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Differentiation in the Classroom

Brianna Rider

Saint Mary’s University of Minnesota

Schools of Graduate and Professional Programs

Portfolio Entry for Wisconsin Teacher Standard 1 & 2

EDUW 691A Professional Skills Development

Caroline Hickethier, Instructor

December, 9, 2017
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Selected Wisconsin Teacher Standard Descriptors

Wisconsin Teacher Standard (WTS) 1: Teachers know the subjects they are teaching

The teacher understands the central concepts, tools of inquiry, and structures of the

discipline(s) he or she teaches and can create learning experiences that make these aspects of

subject matter meaningful for students.

Knowledge. (a) The teacher understands major concepts, assumptions, debates,

processes of inquiry, and ways of knowing that are central to the discipline(s) s/he teaches. (b)

The teacher understands how students’ conceptual frameworks and their misconceptions for an

area of knowledge can influence their learning.

Dispositions. The teacher is committed to continuous learning and engages in

professional discourse about subject matter knowledge and children’s learning of the discipline.

Performances. The teacher can evaluate teaching resources and curriculum materials for

their comprehensiveness, accuracy, and usefulness in representing particular ideas and concepts.

Wisconsin Teacher Standard (WTS) 2: Teachers know how children grow

The teacher understands how children with broad ranges of ability learn and develop, and

can provide instruction that supports their intellectual, social, and personal development.

Knowledge. (a) The teacher understands how learning occurs-how students construct

knowledge, acquire skills, and develop habits of mind-and knows how to use instructional

strategies that promote student learning for a wide range of student abilities. (b) The teacher

understands that students’ physical, social, emotional, moral, and cognitive development

influence learning and knows how to address these factors when making instructional decisions.
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Dispositions. The teacher appreciates individual variation within each area of

development, shows respect for the diverse talents of all learners, and is committed to help them

develop self-confidence and competence.

Performances. The teacher stimulates student reflection on prior knowledge and links

new ideas to already familiar ideas, making connections to students’ experiences, providing

opportunities for active engagement, manipulation, and testing of ideas and materials, and

encouraging students to assume responsibility for shaping their learning tasks.

Danielson Domains

Domain 1: Planning and Preparation

Component 1b: Demonstrating knowledge of students

Component 1e: Designing coherent instruction

Domain 2: The Classroom Environment

Component 2b: Managing classroom procedures

Domain 3: Instruction

Component 3c: Engaging students in learning

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Pre-assessments

Self-assessment of Instruction Related to WTS and Targeted Student Learning

Objective(s)

For Wisconsin Teacher Standards (WTS) 1 & 2, I want to focus on utilizing small groups

to create learning experiences that make literacy instruction intimate, differentiated, and

purposeful in an engaging way. Currently, during our Intervention and Enrichment block (I&E),

I teach 12 kindergarten students who are at or below grade level for literacy. Now that we are

three months into the year, our kindergarten unit is striving to meet the needs of all of our

students through the use of I&E time. My teaching partner and I understand that “students’

physical, social, emotional, moral, and cognitive development influence learning.” With that

knowledge, we decided to start our I&E time later in the year. Our kindergartners needed time to

get adjusted to a full day of school along with being able to work independently, therefore, we

have only completed one week of I&E time.

I chose eight WTS 1&2 descriptors to guide my learning process. The knowledge

descriptor about understanding that “students’ physical, social, emotional, moral, and cognitive

development influence learning” exists; however, I struggle with knowing “how to address these

factors when making instructional decisions.” Working with five and six year olds is a daunting

task. Their attention span does not last very long, especially if they are not engaged. By

understanding these “ways of knowing that are central to the discipline(s)” I teach, I can work

towards my goal of utilizing small groups to make literacy instruction targeted towards my

diverse group of students.

