Transcript Equality of Challenge

Equality of Challenge
Mercy Mounthawk: How we try to
differentiate the curriculum.
Sept. 2009
Pauline Burke, Mercy Mounthawk
Secondary School, Tralee, Co. Kerry
Background
• Learning School Project – team of
teachers encouraged to get involved.
(Internal CPD) Focus on the “moreable students” and developing a policy
on how to meet their learning needs.
• Equality of challenge initiative.
Developing differentiated resources.
Worked with the SESS last year to
develop a bank of differentiated
resources.
Where to next
• This year we will focus on individual
mentoring of exam students and
developing their metacognitive skills.
If a man does not keep pace with his companions,
perhaps it is because he hears a different drummer.
• What is differentiation?
• Differentiation is the adjustment of the
teaching process according to the learning
needs of the pupils. It can be aimed at:
• A whole class
• Groups within a class
• Individuals
Why do we need to
differentiate
• All our students are different from
each other in terms of:
– What they need to learn
– The pace at which they learn it
– The support they need in order to learn
it.
A realistic approach to
differentiation
In Mounthawk, we are very aware of the needs of all
our pupils but we are also very realistic about
what is practical to do. We have discovered that:
• It is not possible to formally differentiate in
every lesson.
• It is possible to informally integrate
differentiation into most lessons ( we do it
naturally but being aware of it helps us to do it
better)
• We can work together to lessen the load when
planning for differentiation.
Useful differentiation
methods for more-able
students
Differentiation methods
• Worksheets
• Choice of tasks
• Self-directed learning tasks
• Sharing success criteria: must/should/could
• Reflection sheets/ diaries/ KWL Grids
• PMI- Plus Minus Interesting
• Differentiated questioning
Differentiated
worksheet
• Independent worksheets
Questions become more difficult as they
progress.
Begin with questions that all students find
accessible with more difficult questions at
the end.
Other worksheet options
• Explicitly identify the extension at
the end and allow the students to
elect to answer it when finished.
• Another approach that we explored
was using a variety of worksheets but
most found this unsuitable.
Choice of Task
• Sometimes it is useful to allow the children to
judge for themselves and to choose the task
appropriate for them.
• Example in English- a poetry task addressing form
and structure in poetry.
Students are given the choice to write either a
limerick, an acrostic poem or a sonnet.
Self directed learning
Projects:
History research projects =
differentiation by outcome.
• Overt differentiation – guiding more
able students to make evaluations.
Reading Records
• Bronze (Compulsory)
• Silver (Optional)
• Gold (Optional)
Sharing success criteria
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Having read a variety of myths, it is now time to try and write your own.
Your story must:
Contain capital letters and full stops where they should be.
Have most spellings correct (use a dictionary is necessary)
Use adjectives to describe your main characters.
Your story should:
Use apostrophes appropriately and accurately, (go over the rules if you
have to)
Use commas and speech marks properly.
Use similes and metaphors to describe your characters.
Your story could:
Include a vivid description of your setting.
Describe your characters emotions as well as their appearance.
Surprise your reader in some way with a twist in the plot!
Peer Assessment
• Share success criteria in advance
• As far as is possible match a child
with some one of similar ability.
• Students mark each other’s work.
• Give each other two plusses and a
target.
Examples of 5th year peer
assessment comments
• + Themes fully explored
• + Good analyses of language
• T- Include more personal response.
Example of 2nd year peer
assessment comments
• + Good use of adjectives
• + Your work appealed to the senses
• T – Use more examples of figurative
language e.g. metaphors and similes.
Learning Diary
• Encourages reflection
• Encourages students to take control
of their own learning.
Learning diary headings
1.
What I have learnt that is new is ….
2.
I might have learnt better if…
3a. What I found difficult was..
3b. What helped me to overcome it was…
4. What I need more help with is….
My targets for next week are…
KWL Grids
World War II
K
(What I know
already)
W
L
(What I want to know) (what I have learned)
KWL Grids
World War II
K
(What I know
already)
Dates of WW 2
Hitler & The Holocaust
Role of GB & USA
W
L
(What I want to know) (what I have learned)
KWL Grids
World War II
K
(What I know
already)
W
L
(What I want to know) (what I have learned)
Dates of WW 2
Who else was involved?
Hitler & The Holocaust
How long did it go on
for?
Role of GB & USA
Main battles?
Why did Germany lose?
Higher Order
Questioning
The age of explorations
• Plus
Minus Interesting
• New foods Slavery What if
America had
found us first?
AFL- Assessment for
Learning
• A team of teachers working together
to pilot the main components of
Assessment for Learning found that
much of what worked in AFL was
useful for all students with special
needs at both ends of the spectrum.
AFL principles and
differentiation
• Comment only marking- helped move
students forward by looking at how
they could improve as opposed to the
grades. Individual differentiation for
every student.
Thank you for your
attention