Designing a Differentiated Lesson Plan

 

By Sarah Harmon

Instructional Strategies to Differentiate & Engage Leaners

An integral part of teaching is differentiation

because not all learners learn the same or encounter content at the same level of experience. “Teachers need to create a variety of entry points to ensure that students' differing abilities, strengths, and needs are all taken into consideration.” (Watson, 2020) Learners experience content differently and teachers teach content differently. It would make sense that the focus should be learner centered rather than content centered. Anyone can present information but educators guide and facilitate learning of content through the process of constant feedback and adjusting.

Learning is an active process and the teacher must adapt to the present situation rather than make teaching static. A major part of planning the ELA lesson came from the learning style inventory, conversations, observations, and data on students that helped me understand their readiness to learn. Curriculum decisions should be guided by knowledge of the students' learning needs. 

Learner Readiness

There are key factors in helping students’ readiness. For example, Hante (2020) recommends assessing students’ background knowledge as well as confidence and willingness to tackle the content. Students can be anxious if the perception about their learning efficacy is low and they fear failure. In order to combat students shutting down and giving up before learning begins, it’s important to share that as the teacher, you plan to get to know them, support them, and listen to their feedback. Holding students to high standards doesn’t mean learning isn’t individualized. Another component of readiness is students’ learning styles. Multiple entry points means presenting information in multiple ways. My students were highly visual learners so many visual aids were used to organize thinking. 

Differentiating Assessments

Differentiation isn’t only for during instruction but should also occur for assessments. According to White (2019), differentiation of assessments doesn’t mean lowering the standard or goal of learning, it means the way students show proficiency might come in different forms. Students at all grade levels and skill levels can practice learning at higher depths of knowledge by using extended thinking. Aungst (2014), suggests that the same line of questioning might be at different depths of knowledge for different ages of students but all learners should be challenged with deeper thinking activities at their level.  

Differentiation for learning styles also includes accepting multiple forms of learning evidence. In order to accommodate a variety of learners, my lesson plan had multiple layers of support. ELL students could access google translate. Special needs’ students could use Rewordify, a tool for understanding new vocabulary and various graphic organizers, as well as speech to text. They also had access to peers in their groups and could use digital tools such as Plot Diagram to support their learning further.  Gifted learners could apply their knowledge in a variety of creative ways and to the level of communication they preferred through an essay, slide presentation, or poster presentation. And early finishers could add graphic details or conference with the teacher to review the rubric. The summative assessment for learning could include one or many forms of display, such as a written essay, graphic organizer, oral presentation, slide show, or poster presentation.

Technology Differentiation

Another useful tool in differentiation is technology. There are many digital resources that are specifically made to help support learning differences. For example, “Plot Diagram is an organizational tool that allows readers to visualize the key features of narrative and expository text. Rewordify is a web-based tool that helps students better understand and learn new words.”  (Moore, 2016) These web based tools were created specifically for students with learning disabilities. Also, modeling of the process was done so that students could see and hear it happen in real time. Once students were working in their groups, observations would take place to see if students needed more support or guidance on how to best present their knowledge. The learning process is just as important as the final outcome. It’s critical that students have differentiated support throughout the entire process. 

References

Aungst, G. (2014). Using Webb's depth of knowledge to increase rigor. Edutopia. https://www.edutopia.org/blog/webbs-depth-knowledge-increase-rigor-gerald-aungst

Hante, J. (2020). Tips to help you address student readiness. Cengage. https://blog.cengage.com/tips-to-help-you-address-student-readiness/

Moore, M. (2016). Using technology to assist with learning differences. International Literacy Association. https://www.literacyworldwide.org/blog/literacy-now/2016/04/15/using-technology-to-assist-with-learning-differences

Watson, S. (2020). Differentiated instruction and assessment. ThoughtCo. https://www.thoughtco.com/differentiated-instruction-and-assessment-3111341

White, K. (2019). Differentiating assessment. Solution Tree Blog. https://www.solutiontree.com/blog/differentiating-assessment/