Differentiated instruction
Differentiated instruction and assessment, also known as differentiated learning or, in education, simply, differentiation, is a framework or philosophy for effective teaching that involves providing students different avenues for understanding new information in terms of acquiring content, processing, constructing, or making sense of ideas, and developing teaching materials and assessment measures so that students can learn effectively regardless of differences in their ability.
Differentiated instruction means using different tools, content, and due process in order to successfully reach all individuals. According to Carol Ann Tomlinson, it is the process of "ensuring that what a student learns, how he or she learns it, and how the student demonstrates what he or she has learned is a match for that student's readiness level, interests, and preferred mode of learning."
According to Boelens et al., differentiation can be on two different levels; the administration level and the classroom level. The administration level takes the socioeconomic status and gender of students into consideration. At the classroom level, differentiation revolves around content, processing, product, and effects. On the content level, teachers adapt what they are teaching to meet the needs of students, which can mean making content more challenging or simplified for students based on their levels. The process of learning can be differentiated as well. Teachers may choose to teach one student at a time, or assign problems to small groups, partners or the whole group depending on the needs of the students. By differentiating the product, teachers can decide how students present what they have learned. This may take the form of videos, graphic organizers, photo presentations, writing, and oral presentations.
When language is the factor for differentiation, the Sheltered Instruction Observation Protocol strongly supports and guides teachers to differentiate instruction in English as ESL learners who have a range of learning ability levels—beginning, intermediate and advanced. Here, differentiated instruction entails adapting a new instructional strategy that teachers of typical classrooms of native English speakers would have no need for.
Differentiated classrooms have also been described as responding to student variety in readiness levels, interests, and learning profiles. Such classrooms include all students and allow all of them to succeed. To do this, a teacher sets different expectations for task completion for students, specifically based upon their individual needs. Teachers can differentiate through content, process, product, and learning environment based on the individual learner. Differentiation stems from beliefs about differences among learners, how they learn, learning preferences, and individual interests, so it is therefore an organized and flexible way to proactively adjust teaching and learning methods to accommodate each child's learning needs and preferences in order to help them achieve maximum growth.
Pre-assessment
Pre-assessment is used to determine a student's knowledge, understanding and skill prior to the unit of study so that the coverage of mastered material and the use of ineffective methods are avoided. These are assessments for learning and include diagnostic or pre-assessments that teachers use to help guide instruction and benefit each learner. They are informal and provide qualitative feedback to teachers and students to address strengths and needs during the unit. Pre-assessments are to be conducted several weeks before the unit of study and are not to be graded.Chapman and King note that when "teachers strategically administer pre-assessments before planning their lessons, they can address the students' strengths and needs during instruction." Pre-assessment can be conducted in two ways:
- By identifying learning preferences and interests
- By identifying knowledge of students' understanding
Ongoing assessment
Assessment is the process of gathering information from a variety of sources such as assignments, teacher observations, class discussions, and tests and quizzes. Assessment at regular intervals informs instructional strategies, gauges each student's readiness, interests, and learning preferences, and improves student learning. This information can be gathered through diagnostic, formative, and summative assessments, as well as Individual Education Plans, Ontario Student Records, student interest surveys, and multiple intelligence or learning style inventories.Assessment for learning includes diagnostic measures and formative assessment. Formative assessments are used during a unit to provide understanding about what the student is learning, and continually guide instructional decisions. Assessment as learning takes place when students self-assess their work and reflect on their growth as learners. Earl says this is the process in metacognition, and "occurs when students personally monitor what they are learning and use feedback... to make adjustments, adaptations, and... changes in what they understand."
Differentiation can be used when applying, demonstrating, extending knowledge, or practicing skills and attitudes to monitor achievement of goals. This might include peer/self-assessments, and peer/teacher conferences. Assessment of learning is the culminating task or summative assessment, which takes place after the learning has occurred and students can show what concepts and/or skills they have learned. Differentiation can also be used through strategies such as tests, projects, demonstrations, and writing performances.
