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Understanding differentiation

Quote - Henry David Thoreau Henry David Thoreau

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If a man does not keep pace with his If a man does not keep pace with his companions, perhaps it is because companions, perhaps it is because

he hears a different drummer. he hears a different drummer.

Brain research confirms what experienced teachers have always known:

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No two children are alike. 

No two children learn in the identical way. 

An enriched environment for one student is not necessarily enriched for another. 

In the classroom we should teach children to think for themselves.

What is Differentiation?

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Differentiated instruction, also called differentiation, is a process through which teachers enhance learning by matching student characteristics to instruction and assessment.

Differentiated instruction allows all students to access the same classroom curriculum by providing entry points, learning tasks, and outcomes that are tailored to students' needs (Hall, Strangman, & Meyer, 2003).

Differentiated instruction is not a single strategy, but rather an approach to instruction that incorporates a variety of strategies.

Access Centre, 2004

What is Differentiation?

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increasingly proficient in understanding their students as individuals,

increasingly comfortable with the meaning and structure of the disciplines they teach, and

increasingly expert at teaching flexibility in order to match instruction to student need with the goal of maximizing the potential of each learner in a given area.

Differentiated instruction is responsive instruction.It occurs as teachers become:

Carol Ann Tomlinson, 2003

Key principles that support differentiation …

1. A differentiated classroom is flexible.

2. Differentiation of instruction stems from effective and ongoing assessment of learner needs.

3. Flexible grouping helps ensure student access to a wide variety of learning opportunities and working arrangements.

4. All students consistently work with “respectful” activities and learning arrangements.

5. Students and teachers are collaborators in learning.

Tomlinson & Allan (2000)

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Differentiation of Instruction

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Is a teacher’s response to a learner’s needs

Guided by general principles of differentiation, such as

Flexible grouping

Ongoing assessment &

adjustment

Respectful tasks

Flexible grouping: A definition

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Flexible grouping is an instructional strategy where students are grouped together to receive appropriately challenging instruction.

True flexible grouping permits students to move in and out of various grouping patterns, depending on the course content.

Grouping can be determined by ability, size, and/or interest.

www.nagc.org/index.aspx

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When I think of flexible grouping, I picture

working with sand castles that the tide will wash away.

I think of ability-grouping as working with concrete to build permanent foundations

meant to withstand change.

Opitz, Michael (2005)Empowering the reader in every child:The case for flexible grouping when teaching reading

Flexible Grouping

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• Grouping based on

formative assessment• Short periods of time• Targeted instructional

strategy• Formative assessment

used to determine effectiveness

• Groups will vary

• Permanent• Same instruction as

large group• Tracking• Extra work• Repetitive worksheets• Round Robin reading

• Drill, drill, drill.

What is it? What is it not?

• Fluid.

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Flexible grouping is the heart of differentiated

instruction.

Heacox, Diane (2001) Differentiating instruction in the regular classroom

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Teachers can differentiate:

Content Process Product Learning environment

according to students’

readiness interestslearning profile

through a range of instructional and management strategies…

Examples of differentiating CONTENT

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Using manipulatives with some, but not all, learners to help students understand a new idea. Using texts or novels at more than one reading level. Presenting information through both whole-to-part and part-to-whole approaches. Using a variety of reading-buddy arrangements to support and challenge students working with text materials. Re-teaching students who need another demonstration, or exempting students who already demonstrate mastery from reading a chapter or from sitting through a re-teaching session. Using texts, computer programs, tape recorders, and videos as a way of conveying key concepts to varied learners. Tomlinson, 2002

Ways to differentiate PROCESS

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Using tiered activities - different levels of support, challenge, or complexity;

Providing interest centers;

Providing choice when responding to a task;

Developing personal agendas (task list that addresses individual needs of learners) ;

Offering manipulatives or other hands-on supports; and

Varying the length of time a student may take to complete a task in order to provide additional support for a struggling learner or to encourage an advanced learner to pursue a topic in greater depth.

