Recorded May 8, 2024
Year after year, teachers try to find new and different ways to support all learners in their classroom—which can feel like having to reinvent the wheel every fall. In this session, we will talk about the differences between differentiation, modification, and adaption and how social studies teachers can use these techniques to craft a teaching plan with staying power. We will spend time with curricular materials and work to tailor them to fit your local context while maintaining rigor. You will leave this one-hour workshop with concrete strategies that can be easily applied to classroom materials. Watch the recording now!
Download the presentation deck
OER Project teacher Megan Suits attended the session, and shared a few thoughts:
I have been reflecting today on the professional development session that was held last night on differentiation. There were so many good ideas shared, including color coding text with questions, pre-annotating text, and a Give One, Get One strategy where students share the load of finding information for an activity. I am always looking for new strategies for differentiating instruction.
One thing that has stuck out to me was how we explored the different reasons that we might modify a lesson or activity to fit the needs of our students. Andrea Wong shared an interesting anecdote about a student with an eating disorder that didn't feel comfortable, understandably, working on an activity from BHP called Best Lunch Ever that introduces the concept of calories and nutritional content of food. I know for me this would not be something that is typically on my, "This needs to be modified" radar What are some of the reasons that you have had to adapt to the local context of your school and/or students? What are some topics that you might need to pay close attention to when you are planning an activity or lesson?
We loved hearing your own experiences using differentiation too! Check out this thread to continue the conversation.
Questions? Email us at events@oerproject.com.
About Skills Clinics
OER Project Skills Clinics are collaborative sessions for teachers looking for a deeper dive into a particular skill. Let the learning experts at OER Project guide you through concepts and tools that you’ll be ready to use in your classroom right away.
Each session will be impactful as a standalone, but we also encourage you to follow the Skills Clinic series throughout the year. The insights from these sessions will build on one another, providing you with a complete and intensive professional development experience!
