Differentiation in the Science Classroom

What is Differentiated Instruction?

"At its most basic level, differentiating instruction means "shaking up" what goes on in the classroom so that students have multiple options for taking in information, making sense of ideas, and expressing what they learn. In other words, a differentiated classroom provides different avenues to acquiring content, to processing or making sense of ideas, and to developing products so that each student can learn effectively."

Source: Tomlinson, Carol Ann. (2001). How to Differentiate Instruction in Mixed-Ability Classrooms.

Differentiated instruction is not a single strategy, but rather an approach to instruction that incorporates a variety of strategies. Teachers can differentiate content, process, and/or product for students.

Differentiation of Content

Differentiation of content refers to a change in the material being learned by a student (what students learn). Differentiation of content...

Includes curriculum topics, concepts, or themes.
Reflects state or national standards.
Presents essential facts and skills.
Differentiates by pre-assessing student skills and understandings, then matching learners with appropriate activities.
Provides students with choices in order to add depth to learning.
Provides students with additional resources that match their levels of understanding.

Example: If the classroom objective is for all students to identify parts of a cell, some students may learn to label five major parts, while others may learn to label more parts and define the function of each part.

Differentiation of Process

Differentiation of process refers to the way in which a student accesses material (how students learn). Differentiation of process...

Refers to how students make sense or understand the information, ideas, and skills being studied.
Reflects student learning styles and preferences.
Varies the learning process depending upon how students learn.

Example: One student may explore a learning center, while another student collects information from the web.

Differentiation of Product

Differentiation of product refers to the way in which a student shows what he or she has learned (the end result of student learning). Differentiation of product...

Tends to be tangible: reports, tests, brochures, speeches, skits.
Reflects student understanding.
Differentiates by providing challenge, variety, and choice.

Example: To demonstrate understanding of the food chain, some students may create a three-dimensional diagram, while others create a PowerPoint presentation.

Before considering which tools and resources will work best with students, teachers should gather some baseline data and information about their students. Please refer to the Before Implementing Differentiation section below.

Content Differentiation Tools & Resources

Tiered Assignments

Tiered assignments are designed to instruct students on essential skills that are provided at different levels of complexity, abstractness and open-endedness. The curricular content and objective(s) are the same, but the process and/or product vary according to the student’s level of readiness. Steps for designing tiered assignments:

1. Identify key concepts, skills, and essential understandings that you want all students to achieve.

2. Identify how you will cluster groups/activities (Example: above-, on-, below-level).

3. Select elements to tier, such as resources, process, or product.

4. Create your on-level tier.

5. Design a similar task for struggling (below-level) learners. The task should make adjustments based on student readiness.

6. Develop a third, more advanced activity for above-level) learners who have already mastered the basic standard or competency being addressed. Make sure the task actually requires higher-level thinking than the on-level tasks.

Below is an example of a worksheet about cells modified for above-, on-, and below-level students.

Providing a Variety of Materials

Teachers can differentiate content based on readiness level, interests, or learning profile by offering a variety of materials. This allows students to access the information in the way that works best for them. Examples include:

Range of texts. In addition to the grade-level text, the teacher can provide texts one or two grade levels below and above the grade-level text. Sites like Newsela and Readworks provide teachers the ability to adjust the Lexile levels.
Supplemental materials. These materials might include Internet resources, magazines, newspapers, books on CDs, videos, and computer games/simulations.

Presentation Styles

When they present content, teachers should utilize a variety of presentation styles; that is, they should provide learners with a variety of media and formats that allows students to choose what works best for them. Multiple media and formats also allow students to develop a deeper understanding of concepts by providing opportunities to interact with those concepts in a variety of ways. The table below highlights different methods of presenting content.

Flexible Grouping

Students work as part of many different groups depending on the task and/or content. Sometimes students are placed in groups based on readiness; other times they are placed based on interest and/or learning profile. Groups can be assigned by the teacher or chosen by the students. Students can be assigned purposefully to a group or assigned randomly. This strategy allows students to work with a wide variety of peers and keeps them from being labeled as advanced or struggling.

