Shared Learning at BJEC

Tomorrow I am going to facilitate a workshop on Differentiated Instruction for pre-school educators of 2-4 year olds. In order to get my head around what I need to do, i find it helpful to write about my ideas and concerns, so that is what this blog entry will be about. I’m going to start with the question: What is DI?

Differentiating instruction means creating multiple paths so that students of different abilities, interest or learning needs experience equally appropriate ways to absorb, use, develop and present concepts as a part of the daily learning process. It allows students to take greater responsibility and ownership for their own learning, and provides opportunities for peer teaching and cooperative learning.

(from Differentiating Instruction by P. Theroux, Teacher, Alberta, Canada)

P. Theroux writes that it begins from some basic premises, derived from brain-research:

• No two children are alike.
• No two children learn in the identical way.
• An enriched environment for one student is not necessarily enriched for another.
• In the classroom we should teach children to think for themselves.

It sounds like the perfect recipe for preschool education, and it is already being used with much success. It is an intuitive way that pre-school educators work with children, yet I am being asked by a few centre directors to provide professional development on DI for their educators.

I have been wracking my brain, asking myself, is this relevent for the pre-school level? How can I teach how to differentiate a pre-school curriculum? DI for 2-4 year olds?? Don’t they do it already? What will I do?

Upon reflection, I have come to some of the following conclusions:

Reasons…

• Validating the work educators are already doing
• Providing terminology – creating a shared vocabulary for the work that is being done across centres
• Keeping practice up-to-date with current research and theories

So…how can DI be effectively applied at the CPE level?

I think the answer to that question begins with the basic premise of how DI can be applied – period. So I am going to start with that.

Data Drives Design!

Step 1 – identification of abilities, interests, and needs

DI is about allowing for children with different learning styles, abilities, interests, or learning needs to work towards similar goals along different paths. Before we can begin to differentiate we need to identify the different learning styles, abilities, interests, and learning needs in the classroom.

This is an ongoing process, yet is at its most intense at the beginning of a school year.

Observation journals: The most important assessment process for me is observation – particularily at the preschool level.

Surveys: Very helpful for identifying interests

Interviews: focused questions, to ask individual children, to determine possible preferred learning styles, interests, needs

Formal assessments: Setting up specific tasks for all students to gage ability

Fair and Equal aren’t the Same!

Step 2 – Clarify the concept of fairness.

Children often get hung up on the idea that it isn’t fair for the teacher to have different expectations for different children. They often feel that all students should be doing the same thing or “it isn’t fair.” It is important for the teacher to establish the fact that each child is a unique individual and has different learning needs. Consequently they will be working at different tasks much of the time. (from P. Theroux Strategies for Differentiating)

Getting to Work 

Step 3 -  Differentiating

4 ways to differentiate – remembering that, for the most part, the goals remain the same!

1. Content – the knowledge, skills, aptitudes we want our children to learn. If a child already knows how to do something, then instead of learning instructions with the rest of the class, he or she can begin to apply the knowledge.
2. Process or activities. This involves varying the learning activities to allow for multiple ways to manipulate a concept.
3. Product. This involves varying the complexity of a given product.
4. Environment and/or learning styles. Some students  work better in an area of a room with fewer distractions, some work better with music, some with dim lighting…some need to hear, some need to see, some need to do

Is it working for you? 

Step 4 – Evaluating

Though I call it step 4, it actually occurs all the time as we reflect on what we are doing with our students and if it is working. If not, what needs to change? If yes, why and how to make other areas work as well.

Tips for beginning to differentiate… 

DI can be huge. The best thing to do if you are really interested in trying this out is to start with baby steps. Choose one child to differentiate for, or one part of the curriculum.

Our bookclub meeting on Tuesday will revolve around the book Schools as professional learning communities: Collaborative activities and strategies for professional development by Sylvia M. Roberts and Eunice Z. Pruitt. I’m really looking forward to the conversations to come around this theme.

The notion of professional learning communities excites me. I am jazzed about how people learn, especially with how we learn in relationship and collaboration with others who share our passions. The idea of a small group of people meeting to have genuine conversations around their concerns, triumphs, and successes about their passion – in this case teaching and learning – is very powerful and holds the potential expressed in Margaret Mead’s famous quotation,

Never believe that a few caring people can’t change the world. For indeed, that’s all who ever have.

I have been involved with a few different professional learning communities over the past few years. Some were wonderful communities of learning that I continue to learn from and others, unfortunately, fell flat after the first few meetings.

The communities that thrived and, in some cases, are still thriving all had a similar strong foundation: they began in a participatory manner. The community members were active in the formation of the community.

The professional learning communities that didn’t work were communities in which members were expected to participate but really didn’t have any personal investment in. We were told that we had to meet every week, or 2 weeks, or month, in order to discuss ‘x’ without being consulted with about what we felt we needed to talk about.

In one particular case, the principal of the school firmly believed that teachers needed to be talking about inclusion. He was probably right, however the way in which he created the professional learning community was through imposition rather than invitation and instead of talking about real concerns at the community meetings, there was complaining about difficult students – almost akin to a sharing of war stories!

I recently found another online blog with a posting on this very subject called, Why do professional learning communities fail to develop? This is what one of the commentators wrote:

That’s the key. It has to belong to the teachers who are part of the community. If the community belongs to “the administration” and teachers are merely invited to attend, things fall apart.

I firmly believe that in order for a professional learning community to work it needs to spring out of the real needs, concerns, and triumphs of its members. In order for this to work, our job is to create the conditions, the climate for educators to spend time together talking about what they really care about in education.

Here are some beliefs that others hold about successful professional learning communities:

• 10 keys to establishing PLCs
• The Annenberg Institute for School Reform on PLCs
• What Is a “Professional Learning Community”? by Richard Dufour
• PLCs: Communities of Continuous Inquiry and Improvement
• Creating a Professional Learning Community: Cottonwood Creek School
• Why Do Professional Learning Communities Fail to Develop?

What do you believe are the conditions for successful professional learning communities?

See you soon!
Tracy

I am planning on using this blog to journal my thoughts about the work and learning I am doing here at BJEC, as well as to collect resources to support it and share with you. I hope you can join me in the conversation.

Speak with you soon!
Tracy