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Assessment is most common at the end of learning to see who got it.
Assessment is ongoing and diagnostic to understand how to make instruction more responsive to the learners needs. Explanation
Excellence is defined in large measure by individual growth from a starting point. Explanation
Many learning profile options are provided for during instruction. Explanation
Many instructional arrangements are used in the classroom, including whole-class, small group, and individual learning. Explanation
Use of essential skills to make sense of and understand key concepts and principles is the focus of learning. Explanation
Students help other students and the teacher solve problems. Explanation
Students work with the teacher to establish both whole-class and individual learning goals. Explanation
Adapted from Carol Tomlinsons How To Differentiate Instruction in Mixed-Ability Classrooms (2001) Back to Top
1. Student differences are studied as a basis for planning. Teachers determine students individual needs and create lesson plans accordingly. They know who their students are well enough to decide what and how to best teach them. To determine student differences, they: use learning style inventories examine student work know student interests examine past performance(standardized test scores, report card grades, etc.). Back 2. Assessment is ongoing and diagnostic to understand how to make instruction more responsive to learner need. Pre-unit assessments will help teachers decide what to teach. Post-unit assessments will help determine how well the teacher did, not simply how well their students did. Teachers use exit cards (among other strategies) in which students can convey at the end of class what they took from a lesson. Tomlinson adds, Think of assessment as a road map for thinking and planningFruitful assessment often poses the question, what is an array of ways I can offer students to demonstrate their understanding and skills? (pp. 19-20). Back 3. Focus on multiple forms of intelligences is evident. Teachers offer students a variety of ways to express their understanding of knowledge, without favoring any one style. Students might draw their comprehension of an idea, dramatize it, create a model of it, write a letter to the editor about it, or re-write a section of the textbook to supplement whats missing. Back