Transcript Differentiating Instruction in the Secondary Science Classroom

Compacting Curriculum in
Pre-AP and
AP Social Studies
College Board Southwest Regional Forum
January 31, 2008
Ginny Garvic
Katy ISD Social Studies Curriculum Specialist
Cathy Wappler, Katy ISD GT/Advanced Academic
Studies Program Specialist
Secondary Social Studies in
Katy ISD
On-level courses, grades 6-12
 Pre-AP courses: grades 6,7,8; World
Geography; World History
 AP US History, Government, Economics,
European History
 Open access to Pre-AP and AP

Pre-AP/GT; AP/GT



Secondary GT students served in the Pre-AP/AP
program, usually as a cluster
Some differentiation reflected in district
curriculum documents
Most differentiation occurs at the delivery level
Why differentiate in PreAP/AP/GT?
Wide range of student abilities in
Pre-AP/AP/GT classes
 Desire to minimize repetition for those
students with prior knowledge of material
or the ability to quickly learn on their own
 Obligation to provide opportunities for all
students to grow

Guiding Questions




What do we want students to know?
How will we know when they have learned?
What will we do when they haven’t learned?
What will we do when they already
know it?
Examples of
Differentiation Strategies
Flexible grouping
 Learning centers
 Product options
 Independent study
 Tiered instruction
 Curriculum compacting

What is Curriculum Compacting?





One example of differentiation
An instructional pacing strategy
A strategy which eliminates instruction over
material already mastered
A means of providing advanced students with
opportunities to extend their learning
An opportunity to provide more individualized
instruction to students who need it
Components of Curriculum
Compacting
Preassessment
 Documentation of mastery
 Extension/Enrichment learning
experiences (Replacement activities)
 Evidence of learning (Replacement
product)

Steps in the Process



Announce to students the opportunity to pre-test
over a particular unit of study
Suggest resources students may use to prepare
if they wish
Design a challenging pre-assessment which
tests for deep conceptual understanding of an
objective cluster
Steps, continued
Define a high mastery level (90%)
 Administer and evaluate the preassessment
 Identify students who demonstrate
mastery at the 90% level
 Identify “non-negotiables” (“family time”)

Steps, continued
Students who demonstrate mastery
propose a plan for replacement learning
activities and a product
 Replacement activities must be based on
same objectives
 Students submit proposals for teacher
approval

Steps, continued
Students continue their learning independently
while teacher delivers traditional instruction to
remainder of class
 Students submit daily learning logs
 Students submit/share products at end of unit
 Students complete a reflection piece on their
learning experiences

Keys to Success
Announce pretests in advance (2-3 days)
 Set mastery level high (90%)
 Give students responsibility for designing
replacement activities
 Guide students in choosing appropriate
replacement activities and products

Keys to Success
Communicate behavioral expectations
clearly and enforce them
 Require daily or bi-weekly learning logs
 Remain within the cluster of objectives
 Collaborate with other teachers

Grading Policy




Must be fair to students who test out of
traditional instruction
Should reflect mastery of required objectives
Unit grade may not be lower than pre-test grade
Unit grade may be higher than pre-test grade
Processing . . .

What squares with my thinking?

What is throwing me a curve?
Positive Side Effects
Higher post-assessment grades for all
students
 More effective use of available
instructional time
 High levels of teacher satisfaction
 Increased interest in the discipline on the
part of highly able students

Resource for Compacting and Other
Differentiation Strategies

Differentiation: Simplified, Realistic,
and Effective by Bertie Kingore
Professional Associates Publishing
ISBN: 0-97-16233-3-3
Questions?
[email protected]
[email protected]
