The Politics of Differentiation in Schools


Book Description

In many English-speaking countries, teachers are encouraged to differentiate their classrooms, and in some cases, through various policy mechanisms. This encouragement is often accompanied by threats and sanctions for not making the grade. By exploring the ways in which one education system in Australia has mandated differentiation through an audit of teacher practices, this book provides a timely engagement with the relationship between differentiated classrooms and social justice. It covers tensions, for instance, between providing culturally-appropriate classrooms, including constructing engaging and relevant curricula, and lowering expectations for students who have traditionally been marginalised by schooling. The data for this book has been collected from the same group of teachers over a period of three years, and offers detailed insights into how a particular politics of differentiation has played itself out in the context of a ‘global reform movement’ that has focused on improving student outcomes.




Differentiation and the Brain


Book Description

Examine the basic principles of differentiation in light of what current research on educational neuroscience has revealed. This research pool offers information and insights that can help educators decide whether certain curricular, instructional, and assessment choices are likely to be more effective than others. Learn how to implement differentiation so that it achieves the desired result of shared responsibility between teacher and student.




Supporting Differentiated Instruction


Book Description

Examine how PLCs provide the decision-making platform for the rigorous work of differentiated classroom instruction. A practical guide to implementing differentiation in the classroom, this book offers a road map to effective teaching that responds to diverse learning needs. Takeaway objectives at the beginning of each chapter guide discussion, and each chapter ends with action options of highly interactive strategies.




How to Differentiate Instruction in Mixed-ability Classrooms


Book Description

Offers a definition of differentiated instruction, and provides principles and strategies designed to help teachers create learning environments that address the different learning styles, interests, and readiness levels found in a typical mixed-ability classroom.




The Differentiated Classroom


Book Description

Although much has changed in schools in recent years, the power of differentiated instruction remains the same—and the need for it has only increased. Today's classroom is more diverse, more inclusive, and more plugged into technology than ever before. And it's led by teachers under enormous pressure to help decidedly unstandardized students meet an expanding set of rigorous, standardized learning targets. In this updated second edition of her best-selling classic work, Carol Ann Tomlinson offers these teachers a powerful and practical way to meet a challenge that is both very modern and completely timeless: how to divide their time, resources, and efforts to effectively instruct so many students of various backgrounds, readiness and skill levels, and interests. With a perspective informed by advances in research and deepened by more than 15 years of implementation feedback in all types of schools, Tomlinson explains the theoretical basis of differentiated instruction, explores the variables of curriculum and learning environment, shares dozens of instructional strategies, and then goes inside elementary and secondary classrooms in nearly all subject areas to illustrate how real teachers are applying differentiation principles and strategies to respond to the needs of all learners. This book's insightful guidance on what to differentiate, how to differentiate, and why lays the groundwork for bringing differentiated instruction into your own classroom or refining the work you already do to help each of your wonderfully unique learners move toward greater knowledge, more advanced skills, and expanded understanding. Today more than ever, The Differentiated Classroom is a must-have staple for every teacher's shelf and every school's professional development collection.




Differentiation and Diversity in the Primary School


Book Description

Differentiation is a key part of effective teaching; structuring learning experiences to suit the needs of the individual child plays a major part in the quality of the education that child receives. However, even experienced teachers can often struggle to achieve this ideal when considering the needs of a class, which is likely to include pupils across the whole ability range, from students with learning difficulties through to gifted children. Written by practising teachers this collection: * examines the definitions and scope of differentiation * looks at the structuring and management of learning activities within the curriculum areas of key stages 1 and 2 * shows how teachers can provide equal access to the curriculum for all children, whilst also meeting government requirements * discusses issues of assessment * describes how schools can construct a whole school policy and approach for differentiation. Using case studies and examples, this book will lead teachers to reflect on their current practice, whilst also containing practical advice which will enable them to improve.




