Resources

Here is a list of resources that will assist you in your differentiation endeavors. Please add to our list of resources. Differentiated instruction is a teaching philosophy based on the premise that teachers adapt instruction to student differences. To do this teachers rely on a number of strategies. These strategies are adapted from //The// //Differentaited Classroom: Responding to the Needs of All Learners// by Carol Ann Tomlinson.
 * Stations - Set up different spots in the classroom where students work on various tasks simultaneously. These stations accommodate flexible grouping because not all students need to go to all stations.
 * Compacting - Encourages teachers to assess students before a unit of study or development of a skill. Students who do well on the assessment do not need to work on what they already know and proceed to apply the concepts.
 * Agendas - Personalized task lists that students must complete in a specifieid time, 2-3 weeks. Student agendas will contain both similar and dissimilar elements.
 * Complex Instruction - Using challenging materials, open-ended tasks, and small instructional groups, the teacher circulates among the working groups asking questions and probing thinking.
 * Orbital Studies - With the guidance and coaching of the teacher, students select independent investigations, lasting several weeks, that revolve around some facet of the curriculum.
 * Entry Points - Howard Gardner proposes student exploration of a given topic through as many as five avenues: narrational (presenting a story), logical-quantitative (using numbers or deductions), foundational (examining philosophy and vocabulary), aaesthetic (focusing on sensory features), and experiential (hands-on).
 * Problem-Based Learning - Students actively solve problems in the same way professionals do on the job.
 * Choice Boards - Work assignments are written on cards organized by rows on a board. By directing student to select a card from a specific row, the teacher targets work toward the student needs while allowing student choice.
 * 4MAT - Over the course of several days, plan instruction on a topic for 4 learning preferences; mastery, understanding, personal involvement and synthesis. Each learner has the opportunity to approach the topic through preferred modes and to strengthen their weaker areas.

Flexible Grouping []

Tiered Activites [|www.montgomeryschoolsmd.org/curriculum/enriched/giftedprograms/docs/ppts/TieredInstr.ppt] Strategies for Differentiating []

Multiple Intelligences "Snowflake" []

 http://www.personalitypathways.com/ (this website is helpful for learning about the 16 different personality types and the applications of each)

[|Online Tools to Enhance the Classroom Experience](free online tools that will make learning fun)

http://orangetree2009.wikispaces.com/ (another wiki full of resources)

[|Roger Taylor's Differentiating the Product Grid]

Strategies for Differentiated Instruction in the Classroom [|Article]

ESubjects/Differentiated Instruction [|Article]