Gregory CH 6

6
Instructional
Strategies for
Student Success
J
ust as each learner is unique and one size doesn’t fit all, teachers realize that
they need a wide repertoire of instructional strategies from which to pick and
choose, adjust and modify. Taking a nip and tuck here and there in a garment
is a beginning, but alterations are necessary if the garment is to fit comfortably and
be wearable.
USING A VARIETY OF INSTRUCTIONAL STRATEGIES

Teachers need a vast amount of instructional strategies in order to teach information
in a variety of ways. The key is to use the right strategy at the right time. Teachers
are constantly gathering innovative ways to teach important information. Some
favorite examples of these are visuals, graphic organizers, musical beats, mnemon-
ics, processes, sequencing, seeking patterns, cubing, choice boards, and technology.
Using stimulating hooks and intriguing closures with celebrations of successes are
motivating strategies that entice learners.
After the information is taught, it is the student’s time to be given an assignment
to work with the material. Student engagement is the key! Vary the instructional
strategies so that the learners never know what challenge they are going to encoun-
ter next. It takes personal ownership of the information for learning to happen. The
instructional strategies and assignments must be timely, appropriate, and stimulat-
ing. Engagement is essential. One way to have success and motivate students is to
give choices. The time is spent on an assignment that addresses the standard and is
selected by the learner. Also, adjusting the assignment motivates a learner to com-
plete a task because it is on a personal level of challenge and need.
113
114 DIFFERENTIATED INSTRUCTIONAL STRATEGIES
BRAIN BASICS AND LEARNING

We know there are some things about the brain that are innate in all humans that
impact how things operate in a classroom. Russian psychologist Lev Vygostky (1978)
suggested a social development constructivist theory of learning on which many of
the premises of differentiation are based.
1. Social interactions (teacher to student, student to student) foster learning.
2. To learn, one needs a more knowledgeable other (teacher, coach, or mentor).
3. Students will perform a task better and with more pleasure if the task is
within reach and they have support from a more knowledgeable other.
Understanding that every student is unique and has different “brain wiring”
based on prior experience and background, the challenge must just exceed the
skill level. This, Vygotsky suggests, is the zone of proximal development.
Pedagogy must be oriented not to the yesterday, but to the tomorrow of the
child’s development. Only then can it call to life in the process of education
those processes of development which now lie in the zone of proximal devel-
opment. (Vygotsky, 1993, pp. 251–252)
Although uniqueness is an issue, there are some things we know about how the
brain works: It attends to new stimuli, processes information, and stores it in memory.
HOW THE BRAIN WORKS

Let us first examine the process so that we consider it as we think about differenti-
ated instruction. One piece of vital information from brain research is that the brain
continues to grow and thrive throughout life from external stimulation in the envi-
ronment. Neural plasticity is the process of the brain growing and changing because
of new learning opportunities. The brain actually grows dendrites (tree branch–like
connections) between the neurons in response to environmental stimuli and multi-
sensory enriched experiences (Diamond, 2001).
Brains change physically in classrooms where students are engaged in meaning-
ful, stimulating experience and tasks. Information is taken into the brain by the
senses; this usually is referred to as sensory memory. This is important for survival in
the environment. It lasts for approximately three-fourths of a second.
Attention
The brain was put in our heads, not to go to school, but as a survival resource. Thus,
the senses were the first line of defense to protect the species from extinction.
Therefore all senses are on high alert for anything potentially dangerous or out of the
ordinary.
Panksepp (1998) suggests all humans have a basic survival system. The brain
hunts and searches for resources to exist. Exploring the environment is innate in all
humans. The addictive behavior related to the Internet is an example of a 21st cen-
tury seeking system. When we find what we seek, the medial forebrain bundle (the
pleasure/reward center of the brain) is stimulated and triggers the dopaminergic
CHAPTER 6 INSTRUCTIONAL STRATEGIES FOR STUDENT SUCCESS 115
pathway, releasing dopamine to create a natural feeling of euphoria. Success and

enjoyment of learning can cause the same dopamine to be released. The seeking
system may be one of the main brain systems that generate and sustain curiosity,
even for intellectual pursuits (see www.youtube.com/watch?v=5smTLCKkUA4).
Of the five senses, visual, tactile, and auditory are the most efficient in capturing
attention. There are many environmental factors constantly bombarding our sen-
sory fields to capture our attention. Novelty, color, humor, and hands-on activity all
grab the attention of the learner. Emotion also plays a large role in increasing atten-
tion. Positive or negative emotions may be the hook that generates attention or
engagement. Strong negative “baggage,” such as a bully in the schoolyard or a
problem from home, may actually block the attention needed to focus on learning.
When we are overstressed or overchallenged, the neocortex of the brain moves to
the fight-or-flight mode and no thinking takes place. On the other hand, fun, laugh-
ter, play, and a high-challenge/low-threat environment help focus and maintain
attention and raise the pleasure neurotransmitters such as dopamine and norepi-
nephrine in the brain.
FOCUS ACTIVITIES
If teachers are going to capture students’ attention, they need strategies to do so.
Focus activities will do the following:
•• Help the learner focus and pay attention

•• Eliminate distracters
•• Open “mental files”
•• Provide choices
•• Encourage self-directed learning
•• Capitalize on “prime time”
•• Fill unallocated time—extend, enrich, or “sponge” up extra time
Using focus activities or bell-ringers at the beginning of class helps students

block out distracters, concentrate on activating prior knowledge, and sustain atten-
tion. Post the directions for the focus activity in a designated area so the students
know where to find it when entering the classroom.
Anchor or Sponge Activities

Throughout the day, there may be times when students finish work early. The
teacher can offer other tasks to “sponge” up the extra time without wasting instruc-
tional time. Tasks may also be provided for students to use as sponge activities when
extra time is available. These tasks are also useful when the teacher is working with
one group and students in other groups finish what they were doing. These sponge
activities help students become more self-directed learners. Sometimes, students will
focus on a personal quest or project that they are pursuing or some standard or skill
that they are trying to master. Broader or more general tasks may be offered, such as
the following:
•• Develop a crossword puzzle on the computer to review the topic.

•• Use the computer to develop a word web on this concept or topic.
•• Revise your agenda for the week.

•• Work on your culminating task for the unit.
•• Use a word web to organize the ideas in this unit.
•• Examine the items in your portfolio, and make some decisions regarding the
pieces you have included. Should some be deleted or replaced at this point?
These more generic tasks may be posted for the week for all students to refer to
when they have some time to sponge up productively.
Engagement activities should all be related to the objectives in the learning pro-
cess, not just fun. They may be fun, but they should be focused on the necessary
content or skills students should be developing.
Focus activities can take many forms. One teacher in a math class asked students
to do the following with a paper and pencil:
•• Pick a number from 1 to 9.

•• Multiply it by 9.
•• Add the two digits.
•• Take away 5.
•• Locate the corresponding letter in the alphabet.
•• Pick a country that begins with that letter.
•• Pick an animal that begins with the last letter of the country.
•• Pick a color that begins with the last letter of your animal.
Then the teacher asked the students if they had an orange kangaroo in Denmark.
“Wow,” they exclaimed. “How did you know that?” “You figure it out,” she chal-
lenged them. They eagerly worked in pairs and analyzed the process and discovered
that when you multiply any number by 9, the resulting two digits add up to 9. Then
when you subtract 5 you get 4. The number 4 leads you to D. Under pressure, most
people choose Denmark as a country. The last letter is K and kangaroo usually comes
to mind. The last letter of kangaroo being O leads to the color orange. Then the teacher
continued by reviewing the multiplication table for 9. This teacher knew how to make
learning fun, add novelty to the learning, and challenge the students to solve a prob-
lem. The brain loves to make sense and seek patterns in information or processes.
In another classroom, the teacher had students begin the class by writing down
on a small card or paper:
•• Three things I learned yesterday . . .

•• Two ideas that connected for me . . .
•• One question I still have . . .
Here are a few other examples of focus or bell-ringer activities.
•• Go on a scavenger hunt in your book and find ______.

