Differentiation
The goal all teachers should have is that every student will master all the content that
we teach. The problem is that we are often driven by the number of standards that we
have to cover. That causes us to keep moving forward even if all the students haven’t
obtain a sufficient level of mastery. Then to expound the problem, we have such a
short time span to review for the final assessment, we end up providing a one size
fits all review. A great example of this is the number of teachers playing Jeopardy or
Kahoot with their students as the test day nears. These are both great tools to use
with students, but in every class you will have students that know all the answers, in
which the review is pointless, and students who don’t know any of the answers, and
let’s be honest, showing them the answer one more time probably isn’t enough for
the student to gain a last minute understanding of the content. So why do we do these
kinds of activities? Because these reviews are helpful for the students in the middle.
The students that just need a reminder of something they haven’t seen in a while.
If you have a classroom full of these “average” students then go for it. Play Kahoot
until the day of the test. But chances are your students are more diverse than that,
which means your reviews need to be just as diverse. Differentiated review/ instruction
is not the easiest way to teach, however it does have a huge impact on student learning.
Below are some tips on how to make differentiated instruction a reality in your classroom.
Find out where your students are. It’s easy to use something like Google Forms to
determine what standards your students are struggling with, however you also need to
know the students reading level, and their interests. You can search for online reading
and interest tests. This is really worth the time because it will help you determine what
content to present to each student. The goal is to give students materials that they can
process without being overwhelmed and hopefully they will be able to relate to.
Don’t start from scratch. Spend a little time finding resources that might help students l
earn the content. Many textbooks come with review activities and materials, there are a
ton of things online, and don’t be afraid to ask your fellow teachers. You can easily find
10 activities in the time it would take you to make 1.
Be open to the type of content you present to students. The goal in differentiation is
to meet the student where they are, not where we want them to be. Present resources
that are at different difficulty levels and presented in as many ways as possible. Don’t limit
yourself to grade level content. A senior that is struggling might do better with content
geared for an elementary student and a third grader might learn more than you expect by
reading an article in the Wall Street Journal.
Use Google Classroom to the fullest. With Google Classroom you can create reviews
and assessments ahead of time and then save them as drafts. As soon as you assess
students on a standard determine what they need to do next. Some students will be ready
to move on, while others need to do more work on that standard. The joy of Google
Classroom is you can give each student specific assignments. Student’s don’t know what
their classmates are doing so no one needs to feel singled out. You can also communicate
with students through the private message section for each assignment. This allows
studentsto review what you are “telling” them, and it also keeps them from feeling singled
out. Google Classroom really makes differinitation easier.
Use Split Screen and multiple tabs. This tip is just technological, not pedigological.
When you are looking over an assessment, drag the results to one side of your desktop.
On the other side have the screen have your assignments open in different tabs. This
will make it so much easier to add students to a specific assignment.
Keep the students accountable. With differentiation you start where students are at,
but you don’t stay there. You need to make sure students know where they are at in
comparison to where they need to be. If a student seems to be doing well with the material
you are presenting them with, slowly give them more advanced materials. Tell the student
what you are doing and remind them to try their best, even if it is a little harder. Let them
know you want to help them be successful. Raising the difficulty could mean things like
trying a higher reading level or more questions. If they are struggling too much talk with
them again and adjust. Never let the student or yourself become complacent at their
current level. Labeling students as smart or dumb isn’t differentiation and neither is giving
students “easy” or “hard” work.
In the comments below share one way
you differentiate content for your students.
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