WHAT WORKS IN EDUCATION The George Lucas Educational Foundation
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Blogs on Differentiated Instruction

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1
Nine Strategies for Reaching All Learners in English Language Arts
Hassan MansarayMay 22, 2013
Tags After-School Learning, Alternative Scheduling, Comprehensive Assessment, Differentiated Instruction, Teacher Development, Middle (6-8), English Language Arts, Massachusetts

Not satisfied with students' progress on district- and state-mandated tests -- and after careful deliberation by administration and staff -- the Edwards Middle School implemented the Massachusetts Expanded Learning Time (ELT) Initiative in the 2006/07 school year. ELT has since become an integral part of the school day, where students receive an additional 60 minutes of support instruction in some core academic classes like English and math, and 90 minutes of electives in arts, sports and music, and other enrichment activities.

In order to maximize the benefits of ELT for students, I looked for ways to fine tune my approach to teaching individualized learning in my English language arts classroom. One of the instructional models that informs my approach to teaching individualized learning is the Readers and Writers Workshop. This approach proved very helpful in optimizing ELT. Read More
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Tools for Teaching: Ditching The Deficit Model
Rebecca AlberApril 2, 2013
Tags Differentiated Instruction, All Grades

Children are more than one test, once a year, in one sitting. It seems as if many schools and districts have lapsed into a deep state of amnesia of Maslow's hierarchy of needs -- a possible lingering hangover from NCLB. So here's a radical assertion: When assessing and teaching children, the time has more than come for education to embrace the whole child. This approach calls for schools and educators to curtail the deficit model and replace it with the abundance model.

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3
An Unprecedented Opportunity for Educational Equity
Judy Willis MDMarch 11, 2013
Tags Achievement Gap, Differentiated Instruction, Online Learning, Technology Integration, All Grades

Access to successful learning for all students is a powerful equalizer that drives superior educational outcomes. The importance of equal access is credited with much of the academic progress in Finland, a country without private schools or standardized tests. "Since the 1980s, the main driver of Finnish education policy has been the idea that every child should have the same opportunity to learn, regardless of family background, income or geographic location. Education has been seen first and foremost not as a way to produce star performers, but as an instrument to even out social inequality."1

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4
Snapshot of a Deeper Learning Classroom: Aligning TED Talks to the Four Cs
Heather Wolpert-GawronDecember 13, 2012
Tags Comprehensive Assessment, Differentiated Instruction, Student Engagement, Middle (6-8), High (9-12)

Edutopia is pleased to premiere the first blog in a new series designed to showcase compelling examples of how students are developing 21st century skills through a deeper-level of learning. Through this blog series, we hope to increase awareness and encourage replication of successful models.

Chris Anderson, curator of TED talks
Chris Anderson, TED curator. (Photo credit: Pierre Omidyar via Wikimedia Commons)


As many of my readers know, this year I have been dedicated to using the 21st Century four Cs. The four Cs are a rubric of sorts that help align lessons to more reality-based learning and assessing.

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16
Full-Contact Teaching: Connecting with Hearts and Minds
Ben JohnsonOctober 9, 2012
Tags Differentiated Instruction, Teacher Development, All Grades

Last week our school celebrated homecoming football week. All week long, students, teachers and community members participated in pep rallies, parades, and school decoration, while the football teams unceasingly practiced. The much-anticipated homecoming game was well attended, even in pouring rain. For the fans, their excitement was as palpable as their soggy shoes and wet clothing. The real exciting things, however, were occurring on the muddy field below. Both teams were engaged in a physical and mental contest, aided by their coaches, but carried out entirely by the athletes.

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17
Tools for Teaching: Managing a Large Class Size
Rebecca AlberOctober 3, 2012
Tags Differentiated Instruction, Teacher Development

Do you have more students than ever this year? With serious education budget cuts in most states, we are seeing class size reduction programs as a thing of the past in many schools. Teachers semi-new to this profession may be experiencing class sizes above 30 for the first time. In a recent conversation with such a teacher, as we discussed her new situation, she resignedly said, “Well, there goes group work.”

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2
Olympic Gold in the Classroom: RTI
Ben JohnsonAugust 6, 2012
Tags Differentiated Instruction, Teacher Development, All Grades

Missy Franklin not only won the gold medal in the 200-meter backstroke, she also set a world record of two minutes and 4.06 seconds. I was swimming on my back the other day -- certainly not nearly as fast as Missy -- and I wondered how she was able to swim straight without being able to see where she was going?

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13
How to Beat "Teacher Proof" Programs
Dr. Richard CurwinJuly 31, 2012
Tags Differentiated Instruction, Education Reform

The word "foolproof" means that even a fool can do it. So what do we make of programs that claim to be "teacher proof?" The growing trend to incorporate programs that are devoid of teachers deciding what to teach, when to teach it and how to teach it, is a disgrace not only to teachers but to all educators, and even to children. I first encountered a teacher proof program decades ago with the Assertive Discipline program. I railed against it, often being criticized for my intensity. I was once asked not to return to St. Joseph University in Philadelphia for the second session of a two-weekend course on discipline because of student complaints over my unwillingness to endorse the program. Fortunately Assertive Discipline has died from its own weight. But now the concept has spread to curriculum, teaching methodology and classroom management. I still rail against this demeaning and useless approach to education.

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2
Five-Minute Film Festival: Flipped Classrooms
Amy Erin Borovoy (aka VideoAmy)July 13, 2012
Tags Classroom Technology, Differentiated Instruction, Education Reform, Flipped Classroom, Technology Integration

I really enjoyed Mary Beth Hertz's excellent blog published earlier this week, "The Flipped Classroom: Pro and Con" -- one of the most concise and balanced views I've read on the buzz-wordy concept of flipping the classroom. Advocates say that "flipped classrooms" help overburdened teachers differentiate their instruction to reach more learners, provide an avenue into more hands-on and student-driven learning during classtime, and shift the teacher's role from "sage on the stage" to learning coach and facilitator. Critics say it's just a fad, relies too heavily on rote instruction, and doesn't go far enough in making the needed changes for teaching and learning reform. I've rounded up this list of videos so you can learn more about the challenges and benefits of flipped classrooms.

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3
Teaching Non-Traditional Learners
Suzie BossMay 31, 2012
Tags Differentiated Instruction, Teacher Development, All Grades

When bestselling author Rebecca Skloot came home to Portland, Oregon, for a recent visit, she received a hero's welcome from educators who teach those who don't thrive in traditional school. Her tributes to the teachers who helped her on her way offer a timely reminder today, the last day of Teacher Appreciation Month, about the invaluable role educators play as door-openers to their students' futures.

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