Letter for New Teachers on Differentiation Sincerely, John McCarthy, Ed.S. – follow on Twitter @JMcCarthyEdS Dear New Teachers and Teachers Exploring Differentiation, I’m glad that you’re thinking about the important needs of ALL of your learners. You probably have many questions such as: How do I meet the needs of students who are at different skill …
Category: Differentiated Instruction
Jun 08
Demystifying Differentiation: 6 Myths and Truths
I’m on my way to Columbus Ohio for the Ohio ASCD Summer Conference. I’ll be keynoting the event and presenting during the breakout sessions on several topics relating to putting Differentiation into Action. You can follow my tweets via @jmccarthyeds using #ohioascdconf My keynote will address some of the misconceptions that exists around Differentiation. The …
Apr 20
Steps to Address Student Apathy and Critical Thinking
I got a question from S. Crowder asking how to address student apathy and struggles with developing critical thinking skills through Differentiation for STEM/PBL curriculum. It’s an important concern that is shared by many who truly want their students to succeed. So I’m sharing the post here (with some word edits). I invite you to …
Apr 11
3 Steps to Getting started with Differentiation – a response
Edutopia is a great resource for ideas and professional collaboration. In a discussion thread, New at the “Game” of Differentiated Teaching, I was asked to contribute to supporting a fellow educator. In a profession that is based on supporting others, I had to join in. @JMcCarthyEdS John, can you help with this educator’s plea for help …
Mar 20
Notes from MACUL 2015
Spending 2 days at MACUL conference 2015 was a pleasure and good learning experience. I appreciate the diverse topics that MACUL addresses. As an instructional technology organization MACUL does an excellent job of nurturing the dialog around instruction and learning with support through technology. I look forward to participate next year. During the sessions that …
Jan 26
3 Tools to Help Learners at THEIR Pace (Guest Post)
I recently wrote an article for Edutopia, 50+ Tools for Differentiating Instruction Through Social Media. I asked readers to share more online tools that could support learners through differentiation. I would add these to the 50+ list. Kimberly Hurd offered three tools that address the most important needs: Assessment and Readiness. These 3 did make the …
Oct 27
RAFTs – Engaging to Differentiating Writer’s Voice
In a previous series of posts I wrote about RAFTs, a powerful strategy that engages students into writing, a means to coach students to improve writing, and an approach that when differentiated helps students at varying skills to success at a respectful pace. By popular demand, what follows are all 3 articles in one blog …
Oct 18
Game ON – How kids want to learn
Game ON – How kids want to learn by John McCarthy, Ed.S. This past spring my two teenagers got me involved in playing Clash of Clans. It’s a game played on smart phones and tablets. It’s free, which is a major criteria for my cost-conscious kids, followed by if it captures their attention. Clash of …
Jul 27
Student Learning Preferences Quick Surveys
In my travels visiting many schools, I learn about and share strategies that help students learn. That’s the best part of my job–giving and receiving ideas that educators take back to their staff and students, while carry forward new ideas to the next group of passionate educators. Here is one such strategy that I developed and have …
May 05
RAFTs – Differentiated for Learner Success
In the previous two articles, we explored RAFTs (Role, Audience, Format, and Topic + Strong Verb) as an instructional strategy, and how to use RAFTs for coaching writers on writing. RAFTs can ignite engagement and context for learning. Planned with forethought, students can explore a need or problem that exists in the world beyond the …