EDPROFST 608B: Learning and Teaching in New Zealand

Assessment Task 3: Effective differentiated planning and teaching

PART A: Differentiated Action Plan template
th
Complete prior to the workshop session on Friday 6 September.
Worth 10 marks
NOTE: Requires in-class attendance and participation.

Critical considerations before you draft your Action Plan below:

1. Decisions to be made
• Based on YOUR selected group of learners’ profiles, what are their strengths and learning needs?
• How can the CONTENT of your unit be differentiated to better meet your learners’ needs/abilities?
• How can the PROCESS of the unit be differentiated to better meet your learners’ needs/abilities?
• How can the PRODUCT be differentiated to better meet your learners’ needs/ abilities?
• How can the LEARNING ENVIRONMENT/ AFFECT be differentiated to better meet your learners’ needs/abilities?
2. Actions to be taken
• Now present an outline of your intended changes to any FOUR learning experiences within your series of lessons
plan. (ONE differentiated learning experience with a clear CONTENT focus, ONE with a clear PROCESS focus, and
so on.)
• Justify your adapted/new differentiated learning experience with links to theory/literature under each section below.

DIFFERENTIATED LEARNING EXPERIENCE 1 PEER FEEDBACK COMMENTS

FOCUS OF CHANGE Content

Before After

Content The relationship between Rātā me te Rākau (Rātā

asteroid and the extinction of and the Tree) • Relevant topic-they have opportunity
the dinosaur
to use their prior knowledge
Learning Reading, writing, visual art Social science, reading,
area drama, writing

DIFFERENTIATED LEARNING EXPERIENCE 1
JUSTIFICATION FOR CHANGE

the learning content is adjusted for the following reasons:

• Māori mythologies have been frequently mentioned by both teachers

and students during Matariki, which provides a good opportunity for
students to explore Māori culture and values.
• My target group of students show strong interests to mythologies
environment protection.
• To implement effective responsive pedagogy, educators are encouraged
to use “a wide range of information including what you know and are
still learning about the cultural content of your students”. (Berryman,
Lawrence, & Lamont, 2018, p. 8) The Māori mythology I have chosen
helps to build up cultural responsive relationships not only between me,
as a teacher, and students who have Māori cultural background, but also
among Māori students and their classmates who have not gained much
comprehension to Māori culture.
 • Discussing natural resource help children to “develop an appreciation
and understanding of the natural world (animal and plants)”. (Ministry
of Education , 2017)

DIFFERENTIATED LEARNING EXPERIENCE 2 PEER FEEDBACK COMMENTS

FOCUS OF CHANGE Process
Before After

Process Sort out information with Explore how people • Give students opportunity to get
graphic organisers and plan express their
writing with pictures and key appreciation to the engaged with the content by asking
words nature in different
them to explore the feelings and
cultural background and
act out the story about
thinking of the characters.
Rātā and the tree.

DIFFERENTIATED LEARNING EXPERIENCE 2 • Suggestion: peer teaching. Allowing

JUSTIFICATION FOR CHANGE
students who have the prior
The process of learning has been changed for the following reasons:
knowledge to teach the other, which
• All of my target group of students are able to comprehend the reading
materials very well and build up connections with their prior knowledge
and experience. They all learn effectively through hands-on activities. gets them more engaged in teaching
• Their attention spans are shorter than the average. They often fail to
complete their graphic organisers on time even though they are capable. and learning.
They are easily distracted when working independently.
• “Drama play is one of the central ways in which young children learn
about the world, about themselves and especially about human nature –
how and why they and other people behave the way they do. “ (O'Toole
& Dunn , 2002, p. 3)

DIFFERENTIATED LEARNING EXPERIENCE 3 PEER FEEDBACK COMMENTS

FOCUS OF CHANGE Product
Before After

Product Write a diary of a dinosaur Play: Rātā and the tree • hands-on activities make students
describing the day before he learn more than written tasks, which
dies caters the learning needs of students
DIFFERENTIATED LEARNING EXPERIENCE 3 well.
JUSTIFICATION FOR CHANGE

The product of learning has been changed for the following reasons:

• my target students show little interest and motivation towards learning

through graphic organisers.
• They are all expressive and outgoing.
• Current thinking defines literacy as the ability to encode and decode the
diverse and constantly changing symbol systems that we confront
everyday. Drama is a discipline that is very well placed to support and
extend all these vital areas. (O'toole & Dunn, 2002, p. 32)
 • By exploring the emotions, behaviors, dialogs of the characters and
preform the story, student are more likely to gain a comprehensive
understanding of the characters and the values behind the story.

