Differentiating Instruction Using Self-Paced Units

1. Differentiating Instruction Using Self-Paced Units By Margie Gifford Castle Heights Upper Elementary Lebanon, TN giffordm@k12tn.net Based on information gathered at an NSTA seminar conducted by Kristy Love Hogg Middle School Houston Independent School District Houston, TX

2. Self-Paced Units do it all! • Backwards Design • Differentiated Instruction • Project-Based Learning • Co-operative Groups • Bloom’s Taxonomy • Meta-cognition • Technology Integration

3. BEST OF ALL! • Make students more responsible for their own learning. • Students learn how to find answers to their own questions.

4. Backwards Design • Start with summative assessment • Make sure your test is aligned with State Performance Indicators (SPI) • Gather lessons and activities that will enable students to meet the State performance goals

5. Differentiated Instruction • Students are presented with choices of how to gain the knowledge they need • SPED and ELL teachers can help their students make proper choices • Extra assignments at the ready for early finishers (for extra credit)

6. Meta-cognition • Student develop a greater understanding of how their individual thought processes work - how they learn best - by making choices about their own learning

7. Project Based Learning • Students have choices of several different projects to develop a longer lasting, deeper understanding of the concepts being studied • Building models • Creating manuals • Developing presentations

8. Co-operative Groups • At least one group project in every unit helps develop teamwork skills • Students learn that everyone has a skill to contribute to the effort

9. Bloom’s Taxonomy Make sure you have assignments at every level • Knowledge • Comprehension • Application • Analysis • Synthesis • Evaluation

10. Knowledge • observation and recall of information • knowledge of dates, events, places • knowledge of major ideas • mastery of subject matter Task will ask students to:
list, define, tell, describe, identify, show, label, collect, examine, tabulate, quote, name, who, when, where, arrange, duplicate, memorize, name, order, recognize, relate, recall, repeat, reproduce, state.

11. Comprehension • understanding information • grasp meaning • translate knowledge into new context • interpret facts, compare, contrast • order, group, infer causes • predict consequences • Task will ask students to:
summarize, describe, interpret, contrast, predict, associate, distinguish, estimate, differentiate, discuss, extend, classify, explain, express, identify, indicate, locate, recognize, report, restate, review, select, translate.

12. Application • use information • use methods, concepts, theories in new situations • solve problems using required skills or knowledge • Task will ask students to:
apply, demonstrate, calculate, complete, illustrate, show, solve, examine, modify, relate, change, classify, experiment, discover, choose, dramatize, employ, interpret, operate, practice, schedule, sketch, solve, use, write.

13. Analysis • seeing patterns • organization of parts • recognition of hidden meanings • identification of components • Task will ask students to:
 analyze, separate, order, explain, connect, classify, arrange, divide, compare, select, explain, infer, appraise, calculate, categorize, compare, contrast, criticize, differentiate, discriminate, distinguish, examine, experiment, question, test.

14. Synthesis • use old ideas to create new ones • generalize from given facts • relate knowledge from several areas • predict, draw conclusions • Task will ask students to:
combine, integrate, modify, rearrange, substitute, plan, create, design, invent, what if ?, compose, formulate, prepare, generalize, rewrite, arrange, assemble, collect, compose, construct, create, design, develop, formulate, manage, organize, plan, prepare, propose, set up, write.

15. Evaluation • compare and discriminate between ideas • assess value of theories, presentations • make choices based on reasoned argument • verify value of evidence • recognize subjectivity • Task will ask students to:
assess, decide, rank, grade, test, measure, recommend, convince, select, judge, explain, discriminate, support, conclude, compare, summarize, appraise, argue, attach, choose compare, defend, estimate, predict, rate, core, select, evaluate.

