1. Selecting Powerful Instructional Strategies
Professional Learning Facilitator’s Guide
Module Two: Preparing for responsive and differentiated
instruction and assessment
2. Session goals
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Understand the different categories and types of
instructional strategies.
Thoughtfully consider the criteria that could be used to
guide the selection of instructional strategies.
Select powerful instructional strategies to effectively
differentiate a lesson.
3. Launching the learning
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• What do you notice in the photo(s)?
• What is the purpose of the accommodation featured in the image?
• Who else might benefit from the accommodation?
4. Session overview
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How might I design and lead
instruction to support student
success?
Critical inquiry
question
Recommend powerful instructional
strategies that could be used to
support student success.
Challenge
By the end of this session,
educators will…
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Think of three instructional strategies from your grades and
subjects that effectively support the success of learners.
Launching the Learning
6. Examine powerful instructional strategies
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Key point
Instructional strategies are the techniques teachers use to help
students become independent and self-regulating learners. These
strategies can become thinking strategies when students
independently select and use appropriate strategies and use them
effectively. Instructional strategies can:
motivate students and help them focus attention
guide and encourage student interaction and participation
help students organize information
help students think through, understand, and use information
monitor and assess learning
7. www.tc2.ca
Which instructional strategies
might be the most powerful when
differentiating instruction for your
students?
Introducing a Thoughtbook
Key point
Thoughtbooks are an adaptation of
the devices long used by great thinkers
to record and iterate their thinking.
Thoughtbooks are used by learners to
sustain critical and creative thinking
about a question or task.
8. Examine powerful instructional strategies
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In which categories do your
instructional strategies belong?
• Setting objectives
• Surfacing prior knowledge
• Encouraging interaction and
participation
• Gathering and organizing
information
• Developing and
consolidating understanding
• Providing guidance
9. Examine powerful instructional strategies
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What other examples of instructional strategies in each category
can we think of?
10. Examine powerful instructional strategies
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A powerful instructional strategy:
Supports learning goals: The instructional strategy
complements the learning goals and the content and
competency objectives of the lesson plan. This includes ensuring
that instructional strategies maximize students’ interaction with
and understanding of content.
Maximizes student strengths: The instructional strategy
leverages or maximizes students’ learning preferences and
strengths (e.g., contexts, interests, readiness, and learning
preferences).
Which attributes or factors might have the greatest influence
on determining which instructional strategies are used?
11. Examine powerful instructional strategies
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A powerful instructional strategy (cont’d):
Supports student needs: The instructional strategy addresses
and supports students’ learning needs and goals.
Provides new information: The instructional strategy helps
reveal new information about students that could be used to
inform instruction or assessment.
Which attributes or factors might have the greatest influence
on determining which instructional strategies are used?
12. www.tc2.ca
Consider the students
• Suggest at least three powerful
instructional strategies that the
teacher might use to enhance
student learning in the
scenario.
• Remember to consider the
different types of instructional
strategies and the criteria when
making your decisions.
What instructional strategies
might the teacher use to enhance
student learning?
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Return to your Thoughtbook
Return to your Thoughtbook and your
initial ideas about which instructional
strategies might be the most powerful
when differentiating instruction for
their students.
• Which ideas would you keep?
• Which ideas might you change?
• Which ideas might you add?
15. www.tc2.ca
Consider the students
• Identify at least three powerful instructional strategies that
could be used to support your student in the selected lesson.
• Consider the different types of instructional strategies and
the criteria when making your suggestions.
What aspects of your selected or assigned lesson might present
challenges or obstacles for your assigned student?
17. www.tc2.ca
Return to your Thoughtbook
Return to your Thoughtbook and your
initial ideas about which instructional
strategies might be the most powerful
when differentiating instruction for
their students.
• Which ideas would you keep?
• Which ideas might you change?
• Which ideas might you add?
18. www.tc2.ca
How might the categories of instructional strategies and
criteria guide the selection of powerful instructional strategies
for your own teaching materials and students?
Reflect and discuss this with a partner.
Integrate the learning
19. Revisit the inquiry question and challenge
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How might I design and lead
instruction to support student
success?
Session critical
inquiry question
Recommend powerful instructional
strategies that could be used to
support student success.
Session challenge
By the end of this session,
educators will…
Overarching question: How might I most effectively prepare for
inclusive teaching and learning?
Overarching challenge: Suggest four practical and powerful
refinements to effectively differentiate a lesson or series of
lessons of your choice.