•• Solve the ______ problem on page ______.
•• Go over your homework with a partner.
•• Answer today’s Brain Puzzle. (Post the puzzle.)
•• Get the materials ready for today’s activity. (List the instructions needed.)
K-W-L
Often, teachers use a K-W-L chart (Ogle, 1986). The K stands for what students
already know about the topic. The W stands for what the students want to know. The
L is used at the end of the lesson or unit of study to enable students to reflect on their
learning and identify the information and processes learned.
This strategy opens up mental files to see what students already know and cre-
ates anticipation and curiosity about the new learning to come. It also brings closure
and satisfaction at the end of the unit of study as they reflect on and articulate their
learnings.
Other Strategies for Focusing

Other focus activities can take many forms, including challenges, questions and
problems, or journal entries. Tasks may be offered that require recall and application
of previously learned information. For example, students who read a chapter for
homework can be asked to sit with a buddy and find as many “feeling” words as
they can in the chapter that help develop the reader’s understanding of the character.
Sometimes, teachers offer choices to students in order to capitalize on their inter-
ests and give them options. These techniques are also forms of pre-assessment that
help the teacher and students set goals and design and select learning tasks appro-
priate to individuals or groups of learners.
The following example is a set of focus tasks that a teacher offered to students to
allow them to make a choice.
From the chapter that you read last night, choose one of the following tasks
and work alone or with a partner to complete it:
•• Draw a comic strip to show the events in the chapter.

•• In your journal, chronicle the events in the chapter.
•• Describe the setting and how it related to the events in the chapter.
•• If you were a newscaster, what would your progress report be?
•• Rewrite a passage of the chapter in your own words. Use synonyms to replace
some of the author’s words.
Memory
Sensory input is either dumped out or passed on to short-term or working memory
if the individual’s attention is captured. Once attention takes data from the sensory
memory to the short-term or working memory, the data are said to be conscious. The
data last in conscious short-term memory up to 20 seconds unless we process them
in some way.
We know that at the mental age of 15 years, the short-term working memory has
the capacity for seven bits of information plus or minus two (Miller, 1956; Pascal-
Leon, 1980). Capacity develops over the years, starting at age 5 with two spaces and
increasing one space every other year until age 15. One way to deal with more than
seven bits is to chunk them into larger pieces that hold more bits.
Rehearsal
Processing in working memory is often called rehearsal. Rehearsal or practice allows
us to organize, analyze, make sense of, and remember the information. Rehearsal
may be in one of two forms, rote (repeating information in the same form) or elabora-
tive (connecting information with known data or embedding it in context; see
Figure 6.1).
Elaborative rehearsal facilitates organizing and associating information into net-
works that are then stored in long-term (unconscious) memory. Rote memory may
work for some learning, like multiplication facts that are drilled and memorized and
put into automatic memory, but for enduring understanding (Wiggins & McTighe,
1998) to occur, students need more than “drill and kill.”
Rote learning does not always have a very long shelf life because it has few
hooks in the long-term memory. The brain is a pattern-seeking device and enjoys
making meaning and connections between new ideas and those previously learned.
Thus elaborative rehearsal strategies have a greater chance of producing long-term
memories.
Figure 6.1 Rote and Elaborative Rehearsal
Rote rehearsal Elaborative rehearsal
• Practice • Mnemonics
• Recitation • Graphic organizers
• Drill • Role-plays/simulations
• Repetition • Rhymes/raps/songs
• Centers and projects
• Multiple intelligences
• Problems/inquiry
• Performances
• Exhibitions
Context
Context is an important contributor to memory and learning. A field trip to a farm
or science center creates strong emotional hooks as well as enriched sensory stimula-
tion. All these aspects will help solidify these experiences and concepts in the mind.
Episodic memory is a term used to describe contextual or locale learning (O’Keefe &
Nadel, 1978). It is processed through the hippocampus, as is declarative memory,
which is concerned with the facts (who, what, where, when, and how).
Students often recall information better in the room in which they learned it. The
context of the learning brings back vivid experiences of the learning that took place
there. Students seem to do better on tests that are taken in the room in which they
learned or studied. They also may do better on tests if the teacher who taught them
is present in the room.
Emotions
Emotions play a large part not only in garnering attention but also in memory and
learning. The amygdala, the brain’s emotional sentinel (Goleman, 1995), imprints
memory when experiences evoke strong emotions (LeDoux, 1996). Many key events
in life and in schools are punctuated by and charged with emotions. For example,
we all remember where we were when we heard about the 2011 demise of Osama
bin Laden. The combination of context and emotion creates vivid memories.
Associating Concepts
One way to help students deal with massive amounts of content is to organize infor-
mation around concepts. For example, students can organize networks of association
under concept headings such as Change, Relationships, Persuasion, and Community.
These mental concept files can be accessed, and a flood of information will be
released as they are opened.
Concepts also help students see the bigger picture, organize the information, and
deepen their understanding. Information is organized in networks of association
throughout the neocortex and is unconscious until retrieved back to working memory.
When a “file of birthdays” is opened, for example, all the facts, thoughts, images,
memories, and emotions dealing with birthdays come into conscious awareness. The
neural network is searched and asked to recall all it remembers. One idea triggers
another. This is why the process of brainstorming is a useful tool for activating prior
knowledge. The brain scans the files, and one idea brings about another as the
connections are revisited.
Recall and Rehearsal

Three things can occur after data have spent time in short-term memory. They may
be dumped out (because they have no meaning for the learner or the learner wasn’t
given any practice to ensure that the connections between the brain cells grew
enough dendrites), they may be practiced further, or they may be transferred to
long-term memory. Once in long-term memory, the data can last forever, but if not
used, they will become hard to retrieve over time (Pinker, 1998). “Use it or lose it” is
true in this case.
Students often need many opportunities to recall and rehearse, many times and
in many ways, in order to deepen their understanding. Doyle and Strauss (1976,
p. 25) suggest that we give people too much gum to chew (content) and not enough
time to chew it (process). Maybe what we need to retain valuable information is “less
gum, more chewing,” as suggested in workshops by Bob Garnstom, a well-known
educator and organizational change consultant.
Retrieving information from long-term memory usually takes 3–5 seconds,
depending on its quantity and complexity. This is why wait time (Rowe, 1988) is so
important when asking questions. Because information is stored all over the neo-
cortex in networks of association, it takes time to search those neural networks and
bring long-term unconscious memory back to short-term conscious memory. Figure
6.2 shows progression of attention to short term and long term memory.
New information that captures sensory attention (sight, smell, touch, etc.) can be
transferred to short-term conscious memory.
1. In short-term memory it can trigger the retrieval of other data.
2. When it is already stored in long-term conscious memory, in effect it opens
closed files with previous information that was stored throughout the
neocortex.
120
Figure 6.2 Learning and Remembering New Information: A Complex Process
Association Loop
Rehearsal
Sight
receptors
Long-Term
Sound Memory
Elaboration
receptors
and
Sensory Initial Working organization
Smell Memory processing Memory
receptors
Declarative Nondeclarative
Retrieval (Implicit)
Taste
receptors
Touch
receptors
Not transferred to next stage and therefore forgotten
Source: From Nevills, P. & Wolfe, P. Building the Reading Brain, PreK-3, 2nd edition, p. 82. Copyright © 2009 Corwin Press.
3. By examining and relating the new data to previously learned data, the newer
information can be transferred to long-term memory.
4. That is, it can be learned and remembered.
Long-term memory is really of two types: declarative and procedural.
Declarative Procedural
The Facts “Autopilot” (things one does without thinking)

• Who? • Playing the piano
• What? • Riding a bicycle
• Where? • Doing up buttons
• Why? • Using the computer
• When?
Declarative memory is more conscious, whereas procedural memory is unconscious.