16. Technology Integration • Web Quests • Online Research • Powerpoint Presentations • Inspiration Presentations • Computer Generated Graphic Organizers • Use of data collection technology • Charting, graphing, and analyzing of data collected

17. Student Responsibility Students: • Choose assignments • Can work at their own pace to meet the deadline • Learn to find information and construct knowledge for themselves • Present knowledge gained to classmates • Grade other group members on percentage of group project completed by each

18. The Science Cafe

19. PROCESS OF DEVELOPING A SELF-PACED UNIT • Identify SPIs to be mastered in the unit * It is best if you do not have more than 5 standards addressed in each unit. * Address each standard in a different course of the meal. (i.e. one in the appetizer, one in the salad, one in the entrée, one in the beverage, and one in the desert.

20. PROCESS OF DEVELOPING A SELF-PACED UNIT • Create summative assessment * So you can identify exactly what it is you want the students to learn * Start gathering projects/assignments that will allow students to gather the information they need to master.

21. PROCESS OF DEVELOPING A SELF-PACED UNIT Come up with a theme (and a way to record students’ choices) * I use the “café” theme. You could use any theme that will give the students a choice of assignments to gather the knowledge needed. • Mountain Summit Climb (choose different paths to summit) • Mall Shopping (choose assignments from different stores) • Island Cruise (choose which islands (assignments) to visit) • Train Ride (choose which train stations to stop at)

22. PROCESS OF DEVELOPING A SELF-PACED UNIT • Compile a list of projects and lessons (including rubrics) that will allow students to move through all levels of Bloom’s Taxonomy in their quest to acquire the knowledge needed to meet the SPIs. • Make sure to address all types of learners in your choices – have assignments using hard copy research, internet research or presentation, creating manuals, watching videos and answering questions about them, building 3D models or illustrating concepts on posters, etc.

23. PROCESS OF DEVELOPING A SELF-PACED UNIT • Make handbook of complete instructions for each task along with rubrics and scoring guides. Allow students to peruse these before they order their meal. * My students work in groups – I have 6 groups of 4 or 5 so I have 6 Manuals and 6 menus for each unit.

24. PROCESS OF DEVELOPING A SELF-PACED UNIT The day they order their meal, I put on an apron and carry around a carbon copy order pad (you can buy these at Walmart in the office supply section). • I go to each table and take each student’s order (the entire group must agree on the group project/entrée). • Students sign the bottom of the order – they keep top copy – I keep carbon copies. • They get paid for each course they finish (see back of menu for grading guide) • Unlike a normal restaurant, you can not send anything back once you order it… you order it, you eat it, and think more carefully next time before you order.

25. PROCESS OF DEVELOPING A SELF-PACED UNIT • Set deadlines for completion of each section • Everyone must finish their appetizer by ______ • You must finish your salad by _____ • You must be done with your entrée by _____ • You must finish your beverage by _____ • and everyone must be done with dessert by ________ • If you finish your meal early, you may have an extra dessert (for extra credit of course)

26. Get Ready for Chaos • Each day that the café is open, students come in and get right to work on whatever project they are working on – you will have many different things going on at one time – you must be ok with organized chaos for this to work. • At first students will be asking for lots of help and will need lots of guidance – after their first unit, they will be more independent and will learn to gather knowledge for themselves.

27. Café Days • My Science Café is open every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday – that leaves me Tuesday and Thursday for lecture, labs, reinforcement of any concepts they are struggling with, etc. – (I put vinyl table clothes on the tables on the day the café is open) • To cut down on chaos, I have rules posted in each area they might be working at - by the computer, by the hard copy research material, by the glue guns and art supplies, by the portable dvd players (where they watch movies with headphones) • Anyone who does not comply with the rules gets to sit and read the chapter in the book that day.

28. Unit Wrap-up • Plan 2 or 3 days at the end of the unit ( before the assessment) for students to present the knowledge they have gained to each other. • I have students each pick the 2 projects they are most proud of to present to the class – this is time consuming- but it brings all kinds of misconceptions to light – it is worth the time!!

29. Afternoon Agenda • Share theme ideas • Work on developing a unit • Share units • Evaluate this session • Leave early???

30. Further Resources http://www.thomasarmstrong.com/multiple_intelligences.htm Gardner, H. (1991) The Unschooled Mind: How children think and how schools should teach, New York: Basic Books. http://www.hoagiesgifted.org/curriculum.htm