A BREIF OUTLINE OF DIFFERENTIATED LESSON PLANNING

By: Bierdz 2017, 2018, 2019

Mnemonic = “GAMA” Goal, Assessment, Method, Accommodations/Modifications.

Teaching can be conceptualized as a scientific experiment in which a treatment (lesson) is applied to a group and the impact of that treatment measured: (assessment of goal obtainment). Under this view, one of many reasons for lesson planning is, to keep track of the method used so that one can reflect on its efficacy in goal obtainment in order to strategically manipulate its components to improve results. The teacher’s hypothesis is,

Method X should result in student group Y achieving goal Z.

Here, the variable component- the one the teacher is able to manipulate and control- is the teaching methodology. If the lesson’s goal was reached, the method was successful, and if the lesson’s goal was not reached, the method failed. Success and failure are products of the method, not the students.

This is not only true at the group level, but at the individual student level. When an individual student does not reach the lesson’s goal, the teacher should investigate the method used by the student. If the method matches the one in the teacher’s lesson plan, the failure belongs to the teacher’s experimental method, not the student. However, if the student has departed from the teacher’s lesson plan, the teacher should investigate if the departure was due to the plan being beyond the student’s current abilities, or due to the students deliberate departure from the plan.

If the departure was due to the plan being beyond the student’s abilities, once again the failure belongs to the teacher’s plan. The plan is to be reviewed and changed to improve student success in future applications. (e.g., parts of the instructions may need to be modeled as instructions are provided, or instructional components provided in a written sequence as a check list, a higher level of assistance applied, and so on.) Some changes may be applied to the lesson at the group level, or at an individual level. (e.g., it may be found that modeling while instructions are provided decreases instructional time while improving student understanding.).

It is only when the failure is due to the student’s deliberate departure from the plan that the failure can be attributed to the student’s methodology, (keeping in mind that success and failure are not personal attributes but belong to method, amount, material, assistance, environment, and assessing the impact of these on goal obtainment).

NOTE: Our USA culture presents some confusion in that, on the one hand individualism, risk taking, and innovation is desired, but on the other hand conformity is frequently expected. Although, in a classroom, it is common to demand that student’s follow instructions to the letter, there is much to be said for students who desire to depart from the path laid out for them. Some such students are running their own experiment: “I can achieve the goal by using a different method.”). Rather then punishing such attempts, we could promote our cultural values by encouraging such displays of independence, creativity, and risk taking. We could help the student develop critical thinking skills. An agreement can be established in which the student first follows the instructions provided in order to learn from that experience and then- with the guidance of the teacher- embark on their own experimental method for reaching the goal. For students who are quite gifted, the teacher’s method might be completely dismissed. One need only consider the youthful account of Carl Friedrich Gauss concerning his superior method for adding the numbers 1 through 100 to reflect on this recommendation’s value. (Who was Carl Friedrich Gauss? Search the web).

Lesson planning is arguably the most important part of teaching. Not only does the lesson’s success rest on the lesson’s plan, but it specifically directs the who, what, when, where, and how of activities for the teacher and students, along with the materials to be used by teacher and student alike. In Bierdz’s view, student success or failure are not personal attributes, but rather the outcomes of the method used, the amount of focused time and effort invested in applying the method, the materials utilized, the assistance deployed, the environment’s design, and assessing the impact of each in obtaining the goal. (Use the mnemonic MA-MA-E-A to memorize Method, Amount, Material, Assistance, Environment, and Assessment. Learn more about MA MA E A.

In lesson planning, the key word is “planning.” Planning is an intensive metacognitive task involving forecasting, preparation, organization, and sequencing events to name a few. Planning is a skill that can be taught and refined. But as it requires focused attention and reflection, it is an event that can quickly overwhelm practitioners, especially when one lacks a solid method for composing a lesson plan. To this end the GAMA format for differentiated lesson planning is briefly presented below. GAMA stands for the four components of a differentiated lesson plan: Goal, Assessment, Method, Accommodations/Modifications.

Brief description of the GAMA approach to lesson planning

Goal: “Statement of student’s expected accomplishment by lessons end.

Currently a lesson plan’s goals are to be based on the state’s learning standards. Lesson plans are to contain both an:

1: Academic goal, and a

2: Social/Emotional goal

To write a goal: follow the formula: Completion date + Task + Performance. For example:

By classes’ end, when asked to write lesson plan goals, students write goals following the “goal formula” with 100% accuracy, as averaged from 3 out of 5 trials.

