How to teach differentiated Task?

1. Content
As you already know, fundamental lesson content should cover the standards of learning set by the school district or state educational
standards. But some students in your class may be completely unfamiliar with the concepts in a lesson, some students may have partial
mastery, and some students may already be familiar with the content before the lesson begins.
What you could do is differentiate the content by designing activities for groups of students that cover various levels of Bloom’s
Taxonomy (a classification of levels of intellectual behavior going from lower-order thinking skills to higher-order thinking skills). The six
levels are: remembering, understanding, applying, analyzing, evaluating, and creating.
Students who are unfamiliar with a lesson could be required to complete tasks on the lower levels: remembering and understanding.
Students with some mastery could be asked to apply and analyze the content, and students who have high levels of mastery could be
asked to complete tasks in the areas of evaluating and creating.

Examples of differentiating activities:

Match vocabulary words to definitions.

Read a passage of text and answer related questions.
Think of a situation that happened to a character in the story and a different outcome.
Differentiate fact from opinion in the story.
Identify an author’s position and provide evidence to support this viewpoint.
Create a PowerPoint presentation summarizing the lesson.

2. Process
Each student has a preferred learning style, and successful differentiation includes delivering the material to each style: visual, auditory
and kinesthetic, and through words. This process-related method also addresses the fact that not all students require the same amount
of support from the teacher, and students could choose to work in pairs, small groups, or individually. And while some students may
benefit from one-on-one interaction with you or the classroom aide, others may be able to progress by themselves. Teachers can
enhance student learning by offering support based on individual needs.

Examples of differentiating the process:

Provide textbooks for visual and word learners.

Allow auditory learners to listen to audio books.
Give kinesthetic learners the opportunity to complete an interactive assignment online.

3. Product
The product is what the student creates at the end of the lesson to demonstrate the mastery of the content. This can be in the form of
tests, projects, reports, or other activities. You could assign students to complete activities that show mastery of an educational
concept in a way the student prefers, based on learning style.

Examples of differentiating the end product:

Read and write learners write a book report.

Visual learners create a graphic organizer of the story.
Auditory learners give an oral report.
Kinesthetic learners build a diorama illustrating the story.

4. Learning environment
The conditions for optimal learning include both physical and psychological elements. A flexible classroom layout is key, incorporating
various types of furniture and arrangements to support both individual and group work. Psychologically speaking, teachers should use
classroom management techniques that support a safe and supportive learning environment.

Examples of differentiating the environment:

Break some students into reading groups to discuss the assignment.

Allow students to read individually if preferred.
Create quiet spaces where there are no distractions.
Design lessons based on students' learning styles.
Group students by shared interest, topic, or ability for assignments.
Assess students' learning using formative assessment.
Manage the classroom to create a safe and supportive environment.
How to teach contextualization?
There’s no doubt about it: Contextualizing can dramatically boost teaching and learning outcomes!
While lately, there has been an increased appreciation of the use of contextualized learning activities in
adult education, the fact is that the concept itself is not novel.

Even in our everyday lives, we appreciate the effects of contextualization – behaving in one way in one
situation, while using another set of behaviors in a different context – although we may not be actively
conscious of it.

In this article, we’ll take a closer look at the contextual knowledge definition, so that we can better
understand how it can be leveraged in corporate teaching and learning settings.

Understanding contextualized learning

Anyone who works in a team will understand the social stigma associated with people whispering
when they are in a group setting. It’s often considered rude and impolite. However, when considered in
another context – of say, a hospital, or a gathering like a funeral – then whispering may be deemed
acceptable.
Contextualized teaching and learning builds upon a similar concept of putting academic activities into
perspective to achieve the best teaching and learning outcomes.
So, what exactly are contextualized learning activities, and how do they impact learning outcomes?

Researchers and academics Berns, Robert G. and Erickson, Patricia M. published a paper that defines
contextualized learning as a practice that endeavors to link theoretical constructs that are taught during
learning, to practical, real-world context.
The underlying theme behind the use of contextual learning activities is simple. It recognizes that by
embedding instructions in contexts that adult learners are familiar with, learners more readily
understand and assimilate those instructions.
Teaching Reading in all subject
Common themes emerge from the research on Adolescent Literacy as to the most effective practices
and strategies for addressing the literacy needs of all adolescent learners. There is a need for all subject
teachers to integrate the explicit and direct teaching of vocabulary, comprehension and writing skills
necessary for learning in their subject areas. By integrating these skills into their subject, teachers can
enable students to read and write a wide range of texts, help them to become strategic thinkers and
problem solvers and provide them with opportunities to apply reading and learning strategies in many
different contexts.

Informed by international best practice and research on Adolescent Literacy, the core of NBSS Level 1
academic literacy support is the explicit teaching of subject specific reading, learning and study skills and
strategies. The NBSS support teachers to integrate these skills and strategies into all subjects, using a
‘before, during and after’ reading or learning framework. To support this work the NBSS has also
published an extensive range of the source that can be used by teachers to help their students develop
the specific skills required by their particular academic discipline. Additionally, the NBSS regularly
provides in-service training to whole staffs, subject departments, working groups and individual
teachers in the areas of reading, learning and academic skills development.
Following on from one such NBSS in-service in a partner school, six teachers of History and Geography
agreed to explore the use of NBSS’ recommended reading and learning strategies in their classes.