All these ongoing assessments help teachers know students and their needs so they can select effective teaching and learning strategies and interventions that maximize student achievement. Consistent program review and diagnosis of whole-class and individual student responses provide ongoing feedback to enhance teaching and learning for teachers, students, and parents. Teachers use ongoing assessments to gather information about a student's knowledge and capabilities, direct future planning, monitor student progress, and evaluate student achievement. Students and parents can also use these assessments to reflect and understand their own learning preferences and level of achievement.
Content
The content of lessons may be differentiated based on what students already know. The most basic content of a lesson should cover the standards of learning set by the district or state. Some students in a class may be completely unfamiliar with the concepts in a lesson, some students may have partial mastery of the content or display mistaken ideas about the content, and some students may show mastery of the content before the lesson begins. The teacher may differentiate the content by designing activities for groups of students that cover different areas of Bloom's taxonomy. For example, students who are unfamiliar with the concepts may be required to complete tasks on the lower levels of Bloom's taxonomy: knowledge, comprehension, and application. Students with partial mastery may be asked to complete tasks in the application, analysis and evaluation areas, and students who have high levels of mastery may be asked to complete tasks in evaluation and synthesis.When teachers differentiate content, they may adapt what they want students to learn or how students gain knowledge, understanding, and skills. In these instances, educators are not varying student objectives or lowering performance standards for students. They use different texts, novels, or short stories at a reading level appropriate for each individual student. Another example would be including visuals, maps, or graphic organizers to introduce or reinforce concepts as opposed to only providing written or oral text. This provides students with different methods of viewing, considering and absorbing content. Teachers can also use flexible groups and have students assigned to like groups listening to audiobooks or accessing specific internet sources. Students could have a choice to work in pairs, groups, or individually, but all students are working towards the same standards and objectives.
Understanding by Design
, which was developed by Grant Wiggins, is an educational strategy that may be used to inform content in a differentiated classroom. This model was further refined by Carol Ann Tomlinson and Jay McTighe, who maintained that UbD and differentiated instruction form an essential partnership. Their position is that learning occurs not at the individual level or to the individual, but within the individual students as they are engaged in exploring concepts. The combination of UbD and differentiated instruction is expected to allow educators to simultaneously "craft powerful curriculum in a standards-dominated era and ensure academic success for the full spectrum of learners."UbD is described as a backward design model that emphasizes the beginning with the end in mind. Here, planning the courses, units, and individual lessons is undertaken based on the desired result. For instance, when teaching a literary piece, the teacher first decides the goal and how the students will be assessed to determine if such goal is achieved. The framework also recognizes the importance of assessment and employs evaluative or summative assessment models as the bases of grading.
Process
Pre-assessment and ongoing assessment provide feedback that helps teachers understand how students learn and what they know, with the ultimate goal of improving student learning. In the past, delivery of instruction often followed a "one size fits all" approach. In contrast, differentiation is individually student-centered and focused on appropriate, fair, flexible and challenging instructional and assessment tools that meaningfully engage students in the curriculum. By considering varied learning needs, teachers can develop personalized instruction so their students can learn effectively.The process of learning may be differentiated for students based on their learning styles, accounting for standards of performance that are required for the age level. This stage of differentiation allows students to learn based either on what method is easiest for them to gain knowledge, or what may challenge them most. Some students may prefer to read about a topic, and others may prefer to listen, or acquire knowledge by manipulating objects associated with the content. Information may be presented in multiple ways by the teacher, and may be based on any available methods or materials. Many teachers use areas of multiple intelligences to provide learning opportunities.
Commonalities in the assessment results lead to grouping practices that are designed to meet the students' needs. How teachers plan to deliver instructions is based on assessment results that show the needs, learning styles, interests, and levels of prior knowledge. Differentiated classrooms may allow some students to work alone if this is their best modality for a particular task.
Differentiating by process refers to how a student comes to understand and assimilate facts, concepts and skills. After teaching a lesson, a teacher might break students into small "ability" groups based on their readiness and give each group a series of questions based on each group's appropriate level of readiness-skills, related to the objectives of the lesson. Students could also be grouped based on their learning styles. The main idea behind this is that students are at different levels and learn in different ways, so a teacher cannot teach them all the same way.
Another model of differentiation, layered curriculum, offers students a choice of assignments, but requires that they demonstrate learning to pass the assignment. This eliminates the need for pre-assessment and is useful for teachers with large class loads, such as in high school.