DIFFERENTIATED INSTRUCTION

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WELCOME
DIFFERENTIATED INSTRUCTION
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Differentiating Instruction The Journey

• "In the end, all learners need your energy, your
  heart and your mind. They have that in common
  because they are young humans. How they need you
  however, differs. Unless we understand and
  respond to those differences, we fail many
  learners."
• Tomlinson, C.A. (2001). How to differentiate
  instruction in mixed ability classrooms (2nd
  Ed.). Alexandria, VA ASCD.

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• The biggest mistake of past centuries in
  teaching has been to treat all children as if
  they were variants of the same individual and
  thus to feel justified in teaching them all the
  same subjects in the same way.
• Howard Gardner

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Differentiated Instruction Means Recognizing
Differences

• There are no two students who learn at the same
  pace.
• There are no two students who solve problems in
  exactly the same way.
• There are no two students who have the same
  interests.
• There are no two students who have learned the
  same skills.

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Differentiated Instruction Defined

• Differentiated instruction is a teaching
  philosophy based on the premise that teachers
  should adapt instruction to student differences.
  Rather than marching students through the
  curriculum lockstep, teachers should modify their
  instruction to meet students varying readiness
  levels, learning preferences, and interests.
  Therefore, the teacher proactively plans a
  variety of ways to get at and express
  learning.
• Carol Ann Tomlinson

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Why Differentiate Instruction?

• When a teacher tries to teach something to the
  entire class at the same time, chances are,
  one-third of the students already know it
  one-third will get it and the remaining third
  wont. So two-thirds of the children are wasting
  their time.
• Lillian Katz

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Differentiation is a Way of Thinking About
Teaching and Learning
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Belief Statements from Education for All

1. All students can succeed.
2. Universal design and differentiated instruction
   are effective and interconnected means of meeting
   the learning or productivity needs of any group
   of students.
3. Successful instructional practices are founded on
   evidence-based research, tempered by
   experience.

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Belief Statements from Education for All

• Classroom teachers are the key educators for a
  students literacy and numeracy development.
• Each child has his or her own unique patterns of
  learning.
• Classroom teachers need the support of the larger
  community to create a learning environment that
  supports all students.
• 7. Fairness is not sameness.

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Universal Design for Learning

• shapes teaching to provide all students with
  access to the curriculum
• (Turnbull et al., 2002)
• assumes every student is unique, and will
  therefore benefit from a flexible curriculum that
  provides appropriate pathways for instruction, as
  well as fair and accurate assessment

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Universal Design for Learning

• encourages teachers to develop a class profile
  and then plan, from the beginning, to meet the
  needs of all students and not only those with
  special needs
• helps eliminate after the fact modifications
• depends on flexibility and inclusion to provide
  real learning experiences for all students,
  regardless of their performance level

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Knowing the learners and consciously and
strategically planning to address their styles,
intelligences, and learning preferences will
increase the chances of engaging them and
offering a variety of ways to learn. (Gregory
and Chapman, 2002, p.35)
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Remember to think of DIFFERENTIATION as the
lens you look through when using any materials,
programs or instructional strategies. How will
you use what you learn about today to
differentiate for YOUR students?