Procedural memory starts as declarative. For example, when one learns to use a
computer, each step is conscious and deliberate. Each step is in declarative memory:
turn on switch, wait for screen, insert disk, double-click on icon. After many repeti-
tions, the process becomes automatic and can be done unconsciously. These proce-
dures are stored in the cerebellum (little brain). Students require lots of practice to
send information and procedures to long-term memory. Practice may occur in
numerous ways using a variety of multiple intelligences and as many modalities as
possible to involve opportunities for visual, auditory, and tactile/kinesthetic learn-
ers to develop understanding.
PLANNING INSTRUCTIONAL STRATEGIES

Information about the process of memory is useful for teachers as they plan pro-
grams for a diverse group of students so that the students can realize their potential.
Teachers may want to ask themselves the following questions as they plan:
•• What do I want students to know or be able to do as a result of this learning

experience?
•• How will we judge success?
•• What do they already know, and what are they able to do?
•• How can attention be captured and sustained?
•• What will the emotional hook be for the learners?
•• How will new information and skills be acquired?
•• How will students practice or rehearse to make meaning and understanding?
•• How will they receive ongoing feedback during and after the learning?
REHEARSAL STRATEGIES
If teachers are to give students opportunities to rehearse in multiple ways they
should pay attention to research based strategies for increasing student achievement
(Dean, Hubbell, Pitler, & Stone, 2012).
Nine well-researched strategies hold promise for student success and interesting
ways to interact with content and skills. They are divided into three groupings:
Creating the environment for learning
1. Setting objectives and providing feedback
2. Reinforcing effort and providing recognition
3. Cooperative learning
Helping students develop understanding
4. Questions, cues, and advance organizers
5. Nonlinguistic representations
6. Summarizing and note-taking
7. Assigning homework and providing practice
Helping students extend and apply knowledge
8. Identifying similarities and differences
9. Generating and testing hypotheses
Figure 6.3 shows the nine strategies with an explanation and information on
what we know about the brain and how that knowledge supports the success of the
strategies.
COOPERATIVE GROUP LEARNING

Cooperative group learning is one of the most researched instructional strategies in
education today. We have gained valuable insight over the years from revered edu-
cators such as Aronson (1978); Bellanca and Fogarty (1991); Bennett, Rolheiser-
Bennett, and Stevahn (1991); Cantelon (1991a, 1991b); Clarke, Wideman, and Eadie
(1990); Dean et al. (2012); Johnson, Johnson, and Holubec (1998); and Kagan (1992).
Working in cooperative groups, students learn valuable social skills, use higher-
order thinking, and rehearse and practice new concepts, processes, and information.
Cooperative group learning does not happen successfully unless it is well orches-
trated and certain considerations prevail. These considerations increase the chances
that the groups will work well together and achieve targeted standards (Johnson et
al., 1998).
The acronym TASK (Robbins, Gregory, & Herndon, 2000) can be used to remem-
ber these aspects of cooperative group learning:
T Thinking is built into the process.
A Accountability is essential. Goal achievement: both individual and group.
S Social skills lead to team success.
K Keep everyone on TASK: roles, tasks, resources, novelty, simulations, and
clear expectations.
Figure 6.3 Best Practice, Brain Research
Researched Best Practices Brain Bits
1. Setting objectives and providing feedback The brain responds to high challenge and
continues to strive based on feedback.
• Clear instructional goals help students focus when the goals
are stated in general terms and personalized by individual
learners. Continuous feedback from the student, teachers,
and peers is important.
2. Reinforcing effort and providing recognition The brain responds to challenge and not to
threat. Emotions enhance learning.
• The ability to relate effort and hard work to success
• Growth mindset
3. Cooperative learning The brain is social. Collaboration facilitates

understanding and higher-order thinking.
• One of the most effective and well-documented instructional
strategies is the formation of heterogeneous groups to
accomplish academic tasks. This strategy uses higher-order
thinking skills and focuses on the development of social skills.
4. Questions, cues, and advance organizers The brain responds to wholes and parts. All
• These help students open “mental files” to access prior learners need to open “mental files” into
knowledge before new learning takes place. This helps in pre- which new learning can be hooked.
assessing the knowledge and skills (related to standards) that
a student possesses and gives a context for the learning
experience to come.
5. Nonlinguistic representations The brain is a parallel processor. Visual

• A variety of methods, such as graphics, models, mental stimuli are recalled with 90% accuracy. The
pictures, drawing, and movement, should be used to more areas of the brain that are involved, the
elaborate and rehearse new learning. better.
6. Summarizing and note-taking The brain pays attention to meaningful

• The ability to summarize, delete, distill, and analyze information and deletes what is not relevant.
information in order to be able to select what is important or
relevant for learning.
7. Assigning homework and providing practice The brain pays attention to meaningful
• The ability to provide additional learning experiences that will information and deletes what is not relevant.
help students further rehearse concepts and skills. Not
necessarily more of the same.
8. Identifying similarities and differences The brain seeks patterns, connections, and
• The ability to classify in groups based on like attributes or the relationships between and among prior and
same theme or patterns can be explicitly demonstrated, new learning.
supported, and encouraged. Compare and contrast.
9. Generating and testing hypotheses The brain is curious and has an innate need
• This can be done through the inductive or deductive process. to make meaning through patterns.
Students should be able to articulate their hypothesis and
evaluate their accuracy.
Copyright © 2013 by Corwin. All rights reserved. Reprinted from Differentiated Instructional Strategies: One Size Doesn't
Fit All (3rd ed.) by Gayle H. Gregory and Carolyn Chapman. Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin, www.corwin.com.
Thinking Is Built Into the Process

Cooperative group learning is ideal for embedding a variety of other instructional
strategies that make a difference in student learning. Graphic organizers, thinking
skills, and metaphors are easily used in cooperative group work to facilitate rehearsal
and practice. Groups can be given tasks that are differentiated and adjusted to levels
of the thinking taxonomy, a topic that we will discuss in detail later in this chapter.
This will challenge groups at a variety of levels. Cubing, another topic we will discuss
later in this chapter, also works well in cooperative group situations. Opportunities
to explore content by using some or all of the multiple intelligences are possible.
Students see many sides of a topic when using multiple intelligences as a lens.
Accountability Is Essential
Students who work together in cooperative groups generally produce a group prod-
uct or project that is graded. Each student needs to be accountable for his or her
personal contributions to the group and also for personal acquisition of knowledge
and skills as a result of the group process. Teachers often use checklists or journal
entries to collect data on the contributions and learning of individuals in the group.
If teachers need to know what students know and have learned in the group session,
individual tests, quizzes, demonstrations, exhibitions, and conferences will help
clarify the understanding and competencies of each student. Cooperative group
learning is a powerful strategy for learning, but we can’t assume that everyone will
know and understand the content and develop the skills just by being in a group.
Assessment may be multifaceted and include the following elements:
•• An individual grade for the piece of work completed or the part of the presen-
tation given
•• A group grade for the final product or presentation
•• A test or quiz on the content
•• A mark for group participation
Consider the cooperative learning activity a learning experience. It is another

way to blend individual needs with the learning, discussion, process, and investiga-
tion of the information. Then give an individual assessment to see what each learner
knows about the information. This way, the work and the individual’s grade are not
dependent on the other group members. Group grades often cause problems and
may create “social loafers.”
Social Skills Lead to Team Success

Even though teachers work to build a positive climate and trust in the classroom,
they may also need to teach social skills. Cooperative group learning not only helps
students learn content and competencies but also helps them develop their emo-
tional intelligence in the five domains (Goleman, 1995, 2006):
•• Self-awareness: through reflection

•• Self-motivation: developing persistence and a positive work ethic
•• Managing emotions: learning strategies for conflict resolution and consensus
building
•• Empathy: listening, reflecting feelings, and behaving in a supportive manner

•• Social skills: opportunities to identify practice and reflect on social skills
Students have different needs in these areas, and teachers will observe where
those needs are as they monitor groups and recognize the strengths and weaknesses
of their students.
Basic social skills that students need include these:
•• Using appropriate language

•• Speaking politely and quietly
•• Encouraging others
•• Listening to others
•• Asking for help
Here are some social skills that students need to function well in a group:
•• Disagreeing in an agreeable way

•• Accepting different opinions
•• Following procedures
•• Checking for accuracy and understanding
•• Dealing with conflict
Students need to know what a social skill “looks like, sounds like, and feels like”
(Hill & Hancock, 1993) through conscious identification of the skill, modeling, prac-
tice, and feedback.
Teachers often post charts for reference that describe acceptable behavior in the
classroom. Students need to contribute to the charts using their own language and
terms. This increases clarity and ownership of the behavior and the probability that
it will be practiced. Figure 6.4 is an example of a chart that describes listening to oth-
ers. It was developed by a teacher and students during a conversation about the
importance of listening to other people in a group.
Students then need to practice this skill with their groups and reflect on its use.
Individuals learn differently as a result of their experience and need a chance to
contemplate their learning and their participation. Because students sometimes
don’t have the ability to reflect without guidelines, an organizer may be provided.
Figure 6.5 is an example of student reflection after a group effort.
Figure 6.4 Social Skill: Listening to Others
Looks like Sounds like Feels like
Looking at the person Tell me more . . . I’ve been heard
Nodding and smiling Mmm... My ideas are valued
Copyright © 2013 by Corwin. All rights reserved. Reprinted from Differentiated Instructional Strategies:
One Size Doesn’t Fit All (3rd ed.) by Gayle H. Gregory and Carolyn Chapman. Thousand Oaks, CA:
Corwin, www.corwin.com.
Figure 6.5 Reflection on Group Work
Date: _________________________
Name: ___________________________________________________
In my math class today we were involved in a cooperative learning activity.

