As I was trying to organize my storage space,
I came across boxes of books from college.
I read a ton of education-related books while I was at Emmanuel College…
some required, but most I just found really interesting. I remember learning about differentiated
education for the first time in Dr. Merritt’s course and I became so in love
with the idea I read everything I could get my hands on. The best resource I have come across for an
introduction to differentiation is Carol Ann Tomlinson’s How to Differentiate Instruction in Mixed-Ability Classrooms. It’s an excellent quick read and a great
place to begin!
According to Tomlinson, there are
three different reasons to differentiate for students: readiness, interest, and
learning profile (2001). Readiness
refers to the level a student is working at on a particular topic. Differentiating based on interest often
involves choice so that students can demonstrate their knowledge by doing
something that they love. And learning
profile refers to the way in which students prefer to intake information.
Have you ever noticed that there are
rarely examples of differentiation in books and articles that can actually
apply to math? Ugh. So frustrating when you’re getting
started! Today I’ll provide a super
brief introduction, but be sure to follow these posts so that you can get
specific and realistic strategies to implement in your middle or high school classroom
this year!
Whenever you’re taking on something
new in the classroom, it’s a good idea to take one step at a time. Starting with learning profile can mean engaging
in effective practices like presenting material in an auditory manner with
visuals and a hands-on component. By
doing this you are meeting the needs of many students, which is what
differentiation is all about.
Differentiating by interest can be
achieved by offering choices. As
students wrap up their study of solving linear equations, I always end the unit
with a differentiated project. Students
are given 6 choices of assignments and are able to choose which one they like
the best. When I created this project, I
tried to base the choices on Gardner’s multiple intelligences. Students could take on a challenging
open-ended math problem, write a song or poem, reflect on their learning, and demonstrate
their knowledge in any way, really.
Note: This project was always completed in conjuncture with a unit test.
Then, of course, there’s readiness. This is something I consider everyday when
planning my lessons. Phase One: Plan the
main lesson and create or find any resources needed. Phase Two: Think about your struggling
learners and make any modifications needed to help these students achieve
success. Phase Three: Consider your
high-flyers and early-finishers. What
else can they do to be challenged?
I have SO much more to share, but
I’ll save some more for next time.
Remember to take one step at a time and start by differentiating one
lesson, project, homework assignment, etc.
Be sure you have subscribed to my blog so that you don’t miss a thing!
Tomlinson, C. A.
(2001). How to Differentiate Instruction in Mixed-Ability Classrooms. 2nd
Edition. Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development.
*Quote from page 5 of text.
*Quote from page 5 of text.
Follow the rest of the series!
Subscribe to the Free to Discover blog here:
No comments:
Post a Comment