Module 7- Differentiation 3/8/2023, 10:09 am

Module 7- Differentiation

Site: Learning Environment Online Printed by: Zi Liang Lim

Unit: EDSI699 SCIENCE CPA 2 2023 Semester 2 Date: Thursday, 3 August 2023, 10:09 AM
Book: Module 7- Differentiation

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Table of contents

1. Introduction

2. Differentiating Instruction

3. Differentiating Resources

4. Differentiating Assessment

5. What to Differentiate and How?

6. ARTICLE: Differentiated Instruction Strategies: Tiered Assignments

7. Differentiating Questioning

8. Effective teaching strategies for working with EAL/D students

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1. Introduction

What are we doing this week?

This module explores the increasingly complex world of differentiation. This concept is about catering for differences in the classroom to ensure that
all students have the opportunity to access the curriculum. Differences can arise from a number of factors including but not limited to:

students with disabilities that have a physiological basis

students with educational needs arising primarily from socioeconomic, cultural and/or linguistic factors where there may be some form of
educational disadvantage
students whose difficulties in accessing learning do not appear to be directly or primarily attributable to educational disadvantage arising from
impairment, or to socioeconomic, cultural and/or linguistic factors or psychological needs
students with identifiably different patterns of educational development and orientation.

Source: QCAA https://www.qcaa.qld.edu.au/p-10/catering-diversity

Teachers can implement inclusive strategies that enable students with special education needs to access the curriculum in an equitable manner.
Adjustments to teaching, learning and assessment can be grouped into five broad areas: timing, scheduling, setting, presentation and response
(Source: QCAA https://www.qcaa.qld.edu.au/p-10/catering-diversity).

Source: Decoda http://www.decoda.ca/read-all-about-lit/differentiated-teaching/

With this in mind, the module covers the following:

Differentiating instruction
Differentiating resources
Differentiating assessment.

Prior to continuing please take a moment to:

1. Read the introduction to Embracing Diversity and skim the table of contents for a disability of interest. Link: Embracing-Diversity.pdf

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2. Access the Catering for Diversity page on the QCAA website. Take some time to read through the documents listed on this page i.e. timing,
scheduling, setting, presentation and response. Link: https://www.qcaa.qld.edu.au/p-10/catering-diversity

3. Access the Australian Curriculum Student Diversity website. Take some time to peruse this. Link: http://v7-
5.australiancurriculum.edu.au/StudentDiversity/Student-diversity-advice

Why are we doing this?

Unit Learning Outcomes

On completion of this module, you will have worked towards achieving the following unit learning outcomes, graduate attributes (GAs) and Australian
Professional Standards for Teachers (APST):

LO2 Analyse the relationships between curriculum design, task design and student expertise so as to support student learning and the evaluation of
teaching and curriculum design (GA4, GA5, GA8, GA9; APST 1.2, 1.3, 1.5, 2.1, 2.2, 2.3, 2.5, 2.6, 3.1, 3.2, 3.3, 3.4, 3.6, 4.2, 4.5, 5.1)

LO3 Apply and evaluate the use of linguistic resources utilised to provide directions, demonstration, presentations and support of student learning
(GA4, GA5, GA7, GA8, GA9, GA10; APST 1.2, 1.3, 2.1, 3.3, 3.5, 4.1, 4.2)

LO4 Critically analyse, develop and implement a knowledge of the variety of pedagogical strategies in senior secondary science which allow the
specific learning strengths and needs of students to be met (GA4, GA5, GA7, GA8, GA9; APST 1.3, 1.5, 3.1, 3.3, 4.1, 4.3)

Lecture content and activities

Lecture for this module found below.

The subsections of this book have activities and/or tasks to be completed. These will help you become more familiar with
teaching Senior Science.

Timings
This content spans week 7 of the unit.

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2. Differentiating Instruction

Differentiating Instruction

Source: Differentiated Instruction Tiered Assessment http://iss.gstboces.org/hancock/home/Differentiated%20Instruction/Tiered%20Assignments.htm

So what exactly is differentiated instruction? This gives a neat overview of this concept. Please take a moment to watch it now.

And here is Carol Tomlinson on responding to differentiation

Aspects of Gardner's Multiple Intelligences theory in teaching concepts are also used in the classroom.

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3. Differentiating Resources

Differentiating resources is pretty self explanatory. It's about making changes to the resources you provide to students to ensure they can equitably
access the curriculum and also about providing some students with appropriate extension activities.

