Michigan ASCD is a great organization with a vision for bringing quality support to the region, matching the quality level of the national organization. ASCD national brings in the big names in just about every educational area there is to explore. That kind of expertise is difficult to match. What MI ASCD does, and I'm sure other states do but I only know the work of the MI chapter, is bring philosophical pedagogy into practice.
Differentiated Instruction is a great example. On February 1 and 2, some of the top educators in Michigan who do DI are coming together to show, model, and facilitate the work of teachers and administrators to improve practice for the support of student learning. A similar conference was done in August of 2009. Many of the resources are posted, for a limited time, on the MI ASCD website. Well worth exploring.
Also, check MI ASCD on Facebook.
Hi Mark,
ReplyDeleteThanks for sharing your article, 23 Myths of Differentiated Instruction. It presents some interesting insights.
Items 13 through 15 reflects a key point that DI is for every student, from those who struggle to the gifted learners.
Items 16 and 17 points out that DI done effectively is based on curriculum standards. Therefore, learners are developing skills and concepts with support and depth through differentiation.
Items 21 through 23 notes that while DI planning takes work and time, as one becomes proficient that time is better used. Start where you feel comfortable, and incorporate what makes clear sense. Like our students, we must learn at the rate and pace that fits our needs.
Item 18 illustrates how important is student's affective in learning. Frustration can be healthy, but failure is a confidence destroyer. That's not to say, we protect kids from failure. Rather through interventions and careful planning based on assessments, we should be able to guide learners along their course so that failure is avoided. If failure occurs, help the student learn from it and be prepared to help repair their confidence to move forward. Consider the impact of a healthy vs. toxic workplace. Such environments effect worker efficiency. For students, the classroom is their work place.
The other "Myths" addressed in Mark's article contain some over the top messages by using "absolute" language as to what DI is or is not. Taken to extreme, his arguments may seem logical. But people and learning are not absolutes, with many shades of color.
Put simply, Differentiated Instruction is planning instruction that addresses where student skills stand.
--Formative assessment data tells us when and where to differentiate.
--Learning styles data informs us of the various way learners may connect to the concepts. I remind myself that even with the best laid plans, when students find their entry point it may or may not be based on what I set up.
List of tools:
http://wb4all.blogspot.com/2010/01/relationships-matter-next-steps.html
--DI is not a silver bullet to solving all learning problems. There are no guarantees. BUT, DI has a strong impact on learners--much more so than the traditional approach of teaching the same way to everyone, which is more convenient to the teacher than the learner.
--DI done effectively occurs in many pedagogical approaches. What makes constructivism appealing is that students are active partners in teaching and learning.
Also consider:
http://wb4all.blogspot.com/2009/12/relationships-matter-pt-1-layers-of.html
Regardless of the approach you use, DI success, and good instruction in general, occurs consistently if we ask 3 questions in the planning process:
1. What do students need to know, understand, and be able to do? (Learning Targets)
2. How will students show what they know, and don't know? (Formative and summative assessments that lead to the learning targets)
3. How will we support the students who struggle? And how will we support the students who already know the learning target?