• Organize participants into pairs and display the Images (Materials 6) and prompt participants to reflect on the images. Invite them to suggest how the accommodations in the design of buildings and services might be used as a metaphor for the design of instruction in learning opportunities. Consider prompting their thinking by asking questions such as:
o What do you notice in the photo(s)?
o What is the purpose of the accommodation featured in the image?
o Who else might benefit from the accommodation?
• As participants share their thinking, briefly explain that the architectural changes
intended to support a specific group may benefit all users of a space or service; for example, a parent with a stroller, a person using a walker, or a package-laden delivery person could benefit from a ramp designed for people using wheelchairs. Similarly, all students in a class might benefit from an instructional strategy intended to meet the needs of a specific learner.
Explain to participants that the purpose of this session is to deepen understanding of how learning tasks and questions can be differentiated. Share the session inquiry question and challenge.
Invite groups to share their decisions and thinking with the whole group. Review each of the categories with the group, and encourage participants to note any additional examples in each category.
If participants have attended other Module Two sessions invite them to use Thoughtbooks started in those sessions. For more information on how Thoughtbooks can be used in individual sessions and throughout this module, please see page 3 of the Learning Launch.
If participants have worked through other sessions in this module, invite them to revisittheir Thoughtbooks. Otherwise, provide each participant with a copy of theThoughtbook (Materials 1). Invite participants to note their initial thoughts about whichinstructional strategies might be the most powerful when differentiating instruction fortheir students.
Organize participants into small groups (3-4 participants) and provide each participant with a copy of Instructional Strategies (Materials 7). After reviewing the categories of instructional strategies with the entire group, ask groups to categorize the instructional strategies from their chart paper (see section A of this lesson).
Invite groups to share their decisions and thinking with the whole group. Review each of the categories with the group, and encourage participants to note any additional examples in each category.
• Ask groups to decide which attributes or factors might have the greatest influence on determining which instructional strategies are used. As they share their ideas, codevelop or present the criteria for a powerful instructional strategy.
• Consider noting the criteria on a whiteboard or chart paper for use later in this lesson.
• Provide each group with a copy of Differentiating Instructional Strategies (Materials 8). Ask groups to read through the scenario, and to suggest at least three powerful instructional strategies that the teacher might use to enhance student learning. Encourage groups to consider the different types of instructional strategies and the criteria when making their decisions.
• Ask groups to decide which attributes or factors might have the greatest influence on determining which instructional strategies are used. As they share their ideas, codevelop or present the criteria for a powerful instructional strategy.
• Consider noting the criteria on a whiteboard or chart paper for use later in this lesson.
• Provide each group with a copy of Differentiating Instructional Strategies (Materials 8). Ask groups to read through the scenario, and to suggest at least three powerful instructional strategies that the teacher might use to enhance student learning. Encourage groups to consider the different types of instructional strategies and the criteria when making their decisions.
Guide participants’ attention back to the top half of their Thoughtbook page, and invite them to add to and refine their initial thoughts about which instructional strategies might be the most powerful when differentiating instruction for their students.
• Organize participants into small groups (3-4 individuals). Provide each participant with a copy of Selecting Powerful Instructional Strategies (Materials 9), and each group with the following (see the consideration above for options):
o for educators of elementary grades: a copy of the Sample Elementary Lesson Plans (Materials 2) and a copy of the Sample Elementary Class Profile (Materials 4).
o for educators of secondary grades: a copy of the Sample Secondary Lesson Plans (Materials 3) and a copy of the Sample Secondary Class Profile (Materials 5).
• Invite groups to select a student from their sample class profile (alternatively, consider assigning groups students from the sample class profiles). Prompt groups to note any important details about this student at the top of Selecting Powerful Instructional Strategies (Materials 9).
• Ask groups to note any aspects of their selected or assigned lesson that might present challenges or obstacles for their assigned student.
Guide participants’ attention back to the top half of their Thoughtbook page, and invite them to add to and refine their initial thoughts about which instructional strategies might be the most powerful when differentiating instruction for their students.
Invite participants to reflect and discuss with a partner how the categories of instructional strategies and criteria might guide the selection of powerful instructional strategies for their own teaching materials and students.
At this point in the session participants could be encouraged to select powerful instructional strategies that could be integrated into their own teaching and learning
materials. In addition to using the categories of instructional strategies and the criteria, participants might also be directed to refer to any relevant school or district initiatives or policies.
• Guide participants’ attention back to the inquiry question “How might I effectively differentiate learning tasks?” and to discuss their thinking with a partner.
• Ask participants to reflect on the overarching challenge for this module: “Suggest four practical and powerful refinements to effectively differentiate a lesson or series of lessons of your choice.” Invite participants to revisit their Thoughtbook, and to add or revise any of their thoughts from the beginning of this session.
