Developing independent learners: Practical Differentiation Tips

1. You have some tin foil. Can you make: • A country? • A continent? • The entire world? • Something else geographical? Developing independent learners:Practical Differentiation Tips I’m on twitter… @arthurterrygeog Ideas, feedback or any further correspondence. Feel free to contact me at. msimmons@arthurterry.bham.sch.uk Mike Simmons BSc. MEd. Jon Simmons BSc. MSc. School direct places available!

2. What does an independent learner look like?? Ability to ask searching questions Ability to think “outside the box” Can weigh relevance of information Make their own decisions Understands when to narrow or broaden focus Ability to reach own conclusions Activities that rely on the autonomy of the learner can help to lay these foundations.

3. Developing Independent Learning

4. Do your students get the support and opportunity to be independent? What ideas may you take away? What do you already do? What ideas will you throw away or discard?

5. More experienced. Too confident?! Is a man and loves a challenge. Needs to see it! Afraid of heights, doesn’t like water! Slightly lacking confidence & never done sport before! I cant see without my glasses on! Has the right body shape for diving! Gemma Collins, Gemma Merna, Ricky Groves, Michaela Strachan and Perri Kiely

6. So why are we all here? ‘Too much teaching is only satisfactory: 37% across all schools. ... Weaker teaching is often associated with a limited range of teaching approaches and mundane tasks which fail to engage pupils. Where the teaching is no better than satisfactory, not enough is expected of the pupils. ... Tailored support and challenge that might enable individual pupils to achieve their best are not precise enough in these lessons, and teaching is too often aimed mainly at the average.’ The Annual Report of Her Majesty’s Chief Inspector … 2009/10 (Ofsted 2010) Lack of differentiation!

7. ‘It was surprising to find that in a large number of cases mixed ability classes were taught as though they were homogeneous groups. The work was usually pitched at a level thought appropriate for the majority of the class, and inevitably this was unsuitable for pupils at each end of the spectrum. Sometimes, the level aimed at was below what the average pupil could attain, and the result was a slow pace, undemanding work and general underachievement.’ HMI Matters for Discussion 6 (DES 1978) cited in Hart, S. Differentiation and the Secondary Curriculum: Debates and Dilemmas (Taylor & Francis 1996) Lack of differentiation!

8. So what stops us from differentiating? Can we remove those barriers?

9. Learner differences Barriers to Differentiation? • Prior attainment • Prior learning experience • Attitudes to learning • Preferred learning styles. VARK. (develop these, don’t pander to them) • Special educational needs • Others? - Time - Reprographics Restrictions Other students knowing about weaker students.

10. Examples of differentiation Task Between the different people on your table we want you to come up with specific examples of differentiation that you may do. Swap your sheet with the table next to you. Can you add any more examples to their sheet if you think appropriate?? ’Differentiation is the provision teachers and schools make to help each child to achieve their full potential.’ ‘Differentiation is a set of strategies which aims to ensure that each pupil leaves a lesson having moved on with their learning; knowing more; understanding more and in more depth; confidently applying skills and wanting to learn more.’ Brooks, Abbot & Bills (2007 p.76)

11. So why are we all here?

12. Who do we differentiate for?

13. Which is better? High Ability Less Able High Ability Less Able Is it better to push the G&T further and support the more able and less able to strive to that level? More Able More Able Or Or to set out 3 tasks one for high, more or less able students? Who decides… the teacher of the student? Where can the support be targeted?

14. Differentiation by Grouping I gave each individual student a playing card that they stuck on the front of their books. I knew the groupings but there was no obvious pattern. So my G&T were actually 6’s and 7s. Middle ability ranged throughout the numbers Low ability were 9’s and 10’s. Really easy way of getting into groups. 3’s all together 4s,5s and 6s together All odds/evens together In the different card suits

15. Should tasks be made easier and or harder? Differentiation by Task Differentiation Methods

16. Differentiation by Task “When young people are encouraged to think creatively and independently about their geographical work, their self esteem increases, as does their motivation and their sense of achievement. These are convincing reasons for teachers to develop this work further”. (Rawling and Westaway, 2003, pp.6–8) Figure One - http://educationaljargonschs.wikispaces.com/Bloom's+Taxonomy+(revised)

17. Differentiation by Task

18. Increasing difficulty with Solo Taxonomy. Source: Durbin. C: http://www.sln.org.uk/geography/AfL.htm The task get progressively harder. Students can use this as a scaffold to improve their own descriptions

19. You have been provided with a number of cards to help you solve the mystery. With a partner, you need to read through the cards and come up with an answer that tells me why the Victoria Village Inn is fully booked Red – your answer uses 4 cards in your explanation Orange – you refer to 6 cards in your explanation Green – you use 8 cards to help you explain your answer Write the points for your explanation on your mini whiteboard and be ready to share with the class