I chose two performance descriptors to guide how I will carry out my literacy groups. By

planning to utilize the SmartBoard, small manipulatives, and other hands-on materials, I will be
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“providing opportunities for active engagement, manipulation, and testing of ideas and materials,

and encouraging students to assume responsibility for shaping their learning tasks.” I will also

be able to take advantage of the fact that I only have 12 students in my classroom. This will

allow me to be more purposeful and useful in “representing particular ideas and concepts.”

I chose two disposition descriptors to hold myself accountable for staying on task and up

to date with our current literacy program, Superkids. By being “committed to continuous

learning,” I will be able to plan, instruct, and implement the program more effectively. Recently,

I was able to observe a teacher in the Wausau school district who has been utilizing the

Superkids program with fidelity for close to five years. Through that observation I was able to

borrow many ideas and apply them in my own classroom, specifically for I&E time.

Assessment of Student Performance Related to Targeted Student Learning Objective(s)

Our I & E time lasts for thirty minutes and occurs twice a week. Phonemic awareness,

phonics, and letter recognition are the three objectives we focus on which align with our

Superkids reading program. Before we split the students into ability groups, we assessed them in

the areas of phonemic awareness, phonics, and letter recognition. The students that are in my

room for I&E time met the benchmark in all three areas. I will continue to focus on phonemic

awareness and letter recognition; however, I want to start putting more focus on phonics,

specifically in the area of blending in a small group setting. The student objective for phonics at

this point in the year is to “blend sounds to decode words” which aligns with the Common Core

State Standard RF.K.3: “Know and apply grade-level phonics and word analysis skills in

decoding words.” For a pre-assessment, I will first present the students with phonemes to blend

into a word. Upon successful completion, I will move on to assess their ability to identify the

number of syllables in a word, the individual sounds in a word, and finally, their ability to
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manipulate phonemes by adding them to or deleting from a word (Artifact A). These four skills

are predictors of successful readers. Once my students are able to successfully complete all four

tasks, I will know they are ready to blend sounds together to form a word. The results from the

pre-assessment will allow me to develop learning experiences that will hopefully allow me to

achieve my goal of utilizing small groups to make literacy instruction intimate, differentiated,

and purposeful.

Assessment of Learning Environment While Learning Targeted Objective(s)

Through the use of informal observations and my understanding of “how children with

broad ranges of ability learn,” I came to the conclusion on the first day of our I&E time that the

learning environment was not conducive to learning. The students were given free reign on

where they could sit. Right there is where I made my first mistake. By allowing the students to

sit wherever they wanted, I had about 25% of the students’ attention during the lesson. On day

two of I&E time, I gave the students a seating chart. This resulted in 90% of my students being

engaged and attentive in class.

Behavior issues are a concern that can hinder my ability to create a positive learning

environment and prevent other students from staying on task, especially during small group time.

About 25% of my students struggle with raising their hand before they speak along with staying

on task. One strategy I want to implement in my classroom is, “encouraging students to assume

responsibility for shaping their learning tasks.” In order to incorporate small groups into my

class to see the effects they have on differentiation, I need to trust that my students can be

responsible in the activities they are doing around the classroom. By holding students

accountable for their own learning and developing other strategies to encourage students to raise

their hand, it will allow me to provide “opportunities for active engagement, manipulation, and
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testing of ideas and materials” and encourage “students to assume responsibility for shaping their

learning tasks.” All of these ideas are critical in developing an environment where positive

behavior is encouraged.

Assessment Conclusion and Essential Question to Guide Research

The self-assessment, assessment of student performance, and learning environment

assessment show that my students are confident and successful in the areas of phonemic

awareness and letter recognition. The learning environment needs to be intentional in order to be

conducive to students’ learning. Students also do not hold themselves accountable for shaping

their learning tasks which makes the ability to differentiate more overwhelming. My learning

goal, stated as an essential question to guide research, is as follows: How do small groups affect

differentiation in the classroom?

