Differentiation

Recently in class, we started studying differentiation. The website www.education.com defines differentiation as the following:

"The adaptation of classroom learning to suit each student's individual needs, strengths, preferences, and pace by either splitting the class into small groups, giving individual learning activities, or otherwise modifying the material."

This definition is exactly how I see differentiation. I will be honest and say until this lesson, I had never heard of this. I'm the type of learner who does best when I see something in action. So the videos on the Teaching Channel website helped me immensely. I knew that teachers had been teaching to the child's ability for many years. I just didn't know that this term was now being used to describe the process. 

This is how an UN-differentiated classroom must feel to the children.












I think technology plays a huge role in the differentiated classroom. It may play an ever larger role than in a tradition class. If children's interests include technology, using it is common sense. Especially if it opens the door to learning! If a child who has difficulty in reading, for example, they may flourish if the classroom uses computer programs in that area that grabs their attention. The possibilities are endless, and too numerous to describe here. There are several websites that show examples of how to incorporate this idea into your classroom. 

This diagram explains five key areas for a successful differentiated classroom.