Differentiated instruction is not a new concept. In fact, many of the ideas originated from Universal Design. Still, the differentiated movement has really grown of the past decade and is not part of the education lexicon. Define differentiation. What are you thoughts about differentiation and how it can impact your instruction? Do you think that it is reasonable to expect everyone to differentiate instruction? As you answer this question, indicate if you are answering it before or after you have investigated this week's readings.
Differentiation is preparing personalized lessons and activities for students. Basically giving each student what they need to be successful at mastering a standard or skill. I have formed this definition using my prior knowledge and information I interpreted from the lecture video and Busting Myths article. I think differentiation is a good practice. It seems like its often misunderstood, I admit I do not fully understand how to differentiate appropriately. I am unclear as to what is considered differentiation. I was pleased to discover "more does not mean differentiation". It seems like choice is a key term. The impact within the classroom would vary. It depends on your definition of differentiation. I have witnessed in my short career how having different definitions will impact what differentiation ideally looks like in the classroom and also cause confusion. Instruction will vary because teachers may use groups, choice boards, or modify the activity. A teacher can present the information in the exact same way to each student but may have notes ready for certain students, in this sense the instruction was not directly impacted. I am lead to believe the way you differentiate impacts your instruction, for instance groups would require modeling and practice, so how you plan instruction would be different. I do think it is reasonable for everyone to differentiate because it is our responsibility to teach each student. We know no child is alike therefore not every lesson should be alike. How often you differentiate could be a more suitable question.
ReplyDeleteI really enjoyed the Busting Myths article as well. From the readings and personal experience, I know differentiation is very important in classrooms. Teaching first grade, do you think it will be challenging to differentiate for your students? I know it will be a process, and it will take time. What do you think the biggest challenge will be? In the past, I have struggled to create differentiated activities that allow students to work at the same rate..meaning most of the time one or two groups finish much faster than others. Do you have this same challenge?
DeleteI love that Kelsey mentioned students working at the same rate! To me, the hardest part of differentiating and really doing what is best for each student is the "now what?" that inevitably comes after some have finished, but others are still working!
DeleteI read this week's reading material and watched the videos before answering the questions. Differentiation is complex; it covers a wide range of teaching methods. It is difficult to give a simple definition because differentiation involves so many areas of teaching and learning. Basically, the teacher takes the material and puts it to the level of the students so they can achieve. It may require scaffolding or tier instruction. Differentiation takes place at so many levels of instruction. Thoughtful assessments (especially formative assessments) constantly drive the teacher to plan the next stage of learning for his/her students before, during, and after designated stages of the lesson. Differentiation can be good when done correctly. Students are not the same; they do not learn in the same manner. They do not come to a lesson knowing the same material. I think all teachers should differentiate. Sometimes, we just do not realize that we are differentiating. As one of the videos made the comment, we differentiate but may not realize that we are differentiating.
ReplyDeleteI have read all assigned readings and read the others comments. I agree with the others' posts about differentiation. I really like that Kara mentioned the complexity of it. Though differentiation can be complex, it is important to expect all teachers to differentiate. In the text, Heacox discusses the importance of differentiation in ALL classrooms. She suggests not diving in completely at first, but working your way towards the end goal. Start somewhere.
ReplyDeletePersonally, I believe differentiation means providing opportunities for students to learn and produce in a variety of ways to meet a common goal. As Wormeli says, "If a student can express what he or she knows more accurately by using an alternative format, get out of their way and let them do it (2006)."
I have read the assigned readings and am answering before reading others posts. Differentiation is giving students a learning experience that is based on their individual readiness, interests, and learning styles while exposing all students to the key concepts. I think differentiation is a great tool for teachers. It offers many ways to reach each student where their individual needs are. Having children myself, I can see how it would help students. As a parent, I have seen teachers who have taught the same lesson the same way year after year with no changes. Teachers should be able to evaluate their students and see the needs of each. Although it may require new approaches each year, students deserve to have every opportunity to try different strategies. I believe that every teacher should be using differentiation in their classroom. It will allow each student to see a variety of ways to solve problems and learn the content. This should be done in a way that pushes each student to expand their learning to include different learning styles. This does not mean to have the slow learners do less work or the gifted students to do more work.
ReplyDeleteI am writing after having read most of the assigned material. To me, differentiation can be defined very simply as doing what is needed for each student to reach his/her learning potential. I do not think it is only reasonable for everyone to differentiate, but I believe it is imperative to student learning. Of course, the numbers and statistics will show that our student populations are becoming more and more diverse; however, I have seen the changes in my own classrooms of students. In my particular experience, there seems to be a larger divide between the high achievers and the struggling students. It seems as though the old logic of "shoot somewhere down the middle" just is not going to cut it on either end of the spectrum. The only solution is to differentiate, and by not differentiating, students are not receiving the needed instruction and scaffolding to reach their learning potential.
