Differentiation in the Classroom

What it is and is not.

Differentiation

Write down what you immediately think of when you hear the term differentiation

Brainstom Differentiation in SACS classrooms today

Objectives

We Are Learning to:Evaluate the use of differentiation strategies for use in our own classrooms

What I'm looking For:All: observe instances where we already differentiate in our classroom.

Most: Create a differentiated resource for use in a lesson next week.

Some: Evaluate the

Lecture Outline

What is Differentiation (5 mins)

Outcomes Objectives and Backwards Mapping (10 mins)

Differentiation by Outcome (5 mins)

Differentiation by Support (5 mins)

Differentiation by Task (5 mins)

Plan your lesson (20 mins)

Share understanding (5 mins)

What is Differentiation

Differentiation, is the process by which differences between pupils are accommodated so that all students have the best possible chance of learning.UK Training and Development Agency

Differentiation is providing different learning experiences for different groups of students in your classroom.

Differentiation comes in many forms.

Differentiation takes deliberate planning if it is to be really effective.

Differentiation is a way to give your students an opportunity to achieve learning.

What Differentiation is Not.

Differentiation is not providing a individualised curriculum.

Differentiation is not a way to do without teaching assistants.

Differentiation is not missing out the unimportant bits of the syllabus.

Differentiation may not make your stubborn students learn.

Differentiation is not just for the less able students.

Types of Differentiation

There are three broad types of differentiation that can be used in the day to day classroom.Differentiation by outcome

Differentiation by support

Differentiation by task

All types of differentiation require the teacher to have deliberate, well formed learning objectives and outcomes

Increasing teacher planning

Increasing student outcomes

Increasing teacher management

Objectives versus Outcomes

These two terms are often misunderstood.A lesson (or learning) objective is what you are wanting the students to learn.Based on syllabus requirements.

A learning outcome is how students know that they have achieved the objective.Based on things the student can do

Objectives

Lesson objectivesIndicate the depth of learning

Give students confidence that they can participate in the learning.

Present challenging learning to students

Engage students in what is going to happen

Motivate students by giving them an I can do it feeling

Objectives

Objectives should be able to be written in student speak( not Eduspeak!)

Often it is good to try to write objectives that start:
We Are Learning To ... (WALT)e.g. We Are Learning To explain how sound waves travel.

e.g. We Are Learning To understand how Shakespeare uses irony.

e.g. We Are Learning To create a missing song from Frozen

If you have written the objective, then SHARE the objective at the beginning of every lesson with your students.

Outcomes

Outcomes indicate what students should be able to do at the end of the learning.

Outcomes are often written in the form:

What I'm Looking For (WILF):e.g. Students who can identify that sound waves need particles.

e.g. Students who can compare the use of irony by Shakespeare and modern comedians

e.g. Students who can collaborate to produce a song.

Outcomes

Outcomes can often be written using verbs from Bloom's taxonomy.

Often the tendency is to choose verbs from the lower levels of thinking.Consider using verbs from different levels to indicate to students what is required.

Backwards Mapping

Backwards Mapping is the process of planning lessons from outcomes rather than towards outcomes.

It is an essential process in ensuring that differentiation is actually useful for students.

Objectives

OutcomesAll:

Most:

Some:

Activities

Resources

Big Ideas / Topics

Stage 1

Stage 2

Stage 3

Differentiation by Outcome

This is the easiest to implement, but the hardest to manage.

All students are given the same, often open ended, task.

Students are invited to show achievement at one of a number of levels (usually 3)This technique is generally not seen as best practice.

But, with tightly controlled success criteria it can be very effective.

Differentiation by Outcome

Try to write just 1 or 2 learning objectives for a lesson

Try to write your outcomes at three different levels All: this is what students MUST be able to do

Most: this is what students SHOULD be able to do

Some: this is what you WOULD like students to do

What might this differentiation look like?

Lesson objective and outcomes are shared with the class at the beginning and clarified if needed.

Outcomes are referred to throughout the lesson

Students are encouraged to complete the task at the all level, then the most,then the some.Students are actively engaged with trying to achieve the next level outcome

Lesson objective and outcomes are re-visited at the end of the lesson and students self-assess their learning against outcomes.

Differentiation by Support

This requires pre-planning and a good knowledge of your students and their capabilities.

