Building Confident Educators 101: The Art of Differentiating Instruction

Outline

1. Introduction and Session Goals (5 minutes)

Content: Overview of the session's objectives—equipping educators with foundational strategies for differentiating instruction to meet diverse student needs.

Engagement: Quick poll to assess participants' current differentiation practices.

Process: Collect initial feedback to set expectations and tailor the session to participants' needs.

2. Understanding Differentiation (15 minutes)

Content: Key principles of differentiation, including strategies for addressing various learning styles, abilities, and interests.

Engagement: Pair-share activity where participants discuss their current differentiation practices and challenges.

Process: Facilitate peer discussions, encouraging participants to share successful differentiation strategies.

3. Implementing Differentiation Strategies (15 minutes)

Content: Step-by-step guide on implementing differentiation in lesson planning and classroom activities.

Engagement: Interactive role-playing activity where participants create and present differentiated lesson plans based on given scenarios.

Process: Small group discussions followed by a group debrief on effective approaches and areas for improvement.

4. Incorporating Diversity in Differentiation (15 minutes)

Content: Techniques for adapting differentiation strategies to reflect diverse student backgrounds and learning needs.

Engagement: Poll participants on how they currently address diversity in their differentiation and discuss improvements in pairs.

Process: Use turn-and-talk to exchange experiences and strategies for more inclusive differentiation.

5. Q&A and Wrap-Up (10 minutes)

Content: Open floor for questions and reflections on the differentiation strategies discussed.

Engagement: Participants share one key takeaway or actionable step they plan to implement in their differentiation practices.

Process: Turn-and-talk format for sharing insights and discussing next steps.
Process for Engagement

Frequency: Engage participants every 10-15 minutes to maintain interaction.
Tactics:

Peer-to-peer interaction through pair-share and small group discussions.

Role-playing and scenario-based activities for hands-on practice.

Supporting research

1. Hattie, J. (2024). Visible Learning. Sage Publications.

2. Valenzuela, J. (2023). Building confident educators. Accessed at https://www.edutopia.org/article/confidence-in-teaching on September 17, 2024.