Differentiation

Differentiation What it is and what it is not

CHCS Where Every Child Achieves!

Differentiation

What is a Differentiated Classroom? • Ensures that what a student learns (content), how they learn it (process) and how the student demonstrates what they learn (product) is a match for the student’s readiness level, interests and preferred mode of learning.

Teacher modifies: • Content is what the teacher wants the student to learn and the materials or resources through which that is accomplished. •  To differentiate content in reading, groups of students could be allowed to choose reading materials based on their interests and/or reading levels.

Teacher modifies: • Process includes activities designed to ensure that students use key skills to make sense out of essential ideas and information. •  To differentiate process in reading, students could be given the choice of reading silently in class, using audio books as an aid, or reading materials independently at home while working on other assignments during class time.

Teachers modifies: • Products are vehicles through which students demonstrate and extend what they have learned. •  To differentiate product in reading, students could be given the option of demonstrating their comprehension by completing written assignments, creating Power Point presentations, or having a private conference with the teacher.

READINESS • Readiness means that each student’s preparation is aligned with the level of challenge being addressed in the skills and concepts that are presented for mastery. •  Students are frustrated when work is too hard and bored when work is too easy. When the difficulty of the task matches the student's readiness, both achievement and attitude about learning are likely to improve. In order to determine a student’s level of readiness, it is essential to look at the results of carefully designed pre-assessments prior to introducing a unit of learning.

INTEREST • Interest addresses the match between a student’s interests and the task in which the student is being expected to engage. •  Tasks and questions that link to a student's interest are likely to promote greater student engagement, satisfaction, creativity, and autonomy. •  Tasks that are interesting to students are likely to enhance their attitudes about learning and increase their sense of competence and their achievement. •  When students do not have strong personal interests, it may be particularly important to use choice, novelty, and links with their prior experiences to build their interest.

Learning Profile: How we learn • Learning profiles are shaped by learning style, gender, culture, and intelligence preferences (individuals' preferences in reasoning). •  Addressing learning style tends to result in improved achievement and attitude about learning for students in a wide range of cultural groups. •  Including multiple intelligences (Gardner, 1993) and analytic, practical, and creative approaches to learning (Sternberg, 1985) allows students to learn in ways that produce positive results. Part-to-whole, big picture, analytical approach. •  Addressing a student's intelligence preferences in the learning cycle is likely to improve achievement even if the final assessment is not a match for the student's preferences. •  Understanding varied approaches to learning guides teachers' awareness of how to develop learning contexts that are flexible enough to work for a range of learners.

Challenge:How to respond to individual needs of all Children who come to our classrooms with different abilities: • Language ability • Cultural Background • Learning styles • Readiness • Interests • Gender • Peer relationships

Differentiation