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Re: [Phys-l] differentiated instruction



Although my reply was to Phillip's email, my remarks were not necessarily
aimed at him. When people argue against differentiated instruction by
saying things like "So, I have to write 36 different lesson plans a day for
my 36 kids?" that is a question that they aren't really looking for an
answer, it is a symptom of their resistance. There have been several
questions and comments like that from a number of people. There's a good
discussion of many manifestations of resistance to change in the book,
"Flawless Consulting." It would be a great read for anyone who is a
department chair and has to convince other people to change as would
"Influencer" and "Crucial Conversations."

Sorry, Phillip if it sounded like it was aimed at you.

M. Horton

----- Original Message -----
From: "Philip Keller" <PKeller@holmdelschools.org>
To: "Forum for Physics Educators" <phys-l@carnot.physics.buffalo.edu>
Sent: Saturday, September 26, 2009 5:09 PM
Subject: Re: [Phys-l] differentiated instruction


Resistance to change may be a disease with recognizablesymptoms. Or not --
some change is for the better, some for the worse. But I will withdraw my
second question and restate my first in plainer terms:

I would like to try differentiated instruction in my high school physics
class at some time this year. What do I do? If you say to me "surely you
must know what it means if you plan on trying it", I say, no. And I say
that even after attending workshops and reading on line -- I don't know
what it entails in a high school physics classroom. Maybe resistance to
change is keeping me from obtaining the information I need. Maybe the
workshops and many of the website offer a hodgepodge of buzz words with
little definition and lots of overlap. (It seems that the "enduring
understanding/essential question" crowd is moving in on "differentiated"
turf. When the words don't have clear meanings that can happen.)

So maybe some one on this list has some experience and guidance. I know my
tone is a little snarky but I am sincere: I would try this if I knew what
to do and was convinced that it would be a better use of our class time. An
ideal answer would be something like:

Oh, I know this teacher at ___school who has been doing this for years. He
has a website where he shows other physics teachers how he has done this.
You should have read the article in the ___ issue of the Physics Teacher.

And one more comment in my defense. I do not resist all change: another of
my district goals is to infuse technology into instruction. In this area, I
am considered a leader in the district, adding methods just about every
year. That's probably a symptom as well.

P. Keller
________________________________________
From: phys-l-bounces@carnot.physics.buffalo.edu
[phys-l-bounces@carnot.physics.buffalo.edu] On Behalf Of M. Horton
[scitch@verizon.net]
Sent: Saturday, September 26, 2009 6:32 PM
To: Forum for Physics Educators
Subject: Re: [Phys-l] differentiated instruction

Differentiated instruction has nothing to do with the non-research-based
idea of learning styles. It has to do with different levels of background
knowledge, different levels of prerequisite skills, differences in language
abilities, and differences in learning disabilities. At least in Southern
California, every classroom has at least one English Learner and one
mainstreamed special education student. They are generally the targets for
differentiation, but every student eventually will need extra support.

There are dozens of books, hundreds of articles, and plenty of workshops on
the subject for those who really want to know what it means. But they won't
help those whose question is just a symptom of their resistance to change.

M. Horton

----- Original Message -----
From: "Philip Keller" <PKeller@holmdelschools.org>
To: "Forum for Physics Educators" <phys-l@carnot.physics.buffalo.edu>
Sent: Saturday, September 26, 2009 11:35 AM
Subject: Re: [Phys-l] differentiated instruction


So when I teach my first-year students to find instantaneous velocity by
finding the slope of a tangent line, I am already meeting the district
objective.

Seriously, I do think that this particular educational buzz word means that
different students are to be taught differently and that the "shotgun"
approach does not qualify. It seems that this idea, like many others in
education, comes up from elementary school and is then imposed at the high
school level where it does not make practical sense. If I taught the same
25 students all day, I'd feel it was reasonable to get to know their
learning styles and to sometimes adapt lessons to accommodate them. But I
teach 100 a day, 43 minutes each...

