Differentiated Instruction

Lewis Terman

(1877-1956) is the recognized father of gifted education. In 1916, Terman revised the Binet-Simon and published the Stanford-Binet test, which made it possible for schools to assess student intelligence. Terman was the first researcher to do a longitudinal study on gifted children, which began in 1921 and was continued by other researchers after his death in 1956. Terman published the first results of his research in 1925 and reported that gifted students were stronger than the non-gifted physically, emotionally, and academically.

Leta Hollingworth

(1886-1939) might be called the mother of gifted education. She obtained a Ph.D. and taught at Columbia University. She was the first to use the term 'gifted' for intellectually advanced children. In 1922, she taught a class for gifted students in New York City. She was also concerned about special needs of gifted children and wrote a college textbook on gifted education titled Gifted Children: Their Nature and Nurture published in 1926. In 1936, she established a gifted school in New York for children 7-9 years old.

The National Association of Gifted Children

(founded in 1954) published standards for gifted education programs in 1998 (revised in 2010).

advantages of tracking

1.students of advanced ability are not held back from learning as much and as quickly as possible 2.teacher is able to give instruction at a pace that is applicable for that particular class. For example, when learning a new concept, an average learner needs to hear that concept 16 to 18 times before they comprehend it. On the other hand, when learning a new concept, the advanced learner typically only needs to hear the concept 6 to 8 times before they comprehend it. 3.students can boost their self-confidence. In a typical heterogeneous classroom, average students can have self-confidence issues in the presence of more advanced students when they are not able to answer the questions as quickly as the advanced student can. However, in a homogeneous group or classroom, students are all at the same level; thus they are able to answer the questions at about the same pace, giving them confidence.

disadvantages of tracking

1.tracking can create social imbalance by segregating students based upon academic ability. This class division can lead students to develop lifelong feelings of inferiority or superiority. 2.he method used to separate students into classes may not be equitable. Typically, grades and standardized tests are the two methods used to divide students into groups. However, many teachers and parents alike believe that grades and tests do not accurately reflect a student's academic potential, and thus some students could be placed onto the wrong track. 3.once a student is placed on a track, they typically stay on that track. For example, a student on the above-average track takes the required prerequisites for advanced high school classes while in middle school. Thus, when they are in high school, they are eligible to take all of the advanced classes. However, an average student may have a cognitive growth spurt while in middle school and be ready to take advanced classes in high school, but since they had not had the required prerequisites, they will be ineligible for those advanced classes in high school.

Think-Tac-Toe

Can be used when using differentiated learning based on interest. Students will pick three activities to complete wether it is three activities in a row diagonally or vertical. Ex: Vocabulary Think-Tac-Toe.

Differentiating Process

Different ways to explore content, different learning strategies or roles

Differentiating Based on Interest

Differentiating based on interest means that the students are allowed to complete learning activities in a method they find appealing. With this method, the teacher lists several different activities and allows students to pick which activity they would like to complete. For example, students who are theatrical may want to design a skit to demonstrate their knowledge of the Bill of Rights. In contrast, more analytical students may wish to complete a chart comparing the rights of U.S. citizens to the rights of citizens of another country. Still, other musically-talented students may be more inclined to write and perform a song about the importance of each Amendment on the Bill of Rights. Differentiation by interest can also be used to design lessons or activities related to a specific learning style or type of intelligence. In this case, it is helpful to have students complete some type of self-assessment about their learning styles or multiple intelligences to help guide them in their activity selection. For example, students who are visual learners may choose to read a section of the textbook to learn new material, while an auditory learner might prefer to watch a narrated video. Sometimes the activities can be laid out in a chart format. Students would then be required to pick one activity from each row or column. This type of activity is referred to as a Think-Tac-Toe because students choose activities to make a line similar to a tic-tac-toe board.

Recognizing bias

Does the writer use overly positive or overly negative language about the subject? Does the writer use emotionally charged language about the subject? Does the writer use vague or generalized language about the subject? Does the writer omit any important facts? Does the writer add information and evidence that seems unnecessary just to bolster his or her point? Does the writer fail to properly cite his or her sources?

CLOZE testing

For this method, take an extract from the reading material and replace 50 of the words with blanks. Then, have your students fill in the blanks with the word they think fits. Average the results to find a percentage. Above a 44% means the text could be appropriate with teacher support. Below that score means the text could be too difficult. This strategy allows for a result more specific to your students.

funding for GT

Gifted and talented programs are not funded, leaving millions of students without appropriate education. When school principals are deciding between offering a class for low achievers to help them pass the standardize test or offering an advanced course for gifted students, principals usually choose to offer the class for the lower students instead of the advanced class. The availability of gifted programs varies state to state and is declining.

