Differentiation in ICT teaching

1. Differentiation in ICT teaching October 2005 [Dimensions of Teaching 2.4, 2.6]

2. Session objectives • Understand what differentiation means • Understand why differentiation should be planned for • Know about some of the approaches that may be used in the classroom • Begin to explore some of the theoretical frameworks that help to shed light on classroom practice

3. What is differentiation? All children are different • learning styles (Gardner’s multiple intelligences) • ‘ability’ • previous knowledge and experience • motivation Differentiation is the educational response to the differing needs of pupils in a classroom

4. Why differentiate? Teachers and schools should help each pupil to achieve their full potential If we take up the challenge of Assessment for Learning, then planning for differentiation is unavoidable Individual target setting is the aim Pupils will need different and appropriate learning experiences to maximise their progress in school Individual learning plans for all?

5. How can we differentiate? • Diagnostic/baseline assessment (very important for ICT due to range of previous experiences) • Formative assessment during teaching • Self- and peer-assessment (especially significant in ICT) • Range of individual work, group tasks and whole class teaching **************************** ****** PLANNING ****** ****************************

6. Identify each pupil’s potential: strengths and interests • Find ways to develop these • Provide enrichment (extension) for more able • Identify barriers to learning for those with special needs: remove or minimise them Remediation (corrects the problem) Circumvention (assists learning in spite of the problem)

7. You need to analyse what is needed to improve learning • Formative assessment is the best way to build a detailed picture of a child’s learning profile • Develop strategies to ensure that each pupil leaves your lesson having made progress with their learning (and preferably knowing this!) These skills WILL develop with experience

8. Practicalities DIFFERENCES • Educational (formal and informal) • Cognitive ability(Feuerstein: not set at birth) • Learning styles (link to Gardner’s MI) • Emotional/developmental/gender • Social and cultural • Specific needs (SEN; G&T; OTHERS)

9. Characteristics of pupils with problems • Poor memory • Tend to be slow • Impulsive, non-systematic, imprecise • Cannot identify what the problem is • Easily distracted by irrelevant information • Tend not to generalise • Poor problem solving strategies • Less able to select strategies • Poor at if-then reasoning • Poor at monitoring their own thinking • Know less (cause or effect?)

10. Whole-school issues • Setting/streaming • Single-gender groups • Target setting for individual pupils • Mentoring: individual attention/support • Curriculum support: LSAs / withdrawal / enrichment • Curriculum change (topical)

11. PLANNING Teaching and learning objectives. It may be helpful to think in terms of: • All MUST … [core objectives] Key material • Most SHOULD … • Some COULD … [enrichment] Support materials Enrichment tasks (‘extension’)

12. DIFFERENTIATION BY: • Task(similar resource + different task) • Resource (similar task + different resource) • Time • Support • Outcome Consider how pupils are grouped Use formative assessment with feedback to set individual/group learning targets (video clip)

14. Aptitude-Treatment Intervention (ATI) Claims that different people respond best to different forms of teaching ie. different teaching styles (treatments) lead to different outcomes for pupils with different abilities, motivation, etc (aptitudes) • More able pupils learn best from an inductiveapproach: presented with evidence from which they derive/explore general principles. • Less able pupils learn best if a general principle is made explicit and they are asked to explore it for particular cases. Clear initial summary of main points of lesson given as an ‘advance organiser’ is very helpful.

15. Remediation Basic principle: correct the problem the child has • Suitable if: • the characteristic is unstable • AND it is within the teacher’s power to change it • AND it is desirable to change it • Remediation seeks to change the pupil eg. poor reading ability

16. Circumvention Basic principle: help the child to learn despite a continuing problem • Suitable if: • the problem is stable • OR it is outside the teacher’s control • OR it is undesirable to change it • Circumvention accepts the problem and looks for ways round it eg. specialist software for SEN

17. Instrumental enrichment(Reuven Feuerstein) • Pen and pencil tasks directed at very specific thinking skills • Restrain impulsivity • Develop systematic ways of working • Discussion and evaluation of strategies • Review language of thinking • Explicit discuss how to transfer ‘thinking skills’ to other areas The teacher in a Vygotskyian ‘scaffolding’ role

18. More able pupils … G&T • Acceleration • Withdrawal • Community links • Residential courses • Summer schools • Enrichment in ordinary classes No single approach will meet all needs

20. Learning styles Many different classifications • VAK: visual-auditory-kinaesthetic • Holist-Serialist • Reflective-Impulsive Implications for teaching: Pupils learn best when taught in their preferred style Encourage flexibility We tend to teach in the style that we prefer to use when learning

21. Holist - Serialist Holists like to see the ‘whole picture’ and to look for interconnections and analogies between the various parts. They will explore detail and bring new understanding back to elaborate the overview. May overlook detail. Serialists like to build things up from basic ideas. May ‘miss the wood for the trees’. Implications for teaching: concept mapping may help both groups

22. Reflective - Impulsive Reflective pupils like to weigh up the alternatives and will suspend judgement until this is complete Impulsive pupils leap in with an idea and if this is unproductive will try another Implications for teaching: • allow thinking time before expecting an answer • include opportunities for discussion

23. Motivation Motivation = task element + personal element The personal element can be quite hard to change Implication for teaching: know your pupils Theoretical frameworks to consider: • Maslow’s hierarchy (Keith Postlethwaitre’s lecture) • Achievement motivation • Attribution theory

24. Achievement motivation theory Best motivation level: When a pupil thinks that s/he has a 50% chance of completing a set task successfully Implications for teaching: Match the work to the pupil (if you can gauge their perception) For harder tasks - find ways of giving extra confidence For easier tasks - find ways to help pupils to value their work (but not ‘false praise’)

25. Attribution theory Explanations offered for success or failure: commonly - ability, task difficulty, luck or effort There is no logical reason for pupils to try to do the tasks they are set unless they believe in effort-based explanations of achievement Gender effect? Implications for teaching: Effort-based explanations may be more likely if effort grades are given Pupils’ recorded reflection can be used to judge effort (and to inform lesson planning) TIP: this is also useful for reports

26. Mastery Learning Define topic ( 4-10 lessons?) Define core objectives 50% total time Assess prior learning Teach whole class Core Objectives met? No Yes 50% Enrichment Remediation total time Summative assessment