Differentiated Instruction

Which of the following instructional practices best ensures that a teacher structures the learning environment to address the needs of diverse students?

• Differentiation

• Remediation

• Enrichment

• Modeling

Dan is one of two students in Ms. Kane's 5th grade class under the "least restrictive environment" provision. Dan has a very limited attention span and says he usually cannot follow what is going on in class. One of the IEP objectives for Dan is "Given a 10-12 minute lecture/oral lesson, Dan will take appropriate notes as judged by the teacher."

Which of the following strategies has the best potential to help Dan meet this goal by the end of the year?

• Ms. Kane grades Dan's notes on lecture/oral lesson materials and incorporates the grade into Dan's overall class grade

• Ms. Kane allows Dan to tape-record the lecture/oral lesson, rather than taking notes, and then listen to the tape at home to learn the material.

• Ms. Kane provides Dan with a graphic organizer, or a skeleton outline, of the lecture so Dan can fill in the missing information as it is provided.

• Ms. Kane seats Dan with a student he says he likes and allows Dan to ask that student questions as the lecture/oral lesson proceeds

In a 4th grade classroom, the student teacher observed a child spending the time allotted for a worksheet either looking out the window or doodling on his paper. When the student teacher asked if the child needed help, the child said no. When asked why he was not doing the work, he pointed to another student and said, "She does all her work fast, and when she's done she gets more work."

The boy's response suggests which of the following about his classroom?

• A routine has been established for students who are having trouble finishing an assignment to ask the teacher for assistance.

• A routine for rewarding students who finish their work promptly is not in place.

• Students must work alone on seatwork without consulting other students.

• Students who finish work before the whole class is finished must not interrupt the students who are still working.

A new elementary school teacher has been assigned to teach in a classroom that includes students from many cultural backgrounds. The teacher wants to ensure that the students' learning experiences will be positive and productive. This can best be accomplished by using which of the following principles to help guide instructional planning?

• A student's cultural background can be expected to have a negligible effect on the student's learning-related behaviors and interactions in the classroom.

• Students from all cultural groups are likely to learn best if lessons are designed to avoid reference to any specific groups represented in the class.

• Students within a particular cultural group can be expected to exhibit a broad range of interests, strengths, and needs.

• Students from different cultural groups are not likely to share similar values and goals in regard to education.

A social studies teacher plans to administer a chapter test that includes multiple-choice and short answer questions. Which of the following testing accommodations would be most appropriate for the intermediate level ELL students in the class?

• Permitting the ELL students to use the test study guide during the test.

• Allowing the ELL students to take the test in their native language.

• Allotting the ELL students more time to complete the test

• Reducing the number of questions on the ELL students’ version of the test.

Which of the following techniques is likely to be most successful in helping learners with intellectual disabilities to retain previously acquired skills?

• Scheduling frequent peer tutoring sessions

• Acknowledging appropriate behavior regularly

• Providing periodic review of lessons

• Allowing longer independent practice periods

Which of the following is more a component of an enrichment activity rather than part of an accelerated program?

• Participating in academic competitions

• Receiving credit by exam

• Taking college-level courses in high school

• Skipping subjects

Mary is a seventh-grade student who has a specific learning disability. Her mathematics achievement score indicates that she has a stanine of 9. Which of the following mathematics classes is most appropriate for Mary?

• Remedial mathematics

• Functional mathematics

• Standard mathematics

• Advanced mathematics

An ELL teacher plans to evaluate the students' midyear progress by referencing various examples of their work taken from the current semester. Which of the following will most accurately assist the teacher in assessing the students' English-language development?

• Standardized test scores that demonstrate ELL students' academic performance in specific content areas

• Report card grades and comments from all content area classroom teachers

• Individualized portfolios that include all essays, presentation rubrics, and tests

• A norm-referenced midterm exam that was recently administered to ELL students

A high school math teacher has a few students in her classes who have learning disabilities that affect various aspects of their math performance. The teacher has planned a new instructional unit on probability and wants to make sure that all of the students with learning disabilities will be able to participate fully in unit activities. The teacher can best help ensure this outcome by

• preparing a selection of alternative activities that require less advanced math skills for the students with learning disabilities.

• asking the special education teacher to review the planned activities and utilizing adaptations suggested for each student who has learning disabilities

• having the students with learning disabilities work on unit activities with a peer partner who has strong skills in math.

• trying a few sample activities with the students who have learning disabilities before beginning the unit and making adjustments as needed