Differentiation boils down to relationships that help students realize their own possibilities, their own potentials, their own purposes and the pride that goes along with reaching a goal. Educators have a huge responsibility here...with perhaps the greatest responsibility of all being the recognition of the importance of relationship in all of this, and crafting differentiated and personalized learning experiences that honor and value the person behind the learning needs.
BBC Active. (2010). Methods of differentiation in the classroom. Educational Publishers LLP. Retrieved from http://www.bbcactive.com/BBCActiveIdeasandResources/MethodsofDifferentiationintheClassroom.aspx on January 30, 2015.
Graham, L. (2015). #Diffimooc Week Three. Retrieved from https://differentiationuas.wordpress.com/week-three-january-26/.
McCarthy, J. (July 23, 2014). Three ways to plan for diverse learners: What teachers do. Edutopia Differentiated Instruction blog. Retrieved from http://www.edutopia.org/blog/differentiated-instruction-ways-to-plan-john-mccarthy on January 30, 2015.
Tomlinson, C. (2001). How to Differentiate Instruction in Mixed-Ability Classrooms. Alexandria, VA, USA: Association for Supervision & Curriculum Development (ASCD). ProQuest ebrary. Web. 30 January 2015.
Training ABC. (Sept. 24, 2013). Ben Zander Video: Leadership An Art of Possibility. YouTube video. Retrieved from http://youtu.be/FAOX2fl7SmA on January 30, 2015.
Zander, R., and Zander, B. (2002). The Art of Possibility: Transforming Professional and Personal Life. New York: Penguin Books.
* organizers * facilitators * coach * learning mentor * flexibility * diagnosing * sharing responsibility * clarity in goals and expectations * balance *
- "For many teachers...offering differentiated instruction first requires a paradigm shift" (Tomlinson, p. 16).
- "When teachers differentiate instruction, they move away from seeing themselves as keepers and dispensers of knowledge and move toward seeing themselves as organizers of learning opportunities" (Tomlinson, p. 16).
- "'Covering information' takes a back seat to making meaning out of important ideas" (Tomlinson, p. 16).
- "Think of assessment as a road map for your thinking and planning. ... When you begin to see the wide array of assessment sources in the classroom, you begin to see how may ways there are to learn about learners" (Tomlinson, p. 20).
- "...Struggling students should not typically work alone on a teacher-assigned task while other students typically work together on tasks of their own choice" (Tomlinson, p. 20).
- "An effective community of learners is characterized by traits such as...: Everyone feels welcomed and contributes to everyone else feeling welcomed. ... Mutual respect is nonnegotiable. ... Students feel safe in the classroom. ... There is a pervasive expectation of growth. ... The teacher teaches for success. ... A new sort of fairness is evident. ... Teacher and students collaborate for mutual growth and success" (Tomlinson, pgs. 21-24).