This document discusses differentiating instruction to meet the needs of all learners. It defines differentiation as identifying the most effective strategies for achieving learning goals for each student. The document outlines ways teachers can differentiate the process, product, content, and grouping based on students' readiness, interests, and learning styles. Teachers are encouraged to use assessments to understand students' prior knowledge and tailor instruction accordingly. Examples of differentiation strategies include varying activities, resources, support, tasks, and outcomes. The benefits and challenges of differentiation are discussed.

1. Developing ExpertiseDeveloping Expertise
TS5 Adapt teaching to meet the strengthsTS5 Adapt teaching to meet the strengths
and needs of all learnersand needs of all learners

2. Objectives
To review your strengths and areas for
development in relation toTeachers’
Standard 5.
To adapt teaching to meet the strengths
and needs of all learners.
To consider good practice in relation to
differentiation.

3. Inclusion or treating pupils differently?

4. • ‘Differentiation is….. the process of identifying, with each
learner, the most effective strategies for achieving agreed
targets’
• ‘A general term used to describe the range of strategies,
which are used to ensure children’s needs are met.’
• ‘Differentiation is the process whereby teachers meet the
need for progress through the curriculum by selecting
appropriate teaching methods to match the individual
student’s learning strategies, within a group situation’.
• ‘Differentiation should be seen as integral to learning, not
an add-on for those situations when things do not go as
well as planned and problems occur. Differentiation is not
about troubleshooting. It is a concept that has to be seen in
an inclusive way, applying to everyone.’

5. Sir Ken Robinson 16.23-20.00

6. Ways Teachers can Differentiate:
ANY OTHER WAYS?
PROCESS:
How? Why?
PRODUCT:
How? Why?
…with respect to Children’s
READINESS/
DEVELOPMENTAL:
How? Why?
INTEREST:
How? Why?
CONTENT:
How? Why?

7. Teachers can differentiate:
PROCESS:
Varying learning activities /
strategies to provide
appropriate methods for
children to explore the
concepts; important to give
students alternative paths to
manipulate the ideas
embedded within the
concept (different grouping
methods, graphic organizers,
maps, diagrams, or charts)
PRODUCT:
Varying the complexity of the
product that students create
to demonstrate mastery of
the concepts.
With respect to Children’s
READINESS/
DEVELOPMENTAL:
Some children are ready for
different concepts, skills, or
strategies; others may lack
the foundation needed to
progress to further levels
INTEREST:
Child interest inventories
provide information to plan
different activities that
respond to individual
children’s interest
LEARNING STYLE
Individual child preference for
where, when or how they
obtain and process information
(visual, auditory, kinesthetic;
multiple intelligences;
environment, social
organization, physical
circumstance, emotional
climate, psychological climate)
CONTENT:
Knowledge, skills and
attitudes we want children
to learn; differentiating
content requires that we
use our knowledge of
children's prior learning
and attainment

8. 8

9. 9

10. Evidencing on your planning…Evidencing on your planning…

11. Where does it fit?
• Assessment of learning
• Planning
• Differentiation
• Teaching
• Evaluation
• Assessment
Process of differentiation is interwoven with both assessment and planning and is on going…….
assessment planning differentiation teaching evaluation

12. Obstacles to differentiation

13. 13
Being aware of their prior learning and attainment
How do we find this knowledge?
What strategies can we use?

14. 14
In action…example

15. Practical Strategies for Differentiation
• Input/Content
• Resources
• Support
• Task
• Outcome
• Groupings

16. Input/Content
• Lively, age-appropriate starting points
• Specific vocabulary chosen
• Limited amount of factual information
• Short but focused timing

17. Resources (including classroom space)
• Use of engaging visual resources
• Appropriate choice of texts (readability)
• Supportive frameworks for writing tasks
• Good ICT resources, e.g. IWB/i-pads/talking
books/speech software/overlay keyboards
• Clearly organised and labelled classroom to
encourage independent working
• Remember! You are the most important resource!

18. Support
• Individual support from teacher/TA/LSAs
• Use of adults to scribe for individuals/groups
• Encouragement of group work and collaboration,
including talk partners and peer response partners
• ICT
• Regular, positive feedback and dialogue

19. The Role of Supporting Adults
Discuss in 2s or 3s:
•Examples of how teaching assistants (or other
adults) supported children’s learning
•What was the children’s response to the support?
•What impact did the adult support have on the
outcome of the lesson/activity?
•Who did the adults spend most time with?

20. Outcome
Differentiation by outcome means that a
common task is set, but the end product will
vary from child to child.
This could be by:
•Allowing a verbal or pictorial response
•The amount of written work
•The amount of detail in a drawing or diagram
•Allowing the use of a tape recorder or video

21. Response
• One-to-one feedback from teacher
• Self-assessment
• Peer assessment – could be whole class or
response partner
• Using child’s work to give formative feedback
• Using child’s work to set specific learning
targets,

22. Groupings
• Mixed abilities
• Random
• Friendship
• Ability Groupings/Setting
22

23. What could be the implications of
differentiation?
Discuss the benefits
•For pupils?
•For teachers?
•For parents?
•Anyone else?

24. • What could be some of the challenges?
• What are the Social, Moral, Spiritual and
Cultural implications associated with
differentiation?
24

25. A dilemma for teachers…?
‘When does treating people differently emphasise
their difference and stigmatise them on that basis?
OR...
When does treating people the same become
insensitive to their difference and likely to
stigmatise or hinder them on that basis?’
(Minnow, 1990:p.20)
What do you think?

26. http://www.youtube.com/watch?
v=RjcXuPeLDAQ
http://www.youtube.com/watch?
v=RjcXuPeLDAQ