Differentiating Instruction

Jacqueline S. Thousand, Ph.D., is Professor Emerita at California State University San Marcos, where she designed and coordinated special education professional preparation and Master’s degree programs in the College of Education, Health, and Human Services. She previously taught at the University of Vermont, where she directed Inclusion Facilitator and Early Childhood Special Education graduate and postgraduate programs and coordinated federal grants, which, in the early 1980s, pioneered the inclusion of students with moderate and severe disabilities in general education classrooms of their local schools. Prior to university teacher, Dr. Thousand served as a special educator in Chicago area and Atlanta public schools and as the coordinator of early childhood special education services for children ages 3 through 6 in the Burlington, Vermont area. Dr. Thousand is a nationally known teacher, author, systems change consultant, and disability rights and inclusive education advocate. She is the author of 21 books and numerous research articles and chapters on issues related to inclusive education, organizational change strategies, differentiated instruction and universal design, co-teaching and collaborative teaming, cooperative group learning, creative problem solving, positive behavioral supports, and, now, culturally proficiency special education. Dr. Thousand is actively involved in international teacher education and inclusive education endeavors and serves on the editorial boards of several national and international journals.Richard A. Villa is president of Bayridge Consortium, Inc. His primary field of expertise is the development of administrative and instructional support systems for educating all students within general education settings. Villa is recognized as an educational leader who inspires and works collaboratively with others to implement current and emerging exemplary educational practices. His work has resulted in the inclusion of children with intensive cognitive, physical, and emotional challenges as full members of the general education community in the school districts where he has worked and consulted. Villa has been a classroom teacher, special education administrator, pupil personnel services director, and director of instructional services and has authored 4 books and over 70 articles and chapters. Known for his enthusiastic, humorous style, Villa has presented at international, national, and state educational conferences and has provided technical assistance to departments of education in the United States, Canada, Vietnam, and Honduras and to university personnel, public school systems, and parent and advocacy organizations. Ann I. Nevin is professor emerita at Arizona State University and visiting professor at Florida International University. The author of books, research articles, and numerous chapters, Nevin is recognized for her scholarship and dedication to providing meaningful, practice-oriented, research-based strategies for teachers to integrate students with special learning needs. Since the 1970s, she has co-developed various innovative teacher education programs that affect an array of personnel, including the Vermont Consulting Teacher Program, Collaborative Consultation Project Re-Tool sponsored by the Council for Exceptional Children, the Arizona State University program for special educators to infuse self-determination skills throughout the curriculum, and the Urban SEALS (Special Education Academic Leaders) doctoral program at Florida International University. Her advocacy, research, and teaching spans more than 38 years of working with a diverse array of people to help students with disabilities succeed in normalized school environments. Nevin is known for action-oriented presentations, workshops, and classes that are designed to meet the individual needs of participants by encouraging introspection and personal discovery for optimal learning.

"Thousand, Villa, and Nevin take three very big ideas in education - Universal Design, Collaboration, and Differentiated Instruction - and combine them in a novel and engaging way.  And they practice what they preach – the information and examples speak to someone just beginning to differentiate instruction as well as the expert who wants to further refine his or her craft."

