Differentiating Instruction

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Week Four [Aug. 15, 2011, 1:25 p.m.]

  Learning Styles and Multiple Intelligences in the Classroom

Now that you've explored a few different frameworks for understanding learning differences, you will focus on identifying successful techniques and strategies that teachers use to address students' multiple intelligences and learning styles in the classroom. In this session, you will select a topic and begin to develop a lesson plan that will include strategies for differentiating instruction.

  Readings

As you read these selections, think about the following questions:

  • How can you use strategies and tools in your own lesson plan to address a variety of learning styles and intelligences?
  • How can you use technology, such as video clips or interactives, to help you work with learners with varying needs and strengths?

Students Who Know Their Own Minds: Choosing the Nontraditional Path, Ashley Ball, Edutopia
This article describes the way one school empowewrs its students to learn more about their learning styles so that they may excel in the classroom. You may also find the accompanying video useful as well.

How to Address Multiple Intelligences in the Classroom: Tips and resources for putting MI theory into practice, Sara Bernard
This article offers several concrete suggestions for how to bring Multiple Intelligences theory into practice in your classroom. Explore several of the hyperlinked resources embedded in this article as well.

  Activities

  1. Identify Activities
    Review the following activity charts which may be useful in planning MI-centered classroom lessons.

    As you review the lists of activities, think about which ones make sense for the population of students that you work with, as well as the specific content area that you teach. Are there ways to combine two or more activity types to create an even more inclusive learning experience? How?

  2. Explore
    Teachers’ Domain is an online library containing over 1,000 free multimedia resources in a number of content areas. Registration is free, and enables you to view and use the complete library.

    Explore some of the multimedia resources available at Teachers’ Domain and try to locate at least two that would be useful in your lessons. Here are some ways to navigate through the content on the Teachers’ Domain site:

    • Get started by browsing the categories in the lower right column. Resources are divided into content areas and also into “Special Collections” of specific topics.
    • Do a keyword search by typing into the Search box at the top left of the page, just below the Teachers’ Domain logo. Clicking on “Advanced Search” will allow you to specify which types of media you want to find.
    • To return to the Teachers’ Domain homepage at any point, click on the logo at the top left of the page.

  3. Final Project
    Complete Sections 1-4 of the Differentiating Instruction to Accommodate Learning Styles: Lesson Plan Template by doing the following:
    • Define a topic for your lesson plan.
    • Identify relevant state and local standards to be addressed.
    • Determine key learning goals.
    • Plan activities or tasks.

    You will have additional time to complete your final project in Sessions Five and Six of this workshop.

  Discussion

Describe some preliminary ideas you have for your differentiated lesson plan, and explain why the topic that you chose is a good candidate for differentiated instruction.