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Differentiation

7/30/2014

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Author: Monique Carter

Monique is the Principal at Lansdowne Crescent Primary School in West Hobart, Tasmania, Australia.

Monique has allowed us to publish her staff blog ... this post features Differentiation.


 ... 'it's problem solving on behalf of kids.' Carol Ann Tomlinson

Differentiating learning is something we do really well at Lansdowne, and we have to, we have a quite diverse group of learners - including a small cohort who are clever thinkers but struggle with some of the mechanics of learning.
 
Carol Ann Tomlinson describes differentiating as “problem solving on behalf of the kids” and that really resonates with how we teach at Lansdowne. 

If someone is not achieving success, is not making progress, has issues which prevent them demonstrating what they know we seek to alter what we are doing to assist them to take their learning further. Like any area of teaching it is an important area to regularly reflect on.


It will be really great to hear about the differentiation strategies people are using with their identified students when we meet together in our learning teams this week.

A lot of discussion on Monday was around differentiating product….providing a variety of ways for students to demonstrate their knowledge.

It was really important that we acknowledged that to have the capacity to give children a variety of product options they first must be explicitly taught these – how do you write an advertisement if you have not been taught that genre?

The Differentiation booklet* has some very practical strategies within it including this great table – it reminds us of the variety of product types we can include in our learning tasks.
*GOOD TEACHING Differentiated Classroom Practice Learning for All (DoE Tas 2014)
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Carol Ann Tomlinson has 5 strategies she recommends which match nicely with the 10 identified by the 'What Ed Said' Blog (great article, well worth reading)

Five strategies for differentiating classroom practice - from Carol Ann Tomlinson

"It's not a mystery formula that only a few can understand. It's not a series of mandatory instructional strategies. It's not a recipe. It is problem solving on behalf of kids. One step at a time, all teachers can do that. Working with like-minded colleagues makes the journey smoother and more rewarding. Here are a few other suggestions.

1) Start small. Begin with whatever steps feel right to you. Differentiation isn't so hard. Change is. Go in a direction that's likely to result in some success. Start with one subject or one class. Start with 10 minutes a day or 15 minutes a week. Just start.

2) Study your students. The more you see them as distinct individuals--the more you understand them as human beings--the clearer your motivation will be.

3) Use formative assessments regularly (ones you develop to be close to your teaching--not standardized ones). As you see where your students are in relation to your learning goals, you'll understand more clearly what you need to do next to help students move ahead from their starting points.

4) Invest time in thinking through classroom routines--giving directions, handling transitions, starting and stopping tasks, using materials effectively. Envision how you want things to work and help your students do the same.

5) Make the students your partners in creating a classroom that works well for everyone. Don't do differentiation to them, do it with them. Explain your thinking and ask for their input. Enlist their help in making sure the classroom runs smoothly. Get their input on which approaches work best for them.

Differentiation just asks of us what we commend for our students: flexible thinking, intellectual risk-taking, problem-solving--and a deepening sense of humanity."
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A Positive Change

7/17/2014

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by Rachel Graham-Hilder

A recent article printed in The Examiner, on July 10th 2014, told of some of the difficulties we have encountered whilst Finn attended a mainstream primary school. The article also released information regarding the Parent Satisfaction Survey.
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During the interview I mentioned the positive experiences since Finn changed schools, but these weren't printed. I felt this made me look like a mother harping on about the same issues, as I have been quoted in the past regarding improvements that need to be made within the education system regarding children who require extra assistance.

My husband and I are VERY satisfied parents now and I would like to share with you why we now feel this way.

Michael and I have 2 children, our daughter Niamh who is 13 and our son Finn is 11.   Finn has Down syndrome.

The majority of Finn's years attending a mainstream primary school in Northern Tasmania were most enjoyable. Finn's teacher aide worked with him from Kinder through to the end of Grade 4, so there was a strong connection between them. 

All Finn's teachers were marvellous! I did feel disappointed for the staff though, as they didn't receive offers to participate in professional learning sessions on Down syndrome until mid last year when Finn's teacher aide and I attended such a seminar. 

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I have attend 3 seminars and walked away each time feeling more confident, and taking with me more empathy and strategies to enhance Finn's life.

Towards the end of Grade 4, Finn's friend who had been in all of Finn's classes since Kinder, left the state. Finn and his friend would sit at a desk together in class and keep each other company in the playground. 

I communicated with the staff, asking for them to keep a closer than usual eye on Finn, as I had an inkling that we'd be encountering a change.

UnfortunateIy I was right.