There are host of different ways to differentiate the resources you provide to students. A good place to start is the Embracing Diversity document. It
provides a plethora of ways to differentiate for learners. For instance, a teacher could provide photocopied notes (teacher's or another student's) to a
student with Dyslexia. Students with this disability can't listen and write at the same time, neither can they copy from the board efficiently. This is but
one example that comes directly from this resource. I strongly encourage you to use this throughout your teaching career.

The CPA1 science unit, had videos that showed different ways of presenting information to students. I suggest your revisit these. In addition, the
Three Level Guide will also give you an indication as to what level of questioning your students are able to interpret. Cloze activities are for struggling
learners, whilst generating Faulty Logic would be for your students who work through the topic with ease. That doesn’t mean that all students cannot
achieve, however, if you use the 27 exposures template, then all students will have the opportunity to move upwards when they are ready.

T ASK: Consider how you would differentiate instruction and/ore resources for a topic in Senior Science. Sketch out your ideas,
and if you can, make complete documents to upload to the Differentiating Resources Discussion Board

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4. Differentiating Assessment

Source: From the backpack http://tyndalebackpack.weebly.com/questions.html

The Australian Curriculum has some detailed information pertaining to Student Diversity. However, it is the relevant state and territory curriculum and
assessment authorities that specify the accommodations that can be made in relation to senior assessment.

For example, the QCAA states that adjustments to teaching, learning and assessment can be grouped into five broad areas: timing, scheduling,
setting, presentation and response.

Timing refers to the amount of time allocated.

Scheduling refers to when assessment occurs.

Setting relates to where assessment occurs.

Presentation encompasses how an assessment appears or is communicated to a student.

Response pertains to how a students responds to the assessment.

Teachers can use one or a combination of the adjustments above to assist a young person to equitably access the curriculum and there is a planning
template listed on the QCAA Catering for Diversity webpage that can assist teachers with this.

Task - if you are not from Queensland, take a moment to locate the adjustments you can make to assessment that are detailed on
your relevant curriculum and assessment authority website. Spend one hour on this task.

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5. What to Differentiate and How?

Tiering allows teachers to "... create multiple paths for learning one key understanding or concept" (Tiered Instruction, 2004). Tiered tasks and
instruction can be differentiated according to student interest, readiness, and/or learning profile. Each tier of the task will have more or less
scaffolding depending on the individual needs of the students.

Source: http://iss.gstboces.org/ctice/trainings/di/strategies/tiered.htm

What can be Tiered?

•Processes, Content, and Products

•Assignments

•Homework

•Learning Stations

•Assessments

•Writing Prompts

•Anchor (Extension) Activities

•Materials and Software

When teachers use this strategy, it is helpful to determine the desired key concept and learning outcomes that all students should be able to achieve
at the end of the learning. Pre-assessment is integral to help determine needs and grouping. Once assessments are complete, teachers will plan what
they will tier:

When Tiering, adjust:

•Level of Complexity

•Amount of Structure

•Number of Steps

•Pacing

•Materials

•Concrete to Abstract

•Options based on student interests

•Options based on learning styles

How to know when you tier: Examine your curriculum and ask yourself the following questions...

(from Diane Heacox, Differentiating Instruction in the Regular Classroom workshop at the National Conference on Differentiating Instruction in Las
Vegas, NV)

1. Do some students need have more time, instruction, and practice with a skill or with content and others have indicated competency? (tier by
challenge or tier by complexity)

2. Do your students need differing sources of information?

3. Do some students need more entry based resources and others more advanced, sophisticated or indepth resources based on their prior
knowledge? (tier by resources)

4. Could common materials be used with different learning outcomes to work on both basic and more advanced outcomes?

5. Would students benefit from working on the same outcome but doing different kinds of work? (tier by process)

6. Would students benefit form demonstrating what they know or understand by being matched with their preferences? (tier by product)

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6. ARTICLE: Differentiated Instruction Strategies: Tiered Assignments

Differentiated Instruction Strategies: Tiered Assignments

By: Janelle Cox

Janelle Cox

Many teachers use differentiated instruction strategies as a way to reach all learners and accommodate each student’s learning style. One very
helpful tactic to employ differentiated instruction is called tiered assignments—a technique often used within flexible groups.

grouping—or differentiated instruction as a whole, really—tiered assignments do not lock students into ability boxes. Instead,
Much like flexible grouping
particular student clusters are assigned specific tasks within each group according to their readiness and comprehension—without making them feel
completely compartmentalized away from peers at different achievement levels.

There are six main ways to structure tiered assignments: Challenge level, complexity, outcome, process, product, or resources. It is your job—based
upon the specific learning tasks you’re focused on—to determine the best approach. Here we will take a brief look at these techniques.

