Differentiation

What is it?
How do you do it?

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Burns and Purcell, 2002
Differentiation is
reacting responsively to
the learner’s needs to
maximize student
growth

Differentiation
is the teacher’s
response to the
learner’s needs.
Differentiation is not a
curriculum. It is a way of
thinking about teaching and
learning.
 A differentiated classroom
will have a combination of teacher
directed, teacher selected
activities, and learner centered,
learner selected activities; whole
class instruction, small group
instruction, and individual
instruction.
When Differentiating Instruction, The Three
Most Important Questions to Continually Ask
Yourself...
What do I want
my students to What will I do
know, understand, instructionally to
and be able to do? get my students
to learn this?

How will my
students show
what they know?
 DIFFERENTIATION

Curriculum: Content/Process/Product
Student: Readiness/Interest/Learning Style
 Strategy
Adapt

Content – Process – Product

based upon

Readiness – Interest – Learning Profile

 CONTENT is…
• What we want students to:
- know (facts and information)
- understand (principles, generalizations, ideas)
- be able to do (skills)
 Content is differentiated

• When you preassess students’ skill and

knowledge, then match learners with appropriate
activities according to readiness;
• When you give students choices about topics to
explore in greater depth;
• When you provide students with basic and
advanced resources that match their current levels
of understanding.
 Differentiating Content
- Multiple textbooks and supplementary print
materials
- Varied videos and computer programs
- Learning contracts
- Interest centers
- Support systems
audio tapes
study partners and reading buddies
mentors
- Compacting
phase 1 - teacher assessment of student
phase 2 - teacher sets up a plan
phase 3 - teacher and student design a project
 Process is . . .
How the students make sense of the content.

It is the “how” of teaching.

 Process is

The activities that you design to help

students think about the key principles and
information of the content they are
learning.
Process calls on students to use key skills
that are integral to the unit.
Differentiating Process is when students are
engaged in different activities.

- tiered assignments
- learning centers
- interactive journals and learning logs
- graphic organizers
-flexible grouping

Each activity should be directed to the

lesson’s common focus.
 Product is . . .
The demonstration of the learning.

The way students show what they have

learned or extend what they have learned.
Products can be differentiated along a
continuum:

- simple to complex
- less independent to more independent
- clearly defined problems to fuzzy problems
Readiness is a student’s entry point relative
to a particular understanding or skill.
To help a student to grow, we must begin
where the child is.
 Readiness

Less ready
• May need help
 More opportunities
 Structured or concrete activities
 Deliberate pace learning
 Readiness

More advanced may need

 Skip practice
 Complex, open-ended, abstract, and
multifaceted activities
 Brisk pace of work
Interest is the child’s affinity, curiosity, or
passion.
Interest
Students attach what they have been
learning in class to things that they
already find interesting in their own
lives.
 Learning profile has to do with how students learn.
Some are visual learners, auditory learners, or
kinesthetic learners. Students vary in the amount
of time they need to master a skill or learn a
concept.
How students learn can be shaped by:
– environment
– social organization
– physical circumstances
– emotional climate
– psychological factors

Carol Ann Tomlinson/ Diane Heacox

 A Closer Look At…

• Flexible Grouping
• Tiered Assignments
Flexible grouping is at
the heart of
differentiated
instruction
 Flexible grouping:

A Definition

Flexible small groups are within class grouping in which

membership varies according to ability (same ability,
mixed ability), interest or questions, learning style or
processing style, product style, group longevity, group
size (2-10). Groups can be teacher-selected, student-
selected, purposeful or random.
 Flexible Grouping

– Individuals
– Small groups
– Classroom as
a whole
 Flexible Grouping

Entire class Small groups

Same materials Multiple materials
Finish together Need additional time
Teacher determined Student choice
Placed by readiness Random assignment
Teacher help Student help
Designing Differentiated Learning Activities
for Flexible Groups

• Open-ended activities
and assignments

• Purposefully designed
choices to
accommodate learning
or expression style
differences

• Purposefully designed
tiered assignments
Purcell
 Tiered Assignments
are designed to maximize
each student's growth by
challenging students with
learning experiences that
are slightly above their
current level of knowledge
and performance.
Tomlinson
 Designing a
Tiered Assignment
A six step process
• Identify the content
• Consider your students’ needs
• Create an activity
• Chart the complexity of the activity
• Create other versions of the activity
• Match one version of the task to each
student
Tomlinson
Differentiation In Action

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 In Summary

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ch?v=cvsMtWwPwL8*