Finn, on only 3 occasions started to behave differently in the school playground. These behaviours weren't seen in the classroom and I didn't notice them at home. These behaviours were very out of character so alarm bells started to ring for my husband and I. We realised that he was feeling lonely since his friend left the school.


Finn was seeking attention, any attention would do, be it with a positive or negative outcome. I think Finn had difficulty expressing himself to his peers so he became frustrated, consequently causing friction between him, some students and teachers. I felt sorry for Finn when he was reprimanded for misbehaving. I knew he was doing it for a reason. I think it was because he knew he couldn't use his words effectively so he relied on his actions to do the talking.

Two occasions come to mind where I was filled with sadness and worry regarding Finn's ability to cope with social situations at school. Every afternoon I would collect Finn from school and we would chat in the car about his day on our way home. 

One afternoon Finn told me he played football at lunch time. I asked who he kicked the ball to, he answered "to the clouds". 

Another time Finn told me he played on the slide at lunch time, I asked who he was with. Finn answered "my shadow".

No parent wants to hear this. I felt so sorry for Finn.

I am not saying that children MUST be with or play with someone during recess & lunch, it's their personal choice. But when there isn't a choice, one's happiness starts to slowly be replaced with loneliness.

I don't believe in the buddy system where children are rostered to keep a child company in an area. Friendships cannot be forced, they are a natural bond between like minded people.



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It was time to make a decision.

Moving Finn to another mainstream school wasn't an option, as we knew Finn would encounter similar challenges.

So, late in 2013, we enrolled Finn at the Northern Support School St. Georges Campus, completing application forms and attending meetings in record time.







This was an important decision for us and a big move for Finn.

Before Term 4 finished, Finn and his aide visited St. Georges on a few occasions to familiarise Finn with his new surroundings. He really enjoyed these visits, so much so that departing the premises would take quite a while!

At 8:30 on day 2 of Term 1, my husband and I watched Finn board the school bus, fasten his seat belt, smiling happily as he waved us goodbye. Tears of happiness filled my eyes.

Finn is now half way through his first year at St. Georges and absolutely thriving. Family and friends have noticed positive changes in Finn from very early on in the year which have steadily continued.

We are now living with a more confident, more co-operative and social boy who now uses a wider range of words, his speech is clearer and he joins in and holds conversations more willingly and for longer. 

I remember Finn quoting one of his class mates earlier in the year. I just looked at Finn and thought what an unfamiliar statement he had just made! It was like I was speaking to a different child!

The most wonderful outcome has been that Finn now has friends. 

I know this is the right place for Finn to be until he graduates. The numbers are low in each class, Finn is one of 8 students with a teacher and 2 assistants. I know Finn is feeling supported and understood.

I don't mind at all that Finn attends a support school, it's name defines it perfectly. 

For Michael and I, Finn's happiness is paramount.

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Get into the deep end ... quickly!

6/22/2014

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If you know what the SAMR framework is, skip to the end!
SAMR - SUBSTITUTION, AUGMENTATION, MODIFICATION, REDEFINITION

Recently when I was preparing for a professional learning session I googled SAMR to find an image of the framework ... I found hundreds!   (SAMR is the popular framework used to describe technology use in education, developed by Dr. Dr. Ruben Puentedura http://www.hippasus.com/)

SAMR suggests that there are 4 levels of technology use ... 1. task SUBSTITUTION, 2. task AUGMENTATION (task enhancement),
3. task MODIFICATION, 4. task REDEFINITION (task transformation)

I found this image created by Carl Hooker ...
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I liked this representation of the SAMR framework.  To give you a practical example of the framework  ... a common classroom task - 'write up a procedural text about ...'  
OK, in reference to this image SUBSTITUTION could simply be using a computer as a word processor, the task is not changed ... relatively simple for us as educators! Word processing has been around forever, so it seems!
If the same word processor is used to enhance the learning e.g. thesaurus, text to speech, speech to text,  this is referred to as AUGMENTATION. Again relatively simple for us ... the shallow end of the pool.

OK ... let's venture into the DEEP END (same task - procedural text)
MODIFICATION ... technology could be used to easily (so he says) create a video representation of a procedural task, think science experiment, maths equation etc.  The video could then be embedded in an eBook and shared.  Starting to get a little more complicated for us.  REDEFINITION of the task (something previously inconceivable without technology) could be to upload the video to a YouTube channel or to post it in a blog and seek feedback from peers around the world.  This is transforming learning!

YOU MUST READ THIS ... GET INTO THE DEEP END, QUICKLY!

