Focusing on the Individual Child

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Focusing on the Individual Child

WE are committed to those actions that bring about an individualized and personalized education which challenges each student.

Differentiated Instruction
in the Carroll Independent School District

Introduction

Welcome to the Carroll Independent School District's website on Differentiated Instruction. We're excited about our new mission to individualize and personalize the education we provide each CISD child. This website is designed to explain Differentiated Instruction, a philosophical approach to teaching that strongly supports our mission and vision for Carroll students. It will be an ever-changing and evolving website, with updates posted regularly by the Communications Department.

A Message From the Superintendent. . .

Dear CISD Community,

Carroll ISD is embarking upon a major instructional improvement effort meant to bring about a more individualized, personalized, and challenging education for each student. With excellence a long-standing hallmark of our school district, we seek continuous improvement on behalf of the community’s children.

The concepts and practices known as "Differentiated Instruction," as put forth by experts such as Dr. Carol Ann Tomlinson of the University of Virginia, have become our "benchmark" for implementing continuous improvement in CISD. As Board Policy AE (LOCAL) suggests, "That students differ may be inconvenient, but it is inescapable (Sizer)." As some of our teachers already practice differentiation, we will work over the next two school years practicing and perfecting that which we will formalize in policy, and in classrooms, in the fall of 2005.

Please watch for our community orientation session on Differentiated Instruction this fall as well as our Parent University during the spring. This CISD web site will also be a good source for reviewing our efforts at differentiating instruction.

Yours in an individualized, personalized and challenging education,
Gary S. Mathews, Ph.D.
Superintendent of Schools

The CISD Mission

The Board of Trustees believes it is important to encourage, support, and assist each student in his or her academic development. Where ability is concerned, equality consists of providing equally well for all kinds and levels of individual differences. That students differ may be inconvenient, but it is inescapable (Sizer). Adapting to that diversity is the inevitable price of productivity, high standards, and fairness to students. In recognition of the diverse needs of students, we support differentiation and acceleration appropriate to student needs as determined through assessment.

VISION (what we want the district to become in the future)
“WE envision an individualized and personalized education for each student.”

MISSION (what we charge district employees to do)
“WE are committed to those actions that bring about an individualized and personalized education which challenges each student.”

CRITICAL ATTRIBUTES (definition of key emphases in our vision and mission)

By “individualized” education, we mean those teaching practices which provide a basis for assessing where the student is relative to a unit of instruction, deliver instruction in a differentiated manner so as to appropriately remediate, enrich, and/or accelerate, while holding standards at grade level for all students.

By “personalized” education, we mean those classroom and school practices which recognize the uniqueness of each student learner and thus provide for adequate tutorial and guidance and counseling suited to develop the whole person in mind, body, and spirit.

By “challenging” education, we mean those practices which stretch all learners to become all they can be academically learning optimally [or to their full potential] in language arts, mathematics, social studies, and science in particular, and in all subject matter generally.

Glossary of Continuous Improvement

Preface: As CISD’s new vision and mission represent a quite ambitious agenda--a “next step” to a “next level” of instructional excellence for our students--this Glossary is not meant to overwhelm. Rather, it represents an agenda to be pursued over the course of the next 3 years with the first step being vocabulary understanding and initial “practice” followed by future years of more sophisticated understanding and formal practice per Board policies to be implemented in the Fall of 2005.

Acceleration aka Accelerated Instruction: 1 : that which refers to educational strategies which provide opportunities for students to more rapidly achieve educational goals—CISD Board Policy AE (LOCAL) (Participation per Board Policy: based on individually identified needs and is designed on a case-by-case basis per approval of Assistant Superintendent for Curriculum & Instruction; Examples per Board Policy—grade skipping, dual enrollment, early graduation, curriculum compacting, telescoping curriculum, elective system, subject matter acceleration, individually paced instruction, distance learning 2 : that which provides for rapid achievement of educational goals and can be within a grade level curriculum (teacher decision) or across grade level curricula (collaborative decision per CISD Board Policy AE (LOCAL))

Agendas: a strategy for differentiating instruction that provides for a personalized list of tasks that a particular student must complete in a specified time as developed by the teacher to last two to three weeks (usually students can determine the order in which they will complete the agenda during a particular time in the day set aside as “agenda time”)