Research Summary

Small group time is a classroom strategy that is becoming frequently underused. Many

literacy curriculums are laid out step by step and require intense instruction to reach fidelity. For

this reason, teachers might feel as though there is not adequate time to include small groups and

literacy stations into the school day. Classroom management is another factor that hinders the

use of small groups. How can teachers appropriately include small groups into their day while

ensuring that the rest of the class is engaged? To answer this question, research was performed

on the use of small groups and literacy stations to see how they affect differentiation because the

two go hand in hand.

Stations are a great resource for promoting choice in literacy instruction. According to

the IRA and NAEYC (as cited in Arquette, 2007) whole group instruction containing drills that

focus on specific skills is not effective for children in the primary grades, especially in
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kindergarten. One way to reach all learners is to provide a reinforcement of skills, choices of

activities, and options for small group time with the teacher, all of which can be encompassed

through the implementation of literacy stations. Two ways to provide choices during station

time is by providing a plethora of appropriate tasks, and allowing the students to work

independently, with a partner, or in a small group. Arquette (2007) stated, “One of the benefits

of using centers with your regular language arts curriculum is an increase in independence and

giving children choice, which is useful for differentiating instruction” (5). Therefore, the use of

literacy stations and small groups is beneficial to differentiation in the classroom.

In order for small groups to be effective, the students first need to build relationships with

one another. Relationships are crucial due to the fact that many students are isolated for various

reasons: not being a team player, not taking turns, talking out of turn, etc. Small group

interactions are most successful when everyone is at ease which leads to a more positive group

structure (Boruvkova & Emanovsky, 2016). By building relationships with one another, students

will feel more comfortable in a group setting, therefore creating a positive environment that

supports group work.

Small groups can serve as a great differentiation tool if the appropriate strategies are

utilized. Weiss (2013) outlined a plethora of strategies to create effective small groups: (a)

review rules consistently and frequently, (b) allow for multiple opportunities for students to

express their content knowledge, (c) use questioning as a way to assess learning and help

students stay engaged, and (d) evaluate the implementation of the strategies that are used. These

strategies allow for students to be more attentive and alert during small group instruction. With

on-task behavior present, students will receive the differentiated instruction that they require.
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The ability to differentiate is one of the many benefits of small group instruction; but how

exactly do small groups affect differentiation in the classroom? Wasik (2008) stated that small

groups are crucial because they allow teachers to play an active role in engaging students in an

activity while applying specific concepts and ideas. Utilizing small groups serves many

purposes. Individual student’s comments can be heard, teachers can give meaningful feedback,

and teachers can monitor how each student performs on certain tasks. Small groups are

beneficial in attempting to differentiate. “In small groups, teachers can tailor instruction to meet

the specific needs of each child” (519). It can be helpful to group students based on their skill

level. In doing so, teachers are better able to support students’ strengths and develop their

weaknesses. To gain insight into how teachers felt about implementing literacy stations and

small groups, a case study was performed.

In a small Midwestern town, four first grade classrooms participated in a case study to

examine how literacy work stations were implemented in their classrooms. The purpose of this

case study was to get reactions from the teachers on the success of the stations/small group time

or lack there of. “Overall, the findings indicated that teachers believed that their small group

instruction block did improve” (Kracl, 2012). Teachers also found that small group instruction

improved due to the fact that students outside of the small group were more engaged, therefore,

they were less distracting and interruptive. In order for small groups to be successful, the

teacher’s attention and focus is required. If students are off-task outside of the small group, the

teacher will need to address those concerns which takes away time from the small group. To

ensure the engagement of students in the entire class, Diller (as cited in Kracl, 2012) encouraged

teachers to provide hands on work stations along with those that offered choices.

Research Implications
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The question that guided my research was, “How do small groups affect differentiation in

the classroom?” Throughout my three years of teaching I knew that small groups offered a great

way to differentiate students’ needs, however, I struggled in wondering how to implement them

effectively and often wondered what to do with the remaining 75% of the class that was not

involved in the small group instruction. In order to make small groups beneficial for everyone,

the students not involved in the small group could be involved in an engaging, hands on learning

station that offered choice. It all comes down to classroom management. If the rules are laid out

from day one and the students know what is expected of them, the results will be optimistic. I

can envision myself creating literacy stations which will allow me to meet with a small group

and differentiate to meet each of my student’s unique needs.