DIFFERENTIATED LEARNING EXPERIENCE 4 PEER FEEDBACK COMMENTS

FOCUS OF CHANGE Learning Environment/Affect
Before After

Learning Students finish reading Students visualise a series
environment materials and sort out the of scenes in the story, Great to use activities and a theme that children can
key information using explore the emotion, relate too (prior knowledge). When children have prior
graphic organizers behaviours, and dialogues knowledge on a topic they tend to be more interested
individually. among the characters and and develop that knowledge further. Catered to the
group of learners by providing a practical exercise.
perform the whole story
collaboratively.

DIFFERENTIATED LEARNING EXPERIENCE 4

JUSTIFICATION FOR CHANGE

The learning environment of learning has been changed for the following reasons:

• As mentioned, students in my target group are not keen to learn from

written-down tasks. They often tried to procrastinate doing their
worksheets by all means or get distracted or mind-absent easily even
though they do have the ability and sufficient knowledge to complete the
worksheets.
• as my target students learn much more effectively in motions, providing
them a highly interactive learning environment will stimulate their
interest, encourage them to get engaged actively in the dramatic
situation, and take ownership of their learning. (O'toole & Dunn, 2002)

MARKING RUBRIC –PEER FEEDBACK GROUP TO DETERMINE MARK OUT OF 10

A+ A A- B+ B B- C+ C C- D+ D D-
9-10 8.5 8 7.5 7 6.5 6 5.5 5 4.5 4 0-
3.5

Key criteria:
• Effective, responsive differentiation of CONTENT, PROCESS, PRODUCT and LEARNING
ENVIRONMENT/AFFECT evident for FOUR selected learning experiences

• Justification comments clearly linked to theory/literature, and demonstrate CLEAR understanding of the
key role of EACH of the FOUR PRINCIPLES of effective differentiated teaching practice.

TOTAL MARK OUT OF 10. 10 /10

 Original Lesson Plan
Learning areas: guided reading, writing Class/group/level: Year 3, reading level Gold, level 2 Date: Duration: 20 minutes each session

Achievement objectives: selects and uses processing strategies and an increasing range of comprehension strategies with some understanding and confidence.

