Differentiation {and what it means in my classroom}
Differentiation consists of the way teachers respond to the variety of diverse learners they have in their classroom. Teachers can differentiate their classroom and instruction by the content, process and product. Differentiated instruction will be taken into account throughout every lesson and unit in my classroom. Students will always receive differentiated instruction, no matter the assignment! There is no "one size fits all" when it comes to teaching students, and all successful teachers know this approach!
Content
What the student needs to learn or how the student will get access to the information.
Ways to differentiate:
Activities in which the student engages in order to make sense of or master the content.
Ways to differentiate:
Projects that ask the student to rehearse, apply, and extend what he or she has learned in a unit.
Ways to differentiate:
What the student needs to learn or how the student will get access to the information.
Ways to differentiate:
- Using reading buddies.
- Meeting with small groups to re-teach an idea or skill for struggling learners, or to extend the thinking or skills of advanced learners.
- Presenting ideas through both auditory and visual means.
Activities in which the student engages in order to make sense of or master the content.
Ways to differentiate:
- Using tiered activities through which all learners work with the same important understandings and skills, but proceed with different levels of support, challenge, or complexity.
- Offering manipulatives or other hands-on supports for students who need them.
- Providing interest centers that encourage students to explore subsets of the class topic of particular interest to them.
Projects that ask the student to rehearse, apply, and extend what he or she has learned in a unit.
Ways to differentiate:
- Giving students options of how to express required learning.
- Using rubrics that match and extend students' varied skills levels.
- Allowing students to work alone or in small groups on their products.