Research-based Action Plan

Action Plan Summary Outline

1. Design literacy work stations that are hands on (ie: using play dough to form letters or

offering manipulatives for students to create their own stories). For small group instruction, I

will also design activities that are engaging through the use of small manipulatives.

2. Envision the students in my classroom either working with me in a small group or

being engaged in a literacy related activity individually, with a partner, or in a group.

3. Assess the first round of literacy work stations, reflect on what worked and what did

not, and improve instruction for next time.

Targeted Student Learning Objective(s)

Common Core State Standard RF.K.3: “Know and apply grade-level phonics and word

analysis skills in decoding words.”

Task(s) and Essential Proficiency Criteria for Targeted Learning Objective(s)

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1. Task: Successfully blend words containing the letters that have been explicitly

taught thus-far.

2. Criteria that Prove Proficiency in Meeting Targeted Learning Objective(s)

a. Correctly blend 100% of the words containing the letter sounds that

have been explicitly taught with the Superkids program (Artifact B).

b. Blend words fluently.

Method(s) to Assess Progress of Proficiency for Targeted Learning Objective(s)

1. Phonemic Awareness check off list to pre assess.

2. Observation of on- and off-task behaviors during literacy word stations/small

groups.

3. Blending worksheet for a post assessment with each Superkid unit.

Post-assessments

Instructional Insights Related to WTS and Targeted Student Learning Objective(s)

Upon completion of research regarding how to run literacy work stations to make group

time more effective, I am confident that once implemented, I will be able to successfully

differentiate both in my work stations and in small group time. This will be accomplished by

enforcing expectations consistently, providing choices, and performing assessments on a regular

basis.

I began my inquiry by researching work stations I could utilize that align with our

Superkids program and relate to blending (Artifact C). Initially, I thought that it was going to be

a lot of work to create multiple different stations. However, I learned that if you provide stations

with numerous learning activities, instead of changing the activities every week, you can keep
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the same activities but add or delete as necessary, therefore, saving yourself a lot of time. This

allows for the attainability of differentiation.

One insight I gained through researching is that choice is key. In the past, I attempted to

construct small groups that only provided one choice. I now understand why that did not work.

First of all, by only providing one choice, it created behavior issues. If I would have included

multiple choices, the station moves from teacher-choice to student-choice. As I develop

differentiated activities, there will be a minimum of three activities offered at each station.

Included with those activities will be ones meant for individuals, pairs, or groups of three. I can

foresee off-task behaviors erupting from this change. For this reason, the students will be

encouraged to “assume responsibility for shaping their learning tasks” by requiring a take-away

from each station.

I can foresee myself having a hard time with small groups due to the fact that my

teaching style reflects that of a demonstrator. Kindergarteners need guidance; however,

sometimes I forget that they are only five. I hold them to a high standard, especially when it

comes to obeying school rules. By choosing to incorporate literacy work stations in my

classroom, I need to trust that my students are on task and doing what is expected of them. This

will allow me to “show respect for the diverse talents of all learners” while helping them gain

confidence in what they do.

Comparison of Student Performance Related to Targeted Student Learning Objective(s)

Through envisioning delivery of literacy work stations and small groups, I foresee an

increase on student performances for Common Core State Standard RF.K.3: “Know and apply

grade-level phonics and word analysis skills in decoding words.” Currently, about 50% of my

I&E students can successfully apply grade-level phonics skills in blending sounds to make
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words. Upon implementation of including choice in work stations and differentiating small

groups, I anticipate this percentage rising to at least 80%.