This is a summary of what my group did.
My role was . . .
__________________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________________
My behavior in that role was . . .

__________________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________________
I helped achieve the group goal by . . .

__________________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________________
I could have . . .
__________________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________________
One thing I need to work on is . . .
__________________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________________
Copyright © 2013 by Corwin. All rights reserved. Reprinted from Differentiated Instructional Strategies: One Size Doesn’t Fit
All (3rd ed.) by Gayle H. Gregory and Carolyn Chapman. Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin, www.corwin.com.
Keeping Everyone on Task

Students in cooperative groups usually are assigned roles that increase the chances
that they will work interdependently (Johnson et al., 1998; Johnson & Johnson, 2009).
Roles such as encourager, clarifier, summarizer, or questioner can be assigned to
keep the group functioning well. Other roles may include those that facilitate the
task, such as recorder, reader, researcher, drawer, materials manager, or reporter.
This encourages students to take responsibility and ownership for the task by
assuming a particular role.
Some teachers may want to set up a scenario more like the real world and assign
some of the following roles to students in a cooperative group (based on a workshop
strategy by Kathy and Rob Bocchino, Heart of Change Consultants).
Production Manager. The production manager is responsible for the project. You
will oversee and ensure that the other managers are working appropriately. You
will manage the process, keep track of progress, and be the only person in the group
who communicates with the CEO (teacher) when the group needs clarification or
direction.
Information Manager. Your job is to ensure the accuracy and quality of the product.
Your listening skills are valuable assets and help you make sure you clarify what the
client is asking for. You will make sure all group members understand the client’s/
CEO’s expectations. You must adhere to any written directions.
Resource Manager. Your job is to gather and manage the materials necessary to
complete the group project. Make sure all group papers and materials are properly
stored away at the end of the period. If other objects, props, or materials are neces-
sary, arrange to acquire them and make sure they are available when needed.
Personnel Manager. Your job is to manage the people on the team and build morale
throughout the production. Encourage other team members, manage conflicts, and
facilitate problem solving when necessary. Monitor for effort and productivity.
Communicate any concerns to the production manager.
Technology Manager. Your job is to assist group members with all technical aspects
of the production. You will help members with their computer skills when using the
Internet for research, with spreadsheets and databases, word processing, presenta-
tion techniques, and troubleshooting.
Time Manager. Your job is to know when all deadlines are and remind others in the
production team of those deadlines. You will keep a log of the steps and the prog-
ress. Communicate with the production manager concerning timelines and con-
cerns. Communicate with the production manager concerning a particular team
member who is not meeting time requirements. If more time is needed, ask the
production manager to negotiate for more time.
The bookmarks in Figure 6.6 can be given to team members to help them keep
focused on their duties for team success. Teachers may enlarge, photocopy, and
laminate individual bookmarks for students’ use.
Figure 6.6 Keeping Students on Task Bookmarks
Production Manager Information Manager Resource Manager

will: will: will:
• oversee the project • ensure accuracy of • gather and manage
• ensure everyone does materials materials
his or her job • ensure quality of the • properly store
• manage the process product materials
• keep track of the project • listen and make sure • arrange and acquire
• communicate with the ideas are clear materials and make
teacher when group • follow written sure materials are
needs direction directions available
Personnel Manager Technology Manager Time Manager

will: will: will:
• manage people and • assist with technology • manage deadlines
build morale aspects • help team keep on
• encourage team • help with computer track
members needs • communicate with
• help resolve conflicts • resources from production manager
• help solve problems Internet • negotiate time needed
• monitor effort and • help with presentation
productivity techniques
Creating Interdependence and Building Alliances Within Groups

Teachers also can increase the interdependence in the groups by taking the fol-
lowing steps:
•• Create a sequence to the process. Each group member has a role and a particu-
lar step to perform in the task.
•• Provide limited resources (tools, texts, materials) that must be shared to com-
plete the activity.
•• Provide novelty and engaging scenarios or simulations in which students take on
personas, such as investigator, researcher, or land developer. This creates a role
that would be found in the real world and often adds authenticity to the activity.
There are many times when students work in cooperative groups of two, three, or
four. In fact, working in pairs is a great way for students to build alliances in the class-
room, by getting to work with many students to get to know them. It is also hard to get
left out of a pair (Johnson et al., 1998). Partner work gives students a chance to practice
social skills in a controlled environment with only one other personality at a time. It also
builds community as students get to know one another one on one.
Whenever cooperative group learning is used as a vehicle for student learning,
teachers need to ask the following questions to clarify the intention and process of
the learning:
•• What is it that students need to accomplish, and how will I communicate that?
(Written task cards or charted directions should be clearly outlined for students
so that expectations are clear and visible to all.)
•• What will the size of the group be, considering the task?
•• How will I group students, and why? (randomly, by ability, by background
knowledge, heterogeneous but structured; see Figure 5.15, “Stick Picks,” and
Figure 5.16, “Wagon Wheel Teaming,” in Chapter 5)
•• What social skill will they practice and reflect on? (The social skill should be
relevant to the task.)
•• How will they learn about the social skill?
•• How will they monitor its use?
•• What are the timelines and guidelines for the task?
•• What assessment will be used for the academic task? (presentation, product,
report, performance, exhibition, test, quiz, etc.)
•• What roles or tasks will group members be assigned to ensure interdepen-
dence and active participation?
•• Are the groups functional?
•• Do the groups get along socially?
Jigsaw
Another way to increase interdependence is by using a jigsaw method. Jigsaw (Aronson,
1978; Slavin, 1994; see Figure 6.7) is a very effective strategy, but not one that should be
used with students until they have the social skills to deal with several members in a
group as well as the skills to work independently. It is a powerful strategy for covering
more material in less time. It enhances learning and increases retention. Students begin
in a base group of three or four and are given letters, numbers, or names that will help
them form expert groups. In the expert group, students are to access information or
learn new material or skills that they will in turn teach to their base group. When they
return to the base group, they teach their group members what they have learned.
Individual accountability is built into the process by having each member hand
in a report, test, or quiz on the material learned or by calling on students randomly
to report for their group.
The jigsaw method facilitates the sharing of responsibility for learning. It helps
focus energy in a task and provides structure and process for the learning. It has
inter- and intrapersonal components that also allow students to process information
and move and interact with a variety of class members to gain a greater perspective
on the knowledge or skills that are targeted for learning. It offers many chances for
elaborative rehearsal and use of higher-order thinking through dialogue.
Jigsaws can be differentiated for students by giving them different materials and
content to match different levels of readiness. Products, projects, or other authentic
tasks and assessment that are expected from the group, based on their preferences
and multiple intelligences, offer another way to differentiate.
The following example demonstrates how to build all the aspects of TASK into a
jigsaw activity.
Jigsaw Strategy: Used to Enhance Interdependence With More Advanced

Figure 6.7
Learners
1 2 1 2 1 2
Home
Base
3 4 3 4 3 4
1 2 3 4
Expert
1 1 2 2 3 3 4 4
Home 1 2 1 2 1 2
Base
Share
3 4 3 4 3 4
The Character Sketch (see Figure 6.8) is an organizer that can be used by a coop-
erative group of four people when reading a story or novel. Groups A and B focus on
the same character (perhaps the main character), Groups C and D identify a different
character, and so on. The base group (Persons 1, 2, 3, and 4) cuts the organizer on the
broken line and distributes the four sections. Each person in Group A meets with the
same-number partner from Group B (i.e., 1 with 1, 2 with 2, 3 with 3, and 4 with 4).
They discuss an aspect of the character depending on the section of the o rganizer that
they have. For example, two students may have the quadrant that says, “Looks like.”
They would find evidence in the story of what the character looks like and then write
their conclusions in that segment of the quadrant. As they work together, the social
skill they use would be to clarify information and listen to others’ ideas. Each group
of partners meets to complete their sections of the organizer: “Looks like,” “Seems
like,” “Does,” and “Sounds like.” Then the base groups reconstitute and review all the
evidence and conclusions that they made. From this information, the group writes a
complete character sketch based on all the attributes collected.
The organizer can be reproduced on large chart paper to increase the space for col-
lected information and to allow all participants to see the information. Each group
member has an organizer to collect data personally from other expert team members.
There is interdependence built into this activity through shared resources and
tasks. The students practice social skills as they work. They access information and
use evidence to support their thinking, both worthy standards in any classroom.
This organizer can also be modified and used to divide tasks in other subject areas
in a jigsaw process. Students could begin in a base group and examine four aspects of a
country, such as food, peoples, geography, and origins (or in biology, they could focus
on body systems, such as respiratory, digestive, nervous, and circulatory), in their expert
groups and bring that information back to their base groups.
Jigsaw Variations
Table Jigsaw: Each group is responsible for a different topic or aspect and
presents their findings to the rest of the class.
Simple Jigsaw: Each person in a small group (three or four students) is respon-
sible for a piece of the assignment and resources the team.
Full Jigsaw: As described above, beginning with a base group, breaking out to
expert groups, and then back to the base group to share.
Questions Often Asked About Cooperative Group Learning
What Is the Best Way to Group Students?