Although goal writing may seem easy, it is a difficult metacognitive task requiring deliberate thought and active reflection. It can take months or years of practice to master goal writing.

Assessment: Specifically defines how the goal is to be measured. The lesson plan is to have an

1: Academic goal assessment, and a

2: Social/Emotional goal assessment

Assessments provide two functions:

1. Measures if the goal was reached or not.

2. Evaluates the method’s success: Should you keep it, change it, research a new one?

NOTE: If the method section was not correctly implemented, then the goal might not be reached. When a goal is not met, check if the method section was followed, if not, keep the method section and ensure it is correctly employed the next time the plan is used.

The lesson’s goal is the driving force of the lesson plan. When a lesson’s goals are clear, distinct, and concrete, it is easier to compose a successful lesson plan. One simple trick to ensure a lesson’s goal is clear, distinct, and concrete is to see it in your mind’s eye- or perform it yourself. Any goal that you can see being done, or actually perform, is by definition concrete.

For example, Bobby-Joe reflects on the state standards for math at her student’s grade level. She knows she wants to teach a lesson based on the standard to her students, but is unclear on how to write the goal. Grabbing pencil and paper (one does not do math in pen) she produces several of the math problems she wants her students to learn.

25 X 21 = __ 12 X 15 = __ 22 X 16 = __ 15 X 20 = __

Bobby-Joe looks at the problems she has produced. She actively thinks about what she has done and reflects on the upper and lower limits of the lesson. Next she describes what she has done using the goal formula Completion date + Task + Performance writing the following:

Date: By 8/22/2021,

Task: when students are presented multiplication problems consisting of two numbers, each having two digits between 10 and 50,

Performance: students correctly solve the problems with 90% accuracy as measured by a ten question test using such problems.

Her goal looks like this:

By 8/22/2019, when students are presented multiplication problems consisting of two numbers, each having two digits between 10 and 50, students correctly solve the problems with at least 80% accuracy as measured by a ten question test using such problems.

Starting her lesson with a clearly defined goal makes it easier for her to write the remainder of her lesson plan. In GAMA goal writing, the lesson’s assessment is written into the goal itself, It is considered the student’s “performance,”

Next Bobby-Joe produces the assessment instrument (the 10 question test). She checks the test against the goal to ensure it is composed of 10 questions, each question being a multiplication problem consisting of two numbers between 10 and 50. With this step done, she is ready to consider the method she will use for reaching the goal, the materials she will use, how she will structure the learning environment, the levels of assistance she will provide, and the amount of instructional and practice time she will provide to ensure all of her students can achieve the goal.

Method: A Step-by step outline of how the goal is to be reached and what materials will be used in the lesson. Methods are to be scientifically valid (Research demonstrates it works), with attention given to reasoned eclecticism (evidence supports the method being used is a good fit for the individuals being educated). The lesson plan provides the

1: Academic method, and a

2: Social/Emotional method

A productive way to conceptualize a method is to view it as a cooking recipe. If your goal is to make molasses walnut cookies, you need to follow a molasses walnut cookie recipe, not one for beat soup. A recipe provides the following:

· Serving size

· Preparation and cooking time

· Listing of Ingredients/Materials

· Step-by-step instructions

To succeed in cooking you must ensure you have the time to make the recipe, have all needed ingredients and materials ready and available, and ensure the step-by-step instructions are followed. To fail one need only neglect time as a factor, lack needed ingredients and materials, have nothing at the ready and disregard instructions. In this regard, teaching is much like cooking. The method section of a high quality lesson plan provides the amount of time for each activity, what the teacher is to do, materials used by the teacher, what students are to do, materials to be used by students, and any alternative accommodations.

In cooking, a quality recipe is written in a way so that anyone who picks is up and follows its instructions will consistently produce the intended product: Yummy Molasses walnut cookies! Likewise, a quality lesson plan is written in a manner so that anyone picking it up can follow it and lead the class to achieve the lesson’s intended goal.

Below is a basic template that can be followed to create a high-quality lesson plan.

Time

Teacher's activity

Teacher’s Materials

Student's activity

Student’s Materials

Alternatives

One value of this formatt is that it allows one to target different components of the lessons method for change. Such a lesson can be examined by a more knowledgeable or creative guide for alterations. In addition, as the lesson is being taught, the teacher can mark the lesson to indicate which areas are working well and where improvements are warranted. Although producing such a document is an investment in time and effort, the payoff appears each time the lesson is run in terms of student motivation, performance, conduct, and outcomes.