GT Identification

How should students be identified for gifted programs? Schools typically use IQ or school ability tests to identify students, yet intelligence testing is known to have a cultural bias and this is demonstrated by the underrepresentation of African American and Hispanic students in gifted programs. There is no standard for admission to gifted programs, so one city might include 10% of their students while another only includes 3%, which results in students qualifying in one place, but not in another. Identification is still based on the academic model rather than the broader definition. Identification can also be difficult because it may put off adolescent students who do not view giftedness as a desirable or popular trait.

gifted education

Special practicies, procedures and theories used in the education of children who have been identified as gifted/talented. Provides gifted and talented students an educational environment designed specifically for their social, emotional and academic needs.

Differentiating Learning Environment

The learning environment is the way the classroom works and feels. The tone of any classroom greatly affects students and their learning. Students thrive in environments where they feel safe and respected. The tone of a differentiated classroom should be one of motivation and support. All students should feel confident working by themselves regardless of their learning needs, but they should also not be afraid to ask others for help. The learning environment also includes the physical space, which should have areas in which students can work quietly as well as collaborate with others.

sorting students

The use of ability grouping in schools is a highly-debated, controversial issue because it is unclear whether ability grouping helps or harms student achievement. Although the name 'ability grouping' is applied to both within class grouping and between class grouping (also known as tracking), the two types of groups are not synonymous. For the sake of clarity, within class grouping will be referred to simply as ability grouping, and between class grouping will be referred to as tracking. The most significant difference between ability groups and tracking is that an assignment to an ability group can be changed and is usually not recorded into the student's transcripts. However, tracking enrolls a student into a sequence of curriculum, which is not easily changed and is recorded into their transcripts. In this lesson, we will discuss ability groups and tracking. In addition, we will review the pros and cons of tracking students.

4 aspects of differentiated instruction

There are four aspects of the classroom that teachers can focus on to differentiate instruction: content, which is the material students are supposed to learn; process, which is when students work on the content; product, which is how students demonstrate what they've learned; and learning environment, which is how the classroom works and feels.

defining GT

What is giftedness? The definition of 'gifted' is not universal. Terman defined it very narrowly as only the top 1%. Renzulli defines it more broadly to include art and other activities. Even the use of the word 'gifted' is controversial, with some professionals preferring the term 'highly capable'. The trend is towards a broader definition that is more inclusive of abilities beyond just academics.

ability-based differentiation

When using ability-based differentiation, the lesson topic is usually divided into three different levels loosely based on Bloom's Taxonomy. See pyramid on study.com. level 1-knowledge and understanding of the topic. For example, in a lesson on cell division, students may be instructed to make a children's book by drawing and labeling a picture for each stage of cell division. level 2-applying and analyzing of the topic. A student at this level may be assigned a poster project comparing and contrasting how bacteria cells and human cells divide. Students may also be asked to analyze data or identify errors in an experiment. level 3-highest level focuses on creating, synthesizing, and evaluating information. Continuing with the cell division example, a student at this level may be tasked with designing a lab activity to determine which stage of cell division takes the longest amount of time using computer simulation software. All of these students are learning about cell division and will end the lesson with an understanding of the stages of cell division. However, they are able to work at a pace and level that fits their abilities.

models of gifted education/enrichment

activities can be accomplished in the classroom by 'cluster grouping' gifted students and providing them with supplementary independent projects. This can also be achieved with pull-out programs similar to those for special education students in which students attend their gifted class for a few hours each week for enrichment.

assumptions in writing

are points in an argument that a writer takes for granted and doesn't prove with evidence. To recognize assumptions, readers should identify the writer's claim and reasons and then think about what the writer has left unsaid or taken for granted about his or her argument.

stereotypes in writing

as 'a widely held but fixed and oversimplified image or idea of a particular type of person or thing.' Stereotypes distort reality and provide skewed views of whole groups of people based on their sex, age, race, religion, or abilities. To recognize stereotypes, readers should ask themselves if the writer is identifying a unique individual according to the characteristics of a group or identifying a whole group as having the same characteristics without acknowledging individual differences.

models of gifted education/Schoolwide Enrichment Model (SEM)

based on Joseph Renzulli's research on giftedness, uses a magnet school approach to develop the talents of students. These programs have three goals: develop talent, provide a wide range of advanced level experiences for students, and provide follow-up opportunities in students' areas of interest. Renzulli's three rings of giftedness suggest giftedness occurs only when three concepts come together: above-average ability, task commitment, and creativity.

