Differentiation

"Certain motivational states interfere with learning. Two adverse conditions are especially dangerous: anxiety and boredom. Anxiety occurs primarily when teachers expect too much from students; boredom occurs when teachers expect too little. When curricular expectations are out of sync with students' abilities, not only does motivation decrease, but also achievement” (Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi, 1996)

Differentiation can be defined as the matching of work to the differing abilities of individuals or groups of pupils in order to extend their learning. A differentiated classroom recognises student differences, aims to maximize the progress of all students, and promote success.

Principles of the differentiated classroom:
  1. Learning experiences are based on student readiness, interest and/or learning profile
  2. Content and activities are developed in response to varying needs of learners
  3. Teaching and learning are focused on key concepts and skills
  4. All students participate in respectful and engaging work
  5. Teacher and students work together to ensure a balance of engagement and challenge for each learner
  6. The teacher coordinates use of time, space and activities
  7. Flexible grouping ensure fluid working arrangements, including whole class learning, pairs, and  groups, and one-to-one support
  8. Time use is flexible in response to student needs
  9. A variety of strategies (such as display tables, centres of interest, independent study, setting different assignments, using visual prompts and aids, pairing children with special needs with a more able learning buddy, etc.) are used to help target student needs.
  10. Clearly communicated individual and group criteria provide guidance toward success
  11. Students are assessed in a variety of appropriate ways, to demonstrate their learning and progress
(based on C. Tomlinson, 1997)

The concentric model of differentiation is a useful tool for differentiating lessons. Other models use a pyramid type design, but with the same underlying principle. Key skills that the teacher would expect all students to learn are placed in the centre ring. The next ring contains the skills that the majority of the class would hopefully grasp and understand after the lesson. Following that are more advanced skills for a certain amount of high achieving pupils, and finally the highest level of learning and skills for the most able pupils in the class to grasp. After the main part of the lesson has been delivered, the more able students can work on through the higher level content, and students with special needs such as the student with Down syndrome can focus on consolidating the more basic skills.

concentric_differentiation
Concentric model of differentiation (Lorenz, 1998)

The Special Education Support Service (SESS) also has some good resources for differentiation, including an alternative worksheet for differentiated lesson planning. Click here to access it.