During my summer course we learned a great deal about the other members of our learning community, so by the time we were walking the labyrinth at the end it was evident we were all bringing our unique set of beliefs, store of knowledge and personalities to our journeys. Our individual stories had helped to shape us, and impart knowledge to us. In fact when we spoke of our “take aways” from our course everyone, although we had been learning together for two weeks, had different ideas about what had been of great import. Every learning community mirrors the one I was in during the summer, a group of people with varied knowledge, beliefs and purposes. Our KUDs can help to frame a common purpose for our time with our students, but differentiation is what can help us meet our students where they are, add to their stories and help them on their journey.
When I took a course on differentiation with Beth Peterson at St. Michael’s College during the summer of 2013, I realized I had some misconceptions about differentiation. I thought it was making options available for students within the same assignment, so they could show their knowledge in a way they choose. Boy, was I wrong! This is a small, but important, part of a classroom where differentiation is employed. The more important part is the teacher varying the way they allow the students to interact with the concepts and vocabulary they would like them to learn. In Emergent Teaching, by Sam Crowell and David Reid-Marr, they state, “...when content is revisited from multiple perspectives, including subjectively important questions that arise from one’s experience, it leads to a re-formation or transformation of not just the content but also the individual.” Differentiation allows us to add layers, give students time to reflect and consolidate their new learning with their prior knowledge and make it a part of their story .
Although the name may have changed it is not a new concept and you do not need to “throw out the baby with the bathwater” when employing differentiation. While developing a unit during my course, I realized I could still use lecturing and give quizzes, but these methods were interspersed with more active learning, like pair-share, the use of stations, Independent Studies and centers. Two of the general principles behind differentiation are continual assessment, and giving students respectful tasks that engage them through novelty, personal relevance, emotional connection and/or making a contribution in some way to the world around them. This last idea according to my professor this summer, Sam Crowell, is the best way to engage students. It goes back to the idea of all organisms seeking out purpose, and even a small contribution to the larger community can meet this need for our students. In order to differentiate teachers should preassess and ongoing assessment to find out where their students are (their readiness), as well as the interest areas and learning profiles of their students. When the teacher has evidence that the classroom community is ready, a task with real world significance should be given to assess student learning. When developing these tasks keep in mind the information you have about learning profiles and interest for the best results. For those who do not meet the targets the teacher has developed, opportunities to revisit the learning should be given. If your unit is important enough to be taught, it must be learning you feel is crucial for your students to master.
Done correctly differentiation makes a classroom a more active, engaged community of learners. Varying the way students interact with the material allows them to engage with the ideas and make their own meaning, and when an individual makes knowledge their own it becomes a lasting part of their story.
When I took a course on differentiation with Beth Peterson at St. Michael’s College during the summer of 2013, I realized I had some misconceptions about differentiation. I thought it was making options available for students within the same assignment, so they could show their knowledge in a way they choose. Boy, was I wrong! This is a small, but important, part of a classroom where differentiation is employed. The more important part is the teacher varying the way they allow the students to interact with the concepts and vocabulary they would like them to learn. In Emergent Teaching, by Sam Crowell and David Reid-Marr, they state, “...when content is revisited from multiple perspectives, including subjectively important questions that arise from one’s experience, it leads to a re-formation or transformation of not just the content but also the individual.” Differentiation allows us to add layers, give students time to reflect and consolidate their new learning with their prior knowledge and make it a part of their story .
Although the name may have changed it is not a new concept and you do not need to “throw out the baby with the bathwater” when employing differentiation. While developing a unit during my course, I realized I could still use lecturing and give quizzes, but these methods were interspersed with more active learning, like pair-share, the use of stations, Independent Studies and centers. Two of the general principles behind differentiation are continual assessment, and giving students respectful tasks that engage them through novelty, personal relevance, emotional connection and/or making a contribution in some way to the world around them. This last idea according to my professor this summer, Sam Crowell, is the best way to engage students. It goes back to the idea of all organisms seeking out purpose, and even a small contribution to the larger community can meet this need for our students. In order to differentiate teachers should preassess and ongoing assessment to find out where their students are (their readiness), as well as the interest areas and learning profiles of their students. When the teacher has evidence that the classroom community is ready, a task with real world significance should be given to assess student learning. When developing these tasks keep in mind the information you have about learning profiles and interest for the best results. For those who do not meet the targets the teacher has developed, opportunities to revisit the learning should be given. If your unit is important enough to be taught, it must be learning you feel is crucial for your students to master.
Done correctly differentiation makes a classroom a more active, engaged community of learners. Varying the way students interact with the material allows them to engage with the ideas and make their own meaning, and when an individual makes knowledge their own it becomes a lasting part of their story.