Differentiation through Flexible Seating

The article “Optimal Seating Plans? Letting Your Students Choose”, by Emelina Minero, is a case study of a California high school that has embraced the idea and technology of flexible seating which has led to variety differentiation opportunities in their high school.

They have categorized four different seating arrangements that help kids make the decision of what seating arrangement will help them be the most successful. Each one of these seating arrangements has it’s own differentiation potential. Since it’s spring time now and a sense of trust and respect for the classroom as been grounded, and teachers have a clear picture of the needs of their students, this would be a really interesting next step to try this in a classroom.

Independent Work Time: This is a time when kids are not in need of collaboration and work solely by themselves. The teachers in this video and article have them facing a wall so that there is little to no distractions. This also signals to the teacher that this student has a plan and they are working to meet it. Individual desks or tables work well with this type of seating plan.

• Differentiation Potential: In this seating arrangement, students who are more self-directed learners can work by themselves to accomplish the learning target and success criteria. Many students prefer to work alone because it creates a more focused environment which makes them feel more successful. The teacher could easily come and peek over their shoulder to check in to provide feedback. 

Collaborative Work Time: Students are seated at the front of the room with room enough for 4-5 students to sit and work together. There are usually more than just one table so the collaborative groups aren’t so big that students get off task. These groups have a goal they want to achieve and work together to gain better perspective and understanding of the task. Small tables or a few desks pulled together to form a table would work well with this type of seating plan.

• Differentiation Potential: This seating arrangement is meant for those who work better in a more collaborative setting. Kids who need this type of seating benefit from bouncing ideas off of one another and to receive peer feedback. This is also easy for a teacher to monitor and to have quick check-in conversations with the group as they progress through the task. 

Mini-Lesson Work Time: This seating arrangement is usually one small group who would like some one on one time with the teacher to ask questions and practice a skill they have deemed they need help on. A teacher could also create this group based on assessment data they have received and now have an opportunity to work closely with them to ensure they are leaving the mini lesson with a better understanding and practice. A small table or a few desks pulled together to form table would work well for this type of seating.

• Differentiation Potential: This seating arrangement is most beneficial for kids who have been absent or have not shown growth on a particular standard. The teacher can provide a pre-teach or re-teach model and additional practice for those who need it. This could also be a check-in time for students who want or need a one on one conference with their teacher about their progress. 

Whole Group Work Time: Students in this configuration are usually facing one another in a large circle. This arrangement is great for whole class discussion, such as a Socratic Seminar. In the video a girl makes a comment that sometimes it's easier to understand a concept when you are able to make eye contact. Possibly not having any tables, but a circle of chairs would work well for this seating arrangement.

• Differentiation Potential: Students hearing other students ideas is one way for them to comprehend a concept or skill. This seating arrangement is also for those auditory and verbal students who learn best when they can share their thinking aloud. This is also a great opportunity for the teacher to identify and address misconceptions the class as a whole may have.

Even without the fancy tables, many teachers could make these types of seating arrangements in their classrooms. Might take some imagination, but kids might think it neat to come into a room that has been totally rearranged! Offering them the seating choice might also up their engagement level as the sun starts to make its way to the Pacific Northwest!

Scaffolding Complex Texts

Last week Bridget wrote about “under-scaffolding” and “over-scaffolding” a reading assignment for students. So, what are some things you can do to PERFECTLY scaffold a reading assignment?

Scaffolding takes time—for teachers and kids—and thus should be used primarily when you have a challenging text whose comprehension is essential to the content or skill development within your classroom. 

One strategy that teachers use frequently is to ask students to highlight the main ideas, but many of our students end up with a bright yellow handout, not knowing what is important to highlight.

This 1:40 video from Teaching Channel demonstrates how important it is to:         

•       Give students a reading purpose before they read. This may be in the form of a question, or may be asking them to read to find evidence for a statement, belief, argument, hypothesis, etc.
•           Ask students to highlight ONLY the specific words and phrases that address their reading purpose.
•      .    After the reading, include student talk, small- or large-group work to ensure that students have identified the key details to support their reading purpose, and then have them use that information in some way to validate the work they just did—sharing the information, using it for the next task, writing a paragraph, completing a graphic organizer, etc.

What else might you do?  Brooke and Bridget suggest:

• ·         Use a Close Reading Strategy.  SpringBoard, the grades 6-11 ELA curriculum, has just revamped its approach for 2017-2018, and it includes previewing the text, setting the purpose, having students do a first reading, and then providing a sequence of text-dependent questions for a second reading. This will deepen comprehension.·        
•        Have students read/highlight for only one question at a time.  This will really help to focus your less competent readers.·         
•        With multiple questions (probably no more than 3-4), you could give various colored highlighters, with students finding the best textual support/evidence for question #1 in yellow, question #2 in pink, etc.  The down side to this is that some of the text might be used to answer for multiple questions, and kids would be frustrated trying to use different highlighters on the same words/phrases.·         
•       Jigsaw the reading. Purposely give your struggling readers a question with easier-to-locate textual evidence, and your strongest readers a question demanding more inference.  Have each student share his/her best evidence while others in the group highlight or take notes in the text.   
•       After students read and highlight, ask them to number their pieces of evidence from 1-3, in best to worst, or most-likely-to-use to less-likely-to-use. This will help them to evaluate the evidence.·         
•        Encourage annotation EVERY time students read—writing questions, using symbols, drawing pictures, writing reactions in the text. This will keep them engaged and will help them to retain more information.