Attitudes/Values/Processes/Strands: innovation, inquiry and curiosity

Key Competencies/Skills: using language, symbols, and texts

session one
Learning Intentions:
(What will children need to learn &
achieve? Shared with children).
Session one
I can scan and locate information
using headings and subheadings.
Session Two
I can sort out information with graphic
organizer (HOT map).
Session Three
We are learning to plan the writing
using key words and pictures.
Learning Experiences: Assessment procedures:
(How will the children learn? Are there multiple opportunities to learn? Are learners able to make connections, (How will you tell if the learning outcomes
reflect on learning? Is there an opportunity for shared learning?) have been
achieved?)
Preparation: Success Criteria
 Poster of the Solar System (attachment 1) Session one
 Reading material (https://spaceplace.nasa.gov/asteroid/en/)  I am able to build up connections
 Modelling book between my prior knowledge and the
 Think board (attachment 2) learning content.
 When learning a new concept, I can
Learning Experience:
come up with sensible questions about
1. Warm-up by brainstorm: what’s in the space? Possible answers: earth, sun, moon, planets, satellite etc.
it.
2. Show a picture of the solar system: what can you see? (students are expected to be familiar with the eight
planets) What else do you see?  I have a basic understanding of the
3. Introduce the topic: today we are going to learn about the asteroid. When learning about a new concept of asteroid.
concept/topic/thing, what do you want to know about it? (what is it? How does it look like? what can we do with  I am able to scan and allocate the
it? Where can we find it? - defining words – write down questions in the modelling book) required information.
4. Introduce the reading material: article from NASA Science Space Place (for kids) about asteroid. Read the first 3  I am able to scan and identify the
paragraphs and find the answers of the following questions: required information.
i) What is asteroid?  I am able to organize information about
ii) How does it look like? a new concept with think board.
iii) Where is it from?
5. Listen to students reading one by one.
6. Any question about the text? Any unfamiliar vocabulary? [Orbit, asteroid belt (show picture if time allows)]
7. Reflection: discussion of the 3 questions, where did you find the information? Session Two
8. Check students’ finished think boards by the end of the day or the following day.
Follow-up Activity:  I am able to make sensible predictions
 sorting out the information you have found with the thinking board. based on my prior knowledge and a
 do researches about the last question that we didn’t mention: what’s the connection between asteroid and range of clues provided.
dinosaur?  I have a basic understanding of how
Assessment: asteroid caused the extinction of
dinosaur.
 oral: feedback in the reflection part
 I am able to make comparison between
 written: think board
two concepts using HOT map.
Session two
Preparation:
 video introducing the extinction of dinosaur Session Three
 modelling book
 HOT map (comparison)  I am able to re-tell and summarize the
Learning Experience: video and story they have watched and
1. Warm-up: what have you found out about the connections between the asteroid and dinosaur? (brainstorm) read.
2. Short video introducing how dinosaur extinct/die out:  I am able to visualize a scene of the
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dwiaRENOEko&t=12s story under the guidance of teacher.
pause at 1:43  I am able to build up emotional
3. what happened when the asteroid hit the earth? Making prediction (reading strategy) according to what you connection with the characters in the
have watched and your research. (sun was covered, gets cold, no plants, no food for dinosaurs) story.
4. why didn’t all the other animals die out after the asteroid hit the earth? How did they cope with the coldness and  I am able convert their emotions and
shortage of food? (brainstorm) imagination into key words, short
5. let’s find out by reading this story- The Asteroid sentences, and images.
6. do you find the answer? Why didn’t all the other animals die out? How did they cope with the coldness and
shortage of food?
Follow-up activity:
 compare dinosaur and the small animal Tor (character in the book), summarize their diet, size, habitat, breed
using the HOT map
Assessment:
 oral: feedback during class
 written: HOT map

Session three
Preparation
 video introducing the extinction of dinosaur (same with session two)
Learning Experience:
1. Warm-up: Play the short video about the extinction of the dinosaur again.
What do you see when the asteroid hit the earth? (smoke, clouds covered the sun) write down key words on
modelling book or whit broad
2. From the story we read in last session about dinosaur and the small animals like Tor, do you remember what
happened after the asteroid hit the earth? (climate, food, habitats)
3. Close your eyes and imagine you were there after the asteroid hit the earth, what do you see? (visualization)
 i) How do you feel? What color is the sky?
ii) What animal do you see? How are they doing?
iii) What color is the ground?
iv) Where are you just now?
v) Are you close to the spot where the asteroid hit the earth or not? If you do, what do you see?
vi) Record key words
4. Now imagine you are a dinosaur, what kind of dinosaur would you be? (write down your name, what do you eat,
and where do you sleep) how do you feel just now? Are you hungry? Are you lost? Are you looking for your family
and friends? write down one sentence about your feeling just now.
5. Divide a piece of paper for 4 equal shares. Draw four simple pictures describing the scenes that a dinosaur sees
after the asteroid hit the earth.
Assessment:
 Oral: feedback in class
 Written: key words, short sentences, and pictures

What Next
 Imagine you were a dinosaur and you experienced the asteroid hit the earth. Write a piece of diary
of what you will have seen and felt. Use the key words, sentences, and the pictures you drew as
resource.

 Differentiated Lesson Plan
Learning areas: social science, guided reading, drama Class/group/level: Year 3, reading level Gold, level 2 Date: Duration: 20 minutes each session

Achievement objectives: selects and uses processing strategies and an increasing range of comprehension strategies with some understanding and confidence.

