13 - 15 April 2011
Bayview Hotel ~ Penang ~ Malaysia
Bayview Hotel ~ Penang ~ Malaysia
Workshop: DIFFERENTIATED INSTRUCTION IN THE
CLASSROOM
ARE YOU READY TO
DIFFERENTIATE?
Facilitator: RUMUTHAMALAR
RAJARATNAM rumutha63@gmail.com
WHAT IS DIFFERENTIATED INSTRUCTION?
On a simple level, differentiated instruction is
teaching with student variance in mind. It means starting where the kids are
rather than adopting a standardized approach to teaching that seems to presume
that all learners of a given age or grade are essentially alike. Thus
differentiated instruction is “responsive” teaching rather than
“one-size-fits-all” teaching.
A fuller definition of differentiated instruction
is that a teacher proactively plans varied approaches to what students need to
learn, how they will learn it, and/or how they can express what they have learned
in order to increase the likelihood that each student will learn as much as he
or she can as efficiently as possible. (Tomlinson, 2003)
RATIONALE:
- No two children are alike.
- No two children learn in the identical way.
- An enriched environment for one student is not necessarily enriched for another.
- In the classroom we should teach children to think for themselves.
Differentiation can
be accomplished in a number of ways:
- Content -What the students learn
- Process -Activities used to assist the learning
- Products- Demonstration of learning
The methods you use should be based on the student's needs:
- Readiness -Student’s academic standing
- Learning profile-How student learns
- Student’s interest
Ø To discover your own learning
profile and those of your students, go to http://www.engr.ncsu.edu/learningstyles/ilsweb.html
STRATEGIES FOR DIFFERENTIATED
INSTRUCTION
Reading
- Students might be assigned to read materials in pairs or small groups (Choral / Reciprocal Reading).
- High-flyers could be engaged in Sustained Silent Reading (SSR).
- Have students read the documents in small pieces, assign small groups one paragraph to read and then paraphrase for others in the class.
- Have a Meeting-of- the- Tailors, let the students sew together parts of the story.
- Students might be paired with a partner to read materials out loud (Paired Reading).
- Have students "turn and talk" after reading each paragraph. Have them share what their interpretations of the material are.
- Let students use highlight pens to review texts.
- Read the material along with students (Modelled Reading) by making a copy for the overhead projector/LCD.
- Pre-teach difficult vocabulary (documents contain words that will be new to many students).
- Encourage student to use dictionaries and the Internet to research unfamiliar words or concepts.
- Have some students read the documents on tape so others can listen to them, if necessary.
- Encourage students to take notes as they read. After reading a sentence or two, tell them to write comments / draw illustrations about the meaning of the text in the margin.
Writing
- Students may need a scribe (assigning good writers the Mantle-of-the-Expert) to complete short in-class essays.
- Have students engage in a cooperative writing assignment, everyone adds one sentence to a paragraph.
- Give students options for writing; allow them to use pencil/paper, computer, or even a typewriter.
- For certain writing requirements, teachers might give students a template or model to follow.
- Students can be paired to complete in-class writing assignments.
- Allow and encourage mind-mapping, quick-writing and redrafting.
- Allow students to draw pictures, create tableaus or use magazine photos instead of written words.
- Have students tell instead of show- let them verbalize thoughts instead of writing them.
- Give students more time to work; share the writing assignment with them ahead of time (create a Facebook page ) or give them a head start by writing the first few sentences for them.
Questions to
Guide Planning for Differentiation
(Use any or all applicable to your
teaching/learning needs)
1. Are you clear on what you want the
student to:
·
know
(understand, facts)?
·
understand
(principles, generalizations, ideas)?
·
be
able to do as a result of this/these learning experiences?
2. In planning for content, have you
thought about:
·
alternate
resources?
·
varied
pacing plans?
·
varied
support (reading buddies, tape recordings, organizers, small group direct
instruction, extensions)?
3. In planning pre-assessment for
student readiness,
·
does
it show understanding or skill/facts only?
·
does
it fit what you want from # one?
4. As you assign students to groups or
tasks, have you made certain:
·
students
are encouraged to “work up”?
·
there
are opportunities for students to work alone if needed or preferred?
·
the
group size matches the student need?
·
group
assignments vary from previous ones?
5. As you create activities, have you
made certain:
·
they
call for high level thinking?
·
each
activity requires all students to make sense of own key concepts and
generalizations?
·
if
readiness based, the activities are varied in pace, content, process, or
product?
·
if
interest bases, students have choices to make about how to show understanding?
·
expectations
for high quality task completion is clear?
·
skills
are a part of the activity?
·
there’s
a plan for gathering assessment data from the activity?
6. When creating assignments for
products, have you checked that:
·
they
require all students to use key concepts, generalizations, ideas and skills to
solve problems, extend understandings, and/or create meaningful products?
·
they
provide additional options for success to be added by the student and by the
teacher for individual students?
·
they
provide for student choice within the parameters needed to demonstrate
understandings and skills?
·
they
include clearly stated descriptors for content (understandings and skills), for
process (i.e. time-line, drafts, self-evaluation), product requirements
·
there
are plans for evaluation that is formative and summative
7. Have you ever considered:
·
use
of contracts, centers, compacting?