I already have a plethora of ideas to incorporate into work stations and small groups that

will allow me to differentiate instruction for all of my students. Before, all of the instruction was

done as a large group either on the carpet or at table spots. This made it difficult for me to see

who mastered the phonics skills of associating letters with letter sounds and blending sounds

together to form words. Once small groups are implemented during our I&E block, I will be

able to split the students into three groups: low, medium, and high. The struggling students will

work with me on mastering letters and letter sounds. Students in the median group will use

manipulatives such as fish counters to point to letters in words as they blend the sounds together.

Finally, students in the high group will be exposed to books at their reading level and read round

robin style or in partners. An engaging comprehension activity will then follow. By keeping all

of these activities upbeat and engaging through the use of technology and small manipulatives, I

have confidence that small group time will be a success!

Comparison of Learning Environment While Learning Targeted Objective(s)

Behavior issues in the classroom, along with inattentiveness, have been a concern in the

past. As literacy work stations and small groups are incorporated into our schedule, I envision

those issues lessening. The students in my classroom love using the SmartBoard, iPads, and

other engaging, hands-on manipulatives. By being occupied through different modalities,

student engagement will increase, therefore lessening behavior issues.

Reflection of Entire Learning Process

The essential question guiding this entry was “How do small groups affect differentiation

in the classroom?” I found that in order for small groups to be effective in the first place, careful
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thought and consideration needs to be put into how they are organized and what the other

students are doing during that time. With careful planning and implementation, the use of small

groups will be able to positively affect differentiation in the classroom.

What Worked and Why

1. It was worth my time to research literacy work stations along with small groups as the

two go hand in hand.

2. I hope I will be able to effectively differentiate my lessons to meet the needs of every

learner.

3. By using various manipulatives, I hope they will engage my students while providing

a learning experience at the same time.

What Did Not Work and Why

1. I will have to be creative in how I implement small groups in a 30 minute time frame.

Often times we waste five or ten minutes getting situated in the classroom. That process alone

will have to speed up in order to protect small group time.

2. When I tried implementing stations and small groups in the past, I made the mistake

of offering only one option at each station. This did not work because if the student was not

engaged or interested, it was a waste of time and did not positively impact their learning.

My Next Steps

1. Continue to search for small group activities that are engaging, hands-on, and fun. I

could reach out to other schools that use Superkids to capture more activity ideas.

2. If the iPads serve as a positive learning tool, look into requesting more so that it is a

one to one ratio. Currently, our classroom has five.

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References

Arquette, C. (2007). Multiple activity literacy centers: Promoting choice and learning

differentiation. Illinois Reading Council Journal, 35(3), 3-9.

Borůvkovà, R.B., & Emanovský, P. P. (2016). Small group learning methods and their effect on

learners’ relationships. Problems of Education In The 21st Century, 7045-58.

Kracl, C. L. (2012). Managing small group instruction through the implementation of literacy

work stations. International Journal of Psychology: A Biopsychosocial

Approach/Tarptautinis Psichologiios Zurnalas: Biopsichosocialinis Poqiuris, (10), 27-

46.

Wasik, B. (2008). When fewer is more: Small groups in early childhood classrooms. Early

Childhood Education Journal, 35(6), 515-521. doi: 10.1007/s10643-008-0245-4

Weiss, S. L. (2013). Learning-related behaviors: Small group reading instruction in the general

education classroom. Intervention in School And Clinic, 48(5), 294-302.

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Artifact A

Below is the pre-assessment I will use to determine where the students are at in terms of
phonemic awareness. Once these skills are mastered, I will know they are ready to move onto
the next step which is phonics.
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Artifact B

Below is the artifact I will use with the students as a progress monitoring tool. Once the students
are able to blend the words at 100% accuracy, I will know they are ready to move on to reading
appropriate leveled books.

Artifact C

Below is an example of an idea I found for a literacy work station that correlates with our
Superkid reading program. The activity is hands-on which will help the students be more
engaged; therefore, there will be minimal behavior issues while I am implementing small groups.