Anchor Activity: a strategy for differentiating instruction that provides for meaningful ongoing activities to which students automatically move when they have completed an assigned task; can occur throughout a unit, a six-weeks period, or longer (Purposes: a. to provide students with meaningful work once they have finished an assignment or project ahead of time, b. to provide meaningful work at the beginning of each class as might be appropriate, c. to provide meaningful work for students when they are “stumped” and waiting for teacher assistance, d. to provide ongoing tasks tied to the curriculum and instruction, and e. to provide the teacher with time to work with other groups or individuals)

Assessment: 1 : collecting data to better understand the current knowledge (facts), understandings (principles and concepts), and skills (e.g., literacy & numeracy) of students 2 : collecting data to better understand the readiness (prior mastery of knowledge/understandings/skills), interests (a student’s curiosity and passion which “hooks” learners in wanting to know, understand, or do more), and learning profiles (preferred learning styles or intelligences) of students 3 : an ongoing means of understanding how to better modify tomorrow’s instruction (Tomlinson) 4 : an inseparable part of instruction (See Pre-assessment, Formative Assessment, Benchmark Assessment and Summative Assessment herein.)

Authentic Assessment: collecting data to better understand the collective abilities of a student by presenting real-world challenges that require the application of relevant knowledge, understandings, and skills [Note: simply testing an isolated skill or a retained fact does not effectively measure a student’s capabilities; Basic Elements: a. requires students to develop responses rather than select from predetermined options, b. elicits higher order thinking in addition to basic skills, c. directly evaluates holistic projects, d. synthesizes with classroom instruction, e. uses samples of student work (portfolios) collected over an extended time period, f. stems from clear criteria made known to students, g. allows for the possibility of multiple human judgments, h. relates more closely to classroom learning, and i. is facilitated by technology]

Authentic Engagement: 1 : the task, activity, or work the student is assigned or encouraged to undertake is associated with a result or outcome that has clear meaning and relatively immediate value to the student (e.g., reading a book on a topic of personal interest to the student or to get across information that the student needs to solve a problem of real interest to him or her) 2 : “If students become engaged in the right ‘stuff,’ they are likely to learn what we want them to learn.” (Schlechty, P.C. Working on the Work, Jossey-Bass Publishers, 2002, p. 1)

Benchmark Assessment: a process of accumulating periodic information about a student’s progress toward the goal of achieving grade-level proficiency in specified curricular areas (differs from “Formative Assessment” in that formative data are collected throughout a unit of instruction to help make “mid course” corrections prior to the graded “Summative Assessment”; Additionally “Formative Assessments” are teacher-generated, while “Benchmark Assessments” are district- generated; “Benchmark Assessments” provide verification and assistance with teacher-generated classroom assessments and overall district curriculum development or revision)

Challenging Education: 1 : those practices which stretch all learners to become all they can be academically learning optimally [or to their full potential] in language arts, mathematics, social studies, and science in particular, and in all subject matter generally—CISD Board Policy AE (LOCAL) 2 : reflective of those assignments or tasks that are slightly beyond the student’s comfort zone, i.e., “zone of proximal development” aka “Challenging Work”

Choice Boards: 1 : a strategy for differentiating instruction that provides for changing assignments which are placed in permanent “pockets” of the board 2 : the teacher asks the student to select from a particular row [of the board], thus targeting work toward student need and at the same time allow for student choice

CISD Benchmark for Teacher “Practice” of D.I. (Differentiated Instruction): the school district’s expectation for the introduction of differentiated instruction into classroom lessons (2003-04: a few “low-prep” strategies plus one “high-prep” strategy per unit or semester; 2004-05: hone 03-04 strategies and add one or two more low and high-prep strategies; 2005-06 & after: in the prior [cumulative] way, teachers can work their way to a highly differentiated classroom in four or five years without feeling absolutely frenzied along the way; See Tomlinson, How to Differentiate in Mixed-Ability Classrooms, ASCD, 2^nd Ed., 2001, pp. 33-34. Page 34 cites “Low-Prep Differentiation” and “High-Prep Differentiation.”)