If a group of students get along socially, they usually get the job done.
Occasionally let students choose partners or small groups. Group work is not always
a social decision. Students also need to develop skills to work with a variety of per-
sonalities and perspectives. Alternate with random grouping and self-selected and
teacher-constructed groups.
What Do You Do With the Student Who Does Not Want to

Work in a Group?
An independent learner, who usually does not like group work, works better
with a partner than a larger group. Remember, this student is learning important
social skills when working with others. He or she does need some independent work
time to process the cognitive learning.
What Is the Best-Sized Group?

Students working in groups of twos, threes, or fours are the most successful.
When needing consensus, use groups of three to break the tie. Remember that the
size of the group is also decided by the task to be completed. If the task is complex,
more students may be needed. However, when students are developing skills for
group work, smaller groups are better. It is hard to get left out of a pair. There is less
social conflict and plenty to do. There is more “airtime” for each partner, and gener-
ally students stay on task.
NONLINGUISTIC REPRESENTATIONS:
GRAPHIC ORGANIZERS
What Are They?
Graphic organizers are useful thinking tools that allow students to organize informa-
tion and to see their thinking. They are visual/spatial, logical/mathematical tools
that appeal to many learners for managing and organizing information. Graphic
organizers give visual representations of facts/concepts and show the relationships
between and among new facts and previous information. They are also used to plot
Figure 6.8 Character Sketch: Used as an Organizer by Four Students When Reading a Story or Novel
Character:
1 Conclusions Evidence 2
Evidence Conclusions
Appearance Actions
Evidence Seems like Sounds like Conclusions
Conclusions Evidence
3 4
processes and procedures, and can be used at many points in the lesson. They may
also be completed or designed online using sites such as Kidspiration.
WHY DO WE USE THEM?

The difference between good and poor learners is not the sheer quantity of what
the good learner learns, but rather the good learner’s ability to organize and use infor-
mation (Smith, 1986). It takes time to process and pull random thoughts together.
Sometimes a graphic organizer can be the answer to a difficult task. After learning the
way to use the organizer, students are able to jot down their information their way.
Graphic organizers can be used in various ways:
•• For brainstorming at the beginning of a lesson or unit to find out what stu-
dents already know
•• With reading assignments or when watching a video so that students can
organize and capture information (The teacher may provide one, or students
can design their own using the criteria given by the teacher, such as Who?
What? Where? and Why?)
•• To help chronicle a sequence of events or a process
•• To relate new information to previously learned information
•• To check for understanding
•• For note-taking and summarizing
•• For the culminating assessment
How Do We Use Them?

As with any tool, students need to be taught how to use the organizer and be given
opportunities for practice with a full range of content and situations. Teachers model
how the organizer can be used with content that is not too complicated. That way,
students learn the process of using the organizer and can then use it with any content.
Over time, students become familiar with the process of using a variety of graphic
organizers. They will become adept at choosing appropriate organizers to fit the situ-
ation. Many students begin to design and create their own organizers to fit their needs.
Using visual representations often appeals to the intrapersonal learner, who appreci-
ates opportunities for processing and reflecting on new information independently.
Organizers can be used independently, with a partner, or in a small group.
Effective Graphic Organizers for Comparing and Contrasting

Comparing, contrasting, classifying, and using metaphors are instructional strate-
gies that increase student achievement (Dean et al., 2012; Marzano, Pickering, &
Pollack, 2001). Students who spend time looking at the similarities and differences
between two topics and perhaps plot these on a graphic organizer deepen their
understanding and ability to use the knowledge.
Venn Diagram
The often-used Venn diagram (see Figure 6.9) identifies what is similar and what
is different between two topics. A quick way to teach students to use the Venn is to
have them compare themselves with a classmate in terms of personal characteristics,

likes and dislikes, hobbies or sports, pets, and so on. They can brainstorm these
characteristics individually and then plot them on the Venn with their partners, plac-
ing similarities in the overlapping center and differences on each side.
Comparison Matrix
A comparison matrix (see Figure 6.10) is another way to compare several items
based on identified criteria. For example, when comparing states, the following
could be listed in the left column: New York, Arizona, California, and Louisiana.
Across the top, the following criteria could be considered: climate, population, geog-
raphy, and size. This information, once plotted, can be transferred to a Venn diagram
to identify the similarities and differences between two of the states.
Venn Diagram: Used to Identify an Area of Overlap Between Two Topics

Figure 6.9
Comparing Two Things

Other forms of comparing and contrasting can be used. In Figure 6.11, any two
things, ideas, concepts, or procedures may be scrutinized. At the top, in the first two
frames, the two things being analyzed are put in place. In the two large boxes under-
neath, all their attributes are listed. Then all their similarities are selected and placed
in the large frame underneath the Similarities heading. Finally, the ways in which the
concepts differ are placed in the appropriate frames. Use the numbers so that the
items in each box that differ correspond to one another. Students can compare forms
of art, continents, scientific procedures, politicians, historical events, or any two
pieces of content in any subject area.
Word Webs
The word web is an organizer that can be used for organizing and classifying. It
enables students to focus on a concept, theme, or topic; identify the secondary
categories related to the big idea; and then add all the significant dimensions related
Figure 6.10 Cross-Classification Compare and Contrast Matrix
Criteria
Compare these
to those secondary categories. In Figure 6.12, for example, the big idea is World War
II, and the secondary categories are the Axis, the Allies, Causes, Differences, Theaters
of War, the Blitzkrieg, and Pivotal Events.
METAPHORICAL AND ANALOGOUS THINKING

Using metaphors and analogies is another way to show similarities and differences
and to connect new information to more familiar objects or concepts. In Chapter 3,
“Knowing the Learner,” we used the objects beach ball, microscope, clipboard, and
puppy to help clarify and understand the characteristics of the four styles of learn-
ing. By thinking of these four objects, students can easily recall the attributes of each
one and in turn relate those characteristics to the four learning styles in order to
understand them better.
Students can also relate new information by connecting it to something with
which they are familiar. They may be able to understand the Renaissance if we ask
them to explain how the Renaissance is like a video game, or understand the govern-
ment if we ask them how the government is like an orchestra. When using two seem-
ingly unrelated ideas or topics, we are causing students to examine comparisons and
look at the similarities and differences between the two.
Having students stretch their thinking through metaphorical connections
increases the likelihood of broadening their understanding of a concept or topic and
remembering it in the future.
The quality of thinking, classifying, and deep understanding that it takes to cre-
ate an intricate word web is a form of elaborative thinking and processing, as shown
in Figure 6.13.
Figure 6.11 Comparing 2 Things Flow Chart
Comparing 2 Things
2 Items
to Compare
Attributes/
Characteristics
Similarities
Differences
1. 1.
2. 2.
3. 3.
4. 4.
5. 5.
6. 6.
Example of a Word Web Used to Organize and Classify Primary and Secondary Concepts
Figure 6.12
Related to World War II
A word web can be used to assess how well students have organized data. It also indicates
that they have grasped the major concepts and made connections between them. It is also
a useful tool to organize thinking in the prewriting stage.
Germany
Japan
USSR USA
AXIS
Italy
ALLIES South Africa
Unresolved Issues From WW I

Punitive Actions
Great Britain
Allies After the War Canada
Japanese
Imperialism CAUSES Australia & India
New Zealand
Inflation
Unemployment Atlantic
WW II
Scapegoating of
Europe
Jews & Communists
Political Vacuum
Rise of Nazis THEATERS OF WAR
DIFFERENCES
Civilians Targeted Germany Pearl Harbor

Holocaust Invades
Terror Bombing Poland
Middle East
PIVOTAL
BLITZKRIEG EVENTS
Far East
Germany D-Day Allies
Tanks
Invades Back in
Russia Europe
U-Boats Pacific
Planes Atom Bomb

Dropped
Source: Used with permission from Terence Parry.

