Teacher H

Teaches Honors and CP levels of English and other types of English classes

How did you learn about differentiated instruction in college?

How was it presented?
o Do you feel you were adequately trained to use
differentiated instruction while you were in college? In
your districts/schools professional development
training?
o In college, my professors suggested giving different
texts to different students based on ability and
interests. I don't remember, however, them using the
term differentiated instruction.
o I do not think I was adequately trained to use
differentiated instruction. In professional
development, we've been introduced to differentiated
instruction, but there are so many ways to differentiate
that oftentimes we do not get actual practical
examples.
Do you do differentiated instruction in your class? Why or why
not?
o Does differentiated instruction look different in an AP
class compared to a cp class? Why or why not?
What does differentiated instruction look like in
your class?
Do you arrange students in groups or in
seats based on students abilities?
Do you assign different things to
different students in your class based
on their demonstrated interest/mastery
of material?
o I do use differentiated instruction in my class. I
actually think most teachers do, but oftentimes do not
label it as such. I use it to hold students' interest and
also to try to get them to the same goal.
o In AP class, I generally see less gap among the
students. My low and high are usually not too far
apart, meaning achievement tends to lean towards
high end. In CP classes (and my speech classes) the
gap could be the lowest achieving student testing in
the 15th percentile and the highest testing in the 99th
percentile.
o In my class, I differentiate in different ways. In *name
of class was omitted for anonymity but it was an
honors level class*, I give students choices for their

Teacher H
Teaches Honors and CP levels of English and other types of English classes

Greek dramas and the Shakespearean plays. I also

usually give them choices in their *specific name of
project was omitted for anonymity* project or research
project (although, I have specifically assigned myth to
students who did not do well on the mythology test to
try to give the students another chance to master the
topic). I vary my groups -- sometimes I mix ability
levels and at other times I put similar students in
groups (ability, gender, etc.). In my Shakespeare unit,
I give students a project that allows them to choose a
project based on their strengths and gives them a
chance to show mastery in a way other than just a
standardized test. When I give group projects, I put in
plenty of individual requirements, so students learn to
work together but also have individual accountability.
In English research, I have begun to have students
write specific questions they have at the end of each
day of research, I put common questions together, and
I pull groups of students the next day during research
time to review or reteach the concept they struggled
with. In *other type of English class*, I generally have
many different levels of students, so I differentiate a
lot with grouping. Sometimes, I put grade levels
together, and I give the older students tougher tasks.
When we do debate, I try to put representatives of
each grade level in each group. When I have students
who have taken 11 AP English in the class, I try to split
them up among the groups to help teach the
underclassmen about rhetoric.

Do you find differentiated instruction to be a practical

approach in a class of 35 students? 20? 10?
o If it is proven that this type of instruction is greatly
beneficial to students, but impractical in a class with
30 students in it, does that prove that smaller class
sizes would promote learning?
Do you agree with this statement?
o I think that larger classes make it harder to do some
sorts of differentiation because crowd control becomes
an issue and because for some types of differentiation,
you have to create/find different assessments and
figure out different ways to measure mastery. I have
been reading about Gradual Release of Responsibility
models, and I think they sound awesome, but making

Teacher H
Teaches Honors and CP levels of English and other types of English classes

sure every student is on task and accountable

becomes more difficult when class numbers are larger.

What are your thoughts on differentiated instruction in

general? In relation to the subject you teach?
I think if our goal is to ensure all students are learning,
differentiated instruction needs to be incorporated into the
classroom. In some elements of English, I think it's great -- I
can definitely assign different works and projects to different
students, but I also think some moments require students to
read common texts and have common assessments.

Teachers are expected to differentiate. Are all state tests

students are required to take differentiated? If not, what does
this do to the students who maybe are not as advanced and
who have been taught differently than the average student?
What are your thoughts on this?

I think the expectation is to differentiate instruction to

have kids show their mastery on a common
assessment, so it does seem odd to acknowledge that
kids need to be taught in different ways but only
measured in one or two (and usually with an objective
test or a standard rubric). I am not sure what the
second half of the question is asking. Are you asking
about the effect on a student or the effect on a teacher
(through a TVAAS score)?