For example, the teacher may assign groups based on student characteristics for a lab in which each group member must take on a specific role. For example, a student who is a strong writer might take notes, while a student who enjoys public speaking might present the group’s findings. Students may choose their groups for another lab.

Below are some sample lab roles teachers can assign their students.

Scaffolding

For students who struggle with learning a new skill or content, the teacher can provide instructional scaffolding, a process through which a teacher adds supports for students in order to enhance learning and aid in the mastery of tasks. The teacher does this by systematically building on a student’s experiences and knowledge as he or she learns a new skill. As the student increasingly masters the task, the supports are gradually removed. The teacher may need to consider different ways to scaffold for those who have difficulty reading and understanding text and for those who have difficulty mastering a new task.

The templates below represent different levels of scaffolding for lab reports. Template A represents a very basic lab template with minimal details. In contrast, Template D represents a very thorough, detailed lab template. A teacher, upon getting information from their students about levels of readiness, may decide to start the class with Template A and build up to Template C or D. Or, a teacher may want to start with Template C and work up to Template D and have students work towards independence from using a template altogether. Additionally, the teacher may decide to provide a template for those students who have difficulty with organization.

Choice Boards

Choice boards are organizers that contain a variety of activities. Students can choose one or several activities to complete as they learn a skill or develop a product. Choice boards can be organized so that students are required to choose options that focus on several different skills. Choice boards are very similar to Tic-Tac-Toe boards (see Product Differentiation Tools and Resources section below).

Here is a video of a teacher who demonstrates how to use choice boards for her unit on Cells.

Below are some examples of choice boards for Earth and Life Science.

Technology

There is a vast amount of educational technology available to teachers that can help with classroom differentiation. Two common examples are Plickers and Kahoot. Below are guides for using each. Other examples include Socrative and Poll Everywhere.

Modifying Text

Modification means inserting definitions or changing words in the source. Use Rewordify to simply difficult text. Paste original text into tool and click "rewordify" to have it transform into an easier version of the text. The new reworded text will show what words were changed by highlighting them. Below is an example of original vs. modified text using Rewordify.

Process Differentiation Tools & Resources

Learning Centers

A learning center is a defined area of the classroom organized around a topic, theme, or activity in which students learn, practice, or build on a concept or skill. Learning centers, most often used in elementary classrooms, are an effective way for teachers to offer a range of activities that can target students’ readiness levels, interests, or learning profiles. The center should contain the instructions and the materials that students will need to complete the activity. If the teacher is using the center to differentiate by readiness level, it is helpful to color-code the materials. Although students can work in small groups or pairs to complete a learning center activity, they often complete these activities independently.

Here is an example of a learning center about Metamorphosis.

Materials at each learning center: Plastic models of each stage of the butterfly’s life cycle, pictures of all stages of the life cycle, poster of different caterpillars and the corresponding butterflies, books about the butterfly’s life cycle, a bug box containing several caterpillars. Struggling students received red folders, average students received orange folders and advanced students received green folders.

In the red folder are the following directions: Using the table provided, describe each stage of the life cycle (what it looks like, what butterflies eat during each, number of days in stage).
In the orange folder are the following directions: Create a table and record three characteristics for each stage of the butterfly’s life cycle .
In the green folder are the following directions: Create a table and record five characteristics for each stage of the butterfly’s life cycle. In addition, do this for the life cycle of a frog. Compare and contrast.

Stations

Stations are areas of the classroom organized around a topic, theme, or skill. They can target students’ readiness levels, interests, or learning profiles. The teacher creates several stations that cover portions of the material. To learn about the topic, students must complete the activities at each station.

For example, during a unit on weather, the teacher might create four learning stations: temperature, atmospheric pressure, clouds, and the water cycle.

To access an National Science Teachers Association (NSTA) article about setting up stations, please click here.

Interest Centers

Interest centers are a type of learning center. They provide an opportunity for students to acquire in-depth knowledge about a topic of interest. Unlike in traditional learning centers, students are not required to complete the activities in the center but can choose to visit the center when time allows. The topic might or might not be related to the unit of study.

