Tasks

9: Differentiation
A day in the life of a lower level learner

Observation

1. What do you notice? Does the class have any strengths or weaknesses?
Yes, they have both but I found that the strengths more than weaknesses.

2. Are there learners who finish activities quickly? What do they do when they have
finished?
Yes, they can take the puzzles and play with it or play with other educational games.

3. Are there learners who do not finish a task(s)? How does the teacher deal with them?
Yes, she sits with them each one and helps them with it.

4. Are there any learners with special needs? How does the teacher meet their needs?
No.

5. How does the teacher manage learners with different levels/abilities?

She gives each group who has the same level and ability the same thing to do it, besides,
she sit with them to help them.

6. Are all the children doing the same activity or are there different activities for the
children to do?
No, each group makes a different activity depend on their ability.

7. If there are different activities, how do the students know which activity to do? (Do
they choose? Does the teacher tell them?)
The teacher keeps each group of student in the same levels in one table, so in this way
she prepare for them the activities.

Task
Privately ask the teacher to help you choose a lower level learner in the class. Watch the
lower level learner and make notes in the table below.

Record sheet

Name: Nazli

Age: 4

Grade: KG1

Brief description:

Time

Activity/Movement

Notes/comments

9:00

The teacher repeats the numbers
with them.

9:30

The teacher shows them letters in cards and each

The teacher plays a memory game student must give her a two words starting with it, all
with all learners.
the students answer it even Nazli, the teacher gives

The teacher was showing them numbers and

students must know it, all the students find it easy
except Nazli she felt difficult little bid and she ask a
helped from her friend.

her 2 to 3 minutes to think deeply and give her the

answer and she did it.

10:15

Races.

She plays with her friend.

10:45

Students must draw a story about
their best holiday.

The teacher gives all the students 15 minutes to finish

their drawing, then she will sit with each one and ask
them about the story, most of the students done
their stories, but Nazli was too slow, she took more
time and when the teacher start to ask her she didnt
know to answer all the question because she wasnt
thinking before. But the teacher helped her and at
the end she praised her and all the students for their
good works.

1. How many different activities did the learner do?

Three activities but sometimes she took more time than her friends.

2. How did s/he interact with the other learners throughout the day?
Well, she was talking with them and playing.

3. What was the longest period of time the learner spent focusing on one activity?
Drawing her story about her best holiday.

4. What did the learner do during the break times?
She went to play outside with her friends.

5. Did the learner seem interested during the whole lesson? If not, for how long was
he/she interested/engaged in the lesson? What caused the student to lose interest do
you think?
Not all the time, she was interested for 10 minutes only, and then she talked with her
friends and I think thats why she lose interest.

6. What did the learner seem to like doing the most and the least during the day?
The most thing playing with her friends and the least think when the teacher asked her
to think or answer a question.

Reflection
Differentiation

Differentiation is modified instruction that helps students with diverse academic needs and
learning styles master the same challenging academic content. Although it might seem like a
daunting task, designing and applying a variety of strategies within one classroom can be done
at a variety of levels.
Differentiation is vital and important because the teacher must ensure that all students come
to a similar grasp of a skill or idea.

I asked my MST, how does she use the differentiation in the classroom?
She answered that she uses it as a workshop in different groups and each group have a
different ability. For example, if the group is higher achiever writing, I give them something
hard to do it, but if they dont know even how to write the letters I give them easy activity that
can develop them.

Theyre drawing a story about their best holiday.

Last Wednesday they had a special day, because the teacher chose for them a country and she
presented to them. It was Kazakhstan, she illustrates for them the special cloths and cuisine
for Kazakh, then she give each one her/his passport to stick a Kazak flag in it, besides, she lets
them make their own bracelet with a stone because in Kazak they are famous in doing those
things.