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Developing student mastery:
Their own way
Their own strengths
Their own pace
C. Anderson, 2013.


Tailoring classroom activities and
content to encourage individual
mastery.
 Acknowledges all students learn in
different ways.
What is it?


 Research* differentiation can be planned for and
integrated across four areas of classroom practice:
1. Content – the ‘what’ of the lesson content.
2. Process – the ‘how’ of the lesson; how it is
undertaken.
3. Product – the ‘product’ that will demonstrate and
apply student learning.
4. Learning environment – how the physical ‘space’ of
the classroom/learning area encourages or
discourages learning.
 Ref: Reading Rockets.org
Classroom Implications


High expectations.
Allows for mastery at own pace.
Teacher guidance allows students to show
learning in varied ways.
Flexible – varied throughout process
depending on student needs and strengths.
Applies across all learning stages – K-12
Differentiation is…


 Not individualised learning – doesn’t require
separate lesson plans each student.
 Doesn’t have to be all the time: whole class work still
important.
 Doesn’t mean just giving extra work at the same
level for high-achieving students. Nor, does it mean
busy work for others who aren’t.
 See more on this at Curriculum Support, NSW DET,
HERE.
Differentiation isn’t …


What it looks like in the
English Classroom.


 Maintain a clean, tidy and organised classroom.
 Display plenty of relevant visual stimuli – keep it
current and refreshed.
 Think about seating arrangements – vary depending
on activity. If room-sharing, seek co-operation from
other staff.
 ‘Borrow’ ideas from other classrooms/other
teachers.
 Consider a mini class library, with reading material
to cater for varied interests and abilities.
1. The Learning
Environment


 Positive student-teacher perceptions one of most
powerful influences on student success – and,
through that, teacher satisfaction (Marzono, 2011; et
al.)
 Know your students and you:
 Know their interests.
 Know their learning strengths and needs.
 Can apply this knowledge in differentiated tasks.
2. Know your students


1. Show interest in their extra-curricular lives.
2. Read the local paper.
3. Listen out for your students’ achievements at school
assemblies.
4. Listen to them.
5. Set writing, survey and game activities for ‘Getting
to know you’ at beginning of class year. Some good
examples in ‘Differentiated Instruction in the
English Classroom’.
Know your students: 10 tips


1. Advocate for them – show them their welfare and
success is your top priority. Follow up and be consistent.
2. Offer after-class assistance.
3. Collect books/tasks regularly – keep a personal record of
things you notice – will also be useful at report time.
4. Find out what other student records you can access: class
reports; primary school reports; NAPLAN.
5. Involve students – have them complete a Multiple
Intelligences/Learning Styles analysis. A good reference:
Improving Thinking in the Classroom, Ralph Pirozzo,
10 tips – cont.


 Analyse existing data on your students. EG: NAPLAN
 See whether any of your students have Individual
Learning/Education Plans (ILP/IEP) or Personalised
Learning Plans (PLPs), which focus on Indigenous
learning needs and objectives. Do these identify prior
learning assessments and specific details? Read more
about these at
 SLSP Effectively Supporting Students (NSW DET, 2010)
Assessing for Learning


 Diagnostic Assessment and Activating Prior
Learning
 ‘T, H, ?’ – pre-teaching assessment: Do I know
[particular aspects of the topic] well enough to Teach, Heard
of, ? New to Me
 ‘Think, Pair, Share’ – also good for activating prior
knowledge.
 ‘K-W-L’ – model with students. A good example can
be found in ‘Differentiated Instruction in the English
Classroom’, p.48.
Other tips for classroom
assessment – (1)


 Every topic should be accompanied by a unit outline
and course outcomes, linked to the syllabus.
Explicitly model what each of these outcomes ‘look
like’ and ‘mean’. Return to each as they are learned.
 Remember how at uni we learned there are 3 stages
of assessment:
 BEFORE – ‘diagnostic’
 DURING – ‘formative’
 AFTER – ‘summative’
assessment – (2)


 Examples of formative assessment – applicable for
whole-class, group and individual activities. See
excellent listing on the following link. From ‘Toolbox
for Planning Rigorous Instruction’.
 Includes (among others):
 Teacher questioning techniques
 Sentence starters and other prompts
 Prediction and summary writing
 Graphic organisers
 Draft and peer-editing
assessment – (3)


assessment – (4)
 Examples of summative assessment:
 Exit cards – see Read Write Think for explanation and
examples. Also see the excellent presentation from
Westminster Secondary School:
 ‘Strategies to Help Struggling Readers, Grades 4-12’
suggests numerous reading-specific activities, for pre,
during and after-reading comprehension assessment.


Using Multiple Intelligences and
Bloom’s Taxonomy
 ‘42 Grid Matrix’ – Pirozzo (1997)
 Combines Gardner’s Theory of Multiple Intelligences
and Bloom’s Taxonomy.
 Develops higher order thinking
 Allows for differentiation of content, process and
product.
 Can be tailored to most topics and allows for student
self-direction and engagement. (Quality Teaching
Framework)
 Research supports effectiveness.


 You can find examples of units created by other
teachers at various places on the Web.
 Adapt
 Share
 Evaluate after use.
A few sites to get you started…
42 Grid example units


 Rural and Distance Education NSW Library
 MSC English Faculty’s wiki – requires an email to
request.
 Kevin Cummins at EdGalaxy.com has a fun unit
available for Roald Dahl’s Charlie and the Chocolate
Factory.
 Do a web search for more and remember…
 Adapt
 Share
 Evaluate!
42 Grid example units


Adapt, adapt, adapt!
 Adapt existing programs to differentiate
 Work with school colleagues to combine resources
and share knowledge.
 Don’t feel you have to re-create the wheel from
scratch!


 In school/local community
 Faculty colleagues
 Other teaching colleagues
 Executive colleagues
 STLA/Student Learning Support Staff
 School Counsellor
 Teacher Librarian
 Parents
Collaborate!


 Outside school…
 English Teachers Association Facebook Group – an
excellent resource of generous, skilled English
teachers.
 Twitter
 OzTweechers PLN
 Cybrary Man’s List of 300+ Twitter education hashtags
Collaborate!

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