Content
Process
Product
Guidelines for Differentiating With Expert Groups and Sidebar Studies
Expert Groups
Sidebar Studies
Exercise 6.1
Questions for Teachers About Differentiating Instruction Based on Student Interest
Exercise 6.2
Activities for Differentiating Content, Process, and Product Based on Student Interest
7 Differentiating in Response to Student Learning Profile
The Aspects of Learning Profile
Learning Styles
Intelligence Preferences
Culture
Gender
Learning Profile: An Evolving Concept
What Neuroscience Research Says About Learning Profile
What a Learning Profile Should and Shouldn’t Mean
Some Guidelines for Differentiating in Response to Learning Profile
Differentiate Content, Process, and Product Based on Learning Profile
Content
Process
Product
Differentiate With Synthesis Groups and Thinking Caps
Synthesis Groups
Thinking Caps
An Additional Thought
Exercise 7.1
Questions for Teachers About Differentiating Instruction Based on Student Learning Profile
8 Managing a Differentiated Classroom
A Common View of Classroom Management
An Alternative View of Classroom Management
Eight Principles of Leading Students
Beginning to Lead
Helping Students Examine Their Learning Differences
Graphing Strengths
Trying It on for Size
Visiting the Doctor
Making Paper People
Helping Students Think About Differentiation
Some Guidelines for Managing a Differentiated Classroom
Use Anchor Activities
Consider Using Assigned or Home-Base Seats
Set Basic Parameters
Develop Methods for Assigning Students to Groups
Develop Methods for Giving Directions for Multiple Tasks
Develop Procedures for Students to Get Help When the Teacher Is Busy
Leading and Managing Successfully
Exercise 8.1
Some Guidelines to Ensure Effective Group Work
About the Authors
David A. Sousa, EdD, is an international consultant in educational neuroscience and author of more than a dozen books that suggest ways educators and parents can translate current brain research into strategies for improving learning. He has made presentations to more than two hundred thousand educators across the United States, Canada, Europe, Australia, New Zealand, and Asia. Dr. Sousa has taught senior high school science and served as a K–12 director of science and a district superintendent in New Jersey schools. He has been an adjunct professor of education at Seton Hall University and a visiting lecturer at Rutgers University.
Dr. Sousa is past president of the National Staff Development Council (now Learning Forward). He has received numerous awards, including the Distinguished Alumni Award and an honorary doctorate from Bridgewater State University and an honorary doctorate from Gratz College in Philadelphia. Dr. Sousa has been interviewed on the NBC Today show and by National Public Radio about his work with schools using brain research.
Dr. Sousa has edited science books and published dozens of articles in leading journals on staff development, science education, and educational research. His most popular books for educators include How the Brain Learns, Fifth Edition; How the Special Needs Brain Learns, Third Edition; How the Gifted Brain Learns, Second Edition; How the Brain Learns to Read, Second Edition; How the Brain Influences Behavior: Management Strategies for Every Classroom; How the Brain Learns Mathematics, Second Edition; The Leadership Brain: How to Lead Today’s Schools More Effectively; Engaging the Rewired Brain; and Mind, Brain, and Education: Neuroscience Implications for the Classroom. His books have been published in French, Spanish, Chinese, Arabic, Korean, and several other languages.
Dr. Sousa has a bachelor’s degree in chemistry from Bridgewater State University in Massachusetts, a master of arts in teaching degree in science from Harvard University, and a doctorate from Rutgers University. He makes his home in south Florida.
Carol Ann Tomlinson, EdD, is a faculty member at the University of Virginia’s Curry School of Education, where she is the William Clay Parrish Jr. Professor and chair of the Department of Education Leadership, Foundations and Policy. Dr. Tomlinson codirects the university’s Institutes on Academic Diversity. As a consultant and presenter, Dr. Tomlinson works with teachers throughout the United States and internationally to develop more responsive, heterogeneous classrooms. Her education experience includes twenty-one years as a public school teacher and twelve years as a program administrator of special services for struggling and advanced learners.
During her time in the public school classroom, Dr. Tomlinson was recognized by the state of Virginia as Teacher of the Year. She has focused on a number of critical issues throughout her career, including curriculum and instruction for struggling and advanced learners, effective instruction in heterogeneous settings, and encouragement of creative and critical thinking in the classroom.
She was named Outstanding Professor in the Curry School of Education in 2004 and received an All-University Teaching Award in 2008. In 2017, she ranked thirteenth in the Education Week Rick Hess Straight Up Edu-Scholar Public Influence Rankings of academics having the greatest impact