Marland Report

defined gifted as "Children capable of high performance include those with demonstrated achievement and/or potential ability in any of the following areas, singly or in combination: 1.General intellectual ability, 2.Specific academic aptitude, 3.Creative or productive thinking, 4.Leadership ability, 5.Visual and performing arts, or 6.Psychomotor ability."

models of gifted education/accelerated schools project

developed at Stanford University replaces traditional teaching methods with enrichment programs for all students. Used in low achieving schools, these programs have shown to raise achievement. It takes six years for a school to transition to a full Accelerated School. This approach rejects identification of gifted students and builds on student strengths.

think aloud/determining reading level

is a method to evaluate the processes a student goes through while reading. Have the student write down his thoughts as he reads and analyze the responses to see if he is using the processes superior readers use.

Tracking

is segregating students into different classrooms based upon their academic ability.

ability grouping

is where students are placed into small groups within a single classroom based upon their performance level. Reading and math seem to be the subjects for which teachers typically use ability grouping the most. For example, during reading time, students of advanced reading ability are grouped together and are given a challenging reading assignment, students of average reading ability are grouped together and are given a less challenging reading assignment, and students of below-average reading ability are grouped together and are given an even less challenging reading assignment. During the math lesson, for example, a teacher places students who need to review the basic concepts before proceeding into one group, places students who understand the concept into another group, and finally, places students who need a more challenging assignment into a third group.

Differentiating Product

letting students choose the task they will accomplish, develop buy-in

Differentiated Instruction

means all students are learning about the same topic, but the way they learn the information is different. Differentiating the curriculum allows all students to learn at the appropriate level.

models of gifted education/acceleration

moves students through the school curriculum at their level. For example, a 4th grade student might attend a high school class for math. Academically this meets the student's need, but there are concerns whether it is best for social and emotional development.

bias in writing

occurs when a writer displays a partiality for or prejudice against someone, something or some idea. Readers can ask themselves a number of questions about a writer's language, facts and evidence in order to recognize biases.

The No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB)

passed by Congress in 2001 expanded the Javits program to include grants for states that applied and won the competitive grants. NCLB also redefined gifted and talented to students as, 'Students, children, or youth who give evidence of high achievement capability in areas such as intellectual, creative, artistic, or leadership capacity, or in specific academic fields, and who need services and activities not ordinarily provided by the school in order to fully develop those capabilities.'

The Jacob Javits Gifted and Talented Students Education Act

passed in 1988 to support and provide resources for gifted programs, but provided no uniform funding for gifted education. The act set up the National Research Center on the Gifted and Talented to provide a place for professionals in the field to conduct research and inform other professionals.

Differentiating Content

pre-test required, move students up or down based on prior knowledge

models of gifted education/adaption

requires teachers to individually adapt materials and their instruction for gifted students. This requires organization and time commitment from the teacher. Students also need a comfort level with their giftedness to prevent them from feeling uncomfortable with being different from other students.

miscues/determine reading level

which are errors made in oral reading. As a student reads aloud, track the miscues made. You can also use a curriculum-based measurement, which subtracts the number of miscues from the number of words read to give how many words per minute are read fluently.

Group Reading Inventories/determine reading level

which can give you an idea of how difficult a text is for your class. The results will tell you if each student is at the independent level, instructional level, or frustration level.

readability formulas

which consist of a mathematical equation that results in the grade level of the text. One example involves counting words and syllables in each sentence of an extract of text and using a graph to determine the grade level of the material. The downside to these formulas is that they rely on sentence and word length to evaluate text, but length does not always correspond to difficulty.

text evaluation scales

which consist of a number of statements the students rate after reading the text. The statements are meant to judge how friendly a text is, which refers to organization, conciseness and clarity. There are predesigned scales you can find, or you might have to invent your own statements. You add up the scores to get an average for your scale; the higher the score, the more friendly the text.

Fry's formula

which measures readability level from grade one through college. This method includes reading extracts of around 100 words from whatever novel or reading material you want to evaluate. Then, you count the number of sentences and syllables in the extract. Then, you find the average length of the sentences and average number of syllables. Graph these numbers on a Fry's Readability Graph, which will tell you the grade level of the text.

retelling/determining reading level

which requires the student to read a passage and retell the information. Compare the retelling with your outline of the passage to get a general idea of how much information the student comprehended from the reading.

Henry Singer's Friendly Text Evaluation Scale

which you can modify for your purposes. Or, you can create your own scale based on the reading material you choose. Basically, these scales involve statements your students can rate on a scale of one to five. Five represents strongly agree and one is strongly disagree. Each statement focuses on some part of the text. For example, one statement that can measure the readability of a textbook on education could read, 'The text contains headings and subheadings that divide the text into categories that enable readers to perceive the major ideas.' After reading that textbook, the statement is rated on the one to five scale.