Advancing Differentiation: Thinking and Learning for the 21st Century

by Richard M. Cash

Powerful strategies that will transform the way you teach and the way your students learn.Advancing Differentiation will lead you through the process of creating a thriving, student-centered, 21st-century classroom. Since its initial publica­tion, the book’s materials have undergone rigorous testing and refinement in classrooms all over the world to deliver the best and most effective differen­tiation strategies. The strategies in this book will help   Deeply engage every learner while challenging students to think critically, self-regulate, and direct their own learningSet new roles for student and teacher that encourage learner autonomyEmploy cutting-edge techniques for designing rigorous E4 curriculum (effective, engaging, enriching, and exciting)  This revised and updated edition A primer on differentiation, which answers the crucial question, Why differentiate at all?Self-assessment surveys, observation forms, and new ideas for increasing proficiency in classroom differentiationWays to address the changing needs of the future workforceMore articulated curriculum design defining the differences between strategies and skills—refining the levels of conceptual knowledge

Genres: Education, Nonfiction, Reference

557 pages, Kindle Edition

First published October 1, 2010

About the author

Dr. Richard M. Cash is an award-winning educator and author who has made significant contributions to the field of education for over 30 years. His extensive experience encompasses teaching, curriculum coordination, and program administration. Currently, Dr. Cash is an internationally recognized education consultant whose work has taken him across the United States and to numerous countries including Canada, The Czech Republic, Cyprus, England, Indonesia, Hong Kong, Jordan, Kuwait, Mexico, Oman, Poland, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Singapore, Spain, South Korea, and Turkey. More information on his consultancy can be found at https://www.nrichconsulting.com.
Dr. Cash's academic credentials are impressive. He earned a Doctorate in educational leadership and a Master of Arts degree in curriculum and instruction from the University of St. Thomas in Minneapolis, MN. Additionally, he holds a Bachelor of Science degree in education from the University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, and a Bachelor of Arts degree in theater from the University of Wisconsin, Eau Claire.
Beyond his academic and professional achievements, Dr. Cash has a rich background in the arts. For over 10 years, he co-directed a children’s theater company in Minnesota and co-authored four award-winning children’s plays. His dedication to gifted education has been recognized with prestigious awards such as the National Association for Gifted Children’s (NAGC) Early Leader Award and the title of “Friend of the Gifted” by the Minnesota Educators of the Gifted and Talented (MEGT). He has also served as the Director of Gifted Programs and Services for the Bloomington Public Schools in Minnesota.
Dr. Cash's areas of expertise are vast and include educational programming, rigorous and challenging curriculum design, differentiated instruction, new century skills, brain-compatible classrooms, gifted & talented education, and self-regulated learning. His significant contributions and deep commitment to education continue to inspire and influence educators and students around the world.

Reviews

[Angela · Rating 4 out of 5]

I found this book to be incredibly easy to read, relatable, and full of useful information that I can use in my classroom. As a content manager, there are additional bits of information that I can pass down to other teachers that will help them differentiate lessons in their classrooms. Additionally, it includes many examples of graphic organizers that you can simply make copies of to use in your school or for yourself while you are planning. This by far has been one of my favorite books about differentiation, a subject which can be beaten to death and has become horribly bland and boring to many teachers. It’s not writing about differentiation that you might not have heard of before, but it does provide an easy to read, updated, and fresh perspective that makes it quite useful. Cash manages to make differentiation enjoyable and interesting.

[Jamie Hayes · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is a strong resource for teachers looking to increase their differentiation strategies. It is full of graphic organizers to help students engage in critical thinking in a variety of ways across all subject areas.

[Erika Reynolds · Rating 4 out of 5]

This likely won’t provide you with any new or ground breaking information, but it’s full of resources that can be implemented quickly. There are a ton of ready-to-copy graphic organizers, which I appreciated, and many activities that can be applied across various curriculums and content areas.

[Kristen Pollard · Rating 5 out of 5]

Really nice overview for any experienced teacher looking to refresh their knowledge of, or for new teachers looking to see the connections between, what we know about the brain and conceptual teaching, and how these connect to strategies to develop critical thinking for students.

[John O'Keefe · Rating 3 out of 5]

Basic stuff, but full of useable graphic organizers.

[Christopher Vian · Rating 5 out of 5]

A good book on differentiation for advanced learners with some really good resources.

[Becky · Rating 2 out of 5]

My school district chose to use this book as a book study for the first half of the school year. We finished reading it on January 16th as part of our in-service day activities. Apparently, the author is coming to our in-service in February, so that's pretty neat. But ultimately, reading texts like this just leaves me feeling overwhelmed.

When you read a book like this the ideas are great and everything sounds wonderful, but that is in the ideal class, in the idea school district, in the ideal state....and I'm sorry, but NOWHERE is that perfect. Differentiation is important, and good teachers do it (or certainly try to!) every single day. But some days, it doesn't matter what I do as an educator, there are students who just aren't going to engage or "get" it. After awhile, the book deviated from differentiation and started discussing A LOT about teaching students how to think differently. That's nice and all, but it felt like the ways the author presented to go about it would just require time that we don't have! With the demands we have to not only teach our curriculum but to meet state requirements for testing and constantly testing students up until those tests, I just can't wrap my head around how things like this should work.

At one point during the reading of this text, I literally grabbed my pen and wrote, "Seriously? When are we supposed to do this?"

Needless to say, this wasn't the best professional development text I've ever read.

[WCU Special Education]

WCU IMC Book Collection, 1st Floor
Call Number: 371.394 C338 GrK-12 2011
Catalog record: http://pilot.passhe.edu:8022/cgi-bin/...

[Sheila · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent resource for teachers! CD included for graphic organizers. FAST read!

[Meghan · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is actually surprisingly practical and helpful, with many different ideas, strategies, and resources to help more effectively differentiate any classroom.
A quick read that allows you to go right to the chapter that is most helpful, it's highly recommended for some fresh differentiation strategies and thinking.