• A Letter to Our ReadersAcknowledgmentsAbout the Authors1. Why Differentiation of Instruction Now?What Differentiated Instruction IS (and What It Is NOT)Rationales for Differentiated InstructionRationale #1: To Meet Needs of Diverse LearnersRationale #2: To Meet Legal MandatesRationale #3: To Be Ethical in Implementing Democratic ValuesRationale #4: To Dispel Myths About StudentsRationale #5: To Be Effective TeachersRetrofit and Universal Design: Two Approaches to Differentiated InstructionSystemic Support for Differentiated InstructionOverview of the Book2. Accessing the General Education Curriculum Through a Retrofit FrameworkWhat Is the Retrofit Approach?Scenario #1: Elementary Science and Social StudiesScenario #2: Middle Level MathematicsScenario #3: Middle Level ScienceScenario #4: High School Language ArtsWhat Do You Know About Retrofitting as a Way to Differentiate Instruction?3. Access to Curriculum Through Universal Design for LearningThe UDL Cycle for Differentiating Content, Product, and ProcessDesign Point #1: Gathering Facts About the LearnersDesign Point #2: Differentiate Content and MaterialsDesign Point #3: Product or Differentiate How Students Show What They KnowDesign Point #4: Differentiate Instructional ProcessesPause and Reflect About Student-Specific Teaching Strategies and SupportsPutting It All Together With the Universal Design Lesson Plan4. Gathering Facts About the LearnersRecord ReviewFamily-Centered and Culturally Responsive Fact GatheringInterest InventoriesLearning Preferences InformationLearning and Thinking StylesMultiple IntelligencesData-Based Observations Including Functional Behavioral Assessments and Cooperative Group MonitoringData-Based ObservationsFunctional Behavioral AssessmentMonitoring Cooperative Group LearningCurriculum-Based AssessmentsMaking Action Plans (MAPs)Disability-Specific InformationCo-Teacher Roles in Gathering Facts About the LearnersPause and Reflect5. Differentiating Access to the Content of LearningWhat Is Content?Ways to Promote Access to ContentTaxonomies and Objectives: Using and Not Abusing ThemLayered Curriculum and Levels of ParticipationDifferentiating Content Using Graphic Organizers and Educational TechnologyDifferentiating Content With Culturally and Linguistically Responsive TechniquesInvolving Students in Determining ContentCo-Teacher Roles in Differentiating ContentPause and Reflect6. Differentiating and Assessing the Products of LearningWhy Differentiate Assessment in a Climate of High-Stakes Testing?Using Culturally Responsive Techniques to Differentiate and Assess the Products of LearningTaxonomy and Learning Preferences Frameworks to Differentiate Products and AssessmentUsing Bloom’s Taxonomy to Differentiate Products and AssessmentUsing Learning Preferences Frameworks to Differentiate Products and AssessmentUsing Bloom’s Taxonomy and Multiple Intelligences Theory to Differentiate Products and AssessmentScaffolding and Curriculum-Based AssessmentsScaffolding as Formative AssessmentCurriculum-Based AssessmentDifferentiating How Teachers Grade ProductsAlternatives to Norm-Referenced Grading ProceduresAdapting Criterion-Referenced Grading SystemsSelf-Referenced SystemsCo-Teacher Roles in Differentiating Products of LearningPause and Reflect7. Differentiating the Instructional ProcessesThe Complexities of the Process of Instruction (Graphic Organizer)Instructional FormatsInstructional ArrangementsHighlights on Cooperative LearningA Focus on Cooperative Strategies for Emerging and Struggling ReadersA Highlight on Peer Tutors and Partner Learning ArrangementsInstructional StrategiesUsing TaxonomiesApplying Concepts From Learning Preferences FrameworksIntegrating the ArtsSocial and Physical EnvironmentCo-Teaching ApproachesPause and Reflect8. Collaborative Planning and Evaluation for Differentiated InstructionThe Rationale and Benefits of Collaborative Planning and TeachingEffective and Efficient Use of Planning and Evaluation TimeDevelopment of Relationships Among Team Members: It’s a Process!Skills for Building Trust and Establishing Team NormsCommunication and Leadership SkillsCreative Problem-Solving SkillsConflict Resolution SkillsAre We Really an Effective Planning Team?9. Co-Teaching to Deliver Differentiated InstructionWhy Collaborate to Co-Teach?Research Base for Co-TeachingWho Can Be Co-Teachers?Four Approaches to Co-TeachingSupportive Co-TeachingParallel Co-TeachingComplementary Co-TeachingTeam Co-TeachingQuestions About Co-Teaching to Differentiate Instruction10. UDL Lesson Planning Cycle to Differentiate Instruction in Action: A Fourth-Grade Social Studies UnitSetting the ContextCo-Teacher Professional Development ActivitiesMultiple Methods for Accessing ContentDifferentiating the Products (Outcomes) of LearningDifferentiating the Instructional ProcessesInstructional FormatInstructional ArrangementsInstructional StrategiesSocial and Physical EnvironmentCo-Teaching ApproachesImplementing the UDL PlanUsing the Lesson Plan Template11. UDL Lesson Planning Cycle to Differentiate Instruction in Action: Middle Level MathematicsWho Are the Teachers?Professional Development ActivitiesGathering (New) Facts About the LearnersMultiple Methods for Accessing the Content for Algebra IDifferentiating the Products (Outcomes) of LearningDifferentiating the Instructional ProcessesGroup InvestigationCognitively Guided InstructionEnglish Language Learner TechniquesImplementing the UDL PlanUsing the Universal Design Lesson Plan Template12. UDL Lesson Planning Cycle to Differentiate Instruction in Action: Middle Level ScienceWho Are the Teachers?Planning to Change From a Retrofit Approach to a Universal Design ApproachGathering (Additional) Facts About the LearnersPause and Reflect: TinaPlanning Prior to the LessonPlanning to Differentiate Content and MaterialsPlanning to Differentiate ProductsPlanning to Differentiate the Process of LearningFinalizing the Lesson PlanDifferentiation in Action in the ClassReflection13.UDL Lesson Planning Cycle to Differentiate Instruction in Action: High School Language ArtsWho Are the Teachers?Co-Teacher Professional Development ActivitiesGathering Facts About the LearnersDifferentiating the Content and MaterialsKey Ideas and DetailsCraft and StructureRange of Reading and Level of Text ComplexityDifferentiating the ProductPause and ReflectDifferentiating the ProcessCo-Teacher RolesThe Planned LessonBefore the LessonThe Planned Instructional SequencePause and Reflect14. UDL Lesson Planning Cycle to Differentiate Instruction in Action: High School MathematicsWho Are the Teachers?Co-Teacher Collaborative Planning and Professional Development ActivitiesGathering Facts About the LearnersAnticipating Learners’ Interests, Learning Preferences, Skills, and Conceptual UnderstandingMultiple Methods for Accessing the Content of Algebra IIUnit Theme: Reasoning and SensemakingStandards Addressed in the UnitDifferentiating the Product: Multiple Methods to Demonstrate Unit ObjectivesImplementationAssessment of Prior Knowledge/MasteryDifferentiating the Process of InstructionPlanning for Differentiation to Include Evidence-Based StrategiesImplementing Differentiated Instructional ProcessesUsing the Lesson Plan TemplateReflectionsReflections on Facts About the LearnersReflections on Content and Materials DifferentiationReflections on Product and Assessment DifferentiationReflections on Instructional Process DifferentiationPeer Observer Feedback and Future Goals15. Epilogue: Pause and ReflectValues and Assumptions About StudentsValues and Assumptions About AdultsWhy Explain Values and Assumptions?ReferencesResourcesIndex