Among The Hidden: Differentiation In The Classroom

Prior taking this RETELL class I thought differentiating meant “dummying down” work. I struggled with the concept of differentiating strategies because I thought it help students to be all they can be. Taking the class have given a clear understanding the meaning and the usage of differentiating teaching, matter of fact, some the strategies I use in class are similar to some of the strategies taught in the RETELL class. I realized that Differentiated instruction is about using teaching strategies that connect with individual student's learning strategies. The ultimate goal is to provide a learning environment that will maximize the potential for student success. The important thing to remember is to hold on to the effective teaching strategies that lead students to positive learning outcomes and to make adjustments when necessary. It's about being flexible and open to change. It's also about taking risks and trying teaching and learning strategies that you would have otherwise ignored. It's about managing instructional time in a way that meets the standards and also provides motivating, challenging, and meaningful experiences for school age

Differentiating instruction is a valuable instructional management and delivery tool, which can be used to assist teachers in meeting the needs of the diverse populations of students which they now find in their classrooms. In using these strategies, a teacher may use pre-assessments to determine the learning styles, interests and readiness of the students, prior to the introduction of a lesson or unit. After developing a learner profile, the teacher may then differentiate according to the readiness of the student, by process of delivery, and by the product which the student may produce to

In response to the varied student learning needs, differentiation will be a key component of this classroom. It is “designed to improve access to the general education curriculum by adapting instruction to each student’s diverse learning needs” (Smith, 2007). “Differentiation instruction means changing the pace, level, or kind of instruction you provide in response to individual learners’ needs, styles, or interest” (Heacox, 2012). Because each student comes to this 6th grade classroom with unique needs, differentiation will implemented frequently to ensure that each student receives the rigor needed to master the 6th grade curriculum. It will be relevant to your student and his/her needs. It will provide an appropriate level of challenge. It will be engaging and at times, it will offer choices. Delivery of differentiated instruction will frequently involve centered based learning activities and small group instruction. A list and description of some of the centers will be distributed to parents and is attached as Appendix

If educators have learned anything in the last decade of school reform initiatives it is that one size does not fit all. Differentiated Instruction (DI) is an approach where teachers proactively plan varied approaches to what students need to learn, how they will learn it and how they express what they 've learned (Differentiated Instruction, 2015). However, does this all end when we become educators and then magically educators learn in the same manner? The ultimate goal of professional development is to strengthen the practice of teachers in order to raise the achievement of students (Darling-Hammond, 1997a, 1997b) (Sever, 2010). Effective school leaders not only adopt differentiated instruction in the classroom, but also for all professional development for their staff, ensuring the success of all professional developments offered.

Differentiated instruction is different from traditional classroom instruction in several ways. In differentiated instruction, teachers use on-going assessments instead of on assessment at the end of the unit. Differentiated instruction also uses flexible grouping, such as small groups or peer pairs, rather than simply whole-group instructions. Additionally, differentiated instruction uses an array of teaching methods based on the students learning style. Finally, differentiated instruction uses a variety of learning materials.

All in all, differentiated instruction is a method used by teachers to accommodate all the different learning modalities, levels of learning, cultural and language barriers and special needs often integrated in one classroom with one lesson plan.

Differentiated instruction helps to alleviate the complication of instructing multiple learning modalities and plan for all students in one simple lesson plan.

Differentiated instruction is personalized for students of different levels of achievement, which allows students to choose what kind of teaching they want to use to learn. It lets students grow at their own pace through new material. For a differentiated classroom, teachers use assessments to determine student readiness. Assessments such as pre-tests are effective in determining what a student needs to learn or what level the student is. It lets teachers teach students based off of the common core standards but they do it also based on each child’s learning style and what level of knowledge they are at, at the same

The six-column framework for differentiated instruction proposes that if we are trying to comprehend and construct classrooms in which differentiated instruction can grow, there are several components that we need to search and be mindful of in our preparation and teaching. Educators must explore the framework and recognize what they are already utilizing in the classroom and why these components are needed for supporting differentiation. These components are necessary and we must work constantly on all of them so that all students obtain what is necessary in learning and communicating (Gregory, 2008).

Differentiated instruction is matching instruction to meet the different needs of the diverse learners in their learning environment. Most learning environments are structured to operate under the principles that learners must demonstrate and perform to a certain level, which is specified, by whatever mandating entity the learners are either employed by or learning within. This entity sets the standard that will signify achieved learning or academic growth. Therefore it is important as an instructional designer we engage our adult learners, whether it be in the classroom or in the workforce. One way to do this is to encourage them to become actively involved in their learning experience. Adult learners need to feel that they have a

Differentiation is the tool used by educators who recognize that all students come to them with different readiness levels and learning styles. It allows us to meet the needs of each individual student while meeting the standards developed by state and national education associations. Additionally, there are many different types of differentiation that can be used in a classroom: teachers can create learning centers, use differentiated assessments, and develop anchor activities, etc. Currently, I utilize differentiated assessments, but my goal for the upcoming school year is to utilize more learning centers and to incorporate anchor activities into my daily classroom routine.

Research on differentiation emphasizes that including a variation of instruction can meet the needs of students with different learning needs in this classroom. This is echoed in Carol Tomlinson's research, she states the benefits of differentiation instruction in the following statement, "It promotes high-level and powerful curriculum for all students, but varies the level of teacher support, task complexity, pacing, and avenues to learning based on student readiness, interests, and learning profile." (Tomlinson, 2000, pg. 25) The use of differentiated instruction will allow me to reach the needs of the different learners in my classroom, which include students who need to a further challenged, struggling readers, 504 students, and students with multiple learning styles. For the students who need an additional challenge, they may need differentiated questioning that promotes higher orders of thinking, challenging texts or documents, or assignments that allow them to demonstrate multiple skills. Students who struggle with reading comprehension may need simplified texts, additional time on reading assignments, or tools such as graphic organizers or guided notes to assist them during reading assignments. For the 504 students in my class may benefit from additional supports in the form of graphic organizers and assignments that incorporate technology. For the students who have multiple learning styles, it is important for me to use different supports and tasks to meet the needs of these students. Howard Gardner's theory on multiple intelligences supports my incorporation of various learning styles in my instruction. The theory emphasizes eight different intelligences in which students learn and that teachers should incorporate many of the intelligences in instruction. According to research, “Teachers should structure the presentation of material in a

When teachers develop differentiated instruction strategies for students they provide several different avenues for the student to achieve the same learning goal regardless of which path they choose. Student choice in which avenue they ultimately select creates a sense of ownership with the students and actively engages them in the lesson. The different avenues all lead to the same learning goal just as many roads might lead to one destination. Differentiated thinking empowers teachers to be responsive rather than reactive to the unique and individual personalities,

In my classroom, I will differentiate learning by offering a variety of methods of instruction such as hands on models, cooperative learning, technology, lectures, group activities, independent learning assignments. I will also adjust delivery based on understanding of concepts. I

Differentiated instruction is the system of learning that realizes that each student is different and that learning is most effective when catered to their individual needs. Individual differences include motivation, learning proficiency, background knowledge, interest in learning, experience with learning, and so forth. The challenge is that the teacher has a diversity of students in her classroom and catering her learning to each individual student can be frustrating at the very least if not seemingly impossible. This is where differentiated instruction steps in.