Attitudes/Values/Processes/Strands: innovation, inquiry and curiosity

Key Competencies/Skills: using language, symbols, and texts

Learning Intentions:
(What will children need to learn & Preparation:
achieve? Shared with children).
Session One
We are going to learn why the Māori
show their respect and appreciation
to the nature.
Session Two
We are exploring the thoughts and
emotions of the character by decoding
his behaviors.
Session Three
We are exploring the thoughts and
emotions of the character by drama.
Learning Experiences: Assessment procedures:
(How will the children learn? Are there multiple opportunities to learn? Are learners able to make connections, (How will you tell if the learning outcomes
reflect on learning? Is there an opportunity for shared learning?) have been
achieved?)
session one (social studies)
Success Criteria
 Karakia (in English, see attachment 1) Session one
 Picture (attachment 2)  I am able to build up connections
 White boards and markers between my prior knowledge and the
learning content.
Learning Experience:  I know what is Karakia and purposes of
 Warm-up: (brainstorm) Today, we emphases the importance of respecting the nature and protect the doing Karakia
environment all the time. In the ancient times, people from different cultures show their respect to the nature  I understand what “gift” mean in the
in different methods. 5 mins content.
1. Pictures of ancient Chinese worship the nature and pray for rain and fresh water (prompt students’  By the end of the session, I am able to
ideas) present the Karakia with emotions of
2. What do people do the other culture? appreciation and respect.
3. What do Māori do the express their appreciation and respect to the nature?
4. Introduce Karakia (what do you know about Karakia? What is Karakia for? When and where you see
people do Karakia?)
 Introduce learning material: 1 min Session Two
We are going to read a piece of traditional Karakia. By the end of the session, I hope you can figure out why
the Māori create this piece of Karakia, and what are the possible circumstances to use it.  I understand the importance of nature
https://www.otago.ac.nz/maori/world/te-reo-maori/karakia-prayers/index.html in Māori culture.
 I am able to notice the change of Rātā’s
 Read the first 5 lines of the Karakia loud together. 1 min feelings in different stages and
 What are the “gifts” from “the sacred forests”, “the cultivated gardens”, “the sea”, and the “fresh waters”? understand the reason behind.
Write down an example of each in your white broad. 2 mins  I am able to immerse into the story
 Share ideas 3 mins physically and psychologically.
 Reflection: (record key words in the modelling book) 5 mins
1. Why is the food called “gifts”?
Session Three
2. Who is the giver of the “gifts”?
 I am able to identify and summarize
3. How do you feel when you receive gifts?
Rātā’s feeling in different stages of the
4. How do you think the Māori feel when they do the Karakia?
story.
 Do the Karakia once again. Imagine you are one of the Māori who receive a gift of the nature. (quick or slow?
 Body language? Under what circumstance do you do the Karakia?) 3 min  I am able to view the story from more
than one perspectives (Rātā and the
creatures).
Follow-up Activity:  I am able to identify the author’s
 (critical thinking) we pay for food today, why should we still show respect to the nature and the resources message and the value behind the
provided? story.
Assessment:
 verbal and non-verbal: feedback during the session; performance before and after discussing the meanings
behind the Karakia.
 Written: key words on the white boards

Session two (guided reading)

Preparation:
 white boards and markers
 reading material: Rātā and the tree
 modelling book
Learning Experience:
 Warm-up: in previous session, through a piece of Karakia, we had a taste of the emotions of the Māori people
towards the nature. Brainstorm the emotions and record key words on the white board. 2 mins
 Introduce the reading material: Rātā and the tree: a mythology about Rātā and the nature. 1 min
 Read page 18-19 silently. Brainstorm: how did Rātā feel when he realized that he had to save all his people? 3
mins
 Students and teachers stand as a circle. Teacher leads students to act out Rātā’s behaviors while reading the
story loud. (page 20-21) 4 mins
1. … growing more and more weary… [searching and wiping sweats]
2. he saw it – the perfect tree! [how did he feel now? Facial expression?]
3. Thwack! Thwack! Thwack! [cutting so hard]
 Reflection: 2 mins
1. what was Rātā doing? (making a waka to save his people)
2. Is he doing the right thing?
 Read the first paragraph of page 22. 1 min
 The circle of thoughts: sit as a circle, close your eyes, and think about how Rātā was thinking when he found
out that the tree grows back? Invite students to say one sentence in Rātā’s tone expressing Rātā’s confusions
and curiosity. 2 mins
  Reflection: 5 mins
1. How did Rātā’s feeling change from the beginning of the story until he found out the tree grows
back?
Worry/nervous/ambitious-worry/happy/excited (found the tree)-confident (cut down the tree)-
confused/angry (tree grew back)
Follow-up activity:
 Finish the story
 How did Rātā’s feeling changes in the second half of the story? Identify and summarize key words
Assessment:
 Verbal and non-verbal: feedback during the session (Rātā’s behaviors and feelings)
 Follow-up activity: identify and summarize key words (Rātā’s feelings)

