Differentiating Content, Delivery, and Assessment: Assignment 4A

For this assignment, we have been instructed to design a teaching plan to meet a content area standard by differentiating the content, process, and product. 

Content Standard for English Language Arts (Grade11/12): 2.0 Reading Comprehension (Focus on Informational Materials)

The purpose of this type of lesson is for students to be able to understand and analyze an author's argument/point of view. The content, process, and product would have to be differentiated in order to meet the needs of all types of learners. The goal is for students to read through the text and then complete a series of comprehension questions that pertain to what they have read. The initial read through would be provided with an audio assistance, either read aloud by the teacher, other students, or an audio recording. Images and videos that pertain to the topic would also be presented in order to clarify meaning. Students would also receive a graphic organizer to complete with the assignment. Upon reviewing the comprehension questions, the students would have an option of using sentence frames/starters provided by the teacher.

EL learners would receive differentiation through audio and visual elements and can also be provided with a list of key vocabulary words translated to their native language. Sentence frames/starters would also be helpful in developing language skills.

Students of a lower reading/writing level would also benefit from an audio listening while they read along. The sentence frames/starters would help these students organize their thoughts into writing.

Special Needs students would receive differentiation through audio and visual elements of the lesson. Graphic organizers would be especially helpful for understanding the text and focusing on important elements of the author's argument/point of view. Sentence frames/starters would then help them transfer points of the graphic organizers into a written response. 

Project-Based Learning: Assignment 3B

For this assignment, we were instructed to design a lesson utilizing PBL to meet Common Core Standards in our content area. The Common Core Standard for high school ELA that I have decided to focus on:
College and Career Readiness: Anchor Standards for Writing
2. Write informative/explanatory texts to examine and convey complex ideas and information clearly and accurately through the effective selection, organization, and analysis of content. 
*This is a found lesson (ccusd93.org) that I have adapted to meet the needs of this assignment.

Lesson unit topic: Dark Ages to Renaissance
Purpose: 
Students will analyze the similarities and differences between various forms of culture (art, music, people's lives, and religion) in the time periods of the "dark ages," Renaissance, and Reformation. 
Project: 
Students will work in groups of 2-3 to create a virtual museum using information gathered in class, internet research using Google Chrome books, and Google Slides to create the museum. 
Students will create the museum based on an assigned topic, including art during the dark ages, early Renaissance art, high Renaissance art, northern Renaissance art, Renaissance literature, Renaissance music, society of the dark ages, society of the Renaissance, society of the Reformation.
Students will create a 10 slide presentation on their topic which effectively explains the unique aspects of their topics. 
Following the presentations, students will finish the project by completing an essay on the various cultural impacts.
Project Goals:
By the end of the project, students should be able to define various cultural forms, identify various examples of art and music, explain the similarities and differences between the various forms of culture, and effectively write an essay about the topic. 
Differentiated Instruction:
Students will have options to choose from on the topic that they present. For example, they can request a topic in art, music, literature, or society. The more specific topic will then be selected by the teacher.
Groups can design their projects based on individual strengths, abilities, and interests. Group projects also allow for more help from peers and teacher facilitation which will allow for proper scaffolding.
Verbal-linguistic learners will learn through the construction and presentation of the project. Visual learners will learn from the "museum" presentation which will include images. Audio learners will learn through class lectures/discussions and student presentations. Interpersonal learners will learn from working in groups with their peers.
Students are presented material in a variety of ways and are being taught through various learning styles. 

Cooperative Learning - Assignment 3A

This week we are discussing cooperative learning. For this particular assignment, we are to analyze the use of grouping patterns to teach grade level standards in the area of writing in our content area, and to defend how such grouping patterns allow for differentiation and increase student performance. My evaluation is based on high school level English Language Arts, Content Standard 1.0: Writing Strategies. Under this content standard, "students write coherent and focused essays that convey a well defined perspective and tightly reasoned argument."

1. Whole Group Instruction
When the teacher gives direct instruction to the whole class, there are more opportunities to present material in ways that adapt to various needs, abilities, and learning styles. In other words, the teacher has more control and more opportunity to differentiate instruction. Differentiation can be presented during whole group instruction through use of visuals and types of questions. Whole group instruction can also be used as a segue into other types of grouping patterns, such as small group or peer-pairing. Students would first be given the content of the lesson or even taught part of the lesson as a whole group, which will then prepare them with the information that they will need to apply to their smaller groups. For this part of the lesson, after students have been given the content through text and/or video/images, I would introduce the group to the concepts and format of a thesis statement. A variety of sentence frames can also be provided for those who might need more guidance in beginning this writing process. 