Alternative accommodations & Modifications:

Accommodations are the methods, amounts, materials, assistance, and environments that are used to obtain the lesson’s goal. For the sake of convenience and clarity the term accommodations refers to what is provided to the statistical norm, and the term alternative accommodations, refers to what is provided to those away from the norm. It is useful to remember that high-quality teachers consciously and deliberately craft lesson plans to ensure student success through the MA MA E A they provide. In other words, a high-quality teacher focuses on the MA MA E A to be used in order to create success.

Alternative accommodations (change how the goal is reached) and modifications (change the goal itself) are applied to both academic and social/emotional goals as needed.

NOTE: How the goal is written may trigger a modification if care is not taken to ensure the goal is universal (Includes as many people as possible) Hence, a goal stating “…students read and write information…” would need to be modified for some students classified as having dyslexia, blindness, TBI, or intellectual disability (as print may not be a useful tool for access), and for the same group along with some classified as having dysgraphia, and orthopedic impairments (as writing may not be a useful tool). However if the goal states, “… students access and express information…” goal modification would not be required. (Yep, for SOME modifications, the reasoning is one of bureaucratic semantics rather than practicality).

Quick Tips

· Check each student’s IEP or 504 plans to ensure contracted mandated accommodations and modifications are in your lesson plan and will be provided. (Keeping a list for each student on a computerized spread sheet makes this task easier)

· If you discover an accommodation that helps the student achieve the goal or increases assessment validity, inform the IEP team of the accommodation and its results so the accommodation may be considered for inclusion in the IEP for other classes and used for state and district assessments.

Lesson Plan Process:

When writing class wide goals it is reasonable to begin with the statistical norm appearing in your classroom, as this is the group with the largest numbers. With the norm in mind, establish your goals (academic and functional) and then how you shall assess each goal. Once a specific and appropriate goal has been established, it is time to consider how each goal shall be obtained.

When writing your lesson’s method section, keep in mind that it is like a recipe that is to be followed. It is best for you to act out the method and record the steps in the process and materials used as you proceed. This strategy will ensure your method is correctly sequenced; all steps and materials are present.

(NOTE: Performing this step in your head is likely to result in errors in sequencing and missing steps and materials. But when actually performed and recorded, every step will be captured, provided in sequence, and all materials listed.

Once you have completed this process for the norm, you are now ready to differentiate your instruction for individual students. For each student to receive differentiated instruction ask if the goal is appropriate or not. If it is not you will need to modify the goal (create an individualized goal). Remember, unless an alternative standard is written in the student’s IEP, your new goal should match the state’s learning standards. Of course a separate goal will call for a separate assessment for that goal, so you will need to write an assessment for each modification you produce.

As for the method, it may be necessary to rewrite parts or all of this section so the student can reach her or his modified goal. To discover if alternative accommodations should be utilized so that the student can fully participate in the lesson, you must check each step of your method section. If you formatted your method section as outlined in this document, this task is relatively simple.

If the goal is appropriate for a student, check the method section to determine if alternative accommodations are warranted. Remember that your method section is an accommodation that you have written for the statistical norm. The amounts of time, materials used, levels of assistance, and environmental changes are all accommodations for the norm. However, what works well for the norm may not work well, or at all, for those away from the norm. Because all students need to reach the goals you have established, all students need equality in terms of receiving accommodations and alternative accommodations to achieve the lesson’s goals.

Review your method section to consider how well the accommodations you recorded (amounts of time, materials used, levels of assistance, environmental construction) will serve each student who is to receive differentiated instruction. Some students will have IEPs and 504 plans that will aid in this process, whereas others will not). This means, that with an individual student in mind, walk through your method section step-by-step determining if the task, time, materials, levels of assistance, and environment will function for that student as well as it is expected to function for the norm.

To complete this step more concretely it helps to role play being the student while actually performing the entire method. While performing the lesson as the student, each time you recognize that a change must take place in the method’s amount, materials, levels of assistance, or environment note this in your plan for that student. By conducting this role play you are more likely to specifically identify and prepare to implement the alternative accommodations to ensure the student can reach the established goal.

