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Push my thinking
I want to use this idea as a seed of a higher level of differentiation and individualization in my math classroom. I envision a program that allows students to watch a short mini lesson the night before class and complete a short pre-quiz on the material. The student would then be assigned a level based on his or her performance. The level of the student would determine what group they were in in class the next day and what activity they were doing. I would then have 3 lessons prepared for each day; one for the advanced students, one for the average students and one for the struggling students. All of the students would be working on the same material, just at different levels. Working on a level that is appropriate for each student will ensure a deepened understanding while elevating students to their maximum potential. I think students do not need to move forward to be 'advanced' but instead, should be working on their depth of understanding. Our students need to be on an elevator of education, moving up and down to their level, not a train either speeding past them or moving so slowly they lose interest. I believe that creating a place for all of the videos, quizzes, and activities to live along with some sort of data collection aspect could ensure the fact that students would be spending their time learning, in stead of attempting to figure out a series of websites, links and paper sheets.
Comments
The Next Level of Differentiation
Published: 07/26/11
Views: 2,300
Problem of practice
The problem I found arose when reviewing for the Regents exam. I wanted to review all of the material while addressing all levels of learners in my classroom. I did not want to bore my advanced students while overwhelming the weaker students.
Solution
I created video lessons for each of the topics. I posted the videos on line as Google docs along with a practice sheet. The videos allowed students to work through the lessons at their own pace and deepen their understanding.




edmodo
Have you ever tried out Edmodo? You can create different quizzes to be the diagnostic and assign students to different groups. Later on, you can assign a specific quiz to a group of students and then a slightly different version of the quiz to other students. Check it out at edmodo.com
Very impressive
Sarah,
I have so many questions I don't know where to start! What do you do if students don't complete the diagnostic at home before coming to class? Do you ever use heterogenous groupings and if so, how? Do you work with a special education teacher and/or students with disabilities or do you notice even in a general ed classroom the range of abilities is so great that there needs to be as many as three groups? How long did it take to create your library of videos and have you been able to use them for more than one year or do you remake them each year?
Like I said, so many questions - amazing work! I haven't played with making instructional videos and you've really inspired me!
Maria Clausen
New Design High School
Love your problem solving verve
You are clearly in the heart of teaching as a pragmatic, problem-solving profession. Love your vision here, though obviously the details matter a great deal where the rubber meets the road. Dealt with much the same set of challenges at my last school and tried a similar approach with many lessons learned. You might appreciate this http://youpd.org/content/personalized-mastery-outcomes-grading-using-shared-google-spreadsheet
Cheers,
Andrew