The SAMR representation above (Carl Hooker) suggests that we must feel comfortable in the shallow end of the pool before we can cross the safety rope and enter the deep end.

INITIALLY I THOUGHT THIS WAS FAIR ENOUGH ... but then I realised from my own practice that there are many students in the DEEP END of the pool, not necessarily by choice, but by DIVERSITY of learning needs.  Some are swimming, some are treading water - waiting and others are going under!  YES, going under!

There are those students for whom traditional methods of engagement and written expression simply do not work!  These students require us to cross the safety rope, these are the students who are going under.  The same can be said for those students at the other end of the continuum, those who are gifted ... and bored!  These students need to be taught, or given the opportunity to swim!

GET INTO THE DEEP END ... LIVES ARE AT RISK!

For more information about How To Get Into The Deep End contact Robert Carter.

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Spectronics Inclusive Learning Technologies Conference, May 2014

6/9/2014

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I was so fortunate this year to attend the biannual Spectronics Inclusive Learning Technologies Conference in Queensland. 
I knew, from past attendees, what a fabulous conference this was, a highly professional event hosting a  range of great international and local speakers and showcasing new technology easily applied in all educational settings. 

I went along imaging I was going to have my mind sent spinning by technology I did not quite understand.  Instead, I learnt so much more!  The conference went way beyond technology - instead ...
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The conference speakers reinforced the notion that technology is a huge enabler in education, allowing students to easily access the curriculum, represent what they are learning and engaging them in learning no matter where they are at. 

Mobile devices put technology directly at student's finger tips - giving them assistive technology directly at their point of learning. 
"Less used well is more" was a big take way - it's not what you've got but the way you maximise what you do have. It is about knowing what it is you want to employ the technology for and the outcomes you want to achieve. 

Technology gives us opportunities, options and variety in our goal to develop critical and creative thinkers. 

Knowing our students, what it is we want them to learn and understanding how they will best learn it is our key role as teachers, our employment of technology must be purposeful and anchored in great pedagogy.


Take away quotes, learnings, thoughts...
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  • "Team Teach with yourself" (thanks Kevin Honeycutt). Ever wished there were 2 of you? Use technology to capture what you do so your students can watch you (over and over) while you teach within your class.

  • "Try another way" Use technology to diversify teaching and learning, to find another way for children to access and demonstrate their learning. - thanks Greg O'Connor

  • Be "device agnostic" ( Kevin again) pick the right tool for the job, don't let the technology drive you.
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  • UDL -  Universal Design for Learning - a great framework that reminds us about the diversity of our learners. Use multiple ways to convey learning, encourage multiple ways for students to express their learning and you will achieve multiple engagement.

  • Adults use assistive technology and a multiple range of devices every day - yet when we allow students to do this we wonder if they are "cheating". Is it cheating or enabling?

  • Assistive versus compensatory teaching - the tension between remediating to try to close the widening gap or giving tools and strategies to allow students with a gap to access and participate in their learning. Technology is a massive support in assisting our learners.

  • Expert teachers are the number one factor in student achievement. Expert teachers make purposeful decisions about the pedagogy and technology they employ in teaching and learning

  • Technology is messy! (Thanks again Kevin) jump in, have a go, it won't hurt!

The conference spirit and atmosphere was engaging and enthusiastic, and so positive - it reminded us that learning should be exciting, and what we learn should be shared and celebrated. We should strive to push further everyday but with a sense of fun, and remember - PERFECT IS THE ENEMY OF DONE!

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Welcome to teachinclusive and teach21c

6/5/2014

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Welcome to the first blog post for teach21c.  
I am thrilled to be involved with such wonderful people who share a common passion for education and the belief that 'all children can learn, just not on the same day, or in the same way.' (Thanks Mr. Evans)

teach21c is a part of teachinclusive a professional co-operative that includes school leaders, teachers, teacher assistants, psychologists, speechies, physio's, OT's and parents.

teach21c is the name of our blog and our Facebook Page.  It will feature posts from a range of people in the roles noted above.  We will focus on  expert teaching and learning, exciting technologies and pedagogy to maximise student learning outcomes.

... so who am I?

I'm Robert Carter, a teacher of 26 years and a founding member of teachinclusive.  I'm still teaching, I work at the University of Tasmania in the 'Inclusive Practices in Educational Settings unit and I am fortunate to be an educational and technology consultant with teachinclusive.  My area of expertise within education is student and school support, and inclusive technologies. 

I look forward to working and learning with you, cheers Rob



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