Ideas and Activities to Differentiate

Instruction through Strategies

Learning TargetsContent Objectives : I will be able to select learning strategies appropriate to a lesson’s

objectives. I will be able to incorporate explicit instruction and student practice

of metacognitive strategies in lesson plans. I will be able to identify techniques for scaffolding verbal, procedural

and instructional understanding. Language Objectives: I will be able to identify language learning strategies to use with

students. I will be able to discuss the importance of asking higher-order

questions to students of English of all proficiency levels. I will be able to write a set of questions with increasing levels of

difficulty on one topic

Strategies -- Feature 13 Ample opportunities provided for

students to use learning strategies.

A primary goal of instruction is to assist all students in becoming strategic thinkers, those who possess a variety of approaches for solving problems, comprehending texts, and remembering information.

Instructional vs. Learning Strategies

It is important for teachers to

recognize the distinction between

instructional strategies and learning

strategies.

VS

Decisions Teachers Make

Activities, techniques, approaches, and methods that teachers use to promote

student learning and achievement

Instructional Strategies:

Student strategies for learning

Conscious, flexible plans learners use tomake sense of what they’re reading and learning; these reside in the learners heads

Learning Strategies:

Cognitive and Metacognitive Strategies

When teachers systematically incorporate a variety of cognitive and metacognitive strategies into their instruction, and provide appropriate modeling and practice in how to use the strategies, students’ understanding of content is enhanced.

Cognitive Strategies Cognitive strategies are directly related to

individual learning tasks and are used by learners when they mentally and /or physically manipulate material, or when they apply a specific technique to a learning task.

Metacognitive Strategies The process of purposefully monitoring our

thinking is referred to as metacognition (thinking about thinking).

Metacognition is characterized by (1) matching thinking and problem-solving strategies to particular learning situations, (2) clarifying purposes for learning, (3) monitoring one’s own comprehension through self-questioning, and (4) taking corrective action if understanding fails.

Cognitive and Metacognitive Strategies

Cognitive MetacognitiveRereading Predicting/Inferring

Highlighting Self Questioning

Read Aloud Monitoring/Clarifying

Taking Notes Evaluating

Mapping Information Summarizing

Finding Key Vocabulary

visualizing

Mnemonics

Social/Affective Strategies

Learning can be enhanced when people interact with each other to clarify a confusing point or when they participate in a group discussion or cooperative learning group to solve a problem.

Declarative, Procedural, and Conditional Knowledge

When teaching strategies, educators need to help English learners and other students understand declarative, procedural, and conditional knowledge (Lipson and Wixson, 2008).

Declarative Knowledge(The What)

What a particular strategy is What does it mean to predict (question,

monitor, clarify, summarize, etc.) What does it mean to reread (or highlight,

use a mnemonic, etc.)

Procedural Knowledge (The How)

How a particular strategy is used by a student.

How do I ask myself a question? How should I state a prediction? What should I do to monitor my

understanding.

Conditional Knowledge(The Why)

Why and under what conditions particular strategies are used

When I’m reading, when is a good time to stop and summarize what I have read?

How do predictions differ when I’m reading narrative or expository text?

Strategies -- Feature 14 Scaffolding techniques consistently used,

assisting and supporting student understanding (e.g. think-alouds).

Scaffolding

Scaffolding The term scaffolding refers to the degree of

support and assistance that teachers provide when students are learning a new content concept and to the gradual release of responsibility from the teacher to the students when the support is reduced. The ultimate goal is for students to reach independence in the understanding and application of key concept.

Verbal Scaffolding Paraphrasing Using “think alouds” Reinforcing Contextual Definitions Providing Correct Pronunciation by

Repeating Students’ Responses Slowing Speech, Increasing Pauses, and

speaking in Phrases

Providing Procedural Scaffolding

Teacher- Centered

Teacher-Assisted

Peer- Assisted

Student-Centered

Mini -lecture Practice Peer Modeling Apply strategies

Explicit Instruction Teacher ModelingDiscussion

Reciprocal

teaching

during

independent

Cooperative

Learning

reading

Teach

ModelPractice

Apply

Strategies -- Feature 15 A variety of questions or tasks that promote

higher-order thinking skills (e.g., literal, analytical, and interpretive questions)

How many questions do teachers ask that are higher order thinking skill?

80% of all questions are knowledge, recognize or recall based.

The lowest level kinds of questions!! Teachers must plan these questions out

ahead of time because it is too difficult to come up with them off the top of our heads.

Blooms Taxonomy

EvaluationDetermining value and providing a rationale for the response

SynthesisCreating a “new” from the parts

AnalysisBreaking the concept into component parts

ApplicationDemonstrating knowledge by applying concept to one’s own life

ComprehensionBasic understanding of concept (e.g. providing definitions)

KnowledgeSimple recitation of information

Revised Blooms Taxonimy 1. Remember 2. Understand 3. Apply 4. Analyze 5. Evaluate 6. Create

Ticket OutList the two bits of information that has

the most value for you to take back to your classroom.