Differentiation Planning Criteria Checklist

Authors John McCarthy

Plaintext

Differentiation Planning Criteria Checklist (Click here to make a copy)

https://tinyurl.com/difchecklist
The purpose of this form is a reflective planning checklist. It includes all the elements when doing Intentional
planning for Differentiation of lessons for learner experiences.

Practice 1) As a checklist (✓), mark off each row as you produce the related content in the planning
documents you currently use. Checking off a box signals that the related file can be pulled that includes all the
related and specific details.

Practice 2) As a Reflective Planning checklist (✓), complete the Description space with all related and
specific details. The Description work empowers teachers to share their thinking with others for reflective
conversation and constructive feedback, leading to professional growth.

The Planning Overview is required to complete for any qualitative reflective conversations and/or sharing of the
work.

Planning Steps:
When designing differentiation into lesson activities, follow these steps to ensure a careful consideration of
learner access needs based on the requirements of curriculum. Differentiation should occur in the Process or
Product sections. It can happen in both. Use this Companion article as guidance for completing these steps.

Content
1. Review the content and level of expected learning required.
2. Identify learner opportunities and challenges that need consideration when modifying or revising the
lesson activities. This is influenced by learner access data regarding: Readiness, Interests, and/or
Learning Preferences.
Process
3. Design lesson activities that meet content learning expectations and learner access areas
(Readiness, Interests, and/or Learning Preferences)
4. Review the lesson activities (or lesson collection) for addressing learner needs and revise where
necessary.
Products
5. Craft or choose an artifact, assessment, or action that collects data on learner achievement(s) or
gaps(s) based on the lesson experience.
6. Evaluate and revise the product for assessment fog before implementing.
7. Products should reflect one or more learner access area: Readiness, Interests, and/or Learning
Preferences
Reflection
8. Review the lesson experience for strengths and opportunities for improvement based on the learner
experience.
9. Get feedback from students and professional colleagues.

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.
CC: John McCarthy, Ed.S., Opening Paths 2019-21 to present jmccarthy@openingpaths.org -
Author of: So All Can Learn: A Practical Guide to Differentiation - http://openingpaths.org/ - @JMcCarthyEdS Twitter
Resources for Differentiation: Practical and Conceptual

Planning Sections: Top | Content | Process | Product | Resources

Content Planning Considerations:
➢ Review the content and level of expected learning required.
➢ Identify the combination of Learner Access needed based on data: Readiness, Interests, and/or
Learning Preferences.

Content Steps ✓ Description

Lesson Topic

Key Learning Outcome(s)

Main Assessment

What are the knowledge, skills, and/or concepts that learners must level up by the end of the lesson or
learning experience?

List the key skills and facts that students
must acquire.

What challenges and opportunities do learners bring to the experience, based on assessments and
learner access data (Readiness, Interests, and/or Learning Preferences)?

Opportunities
What skills and/or life experiences do
students bring to support the content?

Challenges
What skill gaps and/or lack of background
knowledge makes difficult learning the
content?

Optional: Teacher Gifts:
What life experiences do you or a contact
bring to enhance the learner experience of
the content.

Process Planning Considerations
➢ Design activities that meet content learning expectations and learner access areas (Readiness,
Interests, and/or Learning Preferences)
➢ Review the lesson (or lesson collection) for addressing learner needs and revise where necessary

Process Steps ✓ Description

From the Content section, copy and paste the
list of skills and knowledge learners must
acquire.

List the activities that students will do to build
knowledge and/or practice skills listed above.

What activities, groupings, and/or personalized supports will best support learner access to the
instructional focus? Complete at least one section below for addressing Learner Access elements:
readiness, interests, and/or learning preferences.
Keep in consideration the challenges and opportunities listed in the Content section.

Identify activities that can be modified for
Readiness based on:
Tiering, Leveling, or Compacting

Choose one or more activities from the list and
modify it for Readiness.

Identify activities that can be revised to include
Interests needs based on:
Authenticity, Choice, or Voice

Choose one or more activities from the list and
revise it for Interests.

Identify activities that can be revised to include
2-3+ Learning Preferences.

Choose one or more activities from the list and
revise it for Learning Preferences.

Product Planning Considerations
➢ Craft or choose an artifact, assessment, or action that collects data on learner achievement(s) or gaps(s) based
on the lesson experience.
➢ Evaluate and revise the product for assessment fog before implementing.
➢ Products should reflect one or more learner access area: Readiness, Interests, and/or Learning Preferences

Product Steps ✓ Description

From the Content section, copy and paste the
main assessment learners must complete.

From the Content section, copy and paste the
list of skills and knowledge learners must
acquire.

What types of products can students develop to show what they know and do not understand, based on the
learning outcomes?
● Keep in consideration the challenges and opportunities listed in the Content section.
● Complete at least one of the following sections or create one product that includes 2 or more Learner
Access elements.
● Identify and eliminate any potential assessment fog that exists.

Readiness: Describe a product that can be
modified based on:
Tiering, Leveling, or Compacting

Design the product to support learner
Readiness. Add supports that help students
access and/or communicate learning.

Interests: Describe a product that can be
revised to include choices based on shared
interests.

Design the product described to support
learner Interests.

Learning Preferences: Describe a product
that can be revised to include 2-3+
contexts/modalities for ALL students to
experience.

Design the product described to support
Learning Preferences.