Project-Based Learning (PBL) naturally lends itself to differentiated instruction. By design, it is student-centered, student-driven and gives space for teachers to meet the needs of students in a variety of ways. PBL can allow for effective differentiation in assessment as well as daily management and instruction. PBL experts will tell you this, but I often hear teachers ask for real examples, specifics to help them contextualize what it “looks like” in the classroom. In fact, the inspiration for this blog came specifically from requests on Twitter! We all need to try out specific ideas and strategies to get our brains working in a different context. Here are some specific differentiation strategies to use during a PBL project.

1) Differentiate Through Teams
We all know that heterogeneous grouping works, but sometimes homogenous grouping can be an effective way to differentiate in a project. Sometimes in a novel- or literature-based PBL project, it might be appropriate to differentiate by grouping into reading level. That way, I can take groups that need intensive work and ensure they are getting the instruction they need. Pick appropriate times to break your class into teams to create a structure for differentiated instruction.

2) Reflection and Goal Setting
Reflection is an essential component of PBL. Throughout the project, students should be reflecting on their work and setting goals for further learning. This is a great opportunity for them to set personalized learning goals and for you to target instruction specific to the goals they set.

3) Mini-Lessons
This is probably one of my favorites. In addition to being a great management strategy to prevent “time sucks” in class, mini-lessons are a great way to differentiate instruction. Perhaps you “offer” mini-lessons to support your students’ learning. After reflection and goal setting, this is a great way to have them connect their goals to specific mini-lessons. Not all students may need the mini-lesson, so you can offer or demand it for the students who will really benefit.

4) Voice and Choice in Products
Another essential component of PBL is student voice and choice, both in terms of what students produce and how they use their time. Specifically to products, you can utilize multiple intelligences to create summative assessments or products that allow students to show what they know in a variety of ways. From written components to artistic or theatrical, you can differentiate the way students are summatively assessed. Again, it all depends on the standards you are assessing, but don’t let standards confine your thinking. Yes, you may have a written component if you’re assessing writing, but ask yourself, “How can I allow for voice and choice here?” Embrace possibilities for differentiated student summative products.

5) Differentiate Through Formative Assessments
Formative assessments can look the same for all students. They can also look different. We know that students can show what they’ve learned in different ways, as mentioned above in terms of products produced as summative assessment. In addition, as you check for understanding along the way, you can formatively assess in different ways when appropriate. Perhaps you are targeting collaboration as your 21st century skill in the project. You can differentiate a formative assessment of this through a variety of ways. Perhaps it’s an oral conference. Perhaps it’s a series of written responses. Perhaps it is a graphic organizer or collage.

6) Balance Teamwork and Individual Work
Teamwork and collaboration occurs regularly in a PBL project. We want to leverage collaboration as much as content. However, there are times when individual instruction and practice may be needed. Students learn in teams, and they learn on their own. Make sure to balance both, so that you are demanding a 21st century collaborative environment while allowing time to meet students on an individual basis. Often you can read the room during collaborative work time and work with students individually, but sometimes it is necessary to “take a break” from teamwork. You need to differentiate the learning environment because some students learn better on their own, and others learn better in a team.

As you master the PBL process in your classroom, you will intuitively find ways to differentiate instruction for your students. You will design the project to scaffold content and skills in a variety of ways. You will create formative and summative assessments to allow for multiple intelligences, and you will manage the process so that it allows you meet students where they are and move them forward.

Please share some of your successful strategies with us!

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I know many teachers use graphic novels and comics in the classroom. There are amazing books on the subject that include useful tools on how to effectively implement these resources for learning. The main thing teachers need to consider is purpose. I know, we love books and tools, but just like with technology, sometimes we get wrapped up in the tool instead of first thinking about the purpose. Here are some specific strategies to ponder as you select a graphic novel or comic to read, or as you consider how students might create their own. Thinking about them will help you focus your purpose in your instruction. All of them are useful, as long as the purpose is clear to the teacher and the learner.

1) A Tool to Differentiate Instruction
Graphic novels and comics can be a great way to differentiate instruction for learners in terms of reading and also in terms of assessment. Perhaps you want to offer your students a graphic novel to support their reading of a chapter in a rigorous text. If this text is a classic, there are many graphic novel adaptations of classics out there. Maybe you’re doing a project-based learning (PBL) project where you want to provide voice and choice for the student assessment. Students might be choosing between a letter, comic or podcast to answer a driving question, such as: how can we debunk myths and stereotypes about world religions?

2) Build Critical Reading Skills
Reading standards around Higher Order Thinking Skills (HOTS) can be built through the complex analysis and evaluation of graphic novels and comics. Have students look at how the authors and illustrators use colors, textures, words, text boxes, frames and camera angles; then make connections between these elements and evaluated their effectiveness.

3) Assess Student Learning
PBL calls for the creation of authentic products that are useful and credible to the group. You can have students create comics or graphic novels, or components of them, as a useful formative assessment tool to check for understanding of important content. If used as a summative assessment, the comic could be made to combat bullying, such as the suggestion Suzie Boss made in an earlier post. Make the graphic novel or comic a product that students create to meet a need. Don’t just make it a regurgitation of knowledge. Instead, give it an authentic purpose.

4) Study the Genre Itself
Scott McCloud, in his book Understanding Comics, asserts the legitimacy and complexity of comics and graphic novels as a genre. Pairing selections from his work with a graphic novel or comic can provide interesting discussion and inquiry into the elements of the genre itself. Genre study is an easy way to utilize literature circle groups and instructional lessons, where students get to pick from a variety of options.

5) Examine Literary Elements
In addition to traditional literary elements like symbol, character and plot, graphic novels take these elements and modify them, where characters become heroes and villains, where symbols are actually drawn and created. Consider this clip from the movie “Unbreakable,” where the “normal” arch villain and hero confront each other, not in a fantasy, but in real life.

There are many other purposes for graphic novels in the classroom, from looking at different cultures and backgrounds to utilizing technology in authentic ways. Just make sure you select the graphic novel or comic with a clear purpose in mind. Perhaps you have multiple purposes, as there are many instructionally sound purposes out there.

I will leave you with some favorite graphic novels and comics that I’ve used in my classroom! Trust me, I have read plenty more than this list!

Persepolis, a memoir of a girl growing up during the Islamic revolution in Iran, was recently made into a motion picture.
Maus, a top favorite for many, explores themes of the Holocaust through a memoir characterized by mice and cats.
American Born Chinese is the tale of three characters: Jin Wang, the only Chinese-American in the neighborhood; Chin-Kee, the ultimate Chinese stereotype; and the Monkey King, ancient fable character.
X-Men Annual #4 – Uncanny X-Men Volume #3 In this issue, the X-men travel into Dante’s Inferno.
What are your favorites and what are you favorite purposes?

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