Differentiation Strategy Guide

Definition

Click on a behaviour or strategy for the definition

Differentiation Strategy Guide

Teacher/Parent

Student

Load

Name

Grade

Date

Strengths Things You LOVE to Learn About

Dates and Descriptions of Activities Observed

Name:

Grade:

Date:

Strengths

Evidence

Differentiation Strategies

	Content							Process										Product
Behaviours	Abstractness	Complexity	Extracurricular topics	Lives & living	Organization for learning value	Real life topics	Self-selected content	Complex thinking	Expert methods	Group interaction	Individual pursuits	Inquiry-based learning	Open-endedness	Pacing	Reasoning & reflection	Self-selected process	Variety	Authentic audiences	Feedback & assessment	Self-selected product	Transformations	Variety
Humour
Imagination & creativity
Inquiry
Memory & processing
Sensitivity
Expressiveness
Reasoning
Problem-solving
Intuition
Learning
Interests
Moral & ethical concerns
Motivation
Ranking

All differentiation strategies are recommended

Behaviours

Humour : Exceptionally keen sense of the comical, the bizarre, or absurd.
Imagination & creativity : Extraordinary ability to use ideas, processes, materials or anything else in ingenious, flexible or surprising ways.
Inquiry : Probes deeply while exploring ideas & topics; asks deep questions; experiments with events, ideas, feelings, sounds, symbols, movement, etc.
Memory & processing : Tremendous capacity for dealing with large amounts of information & skills.
Sensitivity : Unusually aware of or responsive to her/his own experiences & feelings &/or those of others.
Expressiveness : Extraordinary ability to communicate meaning or emotion through words, actions, symbols, sounds, or media.
Reasoning : Loves to think; thinks things through; considers implications or alternatives; rich, flexible, highly conscious, analytical or logical thought. Thinking is not necessarily directed toward a goal or solution.
Problem-solving : Outstanding ability to find systematic solutions to problems; is able to invent & monitor many paths to a goal; seeks out challenging problems.
Intuition : Suddenly discovers connections or deeper meanings without conscious awareness of reasoning or thought.
Learning : Extremely able to grasp & use sophisticated new understandings quickly & easily.
Interests : Advanced, intensely focused curiosity; passionate; may focus on unusual topics; interest is sometimes fleeting but always intense.
Moral & ethical concerns : Extreme need for fairness & justice; will take action to resolve injustices; deeply concerned with the consequences of her or his actions.
Motivation : Persistent, intense need to know, do, feel, create, or understand.

Differentiation Strategies

Content

Abstractness : The content focuses on abstract concepts, themes, generalizations & theories, not concrete facts. It addresses ideas that have a wide range of applicability.
Complexity : Complex content focuses on the interconnections among concepts, principles, generalizations & theories. It is usually interdisciplinary.
Extracurricular topics : The content includes ideas & content areas not taught in the regular curriculum in any grade. It may include the student's interests.
Lives & living : The content involves the study of creative, productive people (living or dead), their motivations, social characteristics, challenges & career paths.
Organization for learning value : The content of an entire unit addresses a broad, interdisciplinary theme (like 'systems' or 'patterns') rather than small, sequential bits of information.
Real life topics : The content addresses issues, controversies, problems or provocative questions inspired by students' interests, experiences, questions & concerns. Students may need help focusing, analyzing, &/or defining their topic or questions.
Self-selected content : The student chooses the content. Some will need help choosing & reducing their interests to topics that are manageable.
:
Complex thinking : Emphasize learning processes (verbs) that stress the use, rather than the acquisition of information (higher level thinking, critical thinking, creative thinking, etc.).
Expert methods : Learning with & about methods used by experts in a discipline.
Group interaction : Students collaborate with peers who have similar abilities & share their passions in order to enhance their social & leadership skills, learn perspective-taking & become more empathetic.
Individual pursuits : Individual projects on which students work relatively independently but with the support of a teacher or mentor available as needed.
Inquiry-based learning : Inductive reasoning processes are used to discover patterns, underlying principles & generalizations. Students take greater responsibility for their learning than in deductive learning experiences.
Open-endedness : Activities involve open-ended questions, activities, projects & methods. These have no predetermined correct outcome. They are provocative, stimulating students to think broadly.
Pacing : Students learn at a pace commensurate with their ability to go quickly through or deeply into content. Examples include pretesting, 'compacting', or 'telescoping' curriculum, or other forms of acceleration.
Reasoning & reflection : Students explain their conclusions & the reasoning that led to them as well as the metacognitive aspects of their thinking. They are encouraged to evaluate both the process & products of their own & others' thinking.
Self-selected process : Students choose the ways they will learn. Some may need assistance identifying their preferences or following through on their choices.
Variety : A range of methods of thinking & feeling involved in learning by using different types of problems, resources & technologies.
:
Authentic audiences : Results of the learning activity should be shared with real & appropriate audiences to the greatest extent possible. This may involve the scientific community, the city council, a government agency, art critic, etc.
Feedback & assessment : Products should be assessed using real, predetermined procedures & criteria, & as often as possible, by a member or members of the real audience for the product. Students should also be encouraged or required to self-evaluate their products using the same criteria.
Self-selected product : The student chooses an appropriate format for the product that reflects what was learned. Students' interests, strengths & prior experiences may influence these choices. Teachers may need to provide assistance in the selection & development of the product.
Transformations : The results of the learning process should represent a "conversion of known information into new entities - changes in meaning, significance, use, interpretation, mood, sensory qualities,or shape" (Guilford, 1967).
Variety : Students learn about & use different types of production techniques & media throughout the school year or term. They should also learn to select an appropriate format for the audience & content.