CISD Timeline for D.I. (Differentiated Instruction): a three-year plan for implementation of D.I. strategies in the classrooms of the district consisting of: 2003-04: Understand & Practice (a. a “common language” of CISD curriculum and differentiation, b. “deep understanding” of CISD curriculum and differentiation, c. some “practice” of “low-prep/high-prep” D.I., d. some classroom observations of D.I. lessons, and e. collect/reflect on district, school, classroom practice); 2004-05: Understand & Practice (See cycle of strategies, a-e, just prior.); Summer 2005: Policy Development (e.g., pre-assessment for units of instruction, district-level benchmark assessments, Instructional Management System, staff development, classroom observations, teacher evaluation, grading and reporting, parent involvement, etc.); 2005-06: Formally Implement Differentiated Instruction in CISD Classrooms

Compacting: 1 : a strategy for differentiating instruction that provides a three-step process which (a) assesses what a student knows about material to be studied and what the student still needs to master, (b) plans for learning what is not known and excuses student from what is known, and (c) plans for freed-up time to be spent in enriched or accelerated study 2 : the student is given reduced amounts of introductory activities, drill, review, and so on such that the time saved may be used to move faster through the curriculum—CISD Board Policy AE (LOCAL) 3 : also a strategy for accelerated instruction to be determined on a case-by-case basis—CISD Board Policy AE (LOCAL)

Complex Instruction: a strategy for differentiating instruction that deals with the sorts of academic ranges that frequently exist in classrooms that are academically, culturally, and linguistically heterogeneous (Cohen, Designing Groupwork: Strategies for the Heterogeneous Classroom, 2^nd Ed., Teachers College Press, 1994) (Complex Instruction Tasks Characteristics: a. require students to work together in small groups, b. designed to draw upon the intellectual strengths of each student in the group, c. are open-ended, d. are intrinsically interesting to students, e. are uncertain, f. involve real objects, g. provide materials and instructions in multiple languages, if needed, h. integrate reading and writing in ways that make them an important means to accomplishing a desirable goal, i. draw upon multiple intelligences in a real-world way, j. use multimedia, k. require many different talents in order to be completed adequately; an effective complex instruction task does not have a single right answer, does not reflect low-level thinking, does not involve simple memorization of routine learning)

Content: 1 : what a student should know, understand, and be able to do as a result of a given unit of instruction, subject, or course 2 : in differentiating instruction, the teacher selects levels of content after diagnosing student readiness

Continuous Improvement: 1 : an ongoing deliberate effort to improve the programs, services, and results of our schools 2 : a never-ending journey of perfecting classroom, school, and district practice 3 : a process of assemble and analyze data/plan/implement/reflect and evaluate 4 : an organizational belief that “we never arrive” 5 : an organizational belief that “if we’re not changing and growing, we’re stagnant, if not going backwards”

Cubing: 1 : a strategy for differentiating instruction that is based on student readiness (prior mastery of knowledge, understandings, and skills) and interest (what “hooks” the student in wanting to know, understand, or do more) 2 : each six-sided cube carries instructions like “Describe—What is it?” / “Compare—What is similar to and different from?” / “Associate—What does it make you think of?” / “Analyze—How did it come about?” / “Apply it—How is it used? What might resolve this issue?” / “Argue for or against.” (Possible Uses: a. introduce new concepts, b. build interest in a new concept, c. informally assess students, d. help students see relevance of a concept, e. review concepts, and f. help students think creatively about concepts)

Data-Driven Decision Making: arriving at judgments based on qualitative and quantitative measures, thus relying on a more “objective” basis for such judgments or evaluation

Differentiation aka Differentiated Instruction: 1 : that which recognizes a common body of knowledge and skills for students to master [equity], but takes varying routes for each student to gain mastery of the intended curriculum in an optimal manner [excellence]—CISD Board Policy AE (LOCAL) 2 : that which plans and carries out varied approaches to content (what students learn), process (how students learn), and product (how students demonstrate what they’ve learned) in anticipation of and response to student differences in readiness (prior mastery of knowledge, understandings, and skills), interest (a student’s curiosity and passion that “hooks” the learner into wanting to know, understand, or do more), and learning profile (how the student prefers to learn) 3 : a teaching philosophy and mindset that has a teacher acting responsively to a learner’s needs, i.e., “meeting the student where he/she enters the classroom”

Enrichment: that which provides instructional materials and activities as an extension of the regular classroom material

Entry Points: a strategy for addressing varied intelligence points such that a student may explore a given topic through as many as five avenues or entry points such as narrational (presenting a story or narrative about the topic or concept in question), logical-quantitative (using numbers or deductive/scientific approaches to the topic or question), foundational (examining the philosophy and vocabulary that under gird the topic or concept), aesthetic (focusing on the sensory features of the topic or concept), experiential (using a hands-on approach where the student deals directly with materials that represent the topic or concept)

