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Differentiation

In order to be an effective educator, teachers must be aware of the fact that students vary in all aspects of learning: interests, preferences, abilities, readiness levels, motivations, and learning styles. Student differences must be taken into consideration when planning the curriculum because all types of learners must be targeted through instruction. Therefore, teachers must have the skills to adapt their materials, content, assessments, strategies and activities (basically all aspects of teaching!) to the different skill levels in the classroom in order to allow all students to learn effectively, regardless of any differences in ability. Adapting teaching to student needs is not an option - it is the teacher's responsbility and duty. Essentially, the "what" and "how" of learning should correspond to the each student's learning profile (abilities, interests, learning style).

The Process

I've used the metaphor of a maze to represent my idea of differentiation and what it entails. This metaphor can represent the student's learning process, as well as the teacher's teaching process. Starting with the student's process, the arrow in the maze symbolizes his or her journey throughout a school year, or even throughout a school career. Assuming this student has learning difficulties, they will take a different journey compared to those who do not have learning struggles. Metaphorically, this student will go through the maze in order to reach the same point of understanding as everyone else. This student will come face to face with obstacles and challenges, and will have to find a way to work around it, through adaptations. This is

represented by the twistsand turns in the maze. Instead of being able to go straight through the maze in a straight line, some students must take different paths to reach the same ending goal. At the end, it doesn't really matter what they had to do to get there, as long as they did.

 

At the same time, I believe the metaphor of the maze can represent how a teacher needs to differentiate instruction for all learning needs. Instead of being able to follow the traditional and generic teaching methods, teachers must adapt their strategies to all student needs, including learning difficulties, by taking turns and changing directions. Therefore, the arrow represents the adaptations that teachers make all throughout their teaching career in order to differentiate. Teaching is not done in a "straight line" but in a series of twists and changes. Examples of differentiating methods are given at each turn in the maze.

The Strategies

Universal Design for Learning

The UDL framework was developed to give educators guidelines that give all students equal chances and opportuntiies to learn and to succeed at learning. I have studied this framework in the past, and have retained the three main areas to differentiate, which are represented to the left. Click here to read my detailed blog post about UDL and how to implement it into the classroom. 

Differentiation is a multi-faceted teaching framework and comprises of many different steps and strategies. Here is a checklist that I often refer to when I am planning lessons and want to ensure that I am differentiating and considering various learning needs. I should note that differentiation is not only about targeting students with learning disabilities - it involves all adaptations that must be made for differences in student profiles, including the gifted students.

USING OBSERVATIONAL ASSESSMENTS TO EVALUATE INTERESTS AND LEARNING STYLES

ADDRESSING VARIOUS READINESS LEVELS (LEAST CHALLENGING TO MOST CHALLENGING)

BREAKING DOWN AND REORGANIZING CONTENT

ADAPTING ASSESSMENT ACCORDING TO NEEDS

HAVING EXTRA HELP IN THE CLASS - CHILD CARE WORKERS OR RESOURCE TEACHERS

GIVING EXTRA TIME

PROVIDING CHOICES TO STUDENTS (IN THE PROCESS AND PRODUCT)

INCREASING VARIETY OF ACTIVITIES FOR DIFFERENT LEARNING MODALITIES

VARYING GROUPING (GROUPWORK, INDIVIDUAL, PAIRS)

USING TECHNOLOGY AS A TOOL AND RESOURCE

GIVING PROMPTS AND GUIDES

PROVIDING ENRICHMENT ACTIVITIES

VARYING MATERIALS

OFFERING SENSORY STIMULATION

PRACTICING INCLUSION

FOLLOWING STUDENT IEPS

Inclusion is the commitment of administrators, teachers  and the institution to the personal development of each students by taking into consideration heir unique needs and abilities, in the pursuit of justice and equity for all students. 

For me, inclusion is about taking the many barriers that we build between people. Whether it is on handicap, a disability, social, physical or mental, we need to go back to a certain kind of humanization and understand that everyone has something special to give to others.

An inclusive classroom is not one in which all students are treated equally but rather one in which all students are given an equal chance to reach their full potential. An inclusive classroom is composed, like society, of different and unique students.  Students are not seperated but are given the same opportunities to be successful – no matter how success is measured for that particular individual. 

Inclusion

I believe that differentiation and inclusion go hand in hand because you can't effectively have one without the other. Inclusion can mean different things to different people, so I wanted to find out more about this. I asked other student teachers, professionals, and classroom teachers to give me their definition of inclusion, and although the answers included many of the same fundatemenals, the differences in what aspects were focused on were very interesting.

People who are different for one reason or another still get to be treated like individuals, with whatever significant differences they have being accommodated with assistance and support.

My personal definition: Inclusion in classrooms is the result from using adapted teaching models that can better address the needs of all students, instead of simply employing standardized tests and lessons that exclude those who cannot follow generalized methods of instruction. All students participate in the classroom teachings, but are also provided with individualized education plans.