Figure 6.13 Graphic Organizer Framework
Fact Frame Roll It! Inside Out!
Angle Antics Star Connections Drumming Up Details
Facts and Opinions 3 and 3 Summing It Up!
1.
Fact Frame: Write fact in center box. Write supporting details in outer box.
2.
Roll It! Write topic in the tire section. Write four key points in the spokes.
3.
Inside Out! Write an important event, object, character, or place in the center.
Write its attributes in the outer oval.
4.
Angle Antics: Put a cause in each big triangle. Write the effects on each side
of the cause.
5.
Star Connections: Place the topic in the middle. Add a key fact in each star point.
6.
Drumming Up Details: Write a prediction on the top of the drum. State the
outcomes or learned facts on the side of the drum.
7.
Facts and Opinions: Write the fact in the center. List an opinion by each arrow.
8.
3 and 3: Write an important topic vocabulary noun in each of the large trian-
gles. Write the meaning, a sentence, and draw a picture on the sidelines.
9.
Summing It Up! In the top rectangle, write the fact. In the next two boxes,
write two supporting details. Then write the summary or conclusion in the
bottom figure.
ROLE-PLAYING
What Is It?
Role-playing is when a student takes on the role of a character, perhaps from a story,
play, or novel; a historical or political figure; or someone depicting a particular sce-
nario that deals with a concern or issue such as conflict resolution.
Why Do We Do It?
Role-playing allows students to process knowledge and demonstrate skills in an
emotionally laden context. It is a form of elaborative rehearsal that causes students
to interact with content and concepts and, ideally, create an episodic memory. It
affords students the opportunity to examine and organize information, deal with
issues, and create or re-create situations that have meaning. The roles students take
on allow them to become immersed in situations. They become that person or char-
acter and take on that persona. As they play that role, their emotions are involved,
and the emotional brain punctuates the moment. Role-playing allows students to be
involved at their levels. Many students have strong verbal and interpersonal skills,
and this technique allows them to use those skills. It also gives those bodily/kines-
thetic students a chance for movement and expression.
How Do We Do It?
Allow students the opportunity to be involved when they are comfortable.
Encourage students to choose the type of role-playing they would like to do. Try
using a “choice board” similar to the one shown in Figure 6.14. Teachers find that
they must work within the comfort zones of students; those who are more
intrapersonal do not always embrace this technique because they may not be as
gregarious as other students. Initially, teachers may have students engage in impro-
visation. As teachers begin to introduce this technique to students, they may want
to use mime initially or provide a script. After several tries at role-playing, students
may begin to write scripts for themselves. Props and scenery may be included if
needed or available.
All students will need to identify appropriate audience interaction and behavior
and monitor that behavior in role-playing situations. Feedback to participants
should be positive and constructive. Reflection and emotional reactions should be
processed after each attempt at role-playing. Role-playing places information and
key concepts in a contextual learning situation and increases the chances for under-
standing and retention.
INDEPENDENT WORK ASSIGNMENTS

In every classroom, independent work is given daily. In a differentiated classroom,
independent work time can be a time to meet individual gaps in the learning or chal-
lenge the students who know the information. Students are not always doing the
same assignments. Some examples follow of activities that can be used as indepen-
dent work assignments are listed on page 141.
Figure 6.14 Choice Board for Role-Playing
Format Scenes Props
Narrative actors Transparencies Artifacts
Interviews Stage Television frames
Mimes Mural Costumes
Created by Keisha Gabriel, High Point, North Carolina. Copyright © 2013 by Corwin. All rights reserved.
Reprinted from Differentiated Instructional Strategies: One Size Doesn’t Fit All (3rd ed.) by Gayle H. Gregory
and Carolyn Chapman. Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin, www.corwin.com.
DIFFERENTIATING LEVELS
OF THINKING AND QUESTIONING
Undue stress can occur during teacher-student question-and-answer sessions, and
with excessive anxiety students can’t access information filed in the neocortex. Fear
of ridicule and inability to retrieve and recall occur when students are challenged by
questions that are beyond their levels of understanding or comprehension. Wait time
(Rowe, 1988) gives students time to access information stored in long-term memory.
We know this takes at least 3 to 5 seconds. The quality or quantity of the answer is
often increased by the amount of time given to access the information and formulate
an answer. Generally, the longer the think time, the better the answer.
Think, Pair, Share (Lyman & McTighe, 1988) is a great technique to facilitate
wait time. Asking students to think by themselves, pair with other students, and
share their ideas naturally gives them time to think, access information, and formu-
late better answers. This also decreases the chances of overstressing students and
increases the chances of them actually thinking about and attending to the question
that has been posed. It encourages all students to share thinking, not just the person
called on to answer. Studies show that greater retention and student achievement
(up to 60% greater) will result when students are given more wait time for thinking
(Black, Harrison, Lee, Marshall, & Wiliam, 2004). As the teacher comes to know the
learners better and to recognize their levels of readiness, questions can be differenti-
ated by level of complexity. This challenges learners at or just beyond their levels of
comprehension or experience.
The following are samples of assignment activities for follow-ups after learning information by
reading a passage or a teacher lecturette. Use these ideas to develop differentiated assignments, such
as agendas, homework, centers, or projects, for the students to demonstrate what has been learned.
These assignments also intensify the learners’ knowledge about a standard, concept, or unit.
Record findings. Discuss with a partner.
Hold a small group text talk. Develop questions.
Write a song. Create a rap.
Develop a cinquain. Write a limerick.
Write a poem. Write an advertisement.
Develop a collage. Role-play.
Find the background music. Portray a reenactment.
Develop a caricature. Draw a picture.
Develop an editorial cartoon. Make a diorama.
Write a cartoon strip with speech bubbles. Color code.
Illustrate the ____. Write the attributes.
Write adjectives or phrases to describe. Create a timeline.
Develop a mural. Design a new game.
Play Who Wants to Be a Millionaire. Play Jeopardy.
Design a puppet. Draw the setting.
Find the missing piece(s). Draw a map.
Write an editorial with your point of view. Use a manipulative.
Make a bar graph and interpret the data. Design a brochure.
Create a pie chart and explain the results. Scavenge for information.
Develop a key. Prepare a point of view.
Act out the vocabulary words. Name the causes.
Create a vocabulary game. List the reasons.
List the synonyms or antonyms. Write the main idea.
Write a summary. Write the directions.
Develop a critique. Draw a conclusion.
Write your opinion. Write the fact(s).
Discover how it works. Name examples.
Develop the sequence. Debate the issue.
Invent a new way. Identify the sounds.
Conduct an interview. Write an ad.
Bloom’s Revised Thinking Taxonomy

For years teachers have used Bloom’s taxonomy of thinking skills to foster higher-
order thinking skills in students. The revised taxonomy (Anderson & Krathwohl,
2001) broadens the opportunities for critical and creative thinking and includes the
following skills:
1. Remember: Accessing long-term memory
2. Understand: Comprehending through words, pictures, and symbols
3. Apply: Ways to use
4. Analyze: Parts to whole
5. Evaluate: Make judgments using criteria
6. Create: Take beyond, rearrange, and innovate
Figure 6.15 Process Verbs for Thinking Skills
Thinking Skills Process Verbs
Remember List, remember, define, tell, state, label
Understand Summarize, describe, discuss, locate, calculate, explain
Apply Illustrate, demonstrate, dramatize, solve, apply, operate
Analyze Compare, analyze, contrast, classify, question, experiment
Evaluate Select, judge, evaluate, support, advocate, defend
Create Invent, create, construct, design, develop, synthesize
Bloom’s levels (see Figure 6.15) can also be used to layer the curriculum. In our
lesson-planning template (see Figure 1.3 in Chapter 1), the levels of working with the
content and skills include acquiring the knowledge or skills, applying and adjusting
them in other situations, and assessing and evaluating their use.
Teachers may differentiate questions or layer curriculum based on students’
readiness and levels of comprehension. Figures 6.16 and 6.17 offer samples of think-
ing level, definition, directing verbs, and question starters that may be used to align
lessons and learning tasks with the different levels of the taxonomy.
We plan opportunities so that students interact with new knowledge and skills
and develop an understanding and ability to retain and retrieve information in long-
term memory. This is the learning process. By using verbs from Bloom’s taxonomy,
we can deepen understanding and learning using multiple rehearsals that “drill
down” into the knowledge and skills. For example, related to a concept or skill, the
Potential Activities column in Figure 6.17 can guide us to work through the “Acquire,
Apply and Adjust, and Assess” process.
CUBING
What Is It?
Cubing is another technique that can help students think at different levels of the
taxonomy (Cowan & Cowan, 1980). Cubing is a technique for considering a subject
from six points of view (Cowan & Cowan, 1980; Tomlinson, 2001). It works well
when we are locked into a particular way of thinking.
One side of the cube may say: Remember it.
Another side: Understand it.
The third side: Apply it.
The fourth side: Analyze it.
The fifth side: Evaluate it.
And the sixth side says: Create it.
Figure 6.16 Aligning Lesson Plans With the Six Levels of Bloom’s Taxonomy
Lesson-Planning
Steps Thinking Level Definition Directing Verbs
Acquire Remember Recall the facts and Describe, list, identify,

