Differentiating at a Distance: Data-Informed Instruction

When our lessons are thoughtfully designed and informed by student data, we can provide targeted instruction at every level of technology access.

DR. ROBERTA LENGER KANG
Center Director, CPET

Differentiating instruction is inherently difficult, and now that we’re doing it at a distance, it can appear even more overwhelming than before. But appearances can be deceiving. Differentiating during this period of distance learning — using some high tech, low tech, and no tech options — can be easy, efficient, and effective!

Differentiation can happen in many ways, with varying levels of complexity. Our Differentiating Like a STAR resource, designed to help educators consider entry points to differentiation, offers strategies in four categories: data, task, text, and grouping. Within each category, we outline three levels of instruction — the more stars included, the stronger the differentiation. By identifying pathways to expand differentiation, you can add depth and complexity to your lessons. 

When teaching at a distance, we aren’t able to rely on our typical informal observation skills to gather data about our students, including our ability to overhear conversations, see students’ confusion, or listen to their in-the-moment questions. We can, however, find alternative methods for collecting and using data to inform the next steps of our instruction. 

We use data to inform our instruction at three critical levels:

---

High-tech: Google Forms

Using the features built into Google Forms, educators can build custom assessments, surveys, pre-, during, and post-reading guides, and much more. When students answer questions within the form, you can be updated instantly.

Create a clear connection to the data by turning the form into a quiz. This allows students to receive feedback about their performance, and can allow you to provide instructions for the student’s next task, based on their answers. Students who do well may be ready to move on to a more challenging activity; students who struggle may be directed to re-read or engage in continued practice. When they’re ready, students can return to the quiz to re-test their knowledge and demonstrate their learning.

How can you redirect students based on their answers? Use the “go to section based on answer” feature. This feature allows teachers to create hinge-point questions within an online learning experience. Within any multiple choice question, we can establish different follow-up tasks based on a student’s response.

If our answer choices are strategic (e.g. 1 correct answer, 1 close answer, 1 opposite answer, and 1 nonsense answer), students can be routed to different follow-up tasks after each question they respond to:

• A correct answer may route students to a follow-up task that extends their learning to the next topic, or deeper into the one they’re studying.
• A close answer may route students back to a text or resource, asking some comprehension questions along the way to help students discover their error.
• The opposite and nonsense answers can have similar structures, based on why students may be misunderstanding the content.

Using these Google Forms features is a great way for educators to create original curricular materials that blend instruction and assessment into a seamless experience for students. 

---

Low-tech: there's an app for that!

Not everyone is up for building a differentiated task from nothing, and that’s okay — there are plenty of existing apps we can use that already have some of the basics set up for us:

• Kahoot: a simple app that can help you create your own quizzes, and hold both synchronous and asynchronous learning experiences for students. Based on student performance within the app, we can offer follow-up tasks. 
• Poll Everywhere: this app allows teachers to integrate polls and other types of interactive features directly into documents or slideshows through PowerPoint or Google. They’re currently offering a free 90-day use for educators who are dealing with COVID-19. 
• Quizlet: a highly-rated app that provides data on how students are connecting with content. Quizlet lets teachers design their own content, but it also offers built-in content in Arts & Humanities, Languages, Math, Science, Social Science, and other subjects. This app allows teachers to not only see what their students answer, but how they answered, and when they revised their answers.

These apps and others like them allow teachers to use existing platforms as a way to gather critical data about student performance. 

---

No-tech: phone & paper

Distance learning without immediate and on-demand access to technology is extremely challenging in any circumstance, but especially amid a global health crisis. Students and families who don’t have access to technology are also those most likely to be vulnerable to housing, food, or health insecurity, and it’s in times like these that an equitable education is most at issue.

While it might be less fancy, using data to inform your instruction is not less possible when working without on-demand access to technology. Here are a few no-tech solutions that can get us through these difficult times without sacrificing the importance of data-informed instruction:

• Formative assessments via email: Conducting formative quizzes or reflections via email is a great way to connect with students and receive feedback in response to their submission. Understanding that students may not be able to check their email on demand, we can be flexible about deadlines and work around students’ schedules and availability. If working within a community where many students do have access to on-demand technology, providing individualized instruction to the few students who don’t have access can be one method for ensuring those students are able to keep their learning on track. 

 

• Connecting via phone: If students don’t have access to email, and/or most of the school community does not have on-demand access to the basics (1 hour of time on an internet-connected device), there are two ways of moving forward with instruction — phone and paper. Phone calls can be an effective way to reach students who don’t have a web-enabled device, but maybe have a cell phone or a landline. Using a service like Free Conference Call, or making individual calls to students, we can have real-time conversations with students about their assignments. We can conduct live, formative assessments over the phone, and customize assignments for students based on our discussions.

 

• Utilizing paper: Paper is the ultimate no-tech option. Preparing instruction through printed packets can still provide an entry point to differentiation. By considering the different potential barriers to comprehension, we can anticipate how students may get confused and build in tasks that assess students throughout each activity and provide instruction based on their progress. For example, a packet might include a “test your knowledge” section for students to assess their comprehension. Building from the hinge-point question concept, the next directions would instruct students to complete specific tasks based on their answer to the self assessment (e.g. if you answered A, complete task A. If you answered B, complete task B, etc.).

---

Whether or not we’re with our students in person, it’s still within our reach to provide targeted instruction. When our lessons are thoughtfully designed and informed by student data, we can offer differentiated instruction at every level of technology access. 

DESIGNING BLENDED INSTRUCTION

DIFFERENTIATING LIKE A STAR

DIVERSIFYING READING