***This thread has been cross-posted in the Math and Numeracy, Science, and Reading and Writing groups.
The LINCS Learning Portal houses self-paced, freely accessible online courses developed by U.S. Department of Education, Office of Career, Technical, and Adult Education-funded initiatives.
This discussion thread is related to the LINCS online course entitled Differentiated Instruction and Lesson Planning that is available in the LINCS Learning Portal. During and after you complete the course, you are prompted to write reflections on the issues below. Please share your thoughts and experiences with your colleagues.
- Consider a lesson you currently teach. How would using differentiated instruction change it?
- Consider a lesson you currently teach. Does it have effective learning objectives that are specific, observable and measurable? If so, how do these shape the lesson? If not, how would effective learning objectives change the lesson?
- Write a reflection on how what you learned in this course shaped the lesson plan you produced and/or the success of your lesson.
Comments
There are several ways in which this course affected the lesson I produced.
After taking this course, I realize that I have already been using elements of DI in my lessons. However, this course has given me a better understanding of the terminology as well as more of the research that has been done in this field. One of the things I found very interesting was in the reading for the first module. There was a discussion of research done on the brain.
Researchers Tomlinson and Sousa (2011) state that, ”Recent discoveries regarding how the brain learns substantially support the components of differentiation” (p. 13). New technologies, including functional MRIs (magnetic resonance imaging), have traced the locations of varying brain activities. Additional research shows that environments – positive or negative – affect the brain’s biochemistry and, hence, its ability to learn. For example, asking a student for an answer she doesn’t know or expecting performance on a task that is too difficult can be perceived as threatening, negative and stressful. In such an environment, the brain stimulates hormones that raise anxiety levels, which produces responses aimed at mere survival, not learning. Conversely, in a positive, supportive environment, the brain stimulates a different set of hormones that leave it free to address new information, associating novel stimuli with neural pleasure centers, and responding with improved focus, memory and motivation.
This is not to say that learning should always be comfortable. Indeed, according to a concept called the “zone of proximal development” (ZPD) (Vygotsky, 1978; Tomlinson & Sousa, 2011), which has been used for many decades in teaching reading, maximum learning is achieved when tasks are a little bit beyond a student’s reach. If a student has the appropriate support to help her achieve that task, she is more likely to undertake it and succeed in learning. Tasks that are too easy may be seen as boring; those that are too difficult may be seen as threatening. Both reactions can interfere with learning.
I found the reading from the above article very interesting. To paraphrase this article, I think that much of teaching is deciding where to set the bar for your students. If you set the bar too high, they will feel discouraged and threatened. If you set the bar too low, they will feel bored. If you set the bar just a little bit out of their reach, they will feel challenged and will feel a sense of empowerment when they complete the task.
This is how the DI modules affected the lesson I produced for my multi-level ESL class. I built in several steps to the lesson: Step One for beginning low students: spell and pronounce the vocabulary for items in the home. Step Two for beginning high students: write sentences about the pictures/vocabulary using prepositions. Step Three for intermediate students: write a paragraph about the picture of the house or about your own home using prepositions.
My hope is that students of all three levels will be able to feel comfortable learning at their own pace. Also, that there will be multiple scaffolding opportunities for all three levels.
I'm thinking of a current sentences worksheet I designed and would now differentiate it in this manner: for the more competent students I would ask them to refer to an sheet with a list of adjectives and complete the sentence with an adjective of their choice. For the students who need more support, I would provide a limited word bank on the paper. For students needing the highest level of support, I would provide 2 choices at the end of each sentence.
My one lesson about work and employment includes completing a general job application. To meet students' diverse backgrounds, some students may not be able to complete all sections of the application. However, my learning objective will still include the specific, observable, & measurable components: "Given a 5 page general job application, students will complete at least 4 out of 5 pages using clear and legible penmanship." The specific and measurable objective helps me focus my instruction and keep reasonable expectations in mind for student outcomes when they come from so many different background experiences!