Differentiating the High School Classroom: Solution Strategies for 18 Common Obstacles

"Places all of a teacher′s concerns on the table, and whittles them away with classroom strategies."
-Toby Karten, Educational Consultant

"The ideas in this book will be useful for years to come."
-William Fitzhugh, Teacher, Reisterstown Elementary School, MD

"In the good old days, we didn′t have to differentiate."

If this is how you feel about differentiated instruction (DI), you are not alone. Although research shows that DI maximizes learning and neural development, teachers still struggle with its challenges, especially in the high school classroom. Applying her unique expertise as a researcher, teacher, trainer, and parent, Kathie F. Nunley provides practical and supportive solutions to the real obstacles teachers face in mixed ability high school classrooms.

Each chapter lists an obstacle-"I have too much content to cover," or "I can′t grade all those different assignments," or "I thought I was differentiating"-and then provides:

• A discussion of the pedagogical and curriculum issues
• Ready-to-use solution strategies
• Examples and scenarios showing the strategies in action
• Practice assignments

Written with common sense, wisdom, and humor, this easy-to-navigate guide is a must-have resource for all high school teachers and instructional leaders committed to the benefits of differentiated instruction for high school learners.

Kathie F. Nunley delights teachers from around the world with her practical solutions to the challenges of today’s diverse classrooms. With more than 15 years of high school classroom teaching experience in both urban and suburban schools, she is the developer of the Layered Curriculum method of instruction. Nunley is a noted speaker at state, national, and international conferences and has authored several books and articles on brain biology and teaching in the mixed-ability classroom.