Process
Differentiation

 

This involves varying the learning activities/strategies to provide appropriate methods for students to explore the concepts at hand.

Like content differentiation, process differentiation revolves around choice and ability. Modifying the process means modifying how a student interacts and applies the learning. Think Bloom’s Revised Taxonomy.

The Davidson Institute says that processing activities must be restructured to:

  • Be more intellectually demanding
  • Require a higher level of response
  • Stimulate inquiry
  • Allow active exploration
  • Facilitate discovery
  • Encourage making abstract connections
  • Increase the level of Bloom’s Taxonomy of Educational Objectives on the task

Examples of Process Differentiation:

  • Depth & Complexity Framework
  • Self-Directed Learning
  • Flexible Pacing
  • Modifying Group Interactions and Roles
  • Guided Self-Management
  • Allowing for flexible groupings of students: individual, pairs, small groups
  • Specialized Learning Centers (for Skill Work)
  • Games and activities that encourage creativity and reward risk-taking
  • Discussions and activities that involve both Divergent (many correct answers) Thinking and Convergent Thinking (only one correct answer)
  • Think-Pair-Share
  • Journaling
  • Partner talk
  • Save the Last Word (PDF)
  • Literature Circles (which also support content differentiation)
  • Creating and Using Graphic Organizers, Mind Maps, Frayer Models, Graphical Representations, etc.
  • RAFTs
  • Reading Workshops
  • Jigsaw
  • Alternative Vocabulary Activities: Definition Extensions from Susan Winebrenner)
  • Shared Experience Activities
  • Tic-Tac-Toe Choice Board
  • 4×4 Choice Board
  • Activities Menu

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