Differentiated Instruction Glossary

Differentiated Instruction Glossary

Term / Definition
Centers –
Learning, Interest / -a learning center is a classroom area that contains a collection of activities or materials designed to teach, reinforce, or extend a particular skill or concept.
-a interest center is designed to motivate student’s exploration of topics in which they have a particular interest.
Choice Boards / -a board with permanent pockets but changing assignments that is organized by levels of difficulty or student interest. The board is used to direct students to locations to find the instructions for the tasks.
Curriculum Compacting / -the process of pre-assessing a student’s knowledge base on the content and assigning meaningful work in place of repeating learned content
Complex Instruction / -a strategy developed to deal with the wide range of diversity in a heterogeneous classroom focusing on the use of small groups engaged in intellectually challenging materials.
Simulations / -Students learn information analysis, how to share knowledge, how to communicate information, leadership responsibility. Students experience working collaboratively, role playing and staging events, creating authentic situations, developing communication skills
Learning Contracts / -A learning contract is a working agreement between student and teacher concerning how that student will meet specific learning objectives. They can include such things as: *What the student will learn. *Time period for completion. *What he/she will do to meet these objectives. *How he/she will assess their own learning. *How the teacher will assess their learning.
Independent Study / - allowing students to explore most any topic with varying degrees of structure based on the students readiness for independence, readiness, interest, and learning profile
Jigsawing / - a large amount of content is divided among different groups with the purpose of learning a piece of the content and being responsible for teaching their piece to the rest of the group.
Learning Contracts / -a negotiated agreement between teacher and student that gives students some freedom in acquiring skills and understandings that a teacher deems important at a given time
Literature Circles / -small groups of students gather together to discuss a piece of literature in depth. They provide a way for students to engage in critical thinking and reflection as they read, discuss, and respond to books.
Portfolios / -a collection of student work over time that demonstrates growth
Problem-Based Learning / -activities structured around solving an unclear, complex problem
Stations / -different spots in the classroom where students work on various tasks simultaneously
Tiered Assignments / -activities that allow all students to focus on the same essential understandings and skills but at different levels of complexity, abstractness, and open-endedness
Cubing / -activity that asks students to consider a concept from a variety of different perspectives.
Webquests / -Student centered and inquiry based, a WebQuest challenges students to explore the web for information and it is an excellent way to integrate the Internet into the classroom.
Most Difficult First / Teacher assigns the 5 most difficult problems to determine if students have mastered a skill