 

Understanding inclusion from different perspectives has been helpful in allowing me to develop my own ideas about it. All of my teaching experiences have been in inclusive classrooms, and I've seen how it can benefit all students, not only those who have learning difficulties. Inclusion is a priority in my classroom, so it is a concept that I would share with parents at the beginning of the year for two reasons. First, I would like them to be aware of what to expect from my class. Second, it would help reassure parents who have children with unique needs. Click here to view an example of a Welcome Letter that I would send to parents, in which I describe the importance of inclusion in my classroom and philosophy of education.

 

A big part of differentiation and inclusion is definitely integrating the students who have IEPs, which benefits all students in the long run. Click here to read anout my participation in IEP meetings with the resource teacher, where I learned a lot about how to create IEPs and keep them updated. I also had to make sure I was following these IEPs, by giving extra time, adapting tests, reducing questions and providing support to those who had the right to it.

Varying Grouping, Materials
 and Tools

As another way of adapting teaching, educators should have a variety of materials and tools in their repertoire since using the same materials over and over again can be quite boring. In addition, students respond differently to different types of resources and tools. For example, some students learn very well when they can use the Interactive Smart Board, while others might prefer using the traditional visuals that the black board or white board can provide. However, differentiation isn't limited to varying materials. All aspects of teaching are connected, which means that using varied materials also leads to varied activities and lessons. Changing grouping strategies is another way to differentiate because some students work better alone, while others work better in groups. Both learners should have chances to excel. Here are examples of grouping, materials, tools, and manipulatives that I have used in my teaching as differentiation strategies.

Grouping

Desks are arranged for individual work

Placement of desks allows for group work

There is another set of choices that the teacher must make with regards to grouping. Students can pick their on groups, or the teacher can decide them. If he/she decides, then the groups can either be ability-mixed or formed according to abilities and skill levels.

Materials

Some students needs particular materials to thrive in the classroom, such as laptops and sensory stimulation tools, which are both displayed to the left. Nevertheless, the entire class still needs to experience using varied materials, instead of only have access to worksheets and paper. Click the left and right arrows to view examples of materials.

Tools

In addition to offering diverse materials for the students to use, I've also used a variety tools and have developed different resources to correspond with the students' needs as well as my own teaching goals. I've realized that putting the effort in to create diverse tools does make a difference because not only does it increase student motivation and concentration, but it also stimulates different parts of the mind, thus engaging different types of learners. Instead of constantly falling back on worksheets, which can be quite dull for students, I try to introduce tools that students will actually be motivated by and excited to use. 

Instructional Videos

Interactive Tools

Video Gallery Differentiation

Varying Activities

I always try to take advantage of opportunities to include engaging activites that target less traditional learners, such as kinesthetic learners, or musical learners because the students seem to be much more productive when the traditional teaching-learning mold is broken. I feel it is important to have both traditional and non-traditional activities as a way of including everyone. Traditional classroom models typically benefit the linguistic learners who have a love of reading and writing. However, those who are naturalistic or spatial don't have as many of their needs met, which is what I'm constantly trying to improve in. These types of learners are part of Gardner's Multiple Intelligences Theory, which explains the wide range of learning styles that humans display. Below are some of the activities I've used in my own teaching that target different intelligences.

Multiple Intelligences

Fairy Tale

Interview

Journal

Letter

Oral Report

Poem

Play

Commercial

 

Collage

Crossword

Chart

Experiment

Game

Labeled -Diagram

Map

Fairy Tale

Choral Reading

Poem

Rap Song

Song

Role Playing

Chart

Collage

Costumes

Game

Model

Play
Maze

 

Costumes

Experiment

Pantomime

Poem

Role Play

Game

 

Chart

Journal

Learning Center

Poem

Choral Reading

Fairy Tale

Role Playing

Commercial

Journal

Interview

 

Rock Collection

Scientific Drawing

Examples I've used:

Model

Model

Maze

Maze

Rock Collection

Rock Collection

Venn Diagram

Venn Diagram

Costumes

Costumes

Experiment

Experiment

Letter

Letter

Science Drawing

Science Drawing

Collage

Collage

Crossword

Crossword

Fairytales

Fairytales

Journal

Journal

Learning Center

Learning Center

Chart

Chart

Poem

Poem

Play

Play

Learning Centers

I've discovered that learning centers are a great way to differentiate because it allows for about 5 diverse activities to be going on at the same time. Ideally, each part of the center should serve a different purpose and should target different learners, interests, and preferences.