Equalizer: 1 : a guide for planning differentiated lessons similar to using the equalizer buttons on a stereo or CD player as the teacher takes into account various student needs regarding structure, pace, complexity, cognitive level, etc. (See Tomlinson, C.A. How to Differentiate Instruction in Mixed-Ability Classrooms, 2^nd Ed., 2001, ASCD, p. 47.) 2 : “Foundational to Transformational” / “Concrete to Abstract” / “Simple to Complex” / “Single Facet to Multiple Facets” / “Small Leap to Great Leap” / “More Structured to More Open” / “Less Independence to Greater Independence” / “Slow to Quick” (See Tomlinson above.)

Flexible Grouping: a strategy for differentiating instruction that provides for students to be a part of many different groups based on the match of the task to student readiness, interest, or learning profile (Guidelines: a. teacher should assign groups when the task is matched to individual readiness (prior mastery of knowledge, understandings, or skills) or students need work with a variety of classmates, b. create clear guidelines for group functioning taught in advance of group work and consistently reinforced, c. ensure that all students have opportunities to work with students who are like themselves and dissimilar from themselves, d. all students should learn to work cooperatively, collaboratively, and independently, and e. groups can be selected by the teacher either on purpose or randomly and groups can also be student selected)

Formative Assessment (“Keeping Track & Checking Up” or “Can You Hear Me Now?”): 1 : a process of accumulating information about a student’s progress throughout a unit of instruction to help make “mid-course” corrections that will improve the student’s knowledge, understandings, and/or skills (i.e., achievement levels) 2 : allows teachers to depict a student’s life as a learner, provide “early warning” signals and regular feedback (Examples: formative test, peer evaluation, 3-minute pause, observation, talkaround, questioning, exit card, portfolio check, quiz, journal entry, self-evaluation, etc.)

4MAT: a complex approach that focuses teacher response to student learning profile based on several personality and learning inventories which hypothesize that students have one of four learning preferences by which teachers plan and deliver instruction for a given unit (i.e., Type 1: Innovative Learners—primarily interested in personal meaning / Type 2: Analytic Learners—primarily interested in acquiring facts in order to deepen their understanding of concepts and processes / Type 3: Common Sense Learners—primarily interested in how things work; they want to “get in and try it” / Type 4: Dynamic Learners—primarily interested in self-directed discovery)

Group Investigation: a strategy for differentiating instruction that puts students in the active role of solving problems (Procedures: a. the teacher presents students with a complex problem, b. students must seek additional information, define the problem, locate and appropriately use valid resources, make decisions about solutions, pose a solution, communicate that solution to others, and assess the solution’s effectiveness; this strategy offers an opportunity to address readiness, interest, and learning profile)

High-Level Questioning: a strategy for differentiating instruction that provides for presentation of questions which draw on advanced levels of information, requires leaps of understanding, and challenges the thinking of all students (Guidelines: a. require all learners to think at high levels, b. require students to defend answers, c. use open-ended questions, d. use Bloom’s Taxonomy to create various levels of questions, and e. differentiate questions as appropriate, keeping sight of the need for all learners to be questioned at high levels)

Independent Study: 1 : a strategy for differentiating instruction that provides for a process by which student and teacher identify problems or topics of interest to the student with an agreed upon method of investigation (Guidelines: a. builds on student interest, b. satisfies curiosity, c. requires student planning and research, d. encourages independence, e. highly motivating, f. allows in-depth work on topics, and g. provides opportunities for students to work with complex and abstract ideas) 2 : a process by which the student will demonstrate his/her ability to apply knowledge (facts), understandings (concepts and principles), and skills relative to a topic or problem

Individualized Education: those teaching practices which provide a basis for assessing where the student is relative to a unit of instruction, deliver instruction in a differentiated manner so as to appropriately remediate, enrich, and/or accelerate, while holding standards at grade level for all students—CISD Board Policy AE (LOCAL)

Instructional Management System (IMS): 1 : a technology-enabled effort to monitor individual pupil progress in the district’s core curricula as well as provide teacher access to curriculum components such as objectives, lesson plans, assessments, strategies, grades, etc. 2 : a technology-enabled effort to provide parent access to student information such as expectations, assignments, grades, tutoring, etc.

