Differentiation is a second nature for true professionals in education.
Differentiation does not mean different activities for every student. It is mainly about catering for the different points of need among students. This means that we, as professionals, know our students and forecast their gaps, using differentiation in their understanding of the concepts/words/methods/processes/ or in tasks/actions/ games and challenges. Basically, anything.
Any lesson can be differentiated by content, outcome, process, pace or support and resources. When planning, ask yourself these questions:
- What is the learning intention or simply put, what skills should the students acquire (EAL students, SEN learners, Low Ability and High Ability students) by the end of this lesson? I suggest to answer this question by Explicit teaching in a small group, during centres, or finding ‘teachable moments’ within a lesson, when students are working on a task. Modelling is also part teaching these groups, showing the students how to apply the content, the language they would use.
2. Can I provide an open-ended task to cater for the diverse needs of my students as a way of differentiating? Catering for different learners means to have a mix of visual, auditory and hands-on experience, where possible.
3. Does this lesson shape itself to students working in smaller ability groups (based on assessments and observations, EAL, SEN, LA), targeting a specific concept or misconception (one at a time)?
Naturally, everything starts and ends with the assessments.
To be continued...
M.G. June 2022
