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OSCAR

Home Myths of Differentiated Instruction OSCAR
OSCAR reminds teachers of the places in the lesson where we should PAUSE – Look and Listen for student academic diversity that may impact learning.

Chapter 3 Resource:  Identify OSCAR in Lesson Plans from Bondie, R. & Zusho, A. (2018). Differentiated Instruction Made Practical. Routledge.

Instructional Objective:  Foster student self-regulated learning and identify parts of lesson plans that may need adjustments to fit learner needs.

An important step to adjusting instruction to meet the needs of all learners is to identify the consistent and adjustable parts of lesson plans. Once the parts are identified then you can consider the most efficient and effective ways to differentiate instruction. At the same time, these parts create a steering wheel for students helping them drive their own learning by fostering self-regulated learning.

 

 

Step 1: Annotate lesson plan to locate the Objective, Starting Position, Criteria, Actions, and Reflections

Step 2: Use the questions below to consider the clarity of each part for both you and your students as it is now written in your lesson plan.

 

Objective

·       How will students know what they are working towards?
·       How will you break down the goal into meaningful parts?

 Starting position

·       How will students recognize their prior knowledge?
·       How will you notice varying student positions?
Criteria

·       How will students use criteria to guide the quality of their work?
·       What is required of all students (Must Haves) and how could students go beyond (Amazing)?

 
Actions

·       What routines ensure student engagement and equitable discussions?

 

·       What will you be looking and listening for during the lesson? How many times is your role to look at listen during the lesson?

 Reflections

·       When will students return to their starting position to measure progress?

 

·       How will you use reflections to adjust instruction?

 

Step 3:  Revise the lesson plan to increase clarity in just one section. A useful starting place is to begin by articulating Criteria (Must Haves and Amazing).

Step 4:  Try Out the lesson plan with Students. Criteria for increasing OSCAR:

Must Haves – For at least one activity in the lesson plan, post criteria for Must Haves and Amazing. Direct students to use the criteria to monitor and reflect on their work. Post a picture of your criteria in our discussion area.

Amazing – Record student responses at least once during the lesson and return to reflect on the written response at least once.

Step 5:  Monitor how OSCAR impacts student learning. Look for these indicators:

  • Criteria identifies required qualities that are seen in student work.
  • Qualities make sense to students.
  • Students are using and seeking quality criteria to monitor their progress, reflect on accomplishments, and set goals.

Play Structure Explained

GOALS: Clear, Accessible, Rigorous, Relevant

  • What is the overall purpose of this activity/lesson?
  • Is it attainable by everyone? Is it interesting/useful/valuable? Is it challenging enough for everyone?

Starting Position

What are the different starting positions for students?

  • What knowledge, experiences and interests do students bring to this topic?
  • What questions do students have about this topic?
  • How familiar are students with the required vocabulary?
  • Do students hold misunderstandings that need to be changed?
  • Do students feel confident about the topic?
  • Why should students and the teacher be interested in this topic?
  • How does this topic fit into our understanding of the past, present, and relevance for the future?
  • Can we see the hardest part of the topic from our starting point?  Can we see more than one path to get beyond the hardest part to the destination or goal?

Action Pattern

What action steps, learning structures, and student groups will promote ALL students in feeling Autonomy, Belonging, Competence, and Meaningfulness in their learning?:

  • How do I ensure that all students are participating (and that there’s no social loafing?)
  • How can I make sure that students feel comfortable participating? (that they feel like they can participate)
  • How can I promote productive group collaborations where students help each other learn?

Quality Criteria

  • What are the Must-Haves (i.e., those things that all students should be able to do or understand by the end of each activity/lesson)?
  • How do I stretch students with Awesome or Amazing Criteria? What are some quality criteria (yes and…; things that make students go above and beyond?)
  • How can I make sure that students achieve the objectives of the activity/lesson? What is the rubric for lesson/activity?

Return and Reflect

  • How will students measure their progress toward the learning goal?
  • How will I gather student responses and work products to adjust instruction?