Session three (drama)

Preparation:
 Modelling book
Learning Experience:
 Warm-up: review Rātā’s feelings 2mins
 when he found out he needed to save his people
 when he was searching in the forests
 when he found the perfect tree
 when he finally cut it down
 when the tree grew back
 When Rātā cut the tree down without showing any respect to it before, how did all the birds and insects feel?
Circle of thoughts: sit in circle, close eyes and imagine you were one of the creatures there. What would you
say? [e.g. Rātā didn’t show respect! How dare he! He didn’t do the right thing! We can’t let it go!]
Each student say one sentence a creature would say by turns. Go through the circle 2-3 times (with different
sentence) 6 mins
 (Switch scene) When Rātā was told that he didn’t show respect to the nature and the tree, how did he feel?
Identify adjectives in the reading materials. (shocked, embarrassed) 2 mins
 Reflection: 2 mins
 If you were one of the creatures, would you forgive Rātā? Why?
 Do you think whether Rātā has realized his mistake?
 Would you help Rātā after he apologizes and does the right thing?
 If Rātā is here, do you have any question to ask him? Hot seat: invite one student to be Rātā. The rest will be
 creatures to interview “Rātā”. (guide students to ask topic-relevant questions) 5 mins
[1. Have you learnt your lesson? What is it?
2. How will you carry the tree back?
3. What do you need to tree for?]
shake off the characters from students after hot seat.
 Reflection 3 mins
 What lesson has Rātā learnt?
 Why should he show respect to the natural resources?
 (questions from previous session) Today, we pay for food, water, and other natural resources, does
that mean we don’t need to show respect and appreciation to the nature?
Follow-up Activity:
Present the story to the whole class as a team.
Assessment:
 feedback during the session (warm-up, circle of thoughts, hot seat, and reflection)
 drama performance
What Next
 Explore the relationship between human beings and the nature today. How do we show respect
and appreciation to the nature today?
 Explore the relationship between emotions and body language.

 Introduction

Teachers in New Zealand are expected to endorse and enhance the inclusiveness of

class to cater to the learning needs of all learners, regardless of their learning readiness,

abilities, strengths, personal interests, and cultural background. (Education Council,

2017) Learners sharing one classroom do not learn the same content, at the same time,

in the same approach, which makes it impossible for teachers to apply a “one-size-fits-

all” pedagogy. Therefore, the differentiated classroom is demanded to reach out

productively to learners with a wide range of diversity in one classroom. (Tomlinson,

2014) Differentiation refers to distinguishing learning from learner to learner and

creating a responsive learning environment according to the uniqueness of learners.

(Moltzen, 2011)

This essay will justify the action plan for effective differentiated planning and teaching,

in which the original selected lesson plan will be differentiated in the aspects of the

learning content, learning process, product, and learning environment, for catering to

the learning needs of a specific group of target students.

The Target Students

The target learning group consists of eight students who share the similarity in terms of

personal interests, personality, strengths, and reading level. They share the same

curriculum reading level at two and similar Ready to Read level at purple and gold.

Assessment data is collected and thoughtfully used as the guidance of differentiated

learning. Based on daily observation, feedbacks from students themselves, and my

Associate Teacher, the target students show enthusiasm for mythology and legendary

from a wide range of cultures. They are motivated to read materials they consider

enjoyable, and are able to reach comprehensive understanding when reading with

concentration. In addition, they are outgoing and confident learners who are not shy

about expressing themselves in public.

Furthermore, the fact that the attention span of these students are slightly shorter than

the average is another reason for allocating them in the same group. To be specific,

these target students are not very motivated to learn through written-down tasks, such

as sorting out information with graphic organizers. The written tasks they presented

were often uncompleted or below their learning ability. Even though these students do

have the capacities of comprehending the reading materials, their performance does not

always match their capacities due to the psychological absence in times.

The Differentiated Lesson Plan

As one of the key characters of the differentiated classroom, learning content, process,

products, and the learning environment are expected to be modified by teachers to

effectively respond to the "readiness, interest, and learning profile" of students.

