A Perfect Match: Differentiated Instruction and the School Library

Sharon Mills and Karen Beutler

Instructional Leaders, Toronto District School Board

Evelynne Bernstein, Teacher, Toronto District School Board

Agenda Overview of Differentiated Instruction (DI) Multiple Intelligences, Learning Styles, and

Brain Theory DI Strategies and the Library Environment DI in Practice

Enduring Ideas Not new teaching, new planning and

facilitating Teacher acknowledges and celebrates

multiple intelligences and learning styles Students understand and take responsibility

for pursuing own learning Choice is key factor for motivation and

learning

Find Your Teenage Brain Partners Find three people who will be your partners for activities during this workshop

Write their names on the Teenage Brain – Partners handout

Kathie Nunley, A Student's Brain: The Parent/Teacher Manual, 2003

Brain Theory Window to Wire Sleep deprivation What helps one….helps all (Word Wall) Reticular Activating System – Novelty!

Determine your Multiple IntelligenceHoward Gardner

Activity

Intelligences Graph - Pink

Meet Your Hypothalamus Partner to consolidate MIShare your MI graph with your partner and reflect on its accuracy

http://www.thirteen.org/edonline/concept2class/mi/w1_interactive1.html

http://www.bgfl.org/bgfl/custom/resources_ftp/client_ftp/ks3/ict/multiple_int/index.htm

http://surfaquarium.com/MI/intelligences.htm

Learning Styles Auditory

Sound out words Enjoy listening

Visual Prefer pictures, diagrams, concept maps Enjoy face-to-face conversation/demonstration

Kinesthetic/Tactile Expressive movements Jump right in and try it

http://www.berghuis.co.nz/abiator/lsi/lsitest2.html

Average Retention Rates for Instructional Methods

Lecture 5%

Reading 10%

Audio Visual 20%

Teacher Demonstration 30%

Discussions 50%

Practise by doing 75%

Practise by doing/teach others 90%

Based on the work of William Glassner

Adapted from research y the national Training Laboratories, Methel, ME

Presented by Heather Clayton, November 2007

Carol Ann Tomlinson

Where does DI occur?

Content – What are students going to learn?

Process – What activities will students do and what skill sets will they acquire?

Products – What method will students choose to demonstrate their learning?

Where does the Teacher-Librarian include DI?

Plagiarism Activity:

1. Visual

2. Kinesthetic/Tactile

3. Auditory

DI Opportunities in the Library

Add to the DI Opportunities recording sheet addressing the following questions alone and then with your Pre-frontal Cortex Partner:What are the common skill areas you address?How could you build DI into the delivery?

Differentiated Instruction in ActionEvelynne Bernstein

Background Decision to implement DI was based on the fact that

student effort (English 4U) had declined once University acceptances were received

Marked decline in students handing in work Goals:

increase the number of students handing in final Culminating Activity of the course

provide a CA that would engage students - media Using DI seemed a perfect fit

Action Research

“If I differentiate from the standard literary essay oral assignment based on the novels under study and assign a creative media assignment instead, will my students have more success in completing their assignment and earning their credit?”

Librarianship AQ Specialist Course requirement

Project Task: define a social issue stemming from

the two novels they had studied and compare its treatment in three different forms of media

Process: convey analysis in the form of a graphic organizer

Assessment: small group structured sharing Evaluation: rubric/checklist

Sample Projects

Teacher Observations Differentiating the product had a positive effect on

number of students completing the Culminating Activity

Simplicity of the product in some cases belied the depth of analysis

Quality of student work was WAY beyond expectations

Students felt pressure to prepare in order to share Most impressive demonstration of learning was in

student reflections

Student Reflection “I found this media assignment very insightful to

the serious issue of elder abuse and neglect. This opened my eyes to the amount of elder neglect that goes on in professional centres. I thought this was a refreshing way to complete a media assignment compared to past years.”

Sara G.

Student Reflection “I liked being able to express my ideas visually.

I could take what I was thinking and organize it in a visual way. It is appealing to the eye to be able to look at something visual instead of having to read an essay. It was also good to be able to explain my interpretation with a write-up that allowed everyone to understand how I was feeling.” Kathleen R.

Library Support Variety of resources (articles, music, lyrics,

artwork) Access to media Graphic organizer support Support for struggling students

Questions

Differentiated Strategies to ShareRead one DI strategy and share with your Amygdala Partner

Carol Ann Tomlinson, Differentiated Instruction in the Mixed Ability Classroom

You ask, “What’s in my backpack?”

My teacher wants to plant a seed,

Get my “love of learning” to sprout.

She wants it to last a lifetime-

That’s what school is all about.

Written by: Donna Whyte, 2002

Here’s the site for the stopwatch….

http://www.online-stopwatch.com/download-stopwatch/