Knowledge remember previously locate, label
Learn information learned information.
Apply Understand Understand the Explain, give

Comprehension meaning of and the examples,
information how and why of paraphrase,
events. summarize
Adjust Apply Transfer the skill or Infer, predict, deduce,

Use information knowledge to another adapt, modify, solve
situation or setting. problems
It tests knowledge and
comprehension.
Adjust Analysis Break down Discriminate, classify,

Examine parts information to categorize, subdivide,
specific parts so delineate
that the whole can
be understood.
Understanding
structure can help with
comparisons.
Adjust Evaluate Combine elements Judge, compare,

Judge the information to create new and criticize, contrast,
different ideas or justify, conclude
models.
Assess Create Rank or rate the value Induce, create,

Use differently of information using a compose, generalize,
set of criteria. combine, rearrange,
design, plan
Cubes may vary with tasks or commands that are appropriate to the level of
readiness of the group. Cubes may also be constructed with tasks in a particular area
of multiple intelligences, such as verbal/linguistic, bodily/kinesthetic, or intraper-
sonal intelligence.
Why Do We Use It?

Cubing, with its many sides, allows students to look at an issue or topic from a
variety of angles and to develop a multidimensional perspective rather than a sin-
gle one.
Figure 6.17 Question Starters and Classroom Activities Differentiated According to Bloom’s Taxonomy
QUESTION STARTERS POTENTIAL ACTIVITIES
Level I: REMEMBER (recall) 1. Describe the . . .

2. Make a time line of events.
1. What is the definition for . . . ?
3. Make a facts chart.
2. What happened after . . . ?
4. Write a list of . . . steps in . . . facts
3. Recall the facts.
about . . .
4. What were the characteristics of . . . ?
5. List all the people in the story.
5. Which is true or false?
6. Make a chart showing . . .
6. How many . . . ?
7. Make an acrostic.
7. Who was the . . . ?
8. Recite a poem.
8. Tell in your own words.
Level II: UNDERSTAND 1. Cut out or draw pictures to show

an event.
1. Why are these ideas similar?
2. Illustrate what you think the main
2. In your own words retell the story of . . .
idea was.
3. What do you think could happen?
3. Make a cartoon strip showing the
4. How are these ideas different?
sequence of . . .
5. Explain what happened after.
4. Write and perform a play based
6. What are some examples?
on the . . .
7. Can you provide a definition of . . . ?
5. Compare this _______with________
8. Who was the key character?
6. Construct a model of . . .
7. Write a news report.
8. Prepare a flow chart to show the
sequence . . .
Level III: APPLICATION (applying 1. Construct a model to demonstrate

without understanding is not effective) using it.
2. Make a display to illustrate one event.
1. What is another instance of . . . ?
3. Make a collection about . . .
2. Demonstrate the way to . . .
4. Design a relief map to include relevant
3. Which one is most like . . . ?
information about an event.
4. What questions would you ask?
5. Scan a collection of photographs to
5. Which factors would you change?
illustrate a particular aspect of the study.
6. Could this have happened in . . . ? Why
6. Create a mural to depict . . .
or why not?
7. How would you organize these
ideas?
Figure 6.17 (Continued)
QUESTION STARTERS POTENTIAL ACTIVITIES
Level IV: ANALYSIS 1. Design a questionnaire about . . .

1. What are the component parts of . . . ? 2. Conduct an investigation
2. What steps are important in the to produce . . .
process of . . . ? 3. Make a flow chart to show . . .
3. If . . . then . . . 4. Construct a graph to show . . .
4. What other conclusions can you reach 5. Put on a play about . . .
about . . . that have not been 6. Review . . . in terms of identified
mentioned? criteria.
5. The difference between the fact and the 7. Prepare a report about the area of study.
hypothesis is . . .
6. The solution would be to . . .
7. What is the relationship between . . .
and . . . ?
Level V: EVALUATE 1. Prepare a list of criteria you would use

to judge a . . . Indicate priority
1. In your opinion . . .
ratings you would give.
2. Appraise the chances for . . .
2. Conduct a debate about an issue.
3. Grade or rank the . . .
3. Prepare an annotated bibliography . . .
4. What do you think should be the
4. Form a discussion panel on the
outcome?
topic of . . .
5. What solution do you favor and why?
5. Prepare a case to present your opinions
6. Which systems are best? Worst?
about . . .
7. Rate the relative value of these ideas
6. List some common assumptions about
to . . .
. . . Rationalize your reactions.
8. Which is the better bargain?
Level VI: CREATE 1. Create a model that shows your

new ideas.
1. Can you design a . . . ?
2. Devise an original plan or
2. Why not compose a song about . . . ?
experiment for . . .
3. Why don’t you devise your
3. Finish the incomplete . . .
own way to . . . ?
4. Make a hypothesis about . . .
4. Can you create new and unusual
5. Change . . . so that it will . . .
uses for . . . ?
6. Propose a method to . . .
5. Can you develop a proposal
7. Prescribe a way to . . .
for . . . ?
8. Give the book a new title.
6. How would you deal with . . . ?
7. Invent a scheme that would . . .
Cubes offer a chance to differentiate learning by readiness (familiarity with

content or level of skill), student interest, and/or learning profile (multiple intel-
ligences). Cubes may vary in color and tasks depending on the abilities and
interests of the small group. They add an element of novelty and fun to the learn-
ing by providing uniqueness to the lesson. It is a great strategy for tactile/kines-
thetic learners as they reinforce understanding and extend or demonstrate
learning.
How Do We Use It?
1. Keep clear learning goals in mind when considering the use of cubing for dif-
ferent learners.
2. Provide extended opportunities, materials, and learning situations that are
appropriate for a wide range of readiness, interests, and learning styles.
3. Make sure students understand the verbs and directions for the tasks.
4. Group students according to readiness, with different colored cubes giving
tasks or questions appropriate to their levels of understanding and ability in
that particular topic or skill. Students assist one another in their learning.
5. Ask students to share findings with the large group or to form base groups of
experts to share their tasks.
Figure 6.18 suggests verbs that may be used on all six sides of a cube.
Cubing may also be differentiated using multiple intelligences. Cubes may be
designed with a variety of multiple intelligences activities to give students a chance
to use their varied strengths. As an alternative, teachers can also use a die with num-
bers 1 to 6 and provide students with activity cards at various levels of complexity
related to the topic (see Figure 6.19).
If students are studying the planets, for example, they might have a variety of
cubes in the different multiple intelligences to process information for musical/
rhythmic, bodily/kinesthetic, visual/spatial, naturalist, logical/mathematical, inter-
personal, or intrapersonal intelligences. Or in a class where students are reading
Charlotte’s Web, by E. B. White, cubes could be used to deal with visual/spatial intel-
ligence, and students could be given the following statements on the sides of their
cubes.
Green Cube
1. Draw Charlotte as you think she looks.