Challenge Level

Tiering can be based on challenge level where student groups will tackle different assignments altogether. Teachers can use Bloom’s Taxonomy as a
guide to help them develop tasks of structure, or questions at various levels. For example:

1. Group 1: Students who need content reinforcement or practice will complete one activity that helps build understanding.
2. Group 2: Students who have a firm understanding will complete another activity that extends what they already know.

Complexity

When you tier assignments by complexity, you are addressing the needs of students who are at different levels using the same assignment. The trick
here is to vary the focus of the assignment based upon whether each group is ready for more advanced work or simply trying to wrap their head
around the concept for the first time. You can direct your students to create a poster on a specific issue—recycling and environmental care, for
instance—but one group will focus on a singular perspective, while the other will consider several points of view and present an argument for or
against each angle.

Related Articles.

5 Essential 21st Century Teaching Strategies

5 of the most important teaching strategies 21st century educators should have.

Outcome

Tiering assignments by differentiated outcome is vaguely similar to complexity—all of your students will use the same materials, but depending on
their readiness levels, will actually have a different outcome. It may sound strange at first, but this strategy is quite beneficial to help advanced
students work on more progressive applications of their learning.

Process

This differentiated instruction strategy is exactly what it sounds like—student groups will use different processes to achieve similar outcomes
based upon readiness.

Product

Tiered assignments can also be differentiated based on product. Teachers can use the Howard Gardner’s Multiple Intelligences to form groups
that will hone particular skills. For example, one group would be bodily/kinesthetic and their task is to create and act out a skit. Another group would
be visual/spatial and their task would be to illustrate.

Resources

Tiering resources means that you are matching project materials to student groups based on readiness or instructional need. One flexible group may
use a magazine while another may use a traditional textbook. As a tip, you should assign resources based on knowledge and readiness, but also
consider the group’s reading level and comprehension.

How to Make Tiering Invisible to Students

From time to time, students may question why they are working on different assignments, using varied materials, or coming to dissimilar outcomes
altogether. This could be a blow to your classroom morale if you’re not tactful in making your tiers invisible.

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Make it a point to tell students that each group is using different materials or completing different activities so they can share what they learned with
the class. Be neutral when grouping students—use numbers or colors for group names, and be equally enthusiastic while explaining assignments to
each cluster.

Also, it’s important to make each tiered assignment equally interesting, engaging, and fair in terms of student expectations. The more flexible groups
and materials you use, the more students will accept that this is the norm.

Tiering assignments is a fair way to differentiate learning. It allows teachers to meet the needs of all students while using varying levels of tasks. It’s a
concept that can be infused into homework assignments, small groups, or even learning centers. If done properly, it can be a very effective method to
differentiate learning because it challenges all students.

How do you differentiate tiered assignments in your classroom? Share with us in the comment section below, we would love to
hear your thoughts.

Janelle Cox is an education writer who uses her experience and knowledge to provide creative and original writing in the field of education. Janelle
holds a Master's of Science in Education from the State University of New York College at Buffalo. She is also the Elementary Education Expert
for About.com
About.com, as well as a contributing writer to TeachHUB.com and TeachHUB Magazine. You can follow her at Twitter @Empoweringk6ed
@Empoweringk6ed, or
on Facebook at Empowering K6 Educators
Educators.

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7. Differentiating Questioning

Differentiating Questioning

This PowerPoint unpacks the different types of questions that can be used in the classroom. It is always important to allow 'wait time' regardless of the
complexity of the question. Students need time to process the question, formulate a response and then deliver the response - so do not let those
pauses feel awkward - they are normal. Check out the different colour paddle pop sticks too - but make sure that remains a closely guarded secret!

TASK: Select a topic from Senior Science and develop a series of questions that encompass all the different question types. Post
them to the Questioning Discussion Board
Board..

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8. Effective teaching strategies for working with EAL/D students

No matter where we teach in Australia we will all have EAL/D students within our classrooms, Twenty-six percent of the Australian population are born
overseas (Australian Bureau of Statistics, 2017), this means that at some stage in your teaching career, you will teach a student for whom English is not
their first language or dialect.

Please read through the two articles below to familiarise yourself with some strategies to assist with teaching and differentiation for these students.

Both of these articles can be readily accessed via ACU Library:

Taplin. (2017). Accounting for the needs of EAL/D students in the mainstream classroom. Metaphor (English Teachers’ Association of New South
Wales), 1, 48–50. Link to pdf

Margaret Paton. (2019). EAL/D TIPS FROM THE EXPERTS. Australian Educator, 102, 36–37. Link to pdf

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