Classroom Practices Inventory

Use this inventory to look at what you are already doing in your classroom to differentiate instruction. Mark an “X” on each line to show where your current teaching practices lie on the continuum.

Traditional classroom: Differentiated classroom:

Covering the curriculum is my first I base my teaching on students’ priority and directs my teaching. learning needs as well as on the curriculum. ______

Learning goals remain the same for Learning goals are adjusted for all students. students based on their needs. ______

I emphasize mastery of content and I emphasize critical and creative skills. thinking and the application of learning. ______

Students use the same informational I match students to specific resources (books, articles, Web sites). informational resources based on their learning needs and abilities. ______

I primarily use the whole-class I use several instructional formats instruction. (for example, whole class, small groups, partners, individuals). ______

I tend to group students hetero- As appropriate, I group students geneously. for instruction based on their learning needs. ______

All students move through the The pace of instruction may vary, curriculum together and at the based on students’ learning needs. same pace. ______

All students complete the same As appropriate, I give students activities. opportunities to choose activities based on their interests. ______Continued -- Classroom Practices Inventory continued…

I tend to use similar instructional I use a variety of instructional Strategies day to day. strategies (for example, lectures, manipulatives, role plays, stimulation’s, readings). ______

All students complete all activities. Students complete different activities based on their needs or learning preferences. ______

All students are involved in all I use methods for testing out of work Instructional activities. and for comparing (speeding up, eliminating, replacing) work, as appropriate. ______

My enrichment work provides more My enrichment work demands critical content or more application of skills. and/or creative thinking and the production of new ideas, thoughts, and perspectives. ______

In reteaching, I provide more practice In reteaching, I use a different using a similar instructional method. instructional method from the one I used to teach the material the first time. ______

My reteaching activities typically involve My reteaching activities demand lower-level thinking – knowledge and higher-level thinking while reinforcing comprehension – to reinforce basic skills basic skills and content. and content. ______

I assume that students have limited or no Before beginning a unit, I use knowledge of curriculum content. pre-assessment strategies to determine what students already know. ______

I usually assess students’ learning at the I use ongoing assessment to check end of an instructional sequence. students’ learning throughout an instructional sequence. ______

I typically use the same assessment tool, I allow for learner differences by Product, or project for all students. providing a variety of ways to show learning. ______

From Differentiating Instruction in the Regular Classroom: How to Reach and Teach All Learners, Grades 3-12 by Diane Heacot, Ed.D.