For example, when teaching about Metamorphosis (from the example above) using the life cycle of the butterfly, the teacher might also create an interest center focusing on the life cycle of the frog so that students can delve deeper into the topic.

Graphic Organizers

A graphic organizer, sometimes called a web or concept map, can be a diagram, outline, or chart on which students arrange information. By using graphic organizers, students can:

Gather important information
Organize information
More easily process information
See relationships between ideas
More easily understand, remember, and apply information

Below are several samples of different graphic organizers.

Jigsaw

Jigsaw is a cooperative learning strategy in which the class is divided into small groups consisting of five to six students. These small groups serve as the students’ home base. Each member of the home-base group is assigned to an “expert” group to learn a portion of the content. After the students meet in their expert group and learn their specified content, they return to their home-base groups to share what they have learned with the other group members. This strategy allows everyone in the class to learn all the content relevant to the subject, as opposed to just the piece they were responsible for. The jigsaw strategy can be implemented during one class period or across a number of class periods, depending on the depth or complexity of the content or skill being learned. For more information about setting up jigsaws, please click here.

Think Dots

Think dots is an activity for students to construct meaning for themselves about a concept they are studying. It allows students to approach the concept from different angles and to use choice in their study.

NOTE: The higher the number rolled on the dice, the higher the depth of knowledge the task should be. You can also assign a specific of tasks for each student to do (e.g. 3 of 6, 4 of 6, etc.) based on readiness.

Below you will find directions in how to make Think Dots and a blank template, as well as an example from Earth, Life, and Physical Science.

Cubing

Cubing requires students to look at a topic from six different angles. Teachers often create a visual cube that serves as a starting point when they want students to analyze or consider various aspects of a topic. Cubes can be used as an after-reading strategy that requires students to think critically about a topic. When students work with cubes, they apply information in new ways. Cubes can be differentiated by interest and readiness.

Steps for using Cubing:

1. Select a topic. For example, natural selection. Decide in advance how much time you want to devote to the cubing process. Informal cubing activities can easily be accomplished within a class period. However, activities can be extended if research is required.

2. Create groups based on readiness or interest.

3. Assign each group a perspective from which to explore the topic.

Describe natural selection.
Compare natural selection to other related science concepts.
Associate natural selection with other issues, topics, or concerns.
Analyze natural selection by discussing the events and decisions that led to its development.
Apply the lessons you’ve learned from studying natural selection. How does learning about natural selection help you understand events, issues, topics, and decisions that still exist today?
Argue for or against natural selection. Take a stand and list your reasons.

4. After the designated amount of time, ask representatives from each group to present their perspectives.

Adaptations of Cubing:

Design cubes based on interest or learning profiles.
Use the cubes for independent work. Require students to complete each element on the cube but allow them to pick and choose the order in which they complete the activities.
Use the cubes as dice which students roll.
Incorporate Bloom’s Taxonomy:

– Knowledge: Students recall and cite content.

– Comprehension: Students demonstrate their understanding of the content.

– Application: Students use their knowledge and skills in a different way or situation.

– Analysis: Students break down topics into pieces and analyze them.

– Synthesis: Students consider aspects that seem to contradict each other and form something new.

– Evaluation: Students use their previous learning to judge the value or success of some thing. Students follow a specific criteria.

Below is a blank template.

Total Participation Techniques

Total participation techniques provide alternatives to "stand-and-deliver" teaching techniques that cause so many students to tune out or drop out. These techniques motivate students to participate in learning, as they build confidence and are supported by compelling and safe ways to demonstrate their knowledge and understanding of lessons. The following techniques were developed by and adapted from Pérsida Himmele and William Himmele. Click on any of the bulleted items to access documents that describe the technique, how to use it, and/or a science example. You can also click here to access TPT cards to use as you plan lessons.

On-The-Spot

Hold-Ups

Involving Student Movement

Wrap-Ups

Product Differentiation Tools & Resources

Tiered Products

As activities can be tiered to differentiate the learning process, so too can products be tiered to differentiate how students demonstrate their learning. When teachers assess students’ knowledge in this way, they design a range of products that are challenging for students at different levels of readiness (in general low, middle, and high groups).