(Tomlinson, The Differentiated Classroom: Responding to the Needs of All Learners,

2014) As the fundamental philosophy of differentiation is “recognizing and responding

to students’ varied needs” (Strickland, 2007), it is critical to identify the uniqueness of

each student and their learning needs. Students' data regarding their reading levels and
abilities, personal interests, and preferred learning approaches were collected through

assessment, daily observation, feedbacks from students themselves, and my Associated

Teacher, and were used as the guidance of the modification of the differentiated lesson

plan.

Learning Content

Readiness refers to “students’ entry point relative to particular knowledge,

understanding, or skills” (Tomlinson, The Differentiated Classroom: Responding to the

Needs of All Learners, 2014). Students with less developed readiness can only move

on after the gap between their present understanding, and the new knowledge is

identified and made up. (Tomlinson, 2014) In this case, none of the students in my

target group has Māori cultural background, or any other distinctive religious

background, which makes it critical to help them identify the importance of nature in

some cultures, especially Māori cultures, and people show their respect and

appreciation to nature through the specific ceremony. Therefore, the English version of

Karakia used in the first session was selected to get students ready for the story of Rātā

in the following two sessions.

The priority in the selection of learning content is students' interest and reading level.

This is because appropriate texts are more likely to maximize students' self-motivation

and engagement. (Ministry of Education, 2005) As mentioned, one of the reasons that
these eight students were allocated to the same group is that they are all appealed by

mythology and legend stories. Compared with the original learning content, asteroid

and dinosaur, the story Rātā and the tree excerpted from the Junior Journal 57 (the New

Zealand Curriculum Level 2; reading year level year 3) is a better match of the interest

and curiosity of these students.

The differentiated learning content, Rātā and the tree, not only align with students'

curiosity and passion well but also provides the opportunities of cross-curricular

learning. The New Zealand Curriculum (Ministry of Education , 2007) “acknowledges

the principles of the Treaty of Waitangi”, partnership, protection, and participation,

“and the bicultural foundations of Aotearoa New Zealand.” (Ministry of Education ,

2007) Therefore, all students are eligible to the opportunity of assessing knowledge of

te reo Māori me ōna tikanga. (Ministry of Education , 2007) Rātā and the tree, as one

of the well-known handed-down Māori mythologies, provides students an opportunity

to access to the Māori values behind the story and practice the pronunciation of te reo

Māori.

The climate of acceptance and support of diversity needs to be cultivated within

classrooms in which the cultural diversity has been ever-increasing. (Fraser, Moltzen,

& Ryba, 2005) Therefore, in addition to Māori culture, elements from other cultural

backgrounds were more than welcomed in the learning environment. For culturally

responding one of the target students with a Chinese background, in the differentiated
lesson plan, session one, a picture of ancient Chinese worshiping nature and praying

for rain was used as an example of cultural diversity.

Learning Process

Process refers to the learning experiences and activities designed by teachers for

cultivating and enhancing students’ ability of comprehension. Teachers’ comprehension

of students’ learning profile, “the ways in which learners learn” (Tomlinson, 2014), is

the foundation of designing the learning experiences and activities thoughtfully and

applying them sensibly. (Tomlinson, 2014)

As introduced, the attention span of the target students is relatively shorter than the rest

of the class, which makes it almost unrealistic for them to sit still with concentration

for more than approximately 5 to 8 minutes. Fortunately, they are practical learners who

understand effectively through motions and hands-on activities, when more sensory

experiences are involved. Therefore, the drama is selected as the primary pedagogy in

sessions two and three.

As an ideal approach of organizing cross-curricular learning, drama play, with

appropriate arrangement and management, can be one of the core ways in which

students “learn about the world, about themselves and especially about human nature-

how and why other people behave the way they do.” (O'Toole & Dunn, 2002) The

nature of drama play provides students the great opportunities to use their imagination

and creativity under the guidance of the teacher, develop the understanding about
contexts and characters, and communicate with their "audience." (Baldwin, 2012)

Therefore, in differentiated sessions two and three, students are encouraged to immerse

themselves in the context physically and psychologically.

