Creating A Caring and Inclusive Community: Differentiation

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Differentiated instructions

The idea of differentiation has been discussed and explored widely among schools and educators. It is an area of development for my school as recommended by our accreditation organizations. Before diving deeper into how we can provide differentiated instructions, it is worth mentioning some common misconceptions about differentiation observed by Carol Tomlinson and Marcia Imbeau as below:

Differentiation is

new;
for a particular category of students (for example, special education, English learners, gifted education);
something extra that teachers have to do in addition to their “normal” plans;
oppositional to content standards;
a way to “mollycoddle” students;
a particular set of instructional strategies;
extreme teaching – something only an occasional teacher can expected to do;
something teachers already do.

I had these misconceptions before. When I was a young teacher first learning about differentiation, I also thought that differentiation requires teachers to implement a particular set of strategies for each student. I usually obtained many different instructional ideas from workshops about this topic, but I did not always know how to use them with my students effectively. As the authors pointed out in the book, Managing a Differentiated Classroom, “Differentiation is a way of thinking about the classroom, not a specified set of tools.” I also heard many teachers say that “We are already doing differentiation.” It’s important to point out that although teachers might use some intervention in responding to different students’ needs, the approaches used are not always proactive and/or intentional.

“Differentiation is a way of thinking about the classroom, not a specified set of tools.”
(Carol Tomlinson)

After reading Differentiated Instruction Made Practical: Engaging the Extremes through Classroom Routines, I developed a greater understanding of what differentiated instruction is and is not. The authors proposed the ALL-ED (All Learners Learning Every Day) theoretical framework specifying four steps to implement differentiated instructions in this book.

Step One: Identify OSCAR

First, teachers need to identify lesson Objectives, Starting position, Criteria, Action pattern, and Reflections to determine any necessary adjustments to the instruction.

Step Two: Look and Listen

Then teachers need to get to know their students and their learning profiles by gathering student responses to implement individual and group learning routines.

Step Three: CARR Check

in this stage, teachers give formative assessment to check understanding and analyze data to determine how they can further support students. To help teachers use CARR Check, guiding questions are provided for teachers to reflect on the four elements based on the formative assessment data collected:

Clarity: Is this task clear to all students? Are the words understandable by all students? Are students expected to understand the vocabulary that may be vague, have multiple meanings or are in unfamiliar contexts?
Access: Could all students complete the task independently and feel capable?
Rigor: How much effort is required of different students? What would students find complex?
Relevance: Would all students find this task important, interesting, valuable, and/or useful?

Step Four: SHOp Adjustments

Finally, teachers use their formative assessment data to guide their instructional decision-making and provide options according. They might need to adjust Structures for tasks, Help and provide Options to respond to perceived learner needs. (I am unsure what the ‘p’ stands for.)

This is a very nicely put together evidence-based framework that is easy to follow. I particularly appreciated the concept that all learners learn every day. I rethink why we need to differentiate and how differentiated instruction can benefit all students. I had an a-ha moment. When teachers differentiate according to students’ interests, readiness, and learning profiles, we try to increase their motivation, academic growth and efficacy. This makes differentiation so much easy to understand. I begin to think about how this ALL-ED framework can be integrated with the IB programmes and what instructional ideas might support teachers in implementing differentiated instructions.

Here is the model I came up with: Differentiation is when everyone LEARNS.

L: Look for patterns of need and create a safe and inclusive environment
E: Establish purposeful and relevant curriculum and assessment mapping
A: Analyze assessment data throughout to inform instruction decisions
R: Refer to learning objectives and provide targeted and actionable feedback
N: Nurture self-regulated learning behaviors and assist students in setting goals
S: Structure lessons that promote thinking and stretches students

There are five classroom elements that teachers can differentiate or modify: content, process, products, affect and environment. We consider students’ interests, readiness, and learning profile when differentiating any elements. Before teachers differentiate their class, we first need to consider affect (How students link thoughts and feeling in the classroom) and learning environment (the way the classroom feels and functions) as Maslow always first! Using the MYP language, I identify content as the written curriculum; the process is the taught curriculum; the product is the assessed curriculum.

After synthesizing information from High Impact Teaching Strategies and cross-reference the 250+ Influences on Student Achievement, I identified some key strategies that teachers can use to differentiate content, process and product. I hope this model is easy to follow and helpful to teachers who want to implement differentiated instruction.