·
use
of small groups for direct instruction for re-teaching or extension?
·
meaningful
tasks when a student completes required work that offers reinforcement,
extension, or exploration?
C. Tomlinson, 1996
A SAMPLE DI LESSON:
1.
CONTENT
– a short poem
a) In a Dark Dark Wood
In
a dark, dark wood there was a dark, dark house;
And in the dark, dark house there was a dark, dark room;
And in the dark, dark room there was a dark, dark cupboard;
And in the dark, dark cupboard there was a dark, dark shelf;
And on the dark, dark shelf there was a dark, dark box;
And in the dark, dark house there was a dark, dark room;
And in the dark, dark room there was a dark, dark cupboard;
And in the dark, dark cupboard there was a dark, dark shelf;
And on the dark, dark shelf there was a dark, dark box;
And
in the dark, dark box there was a …
b)
In a Dark Dark Wood
A
Folk Tale
In
a dark, dark wood,
there
was a dark, dark path.
And
up that dark, dark path,
there
was a dark, dark house.
And
in that dark, dark house,
there
was a dark, dark stair.
And
up that dark, dark stair,
there
was a dark, dark room.
And
in that dark, dark room,
there
was a dark, dark cupboard.
And
in that dark, dark cupboard,
there
was a dark, dark box.
And
in that dark, dark box,
there
was a...
c)
ACTIVITIES:
1.
Think-Pair-Share
A cooperative discussion strategy that provides
structure in the classroom while allowing students "think time" to
internalize content. Students follow a prescribed process that keeps them on
task and holds them accountable for their results. Advantages of the
think-pair-share strategy are that it is quick, does not take much time,
motivates students with intrinsic rewards, can be adapted to all levels,
engages whole or parts of a class, and allows teachers to circulate among the
students to advise, correct, and evaluate students. The immediate reinforcement
this process provides allows students to move from one positive learning
experience to another with little time for wandering from the task. There are three steps to the process as
described by its creator, Frank Lyman:
Think
|
The
teacher provokes students' thinking with a question, prompt, or observation.
The students should take a few moments (probably not minutes) just to think about the
question.
|
Pair
|
Using
designated partners, nearby neighbours, or a deskmate, students pair up to talk
about the answer each has developed. They compare their mental or written
notes and identify the answers they think are best, most convincing, or most
unique.
|
Share
|
After
students discuss their reasoning in pairs for a few moments (again, usually
not minutes), the teacher calls for pairs to share their thinking with the rest of
the class. This can be done in round-robin fashion, calling on each pair
randomly, or taking answers as they are called out (or as hands are raised).
Often, the teacher or a designated helper will record these responses on the
board or on an overhead projector.
|
2.
Vocabulary
Exercise – find words in the Thesaurus with synonymous meanings
-
Dark
-
Light
3.
Rewrite
the poem with other adjectives or nouns to create a variation of the story.
4.
Illustrate
what you find in the box.
5.
Write
a narrative which follows the sequence in the poem and end it with your own
idea.
6.
Choral
reading / jazz chants done with 2 groups (alternate with pairs / groups
shouting out the last noun and keep going until one group falters).
Award the pair / group with
a mystery black box, getting the rest to guess what is in it.
*************************************************
INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE ON LINGUISTICS, LITERATURE & CULTURE
ICLLIC 2010
1
– 2 June 2010
Eastin
Hotel, Penang, Malaysia
ICLLIC 2010
EXTENDED ABSTRACT
PROCESS DRAMA IN TEACHING LITERATURE
Rumuthamalar A/P Rajaratnam
SMK Bandar Sungai Petani, Sungai
Petani, Kedah
Introduction
Benton
(1979) defined a reader as a performer who constructs a mental stage on which
he places people, events, and scenes from a text. Piaget (1962) stresses on the
importance of dramatic play in the child’s cognitive, social, affective,
creative and moral development. In addition, Vygotsky (1978) emphasized the
social nature of learning and development. Spontaneous dramatic play and
teacher-led drama in the classroom are powerful social activities that engage
both the intellect and emotions in a setting Vygotsky termed the zone of proximal
development (ZPD). Process Drama uses dramatic forms to tell a story with a
large group of students involved, whereby students and teacher share and create
characters, setting, images and dialogue. There are no tryouts or prepared
scripts. It is the process which is important and emphasized on, where all are
involved, all are welcomed. Process Drama invites and validates students’
contribution and provides them with a standpoint from which to communicate
(O’Neill, 1997). The process calls for critical thinking on the part of both
the teacher and students and because drama is a social and inclusive art, it
builds community in an active, social, and collaborative nature. Process Drama could allow both teacher and student to make personal
and social connections that transcends the traditional limits set by the
curriculum and mostly by archaic teacher beliefs. Process Drama strategies
allows students to make text-to-text, text-to-self and text-to-world
connections. This mode of differentiated instruction in the classroom could
determine and modify teacher beliefs on how to invite students in as
co-teachers and allow them to take responsibility in directing their own
learning experiences.
Biodata
A 1st
Class Degree holder in ELLS USM, a fellow of the 2007 International Educators
Program (IEP) administered by IREX who has
carried out action research and school-based projects funded by International
Leaders in Education Program Alumni Small Grants Program on using Process Drama
in teaching literature in the classroom.
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