Classroom Spotlight: Differentiation in Dallas ISD

At four years old, Lisa Cashion learned English as a second language. Now as a teacher with Henry W. Longfellow Career Exploration Academy in Dallas ISD, one of the most diverse school districts in Texas, Cashion’s personal experience helps her meet the needs of many emerging bilingual (EB) students in her seventh grade honors math class.

Challenges to Solve

Supporting math skills and mindsets for emerging bilingual students and gifted & talented students

With a wide range of languages, abilities, and confidence levels on her class roster, including several students who qualify as gifted and talented, Cashion needed a way to effectively address the content while also supporting students’ growth mindset.

“Math is a subject that students have always just thought ‘I'm good at it or I'm bad at it’ and there's no middle ground, especially teaching middle schoolers,” she said. “They’re really ‘in their own head’ with that thought process, so encouraging the students to own up to their mistakes and learn from them, that's the biggest growth that I can support.”

Quizizz-Powered Solution

An engaging and data-driven platform to differentiate instruction and support ALL students’ confidence and deeper understanding of math

For Cashion, Quizizz is a platform to support each student’s unique needs and encourage classwide progress. With a school-wide plan, she and her students have unlimited access to tools for more rigorous formative assessment and meaningful differentiation. 

“All the new question types [for math]—including the new tech-enhanced questions for STAAR—are a game changer,” Cashion said.

Student-level reporting for small groups

As an active Quizizz user of nearly four years, one of Cashion’s best practices on the platform is to analyze the data reports, and use the insights gained to give more individualized attention. As an advantage, Quizizz Reports offer standards-alignment, question-by-question analysis, individual and whole class views, one-time and long-term data, and more.

“I love doing my small groups,” she said. “I have little chairs around my desk, and I call students up in the moment to sit with them and make sure they really understand…And they know it's not because I want to talk to the ‘weak’ ones. I call up students to challenge them as well.”

Self-paced delivery

In addition to students thriving in small groups, they also benefit from the freedom to work at their own speed, said Cashion, who also adjusts the platform’s various timer settings to level the playing field on pacing.

“Even though I know students only need about 30 seconds to answer the question, I'll set the limit to five minutes because I want them to take their time and not feel like they have to rush to move on.”

A pathway to mastery

Following a quiz and review of the data, Cashion can facilitate a growth plan by allowing students multiple attempts in Mastery Mode on Quizizz.

“As long as teachers tweak those settings according to their students, they can make any Quiz or Lesson super equitable for all the kids and get them to where they need them to be, regardless of their accommodations.”

^{Cashion’s 5 favorite premium features on Quizizz for differentiation}

1. _{15+ question types to elevate higher-order thinking and test prep opportunities}
2. _{Math Editor to incorporate formulas and graphs}
3. _{Timer settings to lower anxiety and increase student accuracy}
4. _{Mastery Mode and Mastery Peak to gamify for growth}
5. _{Adjustable deadlines to meet accommodations and offer flexibility}

_{Other Basic plan features: Read Aloud, 18+ language translations; images, audio, video; hyperlinked words for added context; and more!}

Accessibility for all students

Along with differentiation, Quizizz pairs well with the technicalities of math content, and the numerous tools to help EB students decode and translate in real-time, eliminating the need to include other programs, passwords, and professionals. 

“Those harsh vocabulary words can be hard for native speakers to understand,” Cashion said, “so when it's already a new language, and then you add those terms—like ascending, descending, linear, and equation…There's so much more that has to happen in EB students’ brains in order for them to answer a question.”

Although numbers make math more of a “universal language,” Cashion added, the various tools to support literacy across the curriculum make Quizizz a good fit for any subject area.

Growth-Based Results

On average, students reattempting Quizizz assignments improved grades from a 76% to a 93%–from a C to an A. 

For Cashion, consistently using Quizizz for differentiated learning helps students feel confident in their abilities, invested in their own progress, and motivated to succeed. 

"I'm transparent with students on results,” Cashion said, “because I want them to see, ‘this is what happens when you practice. This is what happens when you put in that effort and you keep trying. You are going to see that growth.’ It's so important for students to see this, and then they start loving what they’re doing in math."

Looking to level up learning for your students like Cashion in her classroom? Unlock premium features available on the Quizizz School Plan: REQUEST A QUOTE

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