Category: Differentiated Instruction (Fall 2006)
Day 1
8:30am – 9:30am
Doable Projects of Change: Using Action Research to Improve Teaching
- What is Action Research?
9:30am – noon
- Defining a problem in your classroom
- Defining a goal of what you want to see in your classroom
- Brainstorming solutions
- Various methods of Differentiation will be introduced
Lunch
1pm – 3:30pm
- Developing a personal theory
8pm – 9:30pm (Program for parents)
Introducing – Learning to Differentiate: An Action Research Initiative
Day 2
8:30am – noon
- Research questions
- Measuring success
9am – 10:30am
- Administrators meet with consultant to learn how to support the project. Administrators then begin to provide support to individual teacher projects.
Lunch
1pm – 3:30pm
- Continuing to develop individual action research projects including developing a theory, research questions, and criteria for assessing the actions to be taken.
2 – 3:30pm
Consultant begins individual or small group 30 minute meetings with teachers to solidify projects and continue learning about specific content/processes of differentiated instruction that will facilitate implementation in the classroom.
Day 3
8:30am – 3:30pm
- Consultant continues to hold 30 minute meetings with individuals and/or groups, who have not met with him privately, to solidify projects and continue learning about specific content/processes of differentiated instruction that will facilitate implementation in the classroom.
Each of the follow-up site visits listed below will have a schedule similar to the following:
8:30am – 3:30pm
- Consultant observes in the classroom of each teacher for 15 minutes followed by a 15 minute individual meeting (or a longer small group meeting of teachers in a particular school) to offer feedback and suggested improvements.
- Additional time will be scheduled with administrators (individually in each building or if logistically possible as an administrative cohort comprised of the administrator(s) from each building) to discuss, evaluate, celebrate successes in, and brainstorm solutions for problems with implementation.
Final Site Visit
Day 1
8:30am – 3:30pm
- Consultant observes in the classroom of each participating teacher for 15 minutes followed by a 30 minute individual meeting (or a longer small group meeting of teachers in a particular school) to offer feedback and suggested improvements.
- Each teacher will develop a specific action plan for continued implementation and evaluation of differentiated instruction in his/her classroom.
7pm – 9pm (first night of site visit)
- All teachers will meet to share experiences with each other and the consultant, as well as discuss next steps.
Day 2
8:30am – 3:30pm
- Consultant observes in the classroom of each participating teacher for 15 minutes followed by a 30 minute individual meeting (or a longer small group meeting of teachers in a particular school) to offer feedback and suggested improvements.
- Each teacher will develop a specific action plan for continued implementation and evaluation of differentiated instruction in his/her classroom.
7pm – 9pm (second night of site visit)
- A program will be designed to showcase the projects of the teachers to the larger community, including parents. Each participating teacher will present in a “science-fair” type poster his/her project while visitors walk through a gallery of learning.
Day 3
8:30am – 3:30pm
- Day of debriefing with administrative cohort to share experiences with each other and the consultant, as well as discuss next steps.
- Each administrator will develop a specific action plan for continued implementation, evaluation, and support of differentiated instruction in his/her school.
Dr. Scott Goldberg is the Director of the Fanya Gottesfeld Heller Division of Doctoral Studies and Assistant Professor of Education and Psychology at the Azrieli Graduate School of Jewish Education and Administration, Yeshiva University.