There are many ways to provide support to your students.You can provide different texts (resources) for different groups.

You can use organised group structures.

You can work with one group while other groups work independently.

You can use Teaching Assistants.

Differentiation by Support -
Text

Provide a range of resources for your students to use:Textbooks at different reading levelsMade easier with systems like LearningField

Videos and animations at different levelsSearch YouTube etc.

Real-world resources vs school resourcesForeign language newspapers/magazines/books vs formulaic school texts.

Differentiation by Support - Grouping

Group students by various methods:Could group by abilityOften used for differentiation by outcome tasks, or for providing targeted teacher support.

Could group by personalityOften used when needing to get students to develop specific team roles.

Could group by mixed abilityOften used so that the more able teach the less able and bring them up

Could group by ability then mix.Often used for expert groups: groups of students of similar ability become experts in part of a problem. The groups are then mixed and the experts have to teach the remained of the new group.

Differentiation by Support
Direct Support

Either as the teacher or using a Teaching AssistantGenerally requires grouping of some form.

The teacher / TA works with a small group while the rest of the class works independently on the task.

Can be very effective to move the top on or bring the bottom up.

Needs to be deliberate and not ad-hoc.

Must avoid over-supporting the groupAsk open ended questions,

Answer questions with questions

Walk away

What might this differentiation look like?

Lesson objective is shared with the class at the beginning and clarified if needed.

Students are grouped as needed and given the same core material.

Students use the materials to construct their own knowledge and share it with each other.High level of collaboration

Teacher (and TA) move around the room supporting groups (and individuals) and facilitating learning.

Differentiation by Task

This requires the most pre-planningThe teacher produces multiple tasks (usually 3) which are used to teach the same learning objective at differing levels of challenge.

There are a few ways to do this:Graduation

Negotiation

Resource

Differentiation by Task -
Graduation

The teacher chooses their lesson outcome so that they form a sequence of learning.At each level the knowledge gets deeper or the skills get more advanced.

The teacher develops similar resources that target each level of outcome

The resources are then merged to form a single large resource.

Students start at the beginning and the resource naturally gets more advanced as they progress.

Differentiation by Task -
Graduation

Sometimes advanced students can be told to start at question XThis assumes they already have the basic understanding developed by Questions 1 to (X-1)

Students are set the challenge of see how far they can get in a fixed time.Could be directly related to WILFs

Commonly seen in maths, and science, and in text book end of chapter questions.

Differentiation by Task -
Resource

The teacher chooses their lesson outcomes so that they achieve the objective at different levels.

The teacher then develops a resource that targets the middle level outcome.

The teacher then modifies this resource up and down to achieve the upper and lower outcome.

Students are given the appropriate resource for their learning by the teacher

Differentiation by Task -
Resource

This requires very careful planning to avoid stigmatising students.

There needs to be the option for students to ask for the next resource upTherefore this should not be overly covert

If covert is necessary, then a 2 level resource system is preferable.Resources can be dealt from the top or bottom of the pile without the need for further clarification.

Differentiation by Task -
Negotiation

The teacher plans a sequence of lessons for a given period of time (e.g. 2 weeks)For each lesson the teacher produces a particular resource.

The resources get gradually more challenging throughout the sequence.

It is possible to have a number of strands of resources in the sequence with each strand having its own progression

Differentiation by Task -
Negotiation

The students work through the sequence of lessons at their own pace.

They are given deadlines such as:By the end of lesson 2 all of you should have done worksheet 1 & 2 and some of you might have finished worksheet 4.

The sequence MUST be designed so that all students are able to achieve the minimum standard by the end of the allocated time.

It may be desirable to plan the sequence like a corkscrew:Revisiting ideas at gradually increasing complexities.

Your Task

Think of a lesson that you are going to deliver to a class in the next fortnight.Develop a suitable learning objective

Identify suitable learning outcomes for the class

What activities might you use to deliver that lesson?

How might you differentiate the lesson for your class?

Develop a suitable differentiated resource to deliver your lesson. (20 mins)

Objectives

We Are Learning to:Evaluate the use of differentiation strategies for use in our own classrooms

What I'm looking For:All: observe instances where we already differentiate in our classroom.

Most: Create a differentiated resource for use in a lesson next week.

Some: Evaluate the