Here is a post of my Draft Research Project Report per EDLD 5397 - Internship for Supervision - Week 3 Assignment - Part 3.

Culture of Differentiation:

How to Get More Teachers to Use Differentiated Instruction and Make It a Part of Campus Culture

Three years ago, our campus was introduced to differentiated instruction.  Differentiated instruction was made a priority by our administration, and it was even included in our Campus Improvement Plan.  However, differentiated lessons are rarely seen in the classrooms.  A review of lesson plans from the math department showed that differentiated lessons were not used at all until administration mandated that they be included in the lesson plans at least once each six weeks.  Even after that, we see only one to three differentiated lessons each six weeks depending on the team.  One of our teams uses differentiated lessons once per six weeks.  Another team uses differentiated lessons twice per six weeks, and another team uses differentiated lessons three times per six weeks.

My vision and hope for this project is that we help more of our teachers to meet the students at their level.  We have students at different levels within the same classrooms.  If we are able to find ways to make differentiating instruction more of a part of our campus culture, then we will see teams/teachers plan with specific student needs in mind.  Their lessons will designed to accommodate their different interests, learning styles, and readiness levels.  The students will benefit from a more interesting and engaging environment.  Learning will not be frustrating.  It will be fun.  Teachers will benefit by seeing their students reach their potential.  Teachers will have to work less in their rooms since the work will be done more by their students than by the teachers.  Everyone benefits from a well-differentiated classroom.

I plan with each grade level team every time they meet to discuss lesson planning.  During those meetings I will observe how they implement differentiated lessons into their team plans.  I will note how many times they use a differentiated activity and how that lesson is differentiated (readiness, interest, and learning style).  I also observe each teacher regularly, so I will also note how that teacher implements those lessons in their own classroom.  I hope to have each teacher implementing at least one differentiated lesson each week.  That will mean a 200% to 300% increase in the implementation of differentiated instruction in the math department.

As we try to implement differentiated instruction into our classrooms, we must support our teachers during the entire process.  According to an John Holloway in an article about preparing teachers for differentiated instruction, “school leaders must provide all teachers encouragement, support, and nurturing – all delivered through effective professional development that is founded on competent training and effective mentoring and that is conducted by experienced, skilled professionals” (Holloway, 2000, p. 83).

Our instruction must meet our students’ needs.  With students from so many diverse backgrounds, there is a need to create equity in our mathematics classrooms.  Goldman and Knudsen discuss three principles that can create that equity.  Making math relevant to their real lives, including hands-on activities, and adapting to meet your students’ needs are principles that can create that equity and opportunity for all of our students (Goldman & Knudsen, 2004).

The decision making process for what topic to research for my action research project involved me and my principal.  We considered the most critical need for our students in the mathematics classrooms.  We determined that differentiating instruction for our students’ diverse needs was the most critical need for our campus.  Therefore, we decided to make differentiated instruction the focus of my research project.  We wanted to make differentiated instruction part of our campus culture.

Once my principal and I determined what my action research project would be, I communicated that vision to my department through department meetings and professional development.  Over the course of a semester of department meetings and five summer professional development sessions I made my vision of a campus of differentiated instruction clear.  Each department meeting included time to discuss the importance of differentiation and data to illustrate our students’ varied needs and backgrounds.  Each professional development was centered around differentiated instruction.  That included ways to discover the students’ varied interests, readiness level, and learning style.  It also included ways to design lessons that addressed those various needs.  This vision was also communicated to students throughout the year by interest surveys and targeted student conversations by their teacher, instructional specialist, and counselors.  Parents heard the vision during open house meetings with their child’s teacher.  Community members and other stakeholders saw the vision during our site-based decision making committee meetings throughout the year.

The strategy used for organizing the implementation of the project involved various people on the campus, but most of the duties rested with me.  There is no money available for this project.  There were some opportunities for professional development related to differentiation in our district and on our own campus.  I would follow up and help them plan differentiated lessons.  I would also plan differentiated instruction showcases for our campus with the other instructional strategiests.  I would document the frequency of differentiated instruction lessons in their lesson plans and in their classrooms.  Finally, I would model differentiated lessons in their classrooms and conference with each teacher about the learning of each child in their classes.

Since differentiation was an essential part of our school improvement plan, it became a priority for every classroom on our campus.  Our comprehensive needs assessment of the students on our campus indicated that we had students with varied academic gaps in all student populations.  We had larger groups of English Language Learners, higher mobility rates, and a higher population of Economically Disadvantaged students than any other school in our district.  Consensus was built within grade level teams about prioritizing differentiated instruction among our team goals.  Conflict was inevitable as we moved into this new frontier, but individual conversations helped teachers deal with their apprehensions.  Those conversations continue, since the resistance to change persists.  Although the resistance is declining.

Differentiated instruction encompasses the very idea of meeting the needs of students with diverse backgrounds, exceptional needs, and abilities.  Helping teachers to implement differentiated instruction into their classrooms and create a campus culture of meeting every child at their level.  Our school and community have needs that are not the same as any other in our district.  As we deal with the highest povery rate in our district, we also deal with the highest number of English Language Learners.  This project of integrating differentiated instruction into our campus culture will help meet the needs of the school and community.

References

Goldman, Shelley V., Knudsen, Jennifer. (2004) Principles for making middle school mathematics more equitable.  Classroom Leadership, March 2004, Vol. 7 (6), Found at: http://www.ascd.org/publications/classroom-leadership/mar2004/Principles-for-Making-Middle-School-Mathematics-More-Equitable.aspx.

Holloway, John H., (2000) Preparing teachers for differentiated instruction.  Educational Leadership, September 2000, Vol. 58 (1). pp.’s 82-83.