Instructional Methods for Differentiation and Deeper Learning


Book Description

Expertly motivate and engage all students. Taking a practical approach to differentiated instruction, the authors outline research-based strategies and illustrate how teachers, coaches, and administrators can use them to enhance their everyday practices. Explore ways to implement differentiated learning for students needing personalized remedial instruction and high-ability students, as well as tactics for executing instruction in culturally and linguistically diverse classrooms.




How to Differentiate Instruction in Academically Diverse Classrooms


Book Description

First published in 1995 as How to Differentiate Instruction in Mixed-Ability Classrooms, this new edition reflects evolving best practices, practitioners' experience, and Tomlinson's ongoing thinking about how to help all students access high-quality curriculum; engage in meaningful learning experiences; and feel safe and valued in their school. Written as a practical guide for teachers, this expanded 3rd edition of Carol Ann Tomlinson's groundbreaking work covers the fundamentals of differentiation and provides additional guidelines and new strategies for how to go about it. You'll learn What differentiation is and why it's essential How to set up the flexible and supportive learning environment that promotes success How to manage a differentiated classroom How to plan lessons differentiated by readiness, interest, and learning profile How to differentiate content, process, and products How to prepare students, parents, and yourself for the challenge of differentiation We differentiate instruction to honor the reality of the students we teach. They are energetic and outgoing. They are quiet and curious. They are confident and self-doubting. They are interested in a thousand things and deeply immersed in a particular topic. They are academically advanced and "kids in the middle" and struggling due to cognitive, emotional, economic, or sociological challenges. More of them than ever speak a different language at home. They learn at different rates and in different ways. And they all come together in our academically diverse classrooms.




How to Plan Differentiated Reading Instruction, Second Edition


Book Description

Tens of thousands of K?3 teachers have relied on this book--now revised and expanded with more than 50% new material--to plan and deliver effective literacy instruction tailored to each student's needs. The authors provide a detailed framework for implementing differentiated small-group instruction over multiweek cycles. Each component of the beginning reading program is addressed--phonological awareness, word recognition, fluency, vocabulary, and comprehension. In a large-size format with lay-flat binding for easy photocopying, the book includes dozens of reproducible lesson plans, instructional activities, assessment forms, and other tools. Purchasers get access to a Web page where they can download and print the reproducible materials. New to This Edition *Differentiation 2.0: the approach has been fine-tuned based on field testing, new research findings, and current standards and response-to-intervention frameworks. *Many additional reproducible tools, such as coaching templates and the Informal Decoding Inventory. *Beyond lesson plans and materials, the second edition offers more guidance for designing instruction and grouping students, making it a one-stop resource. *Reproducible tools now available to download and print.




Differentiation for Real Classrooms


Book Description

"In my extensive experience with differentiated education, I have not seen a work on lesson planning that is as compact, concise, and creative as this one." —Joseph Staub, Resource Specialist Teacher Thomas Starr King Middle School, Los Angeles, CA "Full of good ideas and strategies for differentiation. I like the way the authors emphasize the idea of teaching to a specific benchmark or objective rather than letting the text determine what students do and learn." —Kathie F. Nunley, Educational Psychologist Brains.org Use these easy techniques to deliver high-quality lessons that target all learners! In today′s increasingly diverse classrooms, teachers are expected to address a whirlwind of initiatives. With their characteristically joyful and conversational tone that celebrates learning and diverse students, Kathleen Kryza, Alicia Duncan, and S. Joy Stephens offer teachers dozens of practical strategies for designing and delivering differentiated lessons to reach all learners. Based on the authors′ popular, memorable, and doable C U KAN and the Chunk, Chew, and Check frameworks, this book makes it easy for teachers to implement effective, differentiated instruction. This ready-to-go resource helps educators identify a clear learning target, get to know their students as people and as learners, and understand how to vary the learning pathways to the same target for different learners. Rooted in real practice and real classrooms, this how-to guide: Includes abundant illustrations, vignettes, and examples across grade levels Offers adaptations for ESL students and students with special needs Presents samples of standalone lessons, weeklong lessons, and lesson units Provides differentiated techniques for individual or whole-group instruction This book is an easy-to-read, application-oriented text for novice and preservice teachers on differentiating lessons to target all learners.