Interest: a student’s curiosity or passion

Learning Centers/Stations: a strategy for differentiating instruction that provides for “centers” or “stations” or collections of materials that learners use to explore topics or practice skills (tasks can be adjusted to readiness, interest, or learning profile)

Learning Contracts: a strategy for differentiating instruction that provides for an agreement between student and teacher which can take many forms obligating the student to the performance of work according to agreed-upon specifications, i.e., what will be learned, how it will be learned, amount of time for learning, and how the work will be evaluated (Guidelines: a. match the skills to the readiness of the learner, b. match the content to readiness, interest, and learning profile (learning styles, multiple intelligences, etc.) of the student, c. allow student choice, esp. in the content-based portions, d. provide rules for contract in writing, e. establish clear and challenging standards for success, f. blend both skills and content-based learning in the contract, and g. vary the levels of independence and time span to match student readiness; (The Do’s of Learning Contracts: a. help students set realistic deadlines, b. explain the role and function of contracts, c. renegotiate the contract when it isn’t working, d. involve students gradually in contract development, and e. start small, i.e., 1 or 2-day contracts; The Don’ts of Learning Contracts: a. do not expect all students to be able to use contracts, b. do not expect all students to like contracts, c. do not assume contracts can take the place of regular instruction, and d. do not use contracts without a good classroom management system)

Learning Profile: 1 : a student’s preferred manner for working or learning important to differentiating instruction 2 : many instruments available to detect a student’s preferred manner for working or learning (e.g., Bernice McCarthy’s 4MAT, Howard Gardner’s Multiple Intelligences, Dunn & Dunn’s Learning Styles, etc.)

Long-Range Goals (LRGs): those Board-approved goals that are accomplished in a one to five year period and are a part of the school district’s District Improvement Plan as devised and/or sanctioned by the District Advisory Committee

Mission: 1 : what we charge school district employees to do 2 : “WE are committed to those actions that bring about an individualized and personalized education which challenges each student.”—CISD Board Policy AE (LOCAL)

Multiple Intelligence: 1 : different ways to demonstrate intellectual ability as conceived by researcher Howard Gardner (Visual/Spatial—ability to perceive the visual such as exhibited by navigator, sculptor, artist, inventor, architect, interior designer, mechanic, engineer; Verbal/Linguistic—ability to use words and language such as exhibited by poet, journalist, writer, teacher, lawyer, politician, translator; Logical/Mathematical—ability to use reason, logic, and numbers such as exhibited by scientist, engineer, computer programmer, researcher, accountant, mathematician; Bodily/Kinesthetic—ability to control body movements and handle objects skillfully such as exhibited by athlete, P.E. teacher, dancer, actor, firefighter, artisan; Musical/Rhythmic—ability to produce and appreciate music such as exhibited by musician, disc jockey, singer, composer; Interpersonal—ability to relate and understand others such as exhibited by counselor, salesperson, politician, business person; Intrapersonal—ability to self-reflect and be aware of one’s inner state of being such as exhibited by researcher, theorist, philosopher; Naturalist—ability to understand, feel, and react positively to the world around as exhibited by naturalist, ecologist, etc.) 2 : means by which teachers address interest and learning profile of students

Orbitals: a strategy for differentiating instruction that provides for independent investigations that revolve around some facet of curriculum, generally of three to six weeks in duration

Personalized Education: those classroom and school practices which recognize the uniqueness of each student learner and thus provide for adequate tutorial and guidance and counseling suited to develop the whole person in mind, body, and spirit—CISD Board Policy AE (LOCAL)

Portfolios: collections of student work which help students set appropriate learning goals and evaluate their growth (also help teachers and parents reflect on student growth over time; focus on readiness, interests, and learning profile)

Pre-assessment (“Finding Out”): any method, strategy, or process used to determine a student’s current level of readiness (prior mastery of knowledge, understandings, and skills) or interest (what “hooks” the student in wanting to know, understand, or do more) which allows the teacher to meet students “where they are” (Examples: pre-test, inventory, KWL, checklist, observation, self-evaluation, questioning, etc.)