20. Alex Mcleish Ex Birmingham City Manager Mary Dales Tax Payer Mohammed Shop Owner Oh no! This is not good for my shop and my family. If the stadium goes, I will have to go as well. There will be no customers left here for me. £300million! What a waste of money. Spend the money on the entire population of Birmingham, improve the whole city like the Bullring did. Don’t waste money on football. This is the perfect chance for us to move to a modern stadium. The stadium will create many jobs for the local people. Rita Resident close to the current stadium. Charlie Resident close to the new site. Daniel Grundy BCFC Fan What an excellent idea. Every other Saturday the traffic is chaos on a match day. On a weekday, the floodlights keep me awake. All my flowers have been ripped out by drunk football fans. Then there is all the rubbish they drop as well. It’s not just the cost I’m against, it’s the fact it might be by my house. My husband works at a factory up there, he will lose his job if they build the stadium. Our roads are busy enough as it is. Keep it where it is! I feel rather attached to St Andrews, its where all of our history is. I bet the ticket prices will go up to help fund it!

21. Alex Mcleish Ex-Birmingham City Manager Mary Dales Tax Payer Mohammed Shop Owner Oh no! This is not good for my shop and my family. My shop is just a 5 minute walk from the current stadium. If the stadium goes, I will have to go as well. There will be no custom left here for me. £300million! What a waste of money. The streets are full of litter, my bins only get emptied every two weeks and they want to spend my tax on a new stadium. Spend the money on the entire population of Birmingham, improve the whole city like the Bullring did. Don’t waste money on football. This is the perfect chance for us to move to a modern stadium that has excellent transport links and good environment. The stadium will create many jobs for the local people. The extra money can be used by people to improve their life Rita Resident close to the current stadium. Charlie Resident close to the new site. Daniel Grundy BCFC Fan What an excellent idea. I don’t care about where they play or the cost, its awful living here. Every other Saturday the traffic is chaos on a match day. On a weekday, the floodlights keep me awake. All my flowers have been ripped out by drunk football fans and I am worried about going out when they play. Then there is all the rubbish they drop as well. I say, move it! Get them away from my house. It’s not just the cost I’m against, it’s the fact it might be by my house. We have lived here for five years.. My husband works at a factory up there, he will lose his job if they build the stadium. Our roads are busy enough as it is. Keep it where it is! I feel rather attached to St Andrews, its where all of our history is. I bet the ticket prices will go up to help fund it!

22. Alex Mcleish Ex- Birmingham City Manager Mary Dales Tax Payer Mohammed Shop Owner Oh no! This is not good for my shop and my family. My shop is just a 5 minute walk from the current stadium. We have owned our shop for 13 years. Most days we have very few customers, but on a match day we sell, sell sell. The 20 odd games the football club play at the ground each year look after me throughout the year when custom is lower. If the stadium goes, I will have to go as well. There will be no custom left here for me. £300million! What a waste of money. The streets are full of litter, my bins only get emptied every two weeks and they want to spend my tax on a new stadium. What do they need it for? They only get 20,000 at each game, it will be half empty. Spend the money on the entire population of Birmingham, improve the whole city like the Bullring did. Don’t waste money on football. This is the perfect chance for us to move to a modern stadium that has excellent transport links and good environment. The stadium will create many jobs for the local people. The extra money can be used by people to improve their life. The club will be able to buy better quality players. The stadium could also be used to attract concerts and business events to make it a stadium the whole city can enjoy. Rita Resident close to the current stadium. Charlie Resident close to the new site. Daniel Grundy BCFC Fan What an excellent idea. I don’t care about where they play or the cost, its awful living here. Every other Saturday the traffic is chaos on a match day. On a weekday, the floodlights keep me awake. All my flowers have been ripped out by drunk football fans and I am worried about going out when they play. Then there is all the rubbish they drop as well. I say, move it! Get them away from my house. It’s not just the cost I’m against, it’s the fact it might be by my house. We have lived here for five years. It’s not a great area, but we don’t need all that lot coming down here. It wont be safe for my family. My husband works at a factory up there, he will lose his job if they build the stadium. Our roads are busy enough as it is. Keep it where it is! I feel rather attached to St Andrews, its where all of our history is. On the other hand, a new stadium would be awesome. I worry though, who will pay for it? Will ticket prices go up to help fund it? Oh well, lets just hope it is better to get to and has more parking than the old one. Can be dreadful at the moment just getting to and from the old ground.

