TPS PLC

What was our TEam GOal?

Given the nature of PLC cycles requiring data based on the same subject matter, and based on past experience, the specialist team chose to focus on 'Differentiation'. Our goal was to improve teacher practice and subsequently, student outcomes through trialling differention within our lessons and sharing the outcomes

New beginnings!

How can we effectively and efficiently differentiate in specialist lessons?

HITS

- Each subject area team used the HITS as a guide for how to effectively differentiate.

Planning

We decided that in order to ensure that we were focused on differentiating during the lessons that we would include how it would occur, in our planners

Purpose and Evidence

• Our purpose and evidence would include points that catered to the various levels of learning

Rubrics

• Rubrics were created that allowed for growth from a beginner through to expert level.

STEM

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Challenges

Successes

- Internet connection and logging in for students took quite some time

- collaborating on technology was quite new and therefore took quite some time to set up.

- high absenteeism

- not all students were prepared to challenge themselves or move outside their comfort zone

- some students would 'take over' the project whilst others would 'hide' behind others and avoid doing much.

- team work amongst peers

- team teaching of practical skills

- sharing responsibilities

- communication

- all studetns felt successful and contributed something to their team

- as teachers, we regularly adjusted expectations based on students skills displayed

- high level of teacher and student modelling

- catering for all student achievement levels. Students were able to challenge themselves in a variety of ways

MUSIC

I have a presentation to give! Actually, I'm in Queensland! All yours Paige and Guy..

differentiation in music

• In Music our year four students have been learning the ukulele and year three keyboard, so how did we ensure that they have the opportunity to participate and achieve success based on the varying skills and knowledge that students had going into the unit?

• Ensuring students have equal opportunity to engage in the content taught is really important and enables students to feel like they can achieve success no matter what their role or entry point is. Based on this we decided to focus on content and product (outcomes) as the key aspect to differentiate as outlined in the HITS.

• Year 3 has been learning notes on the keyboard. Beginning students learn 2-3 notes with one to two fingers. This is extended up to correct finger position and technique for 8-12 notes.

A pre-test or entry slip to give us data on what students already know

Students are now allocated to activities that cater to their entry point - A core group learning basic chords (1 finger) or full extended chords (2 or 3 fingers)

Extension group for students already able to play chords, practising melodic lines by reading tablature.

Independant learning with the ability to move at own pace.

The benefits

• Increased engegament due to catering for point of need
• improved behaviour due to content engaging students as they feel they can achieve success
• Improved teacher practice with the hope of improved student outcomes once we collect the data from post tests / exit slips

Barriers

• This particular unit worked well as students were able to use the same resource simultaneosuly.
• Creating a differentiated learning environment with up to 50+ students in one learning space will not always work depending on the content.
• Moving forward we will discuss how to work around these barriers and plan accordingly.

PE

I'm short passing this to Alice and Daisy!

How do we modify?

Students using a modified net height and are beginning to use volleyball skills, such as digging and setting the ball. Students are able to choose whether to catch the ball before returning it over the net or return it straight away.

How do we modify?

Students use modified equipment (the pink ball) as it floats differently in the air and allows the students more time to position themselves to catch the ball. Students are working on catching and throwing the ball in a modified Volleyball game, known as Newcombe/Volleystars.

Successes

- encouraged us as teachers to include differentiation throughout all year levels

- consistent differentiation within the Year 3 and 4 lessons

- students were able to be successful in some way

- challenge we faced was that often students thought they were more capable of performing a skill

- There were limited students who were capable of playing volleyball, therefore making it difficult to extend the few students who could

Challenges

Students who are working towards the expected level

Students who are not ready to move into playing a formal game of Newcombe/Volleystars/Volleyball, practise throwing and catching without a net.

ART

- Differentiation -

- Term Two -

Textiles Unit

Years 3 & 4

Example Closed-Ended Art Tasks

Example Open-Ended Art Tasks

Working Towards

Working Above

Working At

Sucesses

Challenges

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MANDARIN

Our journey so far

How we differentiate in the Mandarin class:

1. Differentiation in content: Pinyin, Character writing and complex sentence structure

2. Differentiation in learning styles: Station rotation, including visual, verbal and kinesthetic activities

Station Rotation

Successes & Challenges:

Successes:

1. Students can monitor their own learning as they are aware of the level progression.

2. Students are engaged because the lesson is catered for a variety of teaching styles! Fun!

Challenges:

1. Learning activities are restricted as the lesson time is short.

2. Individualised learning is hard as we have 400 students!