Process: 1 : in differentiating instruction, the opportunity for students to make sense of content 2 : a teacher selects activities based on student readiness, interest, and/or learning profile

Product: in differentiating instruction, how students demonstrate what they’ve learned

RAFT Assignments: 1 : a strategy for differentiating instruction that helps students understand an audience of fellow writers, students, citizens, characters, etc. 2 : RAFT, an acronym that stands for Role (of the writer), Audience, Format, and Topic (Example: Role=battery, Audience=loose wire, Format=a newspaper article, Topic=man has shocking experience)

Readiness: 1 : in differentiating instruction, ascertaining the student’s prior mastery of knowledge (facts), understandings (concepts and principles), and skills relative to a unit of instruction, subject, or course 2 : how well a student’s knowledge, understandings, and skills match a topic or task

Remediation: that which provides instructional materials and activities that are designed to bring a student up to grade level performance within a given unit of instruction, subject, or course

Research-Based Decision Making: arriving at judgments based on the preponderance of qualitative and quantitative evidence of those in like circumstance

“Respectful” Tasks: 1 : those that are interesting and engaging for every learner and which provide equal access to essential knowledge, understandings, and skills 2 : neither boring nor frustrating

Scaffolding: 1 : a strategy for differentiating instruction that provides the support needed for a student to succeed in challenging work 2 : planning student work and presenting materials from simple to complex in such a way as to build student mastery and, thus, confidence

Short-Range Goals (SRGs): those Board-approved goals for the school system which are typically accomplished in 2, 4, 6, 8, or 10 months and are a part of the school district’s District Improvement Plan as devised and/or sanctioned by the District Advisory Committee

Summative Assessment (“Making Sure”): a means to determine a student’s mastery of knowledge (facts), understandings (concepts and principles), and skills used for the purpose of a final grade, decision, or report that causes teachers to align formative and pre-assessments with the “end in mind” (Examples: unit test, benchmark test, performance task, product/exhibit, demonstration, portfolio review, etc.)

“Teaching-for-Learning-for-All”: recognition of the moral imperative to teach each student well

Technology Integration: a seamless web of technology use during the course of classroom lessons meant to achieve student mastery of knowledge (facts), understandings (concepts and principles), and skills as well as student “production” of knowledge

Tiered Instruction: a strategy for differentiating instruction that provides for the use of varied levels of activities to ensure that students explore ideas at a level that builds on their prior knowledge and prompts continued growth (Guidelines: a. select the concept, principle, or skill that is essential for understanding the topic, b. think about the students who will be using the activity in terms of their readiness, interest, or learning profile, c. create one activity that is interesting, requires high-level thinking and is clearly focused on the key concept, principle, or skill, d. clone the activity to provide different versions at different levels of difficulty, e. to help produce the clones, use Bloom’s Taxonomy or Tomlinson’s Equalizer, f. match the students to a version of the task based upon student readiness, interest, or learning profile, g. Tier assignments, activities, homework, learning centers, experiments, materials, assessments, writing prompts, etc.)

Vision: 1 : what we want the school district to become in the future 2 : “WE envision an individualized and personalized education for each student.”—CISD Board Policy AE (LOCAL)

“Working-on-the-Work”: 1 : in a classroom sense, spending time thinking about, preparing, monitoring, and evaluating meaningful student work so that more students are authentically engaged (See Schlechty, P.C., Working on the Work, Jossey-Bass, 2002.) 2 : in an administrative sense, “keeping” the vision and mission of the school district, executing Board-approved Long- and Short-Range Goals, and creating school and district budgets for the delivery of the organization’s vision, mission, and goals

Curriculum Development

Curriculum Plan | Focus | Process | Staff Development

Effective differentiation begins with a solid curriculum and is strengthened by ongoing assessment to ensure that each child’s needs are being met. The Carroll ISD staff is in the process of rewriting the district’s curriculum, an essential step for implementing Differentiated Instruction. Curriculum revision is an ongoing process in the Carroll Independent School District. This cycle of continuous improvement helps ensure that Carroll ISD's curriculum is up-to-date and effective as teachers use it to implement Differentiated Instruction.

Curriculum Revision Process
Click on the links below to see a timeline chart of the curriculum revision framework for each subject area.

Math Framework | Language Arts Framework | Science Framework | Social Studies Framework

For more information about Curriculum and Instruction in the Carroll Independent School District, contact Dr. Jan Morgan, Assistant Superintendent for Curriculum and Instruction at 817-949-7070 or E-mail her at morganj@cisdmail.com.

