Our readings this week did not really spur me into writing. They were all very interesting and helpful, but none really inspired a ton of questions. They all seemed to be about specific strategies within DI. From Robb's quick FAQ guide to Brown and Morris' in-depth spelling needs of second graders, we can see a span of explanations of how to practice DI.
Robb's article only skimmed the surface -as most of the pages were covered in advertisements. It gave a quick overview of some things one could expect during DI and put our minds to ease just a little over the seemingly super-complicated practice of differentiated instruction. The one that sticks out to me was how to keep a conference to only five minutes. In the past, I have always thought to myself "Just one more question...I know we can get this down!" only to look up at the clock and realize that I have spent ten minutes with a student on a single "sticking point" that s/he is working on. I never thought of the kitchen timer...Brown & Morris' and Coulter and Groenke's articles were about specific studies done. They both used some lovely examples. I love the idea of Vocabulary Logs mentioned in Coulter's (p 30) keeping vocabulary and definitions, etcetera, relevant to the student. It feels leaps and bounds above rote memorization for retaining the knowledge. This is one way a student can start to be respnsible for his/her own learning. I was so glad that the point of other students noticing the differences in their teaching coming up in Coulter's article, too (p 31), though I'm not sure the glossed-over answers were helpful. I think more straight-forward answers would be called for.
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| Comfort food for thought |
What was comforting about the articles was the acknowledgement that DI can be a front-load of work to begin with, but that good prep can make all the difference. It was also refreshing to see that I actually practice some of the mentioned strategies.
One thing that is missing: All of the articles mention assessments even though this weems to not be an "official" part of DI and I'm seeing fewer examples of this. How do I do the assessments? What is an on-going assessment? Do they have to be official or graded, or can it be a passing-by, taking-notes kind of assessment?
To answer your question, I think that both sorts of assessments are called for at different times. For baseline assessments that are used to make instructional decisions, validity is important I think but adjustments that are made in process I think can be more informal. This is my hunch. I don't know for sure. Talking about assessment would be a really good idea since it is such a critical part of effective. DI.
ReplyDeleteI think that pre and post-assessments are just as important as the actual differentiation. In many elementary schools, teachers are required to give assessments like DIBELS or F & P tests to determine students reading level and progress. These could definitely be used as baselines. As Eric suggests, informal assessment would be appropriate from there, right? I'm also thinking that it would be valuable for older students to do some self-assessment. Does anyone know if this plays any role in DI? Or, (since I'm thinking a lot about tablet technology) what if students took mini-quizzes on their device and the answers were instantly sent to their teacher? I think that would be fast and effective to measure students progress toward the conceptual goal.
ReplyDeleteI think that our comfort with this week's reading are a good sign for you and me Debbie. I too felt like I was reading the content with less question and confusion and with more acceptance of the information. I come from the land of assessment. Most of my job is assessment, so I would be lost without it. And, I think you will find that assessment will be similar to your ah-ha about DI (I do that, I do that, I do that). I belive we are constantly assessing progress and understanding even though we may not be aware. Discussing ongoing versus on demand assessments and DI tonight would be an awesome idea.
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