Drama pedagogies such as the “hot seat” and the “circle of thoughts” were applied in

the differentiated sessions. The "circle of thoughts" is adapted by the classic drama

pedagogy "the corridor of thoughts" in which students stand in two columns face to

face, and express their ideas in the voice of a character while one student slowly

walking through the "corridor." The “corridor” is adapted to a “circle” considering the

size of the group. The “circle of thoughts” ensures that each student can be heard,

acknowledged, and supported. While all group members are contributing to their

understanding as a team, each student also has opportunities to learn from their peers.

Besides drama pedagogies, the SOLO Taxonomy runs through the differentiated

learning experience even though is not officially introduced to students. The altered

learning experiences follow the stages from Prestructural where students know a little

about the importance of expressing appreciation and respect to nature at the beginning

of the first session, to the Extended abstract by the end of the third session in which

students will be able to reflect, generalize, and perform what they have learned.

Learning Environment

The learning environment is considered as the key to student success. (Tomlinson,

2014) Therefore, it was differentiated thoughtfully with three following considerations.

Even though the target students usually learn with confidence, it is still essential to

ensure that they are provided with a secure learning environment where they are

“welcomed and valued” as who they are. (Tomlinson, 2014) Both success and failure

are accepted. Meanwhile, as the drama pedagogies mentioned above are new to some

group members, applying those pedagogies within a small group with similar-ability

members helps to establish a safe and supportive environment where each member of

the group is given opportunities to make a contribution without worrying being

threatened. (Ministry of Education , 2005) Moreover, to cater for the averagely shorter

attention span of these learners, a series of dynamic activities and interactions are

designed, allowing the target students to learn through motion and communication,

instead of merely reading and writing. By working as a team for comprehension

development, students are encouraged to work collaboratively not only with their peers

but also with the teacher. In addition, the differentiated learning environment enhances

physical and cultural inclusiveness. This is because drama playing requires the

participation of each member of the group. Each of them will be given opportunities to

be "at the center of an important piece of the action." (O'Toole & Dunn, 2002) The

discussion about cultural diversity in the first session encourages students to identify

and express the characteristics of their own cultures.

Product

Products are “vehicles” carrying and demonstrating the learning outcomes. (Tomlinson,

2014) In the differentiated lesson plan, the original product, writing a diary of a
dinosaur, was altered into presenting the story Rātā and the tree to the whole class for

the following reasons. For one thing, the results of previous assessments and the current

Ready to Read level of these students show that they can be considered advanced

learners. Presenting a story in drama, as a “complex, open-ended, abstract, and

multifaceted” (Tomlinson, 2014) product, involves exploring the relationships among

texts, oral and body languages, space, and the timeline, which requires advanced

learning skills. For example, illustrating the climax of the story accurately not only

requires students to understand how Rātā feels at the moment when he realizes that he

forgets to express his respect and appreciate it. Students are also expected to portray

Rātā's feelings with their original oral and body language, which can not be achieved

without involving personal experience, prior knowledge, and consistent thinking and

reflection. Therefore, compared with diary writing, the differentiated product matches

the target learners’ capabilities and provides reasonable challenges.

Assessment and Success Criteria

The characters of the differentiated learning process and product lead to diagnostic and

ongoing assessments. Instead of evaluating the learning outcomes through students'

writing, the teacher collects formative assessment data by observation and learners’

reflective feedbacks. Specifically, the process of going through the three significant

components of drama, the initial phase, the experiential phrase, and the reflective phase

which are not always necessarily take place in order, (O'Toole & Dunn, 2002)not only

builds up students’ understanding of the text, but also provides teacher the opportunities
to evaluate students’ learning stage by stage.

The success criteria for each session is designed based on the SOLO Taxonomy and its

declarative and functioning learning verbs. The target learners are expected to transit

from the prestructural stage to the multistructural one at session one, while the

following two sessions are designed to help students to develop their rational and

extended abstract understandings about the learning content. (Hook & Mills, 2011)

Conclusion

To conclude, the learning readiness, strengths, and learning profile of the group of target

students are distinguished from their peers. Their motivation, readiness, enthusiasm,

and learning ability require advanced, reflective, and multifaceted learning experience.

Their relatively short attention spans require a highly interactive and dynamic learning

process and assessments. Accordingly, differentiating learning by increasing the

enjoyment, dynamic, and challenge of the learning content, process, product,

environment, and assessment will effectively improve their learning engagement.

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