Below is an example of three different assessment options for Physical Science.

Tiered Assessment

Tic-Tac-Toe

Tic-Tac-Toe (or Think-Tac-Toe) choice boards give students the opportunity to participate in multiple tasks that allow them to practice skills they’ve learned in class or to demonstrate and extend their understanding of concepts. From the board, students either choose or are assigned three adjacent or diagonal tasks to complete.

Steps to Make a Tic-Tac-Toe Board:

1. Identify the outcomes and instructional focus of a unit of study.

2. Use assessment data and student profiles to determine student readiness, learning styles, or interests.

3. Design nine different tasks.

4. Arrange the tasks on a choice board.

5. Select one required task for all students. Place it in the center of the board.

6. Students complete three tasks, one of which must be the task in the middle square. The three tasks should complete a Tic-Tac-Toe row.

Adaptations:

Allow students to complete any three tasks—even if the completed tasks don’t make a Tic-Tac-Toe.
Assign students tasks based on readiness.
Create different choice boards based on readiness. (Struggling students work with the options on one choice board while more advanced students have different options.)
Create choice board options based on learning styles, learning preferences or multiple intelligences. For example, a choice board could include three kinesthetic tasks, three auditory tasks, three visual tasks.

Below are examples of Life Science and Earth Science Tic-Tac-Toes.

Menus

A menu offers students a way to make decisions about what they will do in order to meet class requirements. A menu could be for a single lesson, a week-long lesson, or even a month-long period of study. Once the teacher has decided on what the essential understandings and/or skills are, she/he can begin to create a menu.

Steps to Make a Menu:

1. Identify the most important elements of a lesson or unit.

2. Create an imperative or required assignment or project that reflects the minimum understanding you expect all students to achieve. This would be the main course (entree) part of the menu.

3. Create negotiables which expand upon the main dish or imperative assignment or project. These negotiables often require students to go beyond the basic levels of Bloom’s Taxonomy. For example, they often include activities that require synthesis, analysis, or evaluation. This would be the side dishes part of the menu.

4. Create a final optional section that offers students the opportunity for enrichment. The optional section often reflects activities that students can use for extra credit. This would be the dessert part of the menu.

Below is an example of a menu for a unit on Chemical Problems in the Environment, along with a blank template.

Baseball

The baseball strategy allows students to choose how they want to show their mastery of the content in the style of a baseball game. Singles, doubles, triples, and home runs correspond to Webb's Depths of Knowledge, Levels 1-4, as shown in the image below:

Below is an example of a Physics baseball activity and a blank template.

Before Implementing Differentiation

Implementation of differentiation looks different for each student and each assignment. Before beginning instruction, teachers should do these things:

1. Use diagnostic assessments to determine student readiness. These assessments can be formal or informal. Teachers can give course or unit pre-assessments, or question students about their background knowledge about a topic.

2. Determine student interest. This can be done by using interest inventories, student survey and/or including students in the planning process. Teachers can ask students to tell them what specific interests they have in a particular topic, and then teachers can try to incorporate these interests into their lessons.

3. Identify student learning styles and environmental preferences. Learning styles can be measured using learning style inventories. Teachers can also get information about student learning styles by asking students how they learn best and by observing student activities. Identifying environmental preferences include determining whether students work best in large or small groups and what environmental factors might contribute to or inhibit student learning.

4. Build relationships. "Adolescents often devote more time and energy to worrying about whether they are safe and accepted than to caring about whether they are learning (Sousa & Tomlinson, 2011). This may be why teacher-student relationships have such a powerful effect on student achievement (Hattie, 2012) and why community-centered class- rooms are such an important contributor to academic growth (Bransford, Brown, & Cocking, 2000). The bottom line is that if teachers ignore the affective needs of teenagers, they will be less able to meet students’ cognitive needs." Source: Doubet, K. & Hockett, S. (2015). Differentiation in Middle and High School.

Here are examples of relationship-building activities.

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