This document discusses the importance of differentiated instruction and high-impact teaching strategies (HITS) to increase student learning and close achievement gaps. It argues that teachers play a key role in student success and must teach in ways that engage different learning styles such as visual, auditory, tactile, kinesthetic, and intrapersonal. The document recommends eight proven teaching strategies including compare and contrast, summarization, cooperative learning, and questioning techniques. It concludes that using these strategies can help move more students out of behind levels and raise test scores.

1. Next to Students… Teacher Strategies Matter Most!Patricia GrayEDIM508This instructional Prezi is a nonlinear presentation which is designed as an aid to encourage the use of differentiated instruction and high impact teaching strategies (HITS), whichincreases student learning from 22 to 45 percent. These strategies help teachers close the achievement gap. The Achievement Gap is generally thought of as the gap that exists between the standardized test scores, high school graduation rates and college completion rates of low-SES, urban students of color (African or Hispanic descent) and suburban students of European and Asian descent.

2. The Cycle of ResponsibilityIt´s often said that all children can learn and that teachers are responsible for creating learners that produce data that yield positive metrics, so that we can s K I p the expensive intervention$. Hmmm…

3. There´s More Than One CycleTeachers Guide and Balance Children go through many cycles of learning—as well as many ups and downs—in the process of grounding their fears and stepping confidently toward a lifetime of education.

4. It´s All Mixed UpBy the way that some teachers teach, administrators plan and parents lend support, it appears that they forget that all children learn differently—but the cookie-cutter approach just doesn´t work.

5. Yes, Students are Differently-abled……and, sometimes, they all don´t get the message the first time it´s delivered. They´re not deaf. They´re not blind. They´re not dumb. They´re not ADHD or OCD. The lesson just doesn´t resonate . Maybe it´s mono-tonal or mono-chromaticor sans movement or texture.

6. More Than One Should Make It……to the top, but it takes differentiation and dedicated focus by teachers because parents may or may not be there and administrators have no time to spare.

7. Good Teachers Cause a Thunderstorm… …and a flurry of thoughts, in the minds of young learners if they teach to the visual, auditory, tactile, kinesthetic and intrapersonal learning styles, so that no child is left untouched, untaught or behind.

8. The Solution is a Model—Not a MazeForget the maze of untested theories. Use high impact teaching strategies (HITS) to close the achievement gap and move 80% of the students left behind, two levels each year, while building student self-esteem, scaffolding abilities, and lifting national test scores. Model solutions = model students!

9. Get to the Heart of it; Wrap it Up with HitsPut your heart in it and raise the bar with these eight proven teaching strategies. 1. Compare and Contrast. 2. Summarization and Note-taking 3. Reinforce Effort and Recognition 4. Homework and Practice. 5. Non-linguistic Representation (NLR) 6. Cooperative Learning 7. Generating and Testing Hypotheses 8. Questions, Cues and Advance Organizers

10. ReferencesRetrieved May 12 from: Learning is Here. (Cogdogblog, February 18, 2011) http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5178/5457016581_f30e9afc98_s.jpgRetrieved May 12 from: Think, Try, Learn Graphic, (Doug Clow, February 28 2011) http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5298/5484184568_0f0400d1bb_s.jpgRetrieved May 12 from: Yes, I Made It to the Top (Tela Chhe, August 2, 2008) http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3367/3342173731_d28727d903_m.jpgRetrieved May 12 from: Creative Curriculum (Familymwr, August 16, 2010)http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4094/4919452005_b135f3ac41_m.jpgRetrieved May 12 from: Yes, I Made It to the Top (Yogendra174, August 28, 2010) http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4094/4936587785_1e4e5e82ce_s.jpgRetrieved May 12 from: Giewont - differently(Jaroslaw Pocztarski, August 14, 2008) http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3089/2787074335_d53facfa9f_m.jpg Retrieved May 12 from: Equal Access (Steve Snodgrasss, June 19, 2010)http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4067/4716137596_9b478a351d_m.jpgRetrieved May 12 from: Scaffolding: Not Just for Construction Workers Anymore (Kevin Dooley, August 5, 2007)http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2037/2201791390_7bc614e27c_m.jpgRetrieved May 12 from: Teaching Award Invitation (St. Boniface´s Catholic, May 5, 2008)http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2471/3738198643_a64a573a7a_m.jpgRetrieved May 12 from: High Impact Teaching Strategies (PBworks Release #564, 2008) http://feliciano.pbworks.com/w/page/7710092/High-Impact%20Teaching%20StrategiesPhotographic attribution references were retrieved from Flickr.Com, Creative Commons, are detailed to the right.Video references were retrieved from Discovery Education.Com and are referencedbelow:Website references followphotographic references to the right.