23. Difficulty weightings Difficulty rating 3/5 Thought needed 3/5 The different tasks have a different weighting.

24. Imagine you are going to support your favourite sports team at “The Arena” (or even a really famous singer who is singing at kick off) TASK: Describe (tell me what you see) the journey to the match from the map provided. Make it interesting but not too long as you still need to get there on time! You need to meet a friend at Eastside Parkway along the way.. You need to use the telephone at the corner of Little Green Lane and Eastleigh Road You need to go via the Bus station at Southside to meet a friend If you chose Car then start at the star at Northside Car Park If you chose Train then start at the square at Northside Station

25. Driving Question How are population pyramids a useful tool for monitoring past, current and future populations for a country. Reach 16 credits • Describe the population pyramid for Niger for 2010. [4 Marks] • Describe the population pyramid for Australia for 2010. [4 Marks] • Compare the population structure shown in the year 2010 demographic pyramids. [4 Marks] • Demographic structure can be used to demonstrate stages of development.  Explain how the population pyramids show that Australia is more developed than Niger. [6 Marks] • With reference to the population change shown between Niger 2010 and Niger 2050, what considerations will need to be made in the provision of services and employment between 2010 and 2050? [6 Marks] • With reference to the population change shown between Australia 2010 and Australia 2050, what considerations will need to be made in the provision of services and employment between 2010 and 2050? [6 Marks]

26. Bank those credits…. 50 Also can be used as an assessment tool 40 30 Can annotate what they have done either side and tick off along the central scale 20 10

27. Can students accept the autonomy of their own differentiation? Differentiation by Outcome

28. Open ended differentiation

29. Create a route…. Scaffolding Have you located the stadium? Noticed the map symbols you are going to pass? Made the route interesting? Progression Given yourself enough time? Made the route simple? What method of transport to use? Assessment Explained what you will pass on your route? Stopped at some places along the way? Have you worked out what things you pass?

30. Task…Write an accompanying description that explains where Egypt is. You will need to use your sketch map to help!! Directions Cities Continent Countries Distances Capital Egypt is a country that is situated in the North of the African continent… Seas Desert River

31. Lego Tower Who can build the tallest tower? 1 brick: Red Card Question 2 bricks: Yellow Card Question 3 bricks: Purple Card Question 4 bricks: Orange Card Question These increase in difficulty in line with Blooms Make sure your partner isn’t cheating!!

32. Can annotate what they have done either side and explain within the clouds what they have found out.

33. Pot Black You will be working in pairs. Aim 1: How many points can you and your partner get together? Aim 2: Who will get the biggest break in the class? These increase in difficulty in line with Blooms Rules You have to start by answering a red ball question. If you do so correctly then you can take on a coloured question. Be careful the more points you go for the harder the question is!!

34. Build your burger…. Rules • Everyone must start by answering the questions to get the top and bottom of the bun. • Then the filling you want is up to you! • Use the menu card and activities to create your burger! The different food items increase in difficulty

35. Ketchup or Mustard • Gherkin • Cheese • Mystery Ingredient • Beef Burger • Veggie Burger • Lettuce • Tomato Each one is more difficult than others… but the kids don’t know!

36. Been fishing? The weight of the fish increase in difficulty You will be working in pairs. Aim 1: How many pounds of fish can you and your partner get together? Aim 2: Who be able to get the biggest haul in today’s lesson?

37. A bit of family fun Each place has a specific question or activity relating to the topic studied. Play the game and take it in turn to try and own as much as the board as possible! The difficulty of the question/activity is in line with the value of each square

38. The Geography Department Challenge.. Which teacher’s task are you going to take on?

39. Geography Department Challenge Task 1 – Proportional Divided Circle – Miss Webster Task 2 – Annotated Photograph – Mr Simmons Task 3 – Isoline Diagram – Mr Vaughan Task 4 – Logarithmic Scale – Mr Napper Task 5 – Scatter Diagram – Mr Bowater Ext – 1) Check the mark scheme 2) Try another teacher task! Think : Are you going to stick with the one you have chose? Or swap for one that you are or aren’t confident in? Which one did you chose?

40. Do your students get the opportunity to be independent? What ideas may you take away? What do you already do? What ideas will you throw away or discard?

41. Key Steps to Developing independent learners through differentiation • Explore schemes of work for appropriate areas where creative differentiation can be exploited. • Remove the restrictions of ‘being correct’ by emphasizing the importance of process and explanation. • ‘Letting go’ to allow students to explore their own lines of enquiry or representation. • Explain to students it is a chance for them to showcase their knowledge (or acquisition of it) in a different way. • Creativity should not be something that teachers do to their learners but rather it is an experience that both teachers and learners should share. • Think about the other benefits of getting creative.

42. Further Reading - Anderson, L. W. and Krathwohl, D. R. (eds) (2001) A Taxonomy for Learning, Teaching, and Assessing: A Revision of Bloom’s Taxonomy of Educational Objectives. New York: Longman. -Little. D. (1991) Learner Autonomy 1: Definitions, Issues and problems. Authentik. Dublin. - Rawling, E. and Westaway, J. (2003) ‘Exploring creativity’, Teaching Geography, 28, 1, pp. 5–8. - Renshaw. S. (2011) Creative thinking and geographical investigation, Teaching Geography, Vol. 36, number 2, pp 64-66. - Renshaw. S. (2011) Creative thinking : Assessing students’ learning, Teaching Geography, Vol. 36, number 3, pp 106-107. - Simmons. M and Mole. K (2014) Becoming Creative Geographers, Teaching Geography, Summer 2014 (Pending)