2. Small Group Instruction
Small groups can be organized based on student needs, abilities, and learning styles. For this part of the assignment, students would work together to form a thesis statement and develop an outline for their essay. Together, students can brainstorm ideas and help each other construct a thesis. In this setting, a heterogeneous grouping pattern would promote students working with each other and the teacher could provide extra one-on-one instruction for students who may need the added help. Once students spend enough time with their groups brainstorming and outlining, they can then work individually to construct a 1st draft, which can then be peer edited by members in the next group meeting. 

3. Peer Pairs Instruction
The writing process can also be conducted through peer pairing. This process can work the same as small group instruction would, except students would benefit more by being paired homogeneously. Students at a similar reading/writing level are likely to gain more from working with a student of similar abilities rather than with a student who is much more advanced or who works at a lower level. The teacher can then work with pairs who might need more guidance in the writing process by providing graphic organizers or questions of the appropriate level. This would provide more focus for the students so that they can successfully brainstorm, form a thesis, and prepare an outline. 

These types of cooperative learning allow for differentiation in that they focus on student needs, abilities, and learning styles. Students are provided differentiation by working with students of similar abilities and with the added assistance of one-on-one instruction and sentence frames/graphic organizers. They are also provided opportunities of increased performance by working in heterogeneous groups in which students of various abilities have new strategies to offer. Lower level students can learn from more advanced students while advanced students can share their methods and challenge each other productively. 

Differentiated Assessment - Assignment 2A

For this assignment in week 2, we were to design an assessment rubric that is based on differentiated instruction. The rubric that I have designed is intended for an assignment in which differentiation is applied to the product. Students would have the opportunity to choose how to present their product based on their learning preference. The areas to be scored are categorized by Accuracy, Content Knowledge/Understanding, Neatness/Organization, and Grammar/Mechanics. No matter what format students choose for their presentation, each category can be scored according to the criteria that is described in the rubric. 

Beginning Differentiation - Assignment 2B

For this assignment, I have identified 5 means by which you can differentiate a content presentation and a subsequent learning activity for each of the following groups of students: English Language Learners, Special Needs Students, and Advanced or Gifted Learners.

For all three groups of students, Quick Writes are a great strategy that teachers can use to differentiate student content knowledge prior to beginning instruction. This activity can let the teacher know the level of language proficiency of English Language Learners, how to modify the assignment for special needs students, and how to provide a challenge for advanced or gifted students who already exhibit sufficient content knowledge. 

English Language Learners: 
1. Questions should be adjusted based on the student's level of English proficiency - pre-production, early production, intermediate fluency, and advanced. 
2. "Chunking," in which information is provided to the student in smaller amounts at a time
3. "Wordsmithing," which focuses on parts of speech
4. "Copycatting," in which students copy sentences to first learn patterns of English
5. "Peer Pairing," in which students practice English proficiency skills by interacting with English speaking students. 

Special Needs Students:
1. Adjusting levels of questions according to students' level of readiness. Types of questions that can be used to help students extend or refine their knowledge include comparison, classification, induction, deduction, error analysis, constructing support, abstraction, and analyzing perspectives.
2. "Advance Organizers" help student organize content and information for comparing and contrasting. 
3. Using narratives allows students to focus on a topic prior to reading by telling a related story.
4. "Skimming" engages students by providing an overview of the text and posing questions, improving the comprehension of the text.
5. "Pacing" is decelerated for students who need more time to comprehend the information.

Advanced or Gifted Learners
1. "Compacting" compresses information and learning for higher level students.
2. Using varied research topics allows more advanced students to explore a topic more independently at an appropriate level of complexity. 
3. "Pacing" is accelerated for advanced learners.
4. Advanced levels of explanations are provided.
5. Providing practice activities at higher reading levels. 

Introduction

My name is Jacqueline Mendez. I am currently enrolled in the Teaching Credential/Master's program at National University and I have created this blog for the course MAT 674: Differentiated Instruction.

I do not currently have any experience teaching, but have learned a lot about the concept of differentiated instruction through the courses I have taken for this program. As an educator, strategies I plan to use are those that would allow me to understand my students' educational and cultural backgrounds. Becoming acquainted with them on this level would be the best way to create a comfortable and welcoming environment for my students, thus developing a positive relationship in which I can begin to best understand their needs and their abilities. Understanding their diverse needs and abilities will help me design my instruction so that content is presented in multiple ways and assessment is offered in various measurements. Instruction should be accompanied by visuals, audio, or assisted language, and students should have the opportunity to present their understanding in ways that they are unique to their abilities. 

My ideas at this point are still rather general, but my goal throughout this course and this program is to find specific and effective strategies that I can apply to my own unique practice. 

Here is a picture of me visiting Chicago last winter!