Differentiation

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Differentiation

• Jocelyn Downs
• FLaRE Area Coordinator
• jdowns_at_mail.ucf.edu

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Definition of Differentiation (Formal)

• differentiated instruction refers to a
  systematic approach to planning curriculum and
  instruction for academically diverse learners. It
  is a way of thinking about the classroom with the
  dual goals of honoring each students learning
  needs and maximizing each students learning
  capacity.
• Carol Ann Tomlinson, 2003
• Differentiation in Practice A Resource Guide
• for Differentiating Curriculum Grades 5-9, p. 3

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Principles of Differentiation

• Students differ in experience, readiness,
  interest, intelligences, language, culture,
  gender, and mode of learning.
• Educators must meet each student at his or her
  starting point and ensure substantial growth
  during each school term.
• Teachers that ignore student differences are
  unlikely to maximize potential in any student who
  differs significantly from the norm.
• Teachers need to make modifications in
  instruction for students rather than assume
  students must modify themselves to fit the
  curriculum.
• Teachers should always keep in mind that human
  brains learn best when curriculum is highly
  interesting and highly relevant.
• 
  Carol Ann Tomlinson, 2001
• The Differentiated Classroom Responding to the
  Needs of All Learners, p. 24

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Definition of Differentiation (Informal)

• At its most basic level, differentiating
  instruction means shaking up what goes on in
  the classroom so that students have multiple
  options for taking in information, making sense
  of ideas, and expressing what they learn.
• Carol Ann Tomlinson, 2001
• How to Differentiate Instruction
• in Mixed-ability Classrooms, p. 1

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Why do we need to differentiate instruction?
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Definition of Content
Content is what the students learn and the
materials or mechanisms through which learning is
accomplished. It is what a student should come to
know (facts), understand (concepts and
principles), and be able to do (skills) as a
result of a given assignment of study (a lesson,
learning experience, a unit). Carol Ann
Tomlinson, 2001 How to Differentiate
Instruction in Mixed-ability Classrooms
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Think about your content

• With an elbow partner, think about some ways you
  have or you could differentiate your content.

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Definition of Process
Process is how the students make sense of the
content. Process describes activities designed to
ensure that students use key skills to make sense
of essential ideas and information. Carol Ann
Tomlinson, 2001 How to Differentiate
Instruction in Mixed-ability Classrooms
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Differentiating Process Front-loading
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Differentiating Process Scaffolding
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Definition of Scaffolding
Scaffolds are forms of support provided by the
teacher (or another student) to help students
bridge the gap between their current abilities
and their intended goal. Scaffolds may be tools,
such as cue cards, or techniques such as teacher
modeling. Barak Rosenshine Carla Meister,
1992 Educational Leadership, 49(7), p. 26
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Differentiating Process Enrichment
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Think about how your students learn, the process
they follow

• With someone on the other side of you, talk about
  how you have or could differentiation how your
  students learn

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Definition of Product
Products are assessments or demonstrations of
what students have come to know, understand, and
be able to do as the result of an extended
sequence of learning. A product is the students
opportunity to show what she has learned
throughout a unit. Carol Ann Tomlinson,
2001 How to Differentiate Instruction in
Mixed-ability Classrooms
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Differentiating Product
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Three-minute buzz

• What are some differentiated ways to assess how
  students learnthe product of their learning?

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Quote

• In differentiated classrooms, teachers begin
  where students are, not the front of a curriculum
  guide.
• Carol Ann Tomlinson, 1999The Differentiated
  Classroom Responding
• to the Needs of All Learners, p. 3

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Flexible Grouping

• No single-faceted planwill meet the
  requirements of every student. As we move toward
  alternative grouping plans, we must be careful to
  avoid the rigidity that characterizes traditional
  ability grouping and offer students dynamic and
  flexible opportunities responsive to curricular
  goals and individual needs.
• M. Radenrich and L. McKay
• quoted by Michael F. Opitz in
• Flexible Grouping in Reading, (1999), p. 77.

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Grouping Patterns

• Whole Class
• Cooperative
• Collaborative
• Interest
• Special Need or Skill
• Paired
• Individual

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Attributes of Differentiation

• Students differ as learners.
• To learn well, each student needs appropriate
  challenge, success, and learning experiences.
• Its unlikely that we will achieve challenge,
  success, and instructional fit for each learner
  by ignoring student differences.
• Effective attention to academic diversity needs
  to take place in an environment of mutual respect
  and safety with emphasis on growth and shared
  responsibility for learning.

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Attributes of Differentiation

• Attending to student differences requires a
  flexible approach to teaching.
• Successful attention to student differences must
  be rooted in solid curriculum and instruction.
• There are many routes to achieving high-quality
  curriculum taught in ways that attend to student
  differences and build community.
• Developing differentiating classroom calls on us
  not so much to develop a bag of tricks as to
  rethink teaching and learning.

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Quote
A teacher in a differentiated classroom does not
classify herself as someone who already
differentiates instruction. Rather that teacher
is fully aware that every hour of teaching, every
day in the classroom can reveal one more way to
make the classroom a better match for its
learners. Carol Ann Tomlinson, 2001 How to
Differentiate Instruction in Mixed-ability
Classrooms, p. 5