ReplyDeleteI do think, though, that sometimes classroom teachers have a hard time jumping in to differentiation in a meaningful way. I do not mean that in a derogatory way- regular classroom teachers are in the trenches, and that is HARD WORK. There is so much on a regular classroom teachers plate, that often times the extra tweaking and planning for all of the individual students in the classroom becomes a daunting task. I am hoping that in the coming year, I can be of service to my regular classroom teachers in planning effective differentiation for my gifted students in their regular classes. I think that it is going to take support and practice before it can become a more natural instructional method.
I am writing after having read the assigned material and having watched the lectures. For me, differentiation is teaching to the individual learner's needs. Some of those needs will be met as a whole, and some needs have to be met individually. In the classrooms I've been in this past year (I did three leave of absence), one thing remains the same to me. There is a strong focus where I am to meet the needs of the lower achieving students, but our at level and above students seem to get left to the side. Differentiation needs to take place for all students. I do understand how difficult it is to add something else to the plate of the teacher, but as Diane Heacox points out to add one new strategy at a time. Then, with that strategy, I can practice it, refine it, and then move on to a new strategy. If I take it in little increments, it doesn't seem so daunting this thing called differentiation.
ReplyDeleteUnderstanding what it looks like upon the students, and what it should look like to me as a teacher is what I want to improve. One step at a time in the right direction.
I thought I understood a good bit about differentiation before this week’s readings; it is apparent after completing the selected articles as well as text that I have much to learn. My definition of differentiation before reading this week revolved around selecting activities and modes of learning that meet the needs of the learner. While this statement is true, this is just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to the effective practice of differentiation in the classroom. The process begins with understanding the learner and what they know, understand, and can do. Additionally, it involves understanding how the student(s) know, understand, and do. The text mentions that providing a variety of activities for learning is nothing more than creativity if the learning style of the students is not taken into account. I had never really thought of it this way; it was a revelation of sorts. Teachers who look to use the practice of differentiation in their classrooms are really masking the practice if the pre-assessment of the students has not taken place. The text also describes differentiation as a constant cycle of assessment, teaching, and learning. We assess to see what the students know; we teach what we want them to understand; they learn how to do what is born of the new information; and then the cycle begins again.
ReplyDeleteI think differentiation impacts instruction in a positive way. It begins with getting to know students as people; this is the key to understanding how to differentiate instruction for them. The practice continues by taking teachers slightly outside their comfort zones to find methods of teaching and learning that will be effective for each student. The results of differentiation are far reaching as they have the potential to impact the student on the micro and macro level with effects that include something as simple as a feeling of understanding for the uniqueness of each student to as complex as the initiation of a love for lifelong learning.
I do think it is reasonable to expect everyone to differentiate instruction, and I think most teachers probably do this to some degree, although they may not call it such. However, the effective practice of differentiating instruction takes time and practice. The intentional use of differentiation in teaching and learning can be viewed as a daunting challenge for those not accustomed to teaching in this manner. While it does take more time and planning, I would think differentiation would be the easiest way to foster student understanding. In reading the “Busting Myths about Differentiation” (Wormeli), I can see why such myths are perpetuated. A firm understanding of the process as well as the attitude of “start small, but start somewhere” (Heacox), can take the complex task of meeting the needs of each student and divide it into manageable steps to make for more effective use of teaching and learning styles in today’s classrooms.
I don’t have a lot to say on this yet, but it is too important of a question not to share at least one of my reflections, because I think that it is important for all teachers to differentiate instruction and I believe most do. Further, that more attention should be given to teacher instruction to help dispel misconceptions and misinformation.
ReplyDeleteBefore reading the material I thought that differentiation was only about teaching/learning curriculum I was pleased to learn that it is also about behavior. I had believed that if I was diligent with RTI, helping my ELL’s, and using Bloom I was differentiating. Reading the student survey questions on page 20 of Making Differentiation a Habit helped me to understand that I could accomplish a lot of my behavior goals with differentiation. I can think of several students that frequently choose less demanding work when I know they should be leaders of the more challenging work. Others that exhibit a low value for learning and lack motivation, but when they are given challenging work in something they are interested in they don’t want to put it down. I was pleased to learn this towards the beginning so that I can continue to reflect on possible strategies for the coming year.