Process

Abstractness : The content focuses on abstract concepts, themes, generalizations & theories, not concrete facts. It addresses ideas that have a wide range of applicability.
Complexity : Complex content focuses on the interconnections among concepts, principles, generalizations & theories. It is usually interdisciplinary.
Extracurricular topics : The content includes ideas & content areas not taught in the regular curriculum in any grade. It may include the student's interests.
Lives & living : The content involves the study of creative, productive people (living or dead), their motivations, social characteristics, challenges & career paths.
Organization for learning value : The content of an entire unit addresses a broad, interdisciplinary theme (like 'systems' or 'patterns') rather than small, sequential bits of information.
Real life topics : The content addresses issues, controversies, problems or provocative questions inspired by students' interests, experiences, questions & concerns. Students may need help focusing, analyzing, &/or defining their topic or questions.
Self-selected content : The student chooses the content. Some will need help choosing & reducing their interests to topics that are manageable.
:
Complex thinking : Emphasize learning processes (verbs) that stress the use, rather than the acquisition of information (higher level thinking, critical thinking, creative thinking, etc.).
Expert methods : Learning with & about methods used by experts in a discipline.
Group interaction : Students collaborate with peers who have similar abilities & share their passions in order to enhance their social & leadership skills, learn perspective-taking & become more empathetic.
Individual pursuits : Individual projects on which students work relatively independently but with the support of a teacher or mentor available as needed.
Inquiry-based learning : Inductive reasoning processes are used to discover patterns, underlying principles & generalizations. Students take greater responsibility for their learning than in deductive learning experiences.
Open-endedness : Activities involve open-ended questions, activities, projects & methods. These have no predetermined correct outcome. They are provocative, stimulating students to think broadly.
Pacing : Students learn at a pace commensurate with their ability to go quickly through or deeply into content. Examples include pretesting, 'compacting', or 'telescoping' curriculum, or other forms of acceleration.
Reasoning & reflection : Students explain their conclusions & the reasoning that led to them as well as the metacognitive aspects of their thinking. They are encouraged to evaluate both the process & products of their own & others' thinking.
Self-selected process : Students choose the ways they will learn. Some may need assistance identifying their preferences or following through on their choices.
Variety : A range of methods of thinking & feeling involved in learning by using different types of problems, resources & technologies.
:
Authentic audiences : Results of the learning activity should be shared with real & appropriate audiences to the greatest extent possible. This may involve the scientific community, the city council, a government agency, art critic, etc.
Feedback & assessment : Products should be assessed using real, predetermined procedures & criteria, & as often as possible, by a member or members of the real audience for the product. Students should also be encouraged or required to self-evaluate their products using the same criteria.
Self-selected product : The student chooses an appropriate format for the product that reflects what was learned. Students' interests, strengths & prior experiences may influence these choices. Teachers may need to provide assistance in the selection & development of the product.
Transformations : The results of the learning process should represent a "conversion of known information into new entities - changes in meaning, significance, use, interpretation, mood, sensory qualities,or shape" (Guilford, 1967).
Variety : Students learn about & use different types of production techniques & media throughout the school year or term. They should also learn to select an appropriate format for the audience & content.