Tomlinson, 2000

Ways to differentiate PRODUCT

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Allow students to help design products around essential learning goals. Encourage students to express what they have learned in varied ways. Allow for varied working arrangements (for example, working alone or as part of a team to complete the product). Provide or encourage use of varied types of resources in preparing products. Provide product assignments at varying degrees of difficulty to match student readiness. Use a wide variety of kinds of assessments. Work with students to develop rubrics of quality that allow for demonstration of both whole-class and individual goalsTomlinson, 2000

Ways to differentiate the LEARNING ENVIRONMENT

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Making sure there are places in the room to work quietly and without distraction, as well as places that invite student collaboration; Providing materials that reflect a variety of cultures and home settings; Setting out clear guidelines for independent work that matches individual needs; Developing routines that allow students to get help when teachers are busy with other students and cannot help them immediately; and Helping students understand that some learners need to move around to learn, while others do better sitting quietly.

Tomlinson, 20

Ways to adjust for student readiness

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Adjusting the degree of difficulty of a task to provide an appropriate level of challenge.

Adding or removing teacher or peer coaching, use of manipulatives, or presence or absence of models for a task. Teacher and peer coaching are known as scaffolding because they provide a framework or a structure that supports student thought and work.

Making the task more or less familiar based on the proficiency of the learner's experiences or skills for the task.

Varying direct instruction by small-group need.

Tomlinson, 2002

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Scaffolding

Definition:

Support that teachers provide temporarily to assist learnersto develop new understandings, new concepts, and new abilities.

As the learners develop control of these, teachers withdraw their support.

Hammond, J., & Gibbons. P. (2001).

Ways to differentiate in response to student interest

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Using adults or peers with prior knowledge to serve as mentors in an area of shared interest.

Providing a variety of avenues for student exploration of a topic or expression of learning.

Providing broad access to a wide range of materials and technologies.

Giving students a choice of tasks and products, including student-designed options.

Encouraging investigation or application of key concepts and principles in student interest areas.

Tomlinson, 2002

Ways to differentiate in response to student learning profile

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Creating a learning environment with flexible spaces and learning options. Presenting information through auditory, visual, and kinesthetic modes. Encouraging students to explore information and ideas through auditory, visual, and kinesthetic modes. Allowing students to work alone or with peers. Ensuring a choice of competitive, cooperative, and independent learning experiences. Balancing varied perspectives on an issue or topic. Providing authentic learning opportunities in various intelligence or talent areas.

Tomlinson, 2002

It’s not new

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Each time you provide a student with extra help,

more time, or a modified assignment, you’re differentiating

instruction. All good teachers, whether they

realise it or not, differentiate to some degree.

Diane Heacox, 2001

You cannot discover new oceans unless

you have the courage to lose

sight of the shore.

G

You cannot discover new oceansunless you have the courage to lose sight of the shore.

Bibliography

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Access Center. (2004). Differentiated Instruction for Reading. Washington D.C.: Author

Hammond, J. & Gibbons, P. (2001) What is scaffolding? Scaffolding: teaching and learning in language and literacy education, Primary English Teaching Association (PETA), Sydney.

Heacox, Diane (2001) Differentiating instruction in the regular classroom

Opitz, M. (2005) Empowering the reader in every child: The case for flexible grouping when teaching reading.

Tomlinson, C. (1999). The differentiated classroom: Responding to the needs of all learners. Alexandria, VA:

Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development.

Bibliography (2)

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Tomlinson, C. A. (2001) How to differentiate instruction in mixed ability classrooms, Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development, Alexandria, Virginia, USA.

Tomlinson, C. A.& Allan, S.D. (2002) Leadership for Differentiating Schools & Classrooms

Tomlinson, C. A. (2003). Fulfilling the Promise of the Differentiated Classroom. Alexandria, VA: Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development.