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E-zine An
Introduction to
Differentiation One of education's
current "hot topics" is differentiating curriculum
and instruction. When it is done well, this
is one of the most effective ways to meet the needs
of gifted and talented students, especially when
those students spend the majority of their time in
regular classrooms. Concurrently, it is an
appropriate and useful approach to use in teaching
all other children. In fact, once teachers
begin differentiating for one group of students,
the logical next step is to use differentiation
strategies with the entire class.
While most
educators agree that differentiating is a great
idea in principle, it takes time, effort, practice
and teacher training to make it a reality. It
is not a quick fix for all of education's ills, nor
is it a magic bullet to improve student
achievement. It isn't even a set of specific
strategies which must be used, though there are
many strategies which will help make
differentiation more practical and doable for
classroom teachers. What differentiation is,
then, is a way of looking at teaching with the
premise of "one lesson, one activity doesn't fit
everyone." We could say it is an "Information
Age" approach to teaching rather than a "Factory
Model" approach where everyone in a classroom
always does exactly the same thing.
Teaching
underpinned with the philosophy of differentiation
gets teachers away from the "one size fits all"
curriculum which really fits no one! It
encourages students to become more responsible for
their own learning and to recognize and use their
own strengths, thereby helping them become lifelong
learners. It is easy to see
the value of differentiated instruction, not only
for gifted students, but as a teaching philosophy
that helps teachers meet the needs of all students
in their classrooms. Conceptually,
differentiated instruction originated in U.S.
Public Law 91-230, the Federal Gifted Education law
first passed in the early 1970's. The law
states: "These are children
who require differentiated educational programs
and/or services beyond those normally provided by
regular school programs to realize their
contribution to self and society." Simply stated,
differentiated instruction allows each student to
learn at the depth, complexity and pace which is
most beneficial to him. This approach to
teaching reaches more students more effectively
because the same basic curricular objectives are
presented in a variety of ways that are meaningful
to students with different learning styles and
ability levels. Differentiating
curriculum and instruction provides students with a
number of different options for learning
including: Differentiation
works best in a positive, encouraging classroom
climate where students take responsibility and
accept challenges to learn as much as they
can! Differentiation doesn't happen
automatically. In fact, learning how to plan
and implement a differentiated curriculum takes
training, effort, time and planning.
Therefore, it takes motivation on the part of
teachers and support from administrators in the
form of having workshops (or sending teachers to
workshops) where the concepts are introduced, and
then providing release time for planning
differentiated activities and units and supplying
resources for implementation. During the past
three or four years, I have been very fortunate to
train teachers to implement differentiation
strategies in school districts throughout the
United States and in several other parts of the
world. While every group is different, I find
some commonalities in terms of teachers' needs and
responses when they are introduced to the concept
of differentiation. Below are some
suggestions: 1. Start
small! Most teachers are overwhelmed by the
number of possible strategies that can be used in a
differentiated curriculum. I suggest that
teachers begin with one or two strategies that fit
best into what they are already doing and build
from there. 2. Look for
quality. The quality of work done by stronger
students usually vastly improves in a
differentiated classroom. This is most likely due
to the fact that in a differentiated curriculum all
children can be appropriately challenged.
Happily, the quality of work done by struggling
students usually improves as well. 3. Be aware of
differences in learning styles. Differentiating
curriculum should make teachers more aware of
different learning styles and of the necessity for
providing activities that fit both the way children
learn and the appropriate level of their
learning. Training in Learning Styles and
Modalities, Brain-Based Learning and Multiple
Intelligences provides a good background for
differentiating curriculum. 4. Give students
choices. Allow them to meet class requirements
using the learning style and level of complexity
that works best for them. While students like
choices, these must be structured and
monitored. Most students are not skilled
enough as independent learners to make good choices
without some structure. Additionally in an
age of educational standards, choices must be
designed to meet grade level standards and
objectives. 5. Assess students
before you teach. Most of the time assessment
comes after a unit of study has been taught.
In a differentiated curriculum it is best to find
out what each student knows before you begin
teaching and then plan learning activities
accordingly. 6. Share successes
and strategies with one another. This
encourages all teachers to try new ways to
differentiate. As more teachers in a school
or school district are given training, time and
encouragement, differentiation will become embedded
in the way everyone works with children every
day. While there are many experts in the
field on the topic of differentiation, those with
the best know-how for your situation could well be
other teachers who work in your school every day.
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