Product

Abstractness : The content focuses on abstract concepts, themes, generalizations & theories, not concrete facts. It addresses ideas that have a wide range of applicability.
Complexity : Complex content focuses on the interconnections among concepts, principles, generalizations & theories. It is usually interdisciplinary.
Extracurricular topics : The content includes ideas & content areas not taught in the regular curriculum in any grade. It may include the student's interests.
Lives & living : The content involves the study of creative, productive people (living or dead), their motivations, social characteristics, challenges & career paths.
Organization for learning value : The content of an entire unit addresses a broad, interdisciplinary theme (like 'systems' or 'patterns') rather than small, sequential bits of information.
Real life topics : The content addresses issues, controversies, problems or provocative questions inspired by students' interests, experiences, questions & concerns. Students may need help focusing, analyzing, &/or defining their topic or questions.
Self-selected content : The student chooses the content. Some will need help choosing & reducing their interests to topics that are manageable.
:
Complex thinking : Emphasize learning processes (verbs) that stress the use, rather than the acquisition of information (higher level thinking, critical thinking, creative thinking, etc.).
Expert methods : Learning with & about methods used by experts in a discipline.
Group interaction : Students collaborate with peers who have similar abilities & share their passions in order to enhance their social & leadership skills, learn perspective-taking & become more empathetic.
Individual pursuits : Individual projects on which students work relatively independently but with the support of a teacher or mentor available as needed.
Inquiry-based learning : Inductive reasoning processes are used to discover patterns, underlying principles & generalizations. Students take greater responsibility for their learning than in deductive learning experiences.
Open-endedness : Activities involve open-ended questions, activities, projects & methods. These have no predetermined correct outcome. They are provocative, stimulating students to think broadly.
Pacing : Students learn at a pace commensurate with their ability to go quickly through or deeply into content. Examples include pretesting, 'compacting', or 'telescoping' curriculum, or other forms of acceleration.
Reasoning & reflection : Students explain their conclusions & the reasoning that led to them as well as the metacognitive aspects of their thinking. They are encouraged to evaluate both the process & products of their own & others' thinking.
Self-selected process : Students choose the ways they will learn. Some may need assistance identifying their preferences or following through on their choices.
Variety : A range of methods of thinking & feeling involved in learning by using different types of problems, resources & technologies.
:
Authentic audiences : Results of the learning activity should be shared with real & appropriate audiences to the greatest extent possible. This may involve the scientific community, the city council, a government agency, art critic, etc.
Feedback & assessment : Products should be assessed using real, predetermined procedures & criteria, & as often as possible, by a member or members of the real audience for the product. Students should also be encouraged or required to self-evaluate their products using the same criteria.
Self-selected product : The student chooses an appropriate format for the product that reflects what was learned. Students' interests, strengths & prior experiences may influence these choices. Teachers may need to provide assistance in the selection & development of the product.
Transformations : The results of the learning process should represent a "conversion of known information into new entities - changes in meaning, significance, use, interpretation, mood, sensory qualities,or shape" (Guilford, 1967).
Variety : Students learn about & use different types of production techniques & media throughout the school year or term. They should also learn to select an appropriate format for the audience & content.

Print a copy of the Brilliant Behaviours to record the behaviours that appear. Use either an individual checklist, group checklist, or a copy of the Guide.
Record the information required information about the student and activity or activities at the top of the form.
Observe a student while she or he is engaged in a challenging activity in an area of strength or interest. Click here to see a description of suitable activities.
Put a check to the left of each Brilliant Behaviour the student demonstrates frequently, intensely and consistently.
Transfer the student information and behaviours observed from the Brilliant Behaviours form to the Guide online. The Guide will change the Xs to the right of each behaviour you check into .
The Guide will also highlight the differentiation strategies to emphasize for this student when she or he is working in this area of strength or interest.
The definition of each behaviour and strategy will appear when the cursor rests on it. Read the definitions for each of the strategies recommended by the Guide. Do they seem appropriate?

Fill in the information at the top of the form.
Read the list of Behaviours in the form. Let the cursor rest on the name of a behaviour and a description of it will appear. Click here if you want more information about any of them.
Do you experience any of those behaviours when you are learning something challenging about a topic you love? Put a check mark (v) in the column to the left of each Behaviour that is consistently, intensely true of you while you’re learning something fascinating.
Now look at the names of the strategies the Guide is recommending for you. They will be highlighted in green. A brief definition for each strategy will appear if you put your cursor over the name. Click on the name if you want more information and examples. The Guide thinks activities like that involve the strategies highlighted in green will challenge you in ways you’ll like when you are learning about your favourite topic. Do you agree with some or all of what the Guide has recommended?
Share your Guide and the results with your teacher.