RAFT assignments. Overall, Tomlinson has numerous ways to differentiate process in her book, so check it out!

Tomlinson. C.A. (2017). How to differentiate instruction in academically diverse classrooms (3rd.ed.). Alexandria. VA: ASCD

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Online shopping from a great selection at Books Store.

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"Differentiating According to Readiness, Interests, Learning Profiles"              By New South Wales, Department of Education and Communities

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"Differentiating According to Readiness, Interests, Learning Profiles"              By New South Wales, Department of Education and Communities

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New South Wales Department of Education and Communities created this article that is a downloadable PDF to refer to when differentiating process. This article talks about all three different ways to differentiate content. The focus of this column is on readiness which South New Whales Department of Education explains that it readiness does NOT mean the same thing as a students academic ability. Therefore, it is vital to specifically look what exactly the child knows, understands, and what his/her skills are. Moreover, the department claims how important it is to give students choice and to create tasks that are different levels of difficulty. I encourage you to download the PDF to learn more!

Differentiating according to readiness, interests, learning profiles [PDF]. (2015). New South Wales, Department of Education and Communities.

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"Learner Interest Matters: Strategies for Empowering Student Choice" By John McCarthy 

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"Learner Interest Matters: Strategies for Empowering Student Choice" By John McCarthy 

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This article was found on Edutopia by John McCarthy. McCarthy talks about the importance of students' interests and how to implement choice in the classroom. First off, by implementing choice students are more engaged in their learning and portrays that the teacher cares about individual interests. McCarthy talks about how establishing a disengaged student's interest in a learning activity will allow the student to make connections and increase participation. Click the link to see what McCarthy thinks!

McCarthy, J. (2014, August 25). Learner Interest Matters: Strategies for Empowering Student Choice. Retrieved April 25, 2018, from https://www.edutopia.org/blog/differentiated-instruction-learner-interest-matters-john-mccarthy

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Learner Interest Matters: Strategies for Empowering Student Choice

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When students care about an assignment, they’re willing to take greater risks and are more likely to excel in their product.

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This is a great downloadable PDF  provided by the Association for Super visional and Curriculum Development. ASCD discusses the many aspects that go into a student's readiness. More importantly, a student's readiness is not fixed which means the student may struggle on one subject, but excel or know a lot about a certain topic . As a teacher, it is important to always observe and note your students' readiness. More importantly, when there are different level of readiness in the classroom, a teacher can implement small group instruction or tier tasks to reach all levels of learners. Click the link to download and refer back to when you are differentiating process in your classroom! (Great to keep handy)

Differentiation for readiness [PDF]. (2011). Association for Supervisional and Curricular Development.