Differentiation is adjusting and modifying what skills and concepts students learn, what materials they use, and/or how their learning is assessed based on the needs of the students.

Our students are not all the same, so we cannot expect that teaching a lesson in one way will reach every student. Our students are unique individuals with their own prior learning and their own learning preferences.

An effective teacher makes the changes needed to reach every student where they are and to guide them to an understanding of the skills and concepts we want them to learn.

 

Differentiation can take place at several points during a lesson:
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Each of these can be further differentiated by student readiness (their academic level) and/or their personal interests and learning styles.

Not every lesson needs to be differentiated, and certainly not in all of the possible ways. Our "Differentiation: Step by Step" tool can be used to help determine which means of differentiation may be most effective for a particular class and/or lesson.
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DIFFERENTIATE SKILLS AND CONCEPTS:
What skills and concepts are students expected to learn?

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Differentiate Skill/Concepts by Readiness (Academic Level):

Consider:

  • Do my students have a wide variety of abilities and background knowledge of the topic or skill?
  • Do I have assessment data that can help identify the level at which each student should begin working?
Why Differentiation by Readiness is Effective:
Zone of Proximal Development

Tools:

 

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Differentiate Skills/Concepts by Student Interest or Learning Style

Consider:

  • Does the topic or concept allow for students to focus on one part of their choosing and still get the big idea?
  • Can the material be adapted to suit a variety of modalities (visual, auditory, kinesthetic, sequential, etc.)?

Tools:

Related Strategies:

 

DIFFERENTIATE ASSESSMENTS:
How will students show what they know?

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Differentiate Assessments by Readiness (Academic Level):

Consider:

  • Can the final product or assessment be provided at varying levels of difficulty or complexity?
  • Do I have assessment data that can help identify the level at which each student should begin working?

Tools:

 

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Differentiate Assessments by Student Interest or Learning Style

Consider:

  • Can the students choose a manner of demonstrating what they've learning and still focus on the key ideas and skills?
  • Would it be reasonable to provide differenent assessments to accomodate various learning styles?

Tools:

Example:

  • Provide students with a rubric that describes what they must include to show their learning, but allow them to choose whether they make a poster, write a report, create a PowerPoint or sing a song that includes what's required based on the rubric

 

DIFFERENTIATE ACTIVITIES, LESSONS, & MATERIALS:
What will students do or use to get to and practice the learning?

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Differentiate Activities/Materials by Readiness (Academic Level):

Consider:

  • Do I have activities and amterials at varying level of complexity/difficulty available?
  • Do I have assessment data that can help identify the level at which each student should begin working?

Tools:

 

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Differentiate Activities/Materials by Student Interest or Learning Style

Consider:

  • Would it make sense to allow students to choose how they work with the ideas or skills? (experiment, read, research, etc.)
  • Would it be reasonable to provide differnt activities to accommodate various learning styles?

Tools:

Related Strategies:

 

 

Material from DesCartes: A Continuum of Learning is provided by courtesy of Northwest Evaluation Association and may not be republished, rewritten, or redistributed. All rights reserved.