Of course reality will differ from your role play, and hence your plan for all of the students may require some changes. As the lesson is taking place, observe all students in the class to perceive if the method you designed is functioning as you anticipated. When it does not- which will happen from time to time- make note of the specific areas that are failing the students. It may be the amounts of time for each step, a material item, a level of assistance, or an environmental design (e.g., student grouping, table height, lighting, noise level…). Gathering this information will allow you to make these changes the next time you deploy your method / run your experiment.

One final consideration for your reflection.

Although teaching can be conceptualized as a scientific process in which a treatment is applied to a group and the impact of that treatment is then measured; and although student success and failure are due to one’s MA MA E A, the “student element” must always be considered. To this end we turn to comedians for their wisdom. Comedians invest a great deal of time and effort crafting their routine. Comedians are engaged in a scientific process in which a treatment (a joke) is applied to a group (the audience) and the impact of that treatment is then measured (laughter). However, all comedians recognize that sometimes the audience is not responding as expected. This is not because the material is bad, nor is it because the audience is not willing to be entertained, but clearly there is a mismatch.

Skilled comedians adapt to the audience, unskilled comedians attack and blame the audience.

General principles of Learning and Teaching

By: Bierdz 2017, 2019

1) Learning is a function of the CNS (Brain and spinal cord) - IF it has a CNS THEN it is designed to learn.

2) The function of the brain is to create a perceptual world and then act upon it.

3) Different types of brains create different perceptual worlds which in turn gives rise to different responses/actions.

Learning:

A change in the brain’s ability to perceive and act upon its perceptual world.

Teaching:

Executing a plan to change ones brain to perceive and respond to the world in a new way, as defined by the goal.

To learn one’s brain must: “PAMPeRS”

Perceive the lessons intent and the materials you are utilizing.

Attend to the lesson and material.

Memory: Access information from & store new information in Memory.

Process the information

Executive functioning: Control one’s behaviors, emotions, and thinking to align with the teaching-landscape

Respond in the desired manner (in accordance with the lesson’s goal).

Socialize with others as necessary.

**** Your Lesson Plan’s Method section must consider PAMPeRS ****

To teach the teacher must manage the student’s Attention and Perception; Memory; and Processing and measure the student’s Response to the goal based situation (a situation that requires the new behavior to be used in accordance with the goal: e.g., How would you assess if the goal, “adds two single digit numbers using the number 1 – 5” unless you create a situation in which this is to be done.”

All teaching methods do one or several of the following: Help the student with:

Perception: Interpreting sensory input from the body and/or the mind.

Attention: Focus in on information & Block out competing information.

Relevance: Focus on the intended item.

Sustain: Duration of attention

Shift: Change focus of attention

Note: Motivation is connected to perception and attention: The higher the motivation the higher the attention, the higher the attention, the better the perception for that particular target. However, one must take care to teach students about in attentional blindness: which takes place when attention on one item is so highly focused, other items drop out of attentional/perceptual awareness.).

Memory: A record of past perceptions.

Short term, Long term, Working * Episodic & Semantic * Declarative & Non-declarative

NOTE: One’s memory changes how events are perceived. (e.g., Once you learn how a magic trick is done, it stops being “magical”)

Processing Making connections (How things fit together) & make predictions (what is likely to happen next). Note how connections and predictions are made in the following:

Concrete: Grounded directly in the 5 senses. (Joe watches how a broom sweeps items into a pile; Joe uses a broom to sweep, but when he gets to a puddle of water he can not understand why it will not form a pile.)

Abstract: Grounded in memories or the 5 senses, but goes beyond what the senses have directly perceived. (Nicoya understands that molecules in a liquid state work differently than those in a solid state. Because of this, unlike Joe, she understands that you cannot sweep liquid water into a pile.... Unless there is no gravity... but then she predicts the water would cling to the broom or forms spheres- not a pile).

Generalization: The ability to apply what has been learned in one setting to new settings. Note how this is still making connections (“setting A is like setting B”) and making predictions (“The behaviors that worked in setting A should work in setting B but some changes have to be made”).

Processing speed: The amount of time it takes a person to make connections and/or predictions.

Response: Expressing what is thought, felt, known, or desired. These can be:

Declarative Verbal (e.g., Speaking) OR Declarative Nonverbal (e.g., Writing, pointing...) OR Nondeclarative (e.g., Show it. Actually do it.)

For a deeper explanation of the above go to the Brain Study Unit

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