Understanding the varying levels of background knowledge that learners bring to a unit of study has always been challenging for me. Most teachers find differentiation to be overwhelming because, like me, they believe that it involves an extensive list of options or the planning of multiple lessons. In the past, I thought differentiation meant designing different assessments and assignments to fit each learners performance level. Hockett, (2014), taught me that differentiation simply moves all students towards and beyond common learning goals. Thus, I plan to pre-assess students is by remembering that I can just tweak an existing task or question rather than creating a whole new assessment.
Ways to Pre-Assess Prior Knowledge and experiences:
Gallery Walk- I enjoy using gallery walks because my students are always extremely engaged! Most students seem to love being able to move around, while also being able to demonstrate knowledge collectively with their peers. I have used gallery walks in several ways for various reasons and content areas. The Center for Teaching Excellence confirms the value of Gallery walks as an effective way to identify the needs of learners. This past year, I explored using gallery walks for math for the first time. I would put up a math problem and ask students to solve the problem and write their answer, identify the best (most effective) strategy for the problem, or check the answer of the problem. Observing how students respond to the different tasks helped me to quickly group students according to their prior knowledge or current skill level. I've also thought about color-coding the anchor charts according to skill level (from least difficult to most difficult) in order to better understand which students struggled with which concepts. For example, the first chart might ask students to show their understanding of addition with addends up to ten, while the next chart asks students to add with addends up to 20. The final charts may explore students' ability to add double digits without regrouping, and the last chart could assess their ability to add double-digit numbers with regrouping. I love Gallery walks because the teacher can literally collect live data in order to quickly and accurately make instructional decisions!
- How certain Are You?-Teachers can engage students in the upcoming school year by first challenging them to brainstorm everything they feel they already know about a concept or topic. Next, you can ask students to display their sticky notes on an anchor chart according to their own levels of certainty. For example, each category will have a specific title based on the students' understanding; I have no Idea, Sounds about right, I'm certain this is true, I can prove/explain why this is true. This is a great way for students to showcase their understanding in a discreet but fun way. The teacher can use this data to evaluate how much students know, what would need to be taught, and how interested/motivated students are in learning the new concept/material.
Technology- I have learned that using technology not only engages and motivates students, it is an effective way for teachers to gather timely data and, in many cases, offer timely and specific feedback! Using technology is helpful for teachers because it can quantify current data and provide graphs that can be shared and analyzed with students. (CTE, 2015). I plan to use a learning management systems like Edmodo or google classroom to engage students in discussion forums. These discussions may ask their thoughts about a concept, problem, or simply require students to answer question or complete a task. Technology can also serve as an effective tool for assessing students prior knowledge through the use of classroom response systems like polls or surveys! Polls and surveys are effective because, according to The Center for Teaching Excellence (CTE). (2015), these assessment tasks do not require students to put their name on the assessment as well as showing students that their responses will not be graded.
Alternate instructional Methods for ANY student:
Flexible Seating: Allowing students to choose their best learning place and medium to work on their goal is one way to provide students with alternate instructional methods. (LEAP Innovations) I always empower students to choose their own strategy when solving math equations, but I want to extend this into other content areas as well. One way I plan to do this is through flexible seating. Allowing students to work anywhere within the classroom that is most comfortable for them.
Problem-solving Toolbox: Try giving students a problem-solving tool box which will have cards (tool cut outs) labeled with different ways to solve a problem. For example, One card may say collaborate with a classmate, while other cards (tool cut-outs) might say use manipulatives, watch a teacher-selected YouTube Video, or extra time/practice. Giving students a toolbox empowers their voice and allows them to choose their best learning place and medium to work on their goal.
Ways to Pre-Assess Prior Knowledge and experiences:
Gallery Walk- I enjoy using gallery walks because my students are always extremely engaged! Most students seem to love being able to move around, while also being able to demonstrate knowledge collectively with their peers. I have used gallery walks in several ways for various reasons and content areas. The Center for Teaching Excellence confirms the value of Gallery walks as an effective way to identify the needs of learners. This past year, I explored using gallery walks for math for the first time. I would put up a math problem and ask students to solve the problem and write their answer, identify the best (most effective) strategy for the problem, or check the answer of the problem. Observing how students respond to the different tasks helped me to quickly group students according to their prior knowledge or current skill level. I've also thought about color-coding the anchor charts according to skill level (from least difficult to most difficult) in order to better understand which students struggled with which concepts. For example, the first chart might ask students to show their understanding of addition with addends up to ten, while the next chart asks students to add with addends up to 20. The final charts may explore students' ability to add double digits without regrouping, and the last chart could assess their ability to add double-digit numbers with regrouping. I love Gallery walks because the teacher can literally collect live data in order to quickly and accurately make instructional decisions!
- How certain Are You?-Teachers can engage students in the upcoming school year by first challenging them to brainstorm everything they feel they already know about a concept or topic. Next, you can ask students to display their sticky notes on an anchor chart according to their own levels of certainty. For example, each category will have a specific title based on the students' understanding; I have no Idea, Sounds about right, I'm certain this is true, I can prove/explain why this is true. This is a great way for students to showcase their understanding in a discreet but fun way. The teacher can use this data to evaluate how much students know, what would need to be taught, and how interested/motivated students are in learning the new concept/material.
Technology- I have learned that using technology not only engages and motivates students, it is an effective way for teachers to gather timely data and, in many cases, offer timely and specific feedback! Using technology is helpful for teachers because it can quantify current data and provide graphs that can be shared and analyzed with students. (CTE, 2015). I plan to use a learning management systems like Edmodo or google classroom to engage students in discussion forums. These discussions may ask their thoughts about a concept, problem, or simply require students to answer question or complete a task. Technology can also serve as an effective tool for assessing students prior knowledge through the use of classroom response systems like polls or surveys! Polls and surveys are effective because, according to The Center for Teaching Excellence (CTE). (2015), these assessment tasks do not require students to put their name on the assessment as well as showing students that their responses will not be graded.
Alternate instructional Methods for ANY student:
Flexible Seating: Allowing students to choose their best learning place and medium to work on their goal is one way to provide students with alternate instructional methods. (LEAP Innovations) I always empower students to choose their own strategy when solving math equations, but I want to extend this into other content areas as well. One way I plan to do this is through flexible seating. Allowing students to work anywhere within the classroom that is most comfortable for them.
Problem-solving Toolbox: Try giving students a problem-solving tool box which will have cards (tool cut outs) labeled with different ways to solve a problem. For example, One card may say collaborate with a classmate, while other cards (tool cut-outs) might say use manipulatives, watch a teacher-selected YouTube Video, or extra time/practice. Giving students a toolbox empowers their voice and allows them to choose their best learning place and medium to work on their goal.