The idea behind my second question is this. Say we accept that there are
many ways to teach. And that each student has a method in which they are
most able to learn. It might be the case that more physics will be learned
if we adjust the methods to match the student's preferred mode. But it
might be BETTER to continue to present many methods to all (call it
"shotgun" if you like) and then help each student to get something from
each of them.
________________________________________
From: phys-l-bounces@carnot.physics.buffalo.edu
[phys-l-bounces@carnot.physics.buffalo.edu] On Behalf Of Jack Uretsky
[jlu@hep.anl.gov]
Sent: Saturday, September 26, 2009 8:28 AM
To: Forum for Physics Educators
Subject: Re: [Phys-l] differentiated instruction

Hi all-
So why not get a course description from Mr. Warmell before
trying to conjecture his meaning. Maybe "differeniation" refers to t he
mathemtical process of finding the derivative of a function.
Regards,
Jack

"Trust me. I have a lot of experience at this."
General Custer's unremembered message to his men,
just before leading them into the Little Big Horn Valley




On Sat, 26 Sep 2009, Bernard Cleyet wrote:

You all received the course announcement?



Now Available!

Learn how to integrate differentiated instruction, assessment and
grading

with

Rick Wormeli's new course - Differentiation and Assessment for
Middle Schools


http://view.exacttarget.com/?
j=fe831d78716d0d7974&m=fef21373736d00&ls=fdf215797162037977177272&l=fe99
15707c64017f70&s=fe29107072620474741679&jb=ffcf14&ju=fe401d797d6300747d1
d&r=0


bc thinks another bureaucratic fashion hype.



On 2009, Sep 25, , at 10:21, Philip Keller wrote:

Hello all,

OK, maybe Friday afternoon is not the time to open up this can of
worms, but...

My district school goals include differentiated instruction. I
have been to a couple of workshops but I have some questions that I
was wondering if anyone here can help me with:

1. If I say "I am going to use differentiated instruction in my
high school physics class," what exactly am I planning to do? I
assume that it means more than "I am going to teach different ways
at different times." I've read that it includes differentiating
based on content, process and product. My course has only one
official approved curriculum. How do I vary the content and how do
I choose who gets what? Right now, I use a variety of different
teaching methods, but I do not "differentiate". Everyone has to
listen to a lecture. Everyone has to play with a simulation.
Everyone has to do an experiment. Everyone has to work on problems
to solve. So, as I said, I am teaching different ways, but I
suspect (hope?) that differentiating means more. Then, if I
differentiate "product", who decides which kids produce which kind
of evidence of learning? Won't everyone want the perceived easiest
option?

OK, that was my first question. Next:

2. Once I know what it is that I am planning on doing, how do I
answer if I am asked: "Do you have evidence that shows that this
is a good idea?"

Thank you for any ideas or references you may have. Have a good
weekend.
_______________________________________________
Forum for Physics Educators
Phys-l@carnot.physics.buffalo.edu
https://carnot.physics.buffalo.edu/mailman/listinfo/phys-l


_______________________________________________
Forum for Physics Educators
Phys-l@carnot.physics.buffalo.edu
https://carnot.physics.buffalo.edu/mailman/listinfo/phys-l

_______________________________________________
Forum for Physics Educators
Phys-l@carnot.physics.buffalo.edu
https://carnot.physics.buffalo.edu/mailman/listinfo/phys-l
_______________________________________________
Forum for Physics Educators
Phys-l@carnot.physics.buffalo.edu
https://carnot.physics.buffalo.edu/mailman/listinfo/phys-l

_______________________________________________
Forum for Physics Educators
Phys-l@carnot.physics.buffalo.edu
https://carnot.physics.buffalo.edu/mailman/listinfo/phys-l
_______________________________________________
Forum for Physics Educators
Phys-l@carnot.physics.buffalo.edu
https://carnot.physics.buffalo.edu/mailman/listinfo/phys-l