Differentiation in the Classroom: Good For All Learners
What is differentiation in the classroom? It is doing what is fair for students (that does not mean "equal"). It is recognizing that students have a variety of background knowledge and experiences, interests, readiness and interests, and then reacting appropriately.
Students who display characteristics of gifted children must have differentiated instructional activities.
Your instruction should be adapted to the individual students in your classroom, not solely based on your grade-level criteria. You will also need effective classroom routines to be able to differentiate.
While you cannot always change the content of what you are to teach (and you should always cover your standards and indicators), you do have complete control over the process you use to teach that content.
Teachers should always use Blooms Taxonomy to help differentiate lessons.
You can also extend the content by going more in-depth and providing alternative ways to evaluate learning. Match the level and depth of your curriculum to the motivation and readiness of your students (Tomlinson, 1999).
Keeping in mind current studies about brain research and learning will also give teachers other ways of increasing their students' comprehension and deep understanding.
Be sure everybody learns something new everyday. You can do this through differentiation in the classroom.
What Do Differentiated Instructional Activities Look Like?
This Is Not Differentiation in the Classroom
Making a work packet and putting the student in the hall to complete it.
Adjusting a few words on a spelling list
Letting the student read at his level without any teacher guidance
Deciding that every student has to learn a concept without first pre-testing
Waiting for the Gifted Specialist to give you materials and then making a few copies
Just letting them do their own thing and expecting perfection
Drill and practice and note-taking activities. Boring!! You are asking for trouble if this is what you have your gifted students do all the time
I could go on, but you have surely seen these types of teachers. They don't want to put the effort into differentiation in the classroom, so they rely on worksheet packets and basically ignoring the gifted child.
Differentiation takes work. It takes some extra effort. But is is absolutely necessary in order not to lose the child.
You provide choices for the student to show their understanding. This will maximize their interest
Pre-test as often as you can - if they know it, why make them sit there and listen to it again? Let them move ahead or go deeper. You are likely to find that they already know the entire chapter of math!
Teach it once then check if they have it, because most likely they will. In my primary classroom, I teach a concept if all kids need it, check to see if my gifted and/or high achieving students have it, then have another activity for them to move on to while I re-teach the lesson(s) to the other students
What they miss on a pre-test, teach it to them directly and then let them move on. Again, often they only need it taught one time and they have it
Let them show what they know with a few problems, not the whole page. Is that really necessary for a kid who already grasps the concept to do 25 math problems?
Give them ongoing problem solving activities that are mentally stimulating and challenging. These types of activities are a great way to go deeper into the curriculum instead of going wider
Have activities at different levels (think Bloom's Taxonomy). A great reading unit for this is Reading Karate
Specific Differentiation Ideas
Compact the Curriculum: assess knowledge and provide alternative activities for content already mastered. You will need to provide a learning contract that lets the student choose what activities will be completed. Give credit for the knowledge already known.
Tiered Assignments: a series of related tasks that vary in their complexity. All the activities relate to the key skills the students need to have. I like to do a Tic-Tac-Toe board and the students choose 5 activities to complete.
Independent Study Projects: if you have a student who is truly interested in a topic and wants to work on it, let him do this research project. The amount of help you provide will vary between grade levels, but remember that all kids need a teacher to teach them (don't just ignore them).
Buddy Study: like an ISP, but with a few other like-minded students. This social aspect is very important for gifted kids, and you may need to help them work on those skills because many gifted students find it difficult to work with others.
If you are a parent of a gifted child, a site with some must-read information is Gifted Journey.
What Works for Kids with Gifted Characteristics?
In their Classroom Instruction That Works research, McREL and Robert Marzano identified nine strategies that can be applied in any learning environment and result in significantly increased student learning, especially for students who display gifted characteristics. When implemented consistently and correctly, these research-based strategies can provide average percentile point gains as high as 45% on student achievement tests.
Although most educators are familiar with the Classroom Instruction That Works research, teachers still need help transferring the theory into practice. This practical video will show you how to do this.
Remember: Differentiation In the Classroom Is Highly Effective Teaching!
References and Resources
Tomlinson, C.A. (1999). How to differentiate instruction in mixed ability classrooms. Alexandria, VA: ASCD
