Graphic+Organizers.

Graphic Organizers.

In this program one theme that resurfaces is the need to reach all the students. In reacent weeks the importance of that need is discussed often in our cohort. Important elements of the ongoing conversation are things such as involving the student early, involving the family and meeting the total needs of each student.

Differentiation instruction is the ability for the teacher to be flexible with their lessons that allows all students to be reached by using different strategies while aiming at the same goal in the end. That usually means reaching the learning targets. My experience with differentiation is that it can be very challenging for a teacher to use differentiated instruction when not used to doing so. The reality is that many of the things most teachers do is close to differentiating instruction but the teacher did not realize they were doing it. Now the teacher can take differentiation to the next level, fine tune their lessons and be rewarded with improved test scores or improved proof of learning.

One element that is suggested to be used in differentiating instruction are graphic organizers. There are dozens of graphic organizers. From Venn diagrams to charting in lists, outlining, webbing, and many more the ultimate end is organizing information. Students who are challenged academically may just need a way to organize the material being studied. It is important how graphic organizers are introduced to students, you want to choose the right organizer for the right lesson. Compare and contrast organizers for example give the student a way to put that information in the correct category and see it side by sied, the similarities and differences. Writing compare and contrast extended response questions is one area I find that is challenging for most students.

Using graphic organizers is the way I believe a teacher can get immediate results out of students who are struggling with handling the vast amount of information we expect them to absorb. I would like to share graphic organizer web sites as well as my opinion on how they can be used when studying middle school social studies. Graphic organizers are great to use in the other fields of studies as well.

Michael

Here are some great Marzano sites where you can find examples of how to incorporate his strategies into your own teaching. I particularly like the advanced organizers page.
 * [|Identifying Similarities and Differences] ||  || [|Nonlinguistic Representations] ||
 * [|Summarizing and Note Taking] ||  || [|Setting Objectives and Providing Feedback] ||
 * [|Reinforcing Effort and Providing Recognition] ||  || [|Generating and Testing Hypotheses] ||
 * [|Homework and Practice] ||  || [|Cues, Questions, and Advanced Organizers] ||
 * [|Cooperative Learning] ||  ||   ||