The document discusses differentiation in lessons to achieve higher grades. It considers targeting questions, problems, and resources at different levels to meet the needs of all students. While current practice focuses on success for weaker students, pitching lessons too high could damage success rates. Therefore, more able students must be challenged within existing lessons. The document outlines differentiation levels of "must, should, could" and considers how the teacher or student might decide the route through the lesson, targeting different abilities and goals.

1. Differentiation as a route to
higher grades

2. Your Task
To plan the differentiation in a specific set of
lessons
Things to consider:
• What oral question will you ask?
– Who will be targeted
– How can you best vary the level of demand
• What problems will you set
• What resources will you need
• How will students be targeted

3. Rational for using differentiation to achieve
higher grades:
• Current practice , broadly, meets the needs of
weaker students (previously we have focused
on success)
• Pitching the lessons at a higher level risks
damaging success rates
• Therefore more able students must be catered
for within the context of our current lessons

4. So how will this work
• Must
• Should
• Could
(This isn’t just completion of resources. It could
be levels of help, depth of understanding, level
of analysis, degree of difficulty, extent of
validity)

5. So how will this work?
Must
• This is the easiest level but it still presents
challenges, particularly in relation assessment
for learning. How do we respond when we
find some students that are significantly
ahead at the beginning of a topic?
• This the core knowledge and skills needed, by
all students, to pass the exam. But not with a
high grade

6. So how will this work?
Should
• This should be the additional knowledge and
skills required to gain a high grade
• This will therefore need to involve a significant
number of students (of the order 50%)

7. So how will this work?
Could
• The proportion of students working at this
level will be smaller.
• In my opinion this work would not be affecting
our current “high grades” rate

8. Who decides the route through the
lesson?
• The teacher?
– How do they decide?
• Prior attainment
• Target grade
• General Ability
• Ability in a specific area
– What about:
• Slow but high ability?
• Fast but low ability?
– Being devils advocate if the teacher has total control
are they just varying the “must” for individual
students?

9. Who decides the route through the
lesson?
The student?
• How to we deal with:
– Differences in motivation
– Unrealistic personal goals