Hi,
My final project for COETAIL has not been going completely to plan for several reasons, but the main one has been a upcoming school inspection. In the previous inspection, my school was noted for an inconsistency in teaching practices amongst teachers so there was understandably a big focus on consistency between classrooms which has restricted how much I can explore and really push the project in my own classroom. Thankfully the inspection finished last week so it is full steam ahead for the project now. Another focus for our inspection and our school was differentiation so I thought it would be a good idea to blog about it.
When I first started my teacher training, differentiation was a new concept to me as it was not in place while I was in school. However, it does make sense and the cheery way in which our teacher trainers kept bringing it up made it seems like the most basic part of teaching imaginable. Aritcles like this and this video give me the same feeling
However I feel these things completely gloss over the complexity and challenge involved in differentiation and the feeling of frustration that teachers have as they feel they cannot do this “basic” and are therefore letting their children down.This article “Differentiation Doesn’t work” by James R. Deliese presents a different picture of what is happening “in the trenches” Although I don’t agree with the idea that it doesn’t work, I have at time felt that frustration that I just can’t do this effectively for every lesson and I know from experience that a lot of teachers feel the same. One way I think this can improved is a change in thinking from school management/ inspection boards/ governments or whoever is dictating education policy where you work. Instead of looking at differentiation as a teaching basic, teachers should be praised and encouraged for achieving this most complex of tasks to whatever level they can. Teachers need to recover their belief in the process and be provided with the necessary training and resources to achieve this. This edutopia series on myths about differentiation is a good place to start. One of the most important points is that a big part of differentiation is intuitive and something that all teachers are doing anyway. When it comes to the bigger challenge more planned and structured that is way the use of technology can have a big impact.
flickr photo shared by Lupuca under a Creative Commons ( BY-SA ) license
Tech to help differentiate:
Edtech is a great way to support teachers in their differentiation for different ability levles and types of learners. A classic example is the use of flipped classroom using online video or resources from somewhere like Khan Academy.
I have used flipped learning a couple of times in my classroom with mixed results. I have found it is better to use it once a topic has been introduced as children are more motivated to engage with a video if they are interested in a topic. The flipped classroom can work really well to differentiate by either providing a different way of explaining the material, a extra support resource or a challenge. However it is important ot have students and parents on board so that all students engage in the material. I enjoyed this Edutopia article which points out some pros and cons of flipping your classroom.
Another great resource for differentiation that I am using in my classroom is readtheory.org. This application provides differentiated reading comprehensions for children based on their ability (scores in a pre test). The programme will then adjust the difficulty based on performance and provide the teacher with a wealth of information such as engagement, areas of strength and weakness. This is a free programme that takes approx 10mins to set up your class and then you have an instant simple differentiation strategy that children can also engage with at home.
Other tech that can help to differentiate are speech to text programmes which can allow children who find it difficult to write to express their ideas in a different ways. Seesaw, the programme I am using for my final project, is an example of this. Students can shpw and reflect their learning through different means (video, drawings, text, voice recordings) depending on what works best for their learning style.
My advice for teachers is simple- you are differentiating everyday you just mightn’t even realize it. Believe in your methods and look around for different resources to help you do your job more effectively.
Cheers,
Paul