Staff Development

Book Study | Book Study Pre-Assessment

Book Study Self Assessments

Mini Guide

Susan Allan Presentation 8/13/03
Elementary Presentation | Secondary Presentation | Resource Guide

Carroll ISD employees kicked off the 2003-2004 school year with a fun-filled, but meaningful look at Differentiated Instruction during Convocation 2003. The Convocation theme was "MISSION: POSSIBLE", a spoof on spy movies with a twist of Differentiated Instruction as an attainable goal for all teachers. Convocation was followed by two days of intense staff development for CISD employees. Members of the Curriculum and Instruction staff met with teachers to discuss the curriculum development process as a key first step to implementing Differentiated Instruction. That was followed by a half-day workshop with Susan Demirsky Allan, co-author of Leadership for Differentiating Schools & Classrooms.

This next year, Carroll ISD will be asking its teachers to become partners in learning with their students as they utilize a wide range of instructional strategies to differentiate in the classroom. Year-round professional development opportunities will engage and involve Carroll employees in an effort to reach a common vocabulary and deep understanding of differentiation. This intense professional development will be inclusive of book studies, collaborative planning and observation and reflection of best practices. As a result, teachers will utilize "low-prep" and some occasional "high-prep" strategies as they practice Differentiated Instruction throughout the 2003-2004 school year.

Gaining a deep level of understanding will continue during the 2004-2005 school year as teachers practice and perfect Differentiated Instruction. By the summer of 2005, district officials plan to have developed district-wide policies for pre-assessing units of instruction, administering district-level benchmark assessments, grading and evaluating student achievement. Implementation of an Instructional Management System to track individual student data and progress is one of the major goals adopted by the Board of Trustees.

For more information on Carroll ISD's staff development program, contact Dr. Nancy Rindone at rindonen@cisdmail.com

Resources for Parents

Parent Orientation | Parent University | Books To Read | Website Links | Differentiation Brochure

We're excited about opportunities to partner with CISD parents to ensure an individualized and personalized education which challenges each student.

Parent Orientation to Differentiated Instruction
October 16, 2003 @ 7 p.m. Carroll High School Cafeteria
Carroll ISD will conduct a parent orientation beginning at 7 p.m. in the cafeteria of Carroll High School on Thursday, October 16, 2003. The orientation will explain what differentiation is and isn't, the rationale that underlies differentiated instruction and what it means for your child in the classroom.

Parent University
Parent University will feature a number of workshops/sessions offered on a Saturday morning in the spring of 2004. It will be open to any and all interested CISD parents. Watch this website for more information about Parent University.

Look for these books about Differentiated Instruction:

Tomlinson, C. (2001). How to Differentiate Instruction in Mixed-Ability Classrooms. (2nd ed.) Alexandria, VA: Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development.

Tomlinson, C. (1999). The Differentiated Classroom: Responding to the Needs of All Learners. Alexandria, VA: Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development.

Tomlinson, C. & Allen, S. (2000). Leadership for Differentiating Schools & Classrooms. Alexandria, VA: Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development.

Winebrenner, S. (1992 ). Teaching Gifted Kids in the Regular Classroom. Minneapolis, MN: Free Spirit.

Winebrenner, S. (1996). Teaching Kids with Learning Difficulties in the Regular Classroom. Minneapolis, MN: Free Spirit.

Visit These Helpful Website Links:

http://www.ascd.org

http://www.hottlinx.org

Technology Integration

Carroll ISD recognizes the importance of technology integration as a necessary component of Differentiated Instruction. The district currently has a Board Committee reviewing technology needs in anticipation of a 2004 school bond election. Out of this Committee's work, the Administration hopes to have a vision for technology to present to the Board of Trustees by December 2003. In addition, a number of Carroll employees have been part of the Intel: Teach to the Future summer training program. Click here to learn more about the Intel teacher training program.

Technology Committee News

For more information about technology in the Carroll Independent School District, please contact Chief Technology Officer Harry Ingalls at 817-949-8282 or E-mail ingallsh@cisdmail.com.

Teacher's Corner

This section of the website will be devoted to quotes, tips and lesson ideas from teachers. Visit it periodically to see new additions submitted by Carroll's classroom teachers.

Teachers may submit materials for consideration to Julie Thannum or Nancy Rindone.

Author Susan Allan

Helpful Links

Intel's Teach To The Future (lesson plans/ideas)

Web Links

Visit these helpful web sites to learn more about differentiated instruction:

ASCD, website of the Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development, has materials, an online course, conferences, etc. http://www.ascd.org