Term 1 Week 9 - differentiation, critical friends & some resources for research

Professional Reading "Critical Friends" by Deborah Bambino Although this article is from 2002, it explores ideas which are still relevant to teachers, especially the professional support we can get from each other. This article explores the notion that by providing structures for effective feedback and strong support, Critical Friends Groups help teachers improve instruction and student learning.

Differentiation Strategy

"Establishing classroom routines that suppport the differentiated classroom" by Jennifer G. Beasley This presentation covers:

• What do students need?


• How can teachers and students work together to meet those needs?

including, tips and ideas on how to create classrooms that support flexible teaching and learning. I especially like the idea of using coloured cups for managing groups.

General Resources - focus research skills/ information literacy skills Many of us are focusing on the explicit teaching of information skills and using the i-lit model with our students. These resources will help with this process.

• i-lit wiki - this wiki was set up as a place to store online and hardcopy resources for each of the stages in the i-lit model: reflecting, defining, retrieving, processing, creating and communicating.


• online research tutorial - When students hear the word 'research' they might think of work that is done in a lab or out in the field. Research also includes the process of gathering, analyzing and communicating information.


• online websearching tutorial - An online tutorial which helps students to be more successful with their internet searches.


• online plagiarism tutorial - what plagiarism is and how to avoid accidentally plagiarizing someone's work.


• online tutorial on finding credible sources - shows students how to evaluate information with a critical eye; use criteria to determine credible web sources; spot other reliable sources they can use.