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Differentiated Instruction
Class Differentiation in Education: rational choices?
Students with special needs may need to have their work differentiated in a specific way to meet their IEP goals. Below are some suggestions that can be integrated into lesson plans.
- Assessments - While students with special needs may become proficient readers and writers, they should not be limited to this to show what they know. Posters, models, performances, and drawings can show what they have learned in a way that reflects their personal strengths. When it comes to tests, there are other ways to show mastery than a multiple choice test. Rubrics are a great way to create assessment tools for students to show they have mastered the material. Click the Rubric Link to go to a rubric builder. A portfolio may be another way to assess students. Depending on the level of the student, you could ask them to sort or group pictures according to specific criteria, name pictures, or have them answer questions orally.
- Assistive Technology - Technology can be especially helpful with special needs students. Access to computers, screen readers, and voice recognition software can help many students with special needs use technology more effectively. Other educational software programs—such as talking dictionaries and talking word processing applications—provide opportunities for students to improve their spelling, reading and writing. An internet based form of Kurzweil will soon be available in our district to assist students with reading text, note taking and test taking. In addition, audio copies of textbooks will be available for students to download onto their iPods and MP3 players so they can listen to textbooks on the bus.
- Collaborative Activities - Students learn best from their peers and many jobs require an ability to be a contributing member of a team. Time and time again it has been proven that the lower functioning group improves when working with more academically capable students. Collaboration is a skill that must be discussed before the lesson, so each group member has a clear idea of their role. It helps to give some focus questions ahead such as: Did everyone get a chance to speak and contribute? The teacher must monitor the groups to ensure that they are functioning appropriately.
- Cooperative Learning - Students working in cooperative groups have the benefit being exposed to the various learning strategies of others. Cooperative groups can be a comfortable place to have a voice in a small group setting and receive support from peers.
- Explicit Modeling - Some activities such as note-taking, making connections among ideas, asking questions, project planning, and time-management may have to be taught, because special needs students are not able to make the connections on their own. This may require step by step procedures to be explained.
- Feedback - Students with special needs often have difficulty monitoring their own progress. Giving feedback will help students to reflect on their own work.
- Graphic Organizers - Organizing information is often a problem for students with special needs. Learning disabled students are often visual learners who respond well to information represented in graphic form. Concept maps, Venn diagrams, Cause-and-effect charts, Story Maps, T-charts, and Timelines can assist students to incorporate new knowledge. Multimedia such as pictures, charts, graphs, audio, and video can also be beneficial.
- Leveled Reading Materials - Providing reading materials on a particular topic, but written at different levels will allow a student with a reading disability to learn about the same topic as the rest of the class.
- Modified Directions - It is not uncommon for students to misunderstand the instructions for an assignment. Keep the directions clear and concise
- Multi-sensory Approach - Most new content is delivered verbally, but students have strengths in different areas. They may be great illustrators, innovative builders and and able to gather information visually on the internet. By using multi-sensory techniques to introduce new material, more of your students will retain it.
- Peer Tutoring - Having a peer helper can be mutually beneficial. Students with special needs can receive intensive one-on-one assistance and the peer tutor learns about different learning styles, modeling positive behavior and empathy. Peer helpers can also assist with creating study tools, editing written assignments and with collaborative activities.
- Prior Knowledge - Linking newly presented knowledge to previous understanding is very important for students who have special needs. Know-Want to Know-Learn (KWL charts), discussions and questioning can help students use what they already know to understand new information.
- Visual component - Students with reading problems find pictures and symbols easier to understand. Flashcards and pictures are useful to teach sight vocabulary, safety signs and new concepts.