 

To the left is an ocean-themed learning center I developed during my teacher training. Here are the differentiation strategies for this center:

  • Access to a HELP center with English/French instructions

  • Auditory stimulation of ocean sounds in the background

  • Many chances to choose between writing or drawing to show understanding

  • Dancing and moving around

  • Painting and drawing

  • Option to record yourself instead of talking to a partner

  • Tactile stimulation (different textures, objects)

  • Option to follow along with an auditory recording

Help Center

While this center above had a particular theme, I've also developed centers in French Immersion that have 5 completely different activities, which keeps students motivated and engaged.

While this center above had a particular theme, I've also developed centers in French Immersion that have 5 completely different activities, which keeps students motivated and engaged. Here is an example of centers I created in a French Immersion class:

  • 1 - Writing center to write oral presentation

  • 2 - Cross word puzzle to study vocabulary

  • 3 - Interactive Jeopardy game on Smartboard to revise science

  • 4 - Art center to draw Van Gogh's Starry Night

  • 5 - Reading comprehension through questions and answers

Visuals of center examples

Lesson Planning

If differentiation is to be successful, it should always be a part of the lesson planning process, just like any other element found in the lesson plan. Therefore, lesson plan templates should contain sections for differentiation, as this will remind the teacher to think about it. The lesson plan templates I was using at the beginning of my training did not include this section, but my experiences have taught me how essential it is to any lesson. Therefore, my lesson plans now have a section for differentiation. View one of my templates here.

 

 

 

One of the differentiation strategies that I usually succeed in employing is that of offering choice. It's espcially important that students be given the choice to demonstrate their understanding of a concept/lesson in any way they want. I think it works best if students are given a list of choices because they may have trouble thinking of ideas. Nevertheless, those who come up with an entirely new idea are permitted to do so because creativity should be nurtured as much as possible. 

Offering Choices

Choices

Example: Grammar Lesson On/Ont

Recently, I planned a French grammar lesson on homophones with the goal of making grammar more interesting and interactive, as well as providing as much choice as possible to my students. When I was actively thinking of strategies to accomplish these two goals, my lesson became so much richer and more interesting than a traditional grammar lesson. I was especially focused on providing choice, so I employed a few strategies:

 

  • Allow students to vote on which grammar game they wanted to play

  • Allow students to make changes to the games, which they actively did

  • Ask students to write the sentences used for the homophone games

  • Allow students to choose their final production to show me their understanding of the homophones covered thus far (options shown to the left)

  • Allow students to work in partners or in groups of four

  • Allow students to choose the next player in the Smart Board game

When I gave my students more power over the day's activities, I noticed that they were much more attentive and excited to be doing grammar, which was very encouraging for me to observe, as a teacher. The choices catered to a few different types of learners (musical, linguistic, spatial, intrapersonal), which means that most students probably found an appealing choice.

As movement is sometimes missing from traditional lessons, I included a homophone game that required students to stand up and move around, which really kept them awake and attentive. In addition, it was geared towards those who need to move to learn, kinesthetic learners. Click here to read about an amazing dance and movement tool that promotes mental, emotional and physical health, that I discovered at the QPAT 2015 convention.

Smart Board Tile Game

Finally, I had to ensure that my lesson included both basic and advanced activities to accomodate all skill levels in the classroom. Here are some of the ways in which I did this:

 

  • Smart Board Tile Game has both basic and advanced sentences (those that are missing 2 homophones instead of 1 are more challenging)

  • The choices for the final demonstration of knowledge (image found above) has some varied activities. The interview is more basic, while the song might be more complex, depending on the types of learners

  • When students were writing the sentences that I would use for the homophone game, I asked the advanced students to write sentences that included more than one homophone of on/ont

Various Examples of Differentiated Lesson Plans

Even though I think every lesson plan should be a differentiated one, here are some lessons planned with inclusion and differentiation as the main priority.

Fun With French Syllables

 

Learning Centers

 

How Do Plants Grow?

 

Snowflake Mania

 

Mapping Out Explorers

Planning a Vacation

 

Experimenting with Colours

 

Sugars and Fats Tag

 

Exploring the Solar System

 

Quizzes and Short Stories

Reflections

I have definitely made progress in this competency compared to my past two field experience because I had the chance to take on more of a teacher-role in this one. Since I was in my field experience school for a whole three months, I really got to know my students and what their learning styles were. I was involved in the IEP process and in most of the meetings my cooperating teacher had to attend. This really made me feel like I could develop my own strategies and idea about how to differentiate, which I did. My cooperating teacher gave me the space to try out different strategies, which I was really grateful for. I tried out strategies that didn't work out so well and strategies that worked very well, which I think is necessary to improve my teaching. 

 

In addition, this field experience has made me realize how important differentiation is and how big of a role it plays in the classroom. There are so many different types of learners with various needs, which means that my teaching has to be fresh and exciting every single day. I know that it's difficult for every single one of my lessons to target every single student all the time, but as long as I'm always striving to reach that "impossible" goal, I think my teaching will greatly benefit and I will be able to differentiate without even thinking about it.

Giulia Lato

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