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Schools

District to Integrate Differentiated Instruction

Differentiated instruction allows teachers to teach students differently according to their abilities.0

The Garden City school district wants to take the next step in education by tailoring work to its students, according to the district's differentiation instruction committee.

According to a presentation Tuesday led by Theresa Prendergast, assistant superintendent for instruction and curriculum, traditional education is a system where whole class instruction dominates, mastery of facts is key, a single interpretation of a single text prevails, a teacher directs student behavior, all with a single definition of excellence.

With differentiated instruction, however, there are many instructional arrangements, with flexible use of time based on student needs, the ability to look for multiple perspectives on an idea or event, with the teacher acting as a facilitator by encouraging self-reliant learning. Students are assessed in multiple ways, and excellence is defined by individual growth from a starting point.

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"I think as educators and as parents we all know that students differ from one another, not only in size and shape but also in social development. We also know that students learn differently, and teachers recognize that in this climate, in this day and age, there’s no such thing as a one-size-fits-all model,” Prendergast said.

Differentiated instruction also splits into subcategories of moderate to intensive. In moderate differentiation, students have book choices, homework options, reading buddies, journal prompts, flexible seating, open-ended activities and varied computer programs. With intensive differentiation, students have tiered activities and labs, multiple texts, learning contracts, spelling measured by readiness level, literature circles, stations, group investigation, graduated rubrics and flexible reading formats.

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The committee said that more differentiation would help students at all levels, as students come into various grades at different levels of readiness. Differentiated instruction would allow visual and textual learners to take lessons based on how they learn best.

According to the presentation, 89 percent of district teachers said they have attended a workshop on differentiated instruction in the last three years. Prendergast said the district is working to bring surveys about differentiated instruction to parents and students to learn how to best implement differentiated practices.

“We’re talking about a philosophy that plans strategically…” Prendergast said. “[It’s] Responsive teaching.”

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