Differentiation is another education buzz-word that can leave everyone feeling overwhelmed. It’s understandable- I remember wondering how I was supposed to make specific and intentional plans for every level of student in my classes, and then feeling so overwhelmed I shut down and didn’t make any adjustments at all. In this blog, I’ll review a few simple ways you can use Edcite’s Dynamic Report to make small adjustments to plans that lead to impactful differentiation. There are over ten different strategies listed, but Rome was not built in a day! Take your time with the list, testing 1-2 strategies at a time, seeing what works for you and your students.
- Differentiate by Class: In the example above, it’s easy to see that there are varying levels of mastery across class periods. Below are some simple examples of how teachers can differentiate for higher or lower performing classes, based on what you see in your Dynamic Report for each class period.
| Classes with Higher Student Mastery | Classes with Lower Student Mastery |
| Additional Enrichment Questions: Use Edcite’s content banks to find ACT aligned material, or questions from upcoming units to challenge students.Increase your Pace: Can these classes finish lessons faster? Play around with your pacing to see! Increase Independent Study: It’s likely these students need less material taught directly from the teacher- see what they can puzzle out on their own! | Re-teach low data: Plan re-teaches for the content with more direct teacher modeling.Decrease your Pace: Can you cut repetitive questions from student practice to ensure quality over quantity?Ask for support: Is there a co-teacher, instructional coach, or partner teacher that can come in and support during this class period? |
- Differentiate by Performance Band: In the Dynamic Report, you can easily filter the data to look at one performance band at a time, and create groups for each band. This allows you to easily differentiate your instruction by performance band. Here are some ideas for how to differentiate by student group both during and outside of class time!
| Differentiate During Class | Differentiate Outside of Class |
| Small groups: Use the performance band groups you’ve created in Edcite to call specific students to a small group, while other students finish independent work. Academic Monitoring: Keep your performance band group lists on your clipboard and pick one group a day to “check on” more consistently. Each time you release students to work independently, give feedback to that group of students. Seating Charts- use your performance band groups to create intentional seating. | Tutorials- invite students to tutorials based on your performance band groups. Use Edcite’s content banks to find additional practice that aligns to their needs!Tutors- Invite students from the top performance bands to be tutors. You can use tutorial time to pre-teach the content to them, and then tutors support others during the whole-group lesson. Family Communication: Use the performance band groups to call parents and: celebrate growth and share specific skills they can support their child with. |
Whether you choose to differentiate instruction across class periods or by performance band, keep in mind that while every little bit helps, a healthy and happy teacher is the building block for a great classroom. Choosing 1-2 differentiation strategies that match your personality and the needs of your student is the best way to ensure differentiation doesn’t become a stressful buzzword!
For more information on running the Dynamic Report, click here!
Note: The Dynamic Report is a premium Edcite Schools feature. If you’d like to learn more about Edcite Schools, our premium platform for schools and districts, click here.
About the Author
Kat Strickland Rodriguez joined TFA in 2008 and worked in her placement district in the Rio Grande Valley for the next twelve years. She taught ELA before becoming an Assistant Principal of Instruction, and then earned her masters in Leadership from Columbia Teachers College before founding IDEA Harlingen College Prep in 2020. Kat transitioned to the Edcite team in 2024 and is passionate about serving educators with access to quality assessments and analytics that help adults make informed decisions so kids can excel!
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