Differentiated Instruction or DA - "Differentiated Assessment"

After reading Barry's post on Google Reader as an RSS feeder, I decided to check it out. I found it easy to use, as I too utilize Google for my bookmarks and as my homepage. So I wanted to see what other people (bloggers) were talikng about with regard to DI. One blog that I found timely and interesting was Teachers Using Technology. One subscriber discussed how he utilizes PowerPoint as a form of assessment in place of a traditional test. Unlike the typical use of PowerPoint to make a presentation on some topic, this teacher actually schedules time in the computer lab on test day and has students create a PowerPoint that illustrates what they have learned about a particular unit. The teacher asks a few open-ended questions to guide students as they create their PowerPoint. The students have one class period to create their presentation.

An important component of differentiated instruction (DI) is differentiating the assessment, giving students alternative methods (from the traditional paper pencil assessment) to show what they know. Students like to create PowerPoints. Since PowerPoint includes the note view, it could easily be used to include extended responses about a particular slide.

I am giving a plate tectonics test next week. I am going to utilize this teacher's idea and see what happens. More later...