2. Use a Venn diagram to compare Charlotte and Fern.
3. Use a comic strip to tell what happened in this chapter.
4. Shut your eyes and describe the barn. Jot down your ideas.
5. In your opinion, why is Charlotte a good friend?
6. Predict what will happen in the next chapter. Use symbols.
Figure 6.18 Use of Different Verbs, Tasks, and Commands on Each Side of a Cube
Cubing . . . Levels of Thinking
1. Tell 4. Review
Describe Discuss
Recall Prepare
Name Diagram
Locate Cartoon
List
2. Compare 5. Propose
Contrast Suggest
Example Finish
Explain Prescribe
Define Devise
Write
3. Connect 6. Debate
Make Formu late
Design Choose
Produce Support
Develop In your opinion . . .
Yellow Cube
1. Use a graphics program on the computer to create a character web for Wilbur.
2. Use symbols on a Venn diagram to compare Wilbur and Charlotte.
3. Use a storyboard to show the progress of the plot to this point.
4. Draw the farm and label the items, people, and buildings.
5. When you think of the title, do you agree or disagree that it is a good choice?
Why or why not?
6. What is the message that you think the writer wants people to remember?
Draw a symbol that illustrates your idea.
Both cubes are tapping into using visual/spatial intelligence; the green cube is
working at a more basic level, with key aspects of the story, and the yellow cube is
stretching student thinking more in the abstraction, extending ideas and making
connections.
Cubes Vary in Color and Tasks Depending on the Prior Knowledge and Interests of the
Figure 6.19
Learners
Green Cube Blue Cube
1. 1.
2. 2.
3. 3.
4. 4.
5. 5.
6. 6.
Yellow Cube Red Cube
1. 1.
2. 2.
3. 3.
4. 4.
5. 5.
6. 6.
Teachers who use a variety of instructional strategies add novelty, choice, and
individuality to the learning. These strategies allow diverse learners to find a size
that fits and suits and to engage in practice and rehearsal to deepen understanding
through as many learning styles and multiple intelligences as they can.
USING TECHNOLOGY IN
THE DIFFERENTIATED CLASSROOM
Technology is a must in classrooms today. We are dealing with digital natives after
all. Students understand it as part of their world and are motivated to readily use
technological tools. Most classrooms have document readers, an interactive
board, and a teacher’s computer to use with the board. For many years computer
labs have been common in schools. Today many schools supply computers for
students to use in a station to share or tablets or laptops for each class member.
This is an expensive endeavor but is proving to be well worth the investment.
Other schools have mobile computer carts with enough tablets for each student.
This means that the lab is rolled into the classroom and can be shared by classes
at different times of the day.
Successful use of technology in the classroom depends on the knowledge of the
teacher. There must be professional development training for teachers so that as the
equipment is made available they know how to use it and make the equipment a
working instructional strategy.
The positive aspects of using gadgets outweigh the negative, but there are some
problems that can occur without careful monitoring and planning. Time on task and
using time to teach and learn are important. The following are some of the problems
related to using technology:
•• Interruptions from unexpected glitches with the equipment

•• A game becoming the focus instead of the learning of information
•• Overuse that causes learners to get out of the habit of using other quality ways
to think and solve problems
•• Off-task behavior
•• Misuse of the gadget
There are many opportunities for students to learn and practice on the computer
so that they use higher-order thinking skills and problem solve. Instead of technol-
ogy becoming the instructional tool or strategy, it needs to be one of many ways to
teach. Memorable learning often happens when using technology to make personal
links and connections to the topic. These can include a related video clip, music of
the students’ generation, or a web picture of something unfamiliar. Students can
interact and exchange information with others from different parts of the world,
other schools, and other classrooms.
Classroom response clickers get each student answering a question. Each mem-
ber of the class, pair, or small group is assigned a clicker to respond to a posed ques-
tion. The results are given so the teacher can assess opinions, misunderstandings,
gaps in the learning, needs for interventions, or areas of mastery.
Technological gadgets are such popular items with students. The use has to be
monitored and established rules enforced for successful use in the classroom. Clear
expectations have to be established so as to avoid inappropriate use of gadgets.
More and more school districts are giving permission to use personal gadgets
such as e-readers, cameras, tablets, and smartphones in the classroom. These gadgets
are highly stimulating to the mind, and this concept is turning a recreational gadget
into a useful learning tool. For example, smartphones are equipped to send text mes-
sages and emails, take and send photographs and videos, play games, and surf the
Internet. These are very useful and challenging during learning. Students often
become bored with lectures and some assignments. They become excited and
engaged if they are challenged to find answers and create unique ways of presenting
information using their world of gadgets. The key is the teacher finding beneficial
educational opportunities to use the gadgets at appropriate times. It requires con-
stantly monitoring and enforcing the rules.
Less Paper and More Technology

More and more classroom teachers are planning lessons that use gadgets and com-
puter programs for lessons, which requires less paper. For example, many projects
are being done online. E-portfolios are being used as a way for students to digitally
display their work, receive comments and feedback, self-assess their progress, and
complete their goals. Classroom and homework assignments are being completed
online as a way to communicate with peers as well as the teacher for feedback and
assistance. Teachers are posting lesson plans, attendance, and having dialogue with
other teachers, students, administrators, and parents online.
The success of this advancement means ongoing professional development for
all school staff. They have to be trained in how to use the equipment and the pro-
grams. Also, it is vital to keep the equipment accessible, up to date, and working.
Continually sharing new resources that are available provides the tools for success-
ful classroom implementation.
Valuable Tools for Implementing Technology

Some of the web resources available are blogs, wikis, discussion boards, glossaries,
RSS feeds, polls, surveys, social bookmarking, grading, lesson plans, and assign-
ments (Chapman & Vagle, 2011). Continually search for websites to keep current
with the most valuable tools for implementing technology in the classroom.
There are numerous instructional strategies, and we continue to learn and add to
our expertise, like adding clothes to our wardrobes. However, as teachers build and
increase their repertoires, they will see how they can adjust the learning for their
group of learners and how different strategies appeal to different learners.
One size doesn’t fit all, and, happily, one size doesn’t have to.
Chapter 6
Reflections
I n your professional learning communities, discuss the following:
1. Considering the Best Practice, Brain Research chart in Figure 6.3. Which strat-
egies are you using on a routine basis?
2. Which instructional strategy will you incorporate into your repertoire in the
next month?
3. How will you do that? With what content might you try it?
4. With whom could you work and plan for this implementation?
5. How will you monitor student improvement or reaction to the use of this
strategy?
6. Brainstorm lists of focus activities and graphic organizers.
7. Design cubes for upcoming topics.

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6

USING A VARIETY OF INSTRUCTIONAL STRATEGIES

BRAIN BASICS AND LEARNING

HOW THE BRAIN WORKS

pathway, releasing dopamine to create a natural feeling of euphoria. Success and

•• Help the learner focus and pay attention

Using focus activities or bell-ringers at the beginning of class helps students

Anchor or Sponge Activities

•• Develop a crossword puzzle on the computer to review the topic.

•• Revise your agenda for the week.

•• Pick a number from 1 to 9.

•• Three things I learned yesterday . . .

Here are a few other examples of focus or bell-ringer activities.

•• Go on a scavenger hunt in your book and find ______.

Other Strategies for Focusing

•• Draw a comic strip to show the events in the chapter.

Figure 6.1 Rote and Elaborative Rehearsal

Rote rehearsal Elaborative rehearsal

Recall and Rehearsal

Not transferred to next stage and therefore forgotten

Long-term memory is really of two types: declarative and procedural.

The Facts “Autopilot” (things one does without thinking)

Declarative memory is more conscious, whereas procedural memory is unconscious.

PLANNING INSTRUCTIONAL STRATEGIES

•• What do I want students to know or be able to do as a result of this learning

COOPERATIVE GROUP LEARNING

Figure 6.3 Best Practice, Brain Research

Researched Best Practices Brain Bits

3. Cooperative learning The brain is social. Collaboration facilitates

5. Nonlinguistic representations The brain is a parallel processor. Visual

6. Summarizing and note-taking The brain pays attention to meaningful

Thinking Is Built Into the Process

Consider the cooperative learning activity a learning experience. It is another

Social Skills Lead to Team Success

•• Self-awareness: through reflection

•• Empathy: listening, reflecting feelings, and behaving in a supportive manner

•• Using appropriate language

•• Disagreeing in an agreeable way

Figure 6.4 Social Skill: Listening to Others

Looks like Sounds like Feels like

Looking at the person Tell me more . . . I’ve been heard

Nodding and smiling Mmm... My ideas are valued

Figure 6.5 Reflection on Group Work

In my math class today we were involved in a cooperative learning activity.

My behavior in that role was . . .

I helped achieve the group goal by . . .

One thing I need to work on is . . .

Keeping Everyone on Task

Figure 6.6 Keeping Students on Task Bookmarks

Production Manager Information Manager Resource Manager

Personnel Manager Technology Manager Time Manager

Creating Interdependence and Building Alliances Within Groups

Jigsaw Strategy: Used to Enhance Interdependence With More Advanced

Questions Often Asked About Cooperative Group Learning

What Is the Best Way to Group Students?

What Do You Do With the Student Who Does Not Want to

What Is the Best-Sized Group?

Evidence Seems like Sounds like Conclusions

WHY DO WE USE THEM?