My reflection and analysis seem to suggest that small group activities and tiering, coupled with formative assessment, can be an effective approach to differentiating instruction throughout a whole class.  However, reflection also suggests that much of any tool’s power comes from how it is used.

As I planned my unit for the spring, I was aware that I would face certain logistical challenges.  Both weeks of my two-week integrated unit fell during PSSA testing weeks.  While academic classes were scheduled for each afternoon following testing, each class period would be shortened from the standard 70 minutes to between 35 and 45 minutes.  I could do nothing to change this, and attempted to plan accordingly.

However, I could not plan for the unexpected.  On three days, testing ran over the allotted time long enough that an entire period of instructional time was lost.  As the days and weeks of testing progressed, the students became more restless and disinterested in academic work.  When these realities and the unpredictable mutability of the class schedule during PSSA testing combined with my still developing classroom management skills, I struggled occasionally to get through the material/planned activities and maintain student focus.

The difficulties that I faced were management and behavior based.  

I did not expect that it would be so difficult to maintain focus and cooperation during my lessons.  Periodically, some students became distracted and went off task.  At these times I attempted to redirect and refocus the group by restating the expectations.  While the students seemed to respond to these efforts in the moment, the effect was short lived; I needed to pause repeatedly, which both reduced work time and detracted from the flow of the lesson.

This led to a challenge that I did not fully anticipated. 

But difficulties notwithstanding, the Alternative Assessment and (both) Design Challenges seem to have been successful means of differentiating instruction throughout a class.  For example, the direct (Artifact S1) and indirect (Artifact S3 ; Article S5 ) references to the lab stations and Quick Check students made while completing their Alternative Assessmentsseem to indicate that they made connections to the material throughout the week, and that at least some of it stuck with them.  Moreover, while these connections help to illustrate each of the student's individual understanding of the material, they may not have been evident on a traditional summative exit slip.

While I do not feel that I have fully answered my question, following my reflection